NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty regarding Sierra Pacific Power Company, FERC Docket No. NP

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1 January 31, 2011 Ms. Kimberly Bose Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC Re: NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty regarding Sierra Pacific Power Company, FERC Docket No. NP Dear Ms. Bose: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) hereby provides this Abbreviated Notice of Penalty (NOP) regarding Sierra Pacific Power Company (SPPC), with information and details regarding the nature and resolution of the violation 1 discussed in detail in the Disposition Documents attached hereto (Attachment a), in accordance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission s (Commission or FERC) rules, regulations and orders, as well as NERC Rules of Procedure including Appendix 4C (NERC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP)). 2 This NOP is being filed with the Commission because SPPC does not dispute the violation of MOD Requirement (R) 2 and the assessed six thousand dollar ($6,000) penalty. Accordingly, the violation identified as NERC Violation Tracking Identification Number WECC is a Confirmed Violation, as that term is defined in the NERC Rules of Procedure and the CMEP. Statement of Findings Underlying the Violation This NOP incorporates the findings and justifications set forth in the Notice of Confirmed Violation and Proposed Penalty or Sanction (NOCV) issued on August 4, 2010, by Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The details of the findings and the basis for the penalty are set forth in the Disposition Document. This NOP filing contains the basis for 1 For purposes of this document, each violation at issue is described as a violation, regardless of its procedural posture and whether it was a possible, alleged or confirmed violation. 2 Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards (Order No. 672), III FERC Stats. & Regs. 31,204 (2006); Notice of New Docket Prefix NP for Notices of Penalty Filed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Docket No. RM (February 7, 2008). See also 18 C.F.R. Part 39 (2010). Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, FERC Stats. & Regs. 31,242 (2007) (Order No. 693), reh g denied, 120 FERC 61,053 (2007) (Order No. 693-A). See 18 C.F.R 39.7(c)(2) Village Blvd. Princeton, NJ

2 NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty Sierra Pacific Power Company January 31, 2011 Page 2 approval of this NOP by the NERC Board of Trustees Compliance Committee (BOTCC). In accordance with Section 39.7 of the Commission s Regulations, 18 C.F.R. 39.7, NERC provides the following summary table identifying each violation of a Reliability Standard at issue in this NOP. NOC ID NERC Violation ID Reliability Std. Req. (R) VRF NOC-642 WECC MOD Medium Duration 12/24/09-1/14/10 Total Penalty ($) 6,000 The text of the Reliability Standard at issue and further information on the subject violation is set forth in the Disposition Document. MOD R2 - OVERVIEW On March 12, 2010, SPPC self-reported to WECC a violation of MOD R2. WECC determined that SPPC, as a Transmission Owner, Transmission Planner, Generator Owner and Resource Planner, failed to submit comments for the 2014 HS3 Base Case, which WECC considered to be steady-state modeling and simulation data, to WECC by the December 24, 2009 deadline. Statement Describing the Assessed Penalty, Sanction or Enforcement Action Imposed 3 Basis for Determination Taking into consideration the Commission s direction in Order No. 693, the NERC Sanction Guidelines and the Commission s July 3, 2008, October 26, 2009 and August 27, 2010 Guidance Orders, 4 the NERC BOTCC reviewed the NOCV and supporting documentation on January 11, The NERC BOTCC approved the NOCV and the assessment of a six thousand dollar ($6,000) financial penalty against SPPC based upon WECC s findings and determinations, the NERC BOTCC s review of the applicable requirements of the Commission-approved Reliability Standards and the underlying facts and circumstances of the violation at issue. In reaching this determination, the NERC BOTCC considered the following factors: 1. the violation constituted SPPC s first occurrence of violation of the subject NERC Reliability Standards; 5 2. SPPC self-reported the violation; 3 See 18 C.F.R 39.7(d)(4). 4 North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Guidance Order on Reliability Notices of Penalty, 124 FERC 61,015 (2008); North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Further Guidance Order on Reliability Notices of Penalty, 129 FERC 61,069 (2009); North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Notice of No Further Review and Guidance Order, 132 FERC 61,182 (2010). 5 SPPC s affiliate Nevada Power Company had a prior violation of MOD R2, but as discussed in the Disposition Document, WECC did not consider the prior violation to be an aggravating factor. SPPC s other violations and other violations for Nevada Power Company, which are not viewed as the same or similar to the instant violations, are listed in the Disposition Document.

3 NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty Sierra Pacific Power Company January 31, 2011 Page 3 3. WECC reported that SPPC was cooperative throughout the compliance enforcement process; 4. SPPC had a compliance program at the time of the violation which WECC considered a mitigating factor, as discussed in the Disposition Document; 5. there was no evidence of any attempt to conceal a violation nor evidence of intent to do so; 6. WECC determined that the violation did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the reliability of the bulk power system (BPS), as discussed in the Disposition Document; and 7. WECC reported that there were no other mitigating or aggravating factors or extenuating circumstances that would affect the assessed penalty. For the foregoing reasons, the NERC BOTCC believes that the assessed penalty of six thousand dollars ($6,000) is appropriate for the violation and circumstances at issue, and is consistent with NERC s goal to promote and ensure reliability of the bulk power system. Pursuant to 18 C.F.R. 39.7(e), the penalty will be effective upon expiration of the 30 day period following the filing of this NOP with the Commission, or, if the Commission decides to review the penalty, upon final determination by the Commission. Attachments to be included as Part of this Notice of Penalty The attachments to be included as parts of this NOP are the following documents: a) Disposition of Violation, included as Attachment a; b) SPPC s Response to the Notice of Alleged Violation and Proposed Penalty or Sanction dated July 13, 2010, included as Attachment b; c) SPPC s Self-Report dated March 12, 2010, included as Attachment c; d) SPPC s undated Mitigation Plan MIT submitted March 12, 2010, included as Attachment d; e) SPPC s Certification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated March 12, 2010, included as Attachment e; and f) WECC s Verification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated April 12, 2010, included as Attachment f. A Form of Notice Suitable for Publication 6 A copy of a notice suitable for publication is included in Attachment g. 6 See 18 C.F.R. 39.7(d)(6).

4 NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty Sierra Pacific Power Company January 31, 2011 Page 4 Notices and Communications Notices and communications with respect to this filing may be addressed to the following: Gerald W. Cauley President and Chief Executive Officer David N. Cook* Sr. Vice President and General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation Village Boulevard Princeton, NJ (609) (609) facsimile david.cook@nerc.net Mark Maher* Chief Executive Officer Western Electricity Coordinating Council 155 North 400 West, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT (360) (801) facsimile mark@wecc.biz Constance White* Vice President of Compliance Western Electricity Coordinating Council 155 North 400 West, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT (801) (801) facsimile CWhite@wecc.biz Sandy Mooy* Senior Legal Counsel Western Electricity Coordinating Council 155 North 400 West, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT (801) (801) facsimile SMooy@wecc.biz Rebecca J. Michael* Assistant General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1120 G Street, N.W. Suite 990 Washington, DC (202) (202) facsimile rebecca.michael@nerc.net Christopher Luras* Manager of Compliance Enforcement Western Electricity Coordinating Council 155 North 400 West, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT (801) (801) facsimile CLuras@wecc.biz Roberto Denis* Sr. VP Energy Delivery Sierra Pacific Power Company PO Box M/S3 Las Vegas, NV (702) (702) facsimile RDenis@nvenergy.com *Persons to be included on the Commission s service list are indicated with an asterisk. NERC requests waiver of the Commission s rules and regulations to permit the inclusion of more than two people on the service list.

5 NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty Sierra Pacific Power Company January 31, 2011 Page 5 Conclusion Accordingly, NERC respectfully requests that the Commission accept this NOP as compliant with its rules, regulations and orders. Respectfully submitted, Gerald W. Cauley President and Chief Executive Officer David N. Cook Sr. Vice President and General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation Village Boulevard Princeton, NJ (609) (609) facsimile david.cook@nerc.net /s/ Rebecca J. Michael Rebecca J. Michael Assistant General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1120 G Street, N.W. Suite 990 Washington, DC (202) (202) facsimile rebecca.michael@nerc.net cc: Sierra Pacific Power Company Western Electricity Coordinating Council Attachments

6 Attachment a Disposition of Violation

7 Attachment a DISPOSITION OF VIOLATION 1 Dated January 10, 2011 NERC TRACKING REGIONAL ENTITY TRACKING NOC# NO. NO. WECC SPPC_WECC NOC-642 REGISTERED ENTITY NERC REGISTRY ID Sierra Pacific Power Company (SPPC) NCR REGIONAL ENTITY Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) I. REGISTRATION INFORMATION ENTITY IS REGISTERED FOR THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS (BOTTOM ROW INDICATES REGISTRATION DATE): 3 BA DP GO GOP IA LSE PA PSE RC RP RSG TO TOP TP TSP X X X X X X X X X X X X 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 6/17/07 * VIOLATION APPLIES TO SHADED FUNCTIONS DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTERED ENTITY Sierra Pacific Resources was created in 1984 in the reorganization of SPPC (formed 1928). In 1999, it merged with Las Vegas based Nevada Power Company (NEVP) (NCR05261), also included on the NERC Compliance Registry as of June 17, On September 22, 2008, Nevada Power Company and SPPC began doing business as NV Energy. NV Energy generated a peak load of 7,140 MW in 2009 and has a peak generated capacity of 5,581 MW. In addition, NV Energy has 4,045 miles of transmission line with a 54,500-square-mile service territory and provides electricity to 2.4 million electric citizens throughout Nevada and in northeastern California as well as a state tourist population exceeding 40 million annually. 1 For purposes of this document and attachments hereto, each violation at issue is described as a violation, regardless of its procedural posture and whether it was a possible, alleged or confirmed violation. 2 The Mitigation Plan submitted by SPPC incorrectly lists NERC Compliance Registry ID NCR05261 which is for Nevada Power Company. 3 SPPC is subject to this Standard because it has been registered on the NERC Compliance Registry as a Transmission Owner ( TO ), Transmission Planner ( TP ), Generator Owner ( GO ), and Resource Planner ( RP ) since June 17, Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 1 of 8

8 Attachment a II. VIOLATION INFORMATION RELIABILITY REQUIREMENT(S) SUB- VRF(S) VSL(S) STANDARD REQUIREMENT(S) MOD Medium Lower 4 PURPOSE OF THE RELIABILITY STANDARD AND TEXT OF RELIABILITY STANDARD AND REQUIREMENT(S)/SUB-REQUIREMENT(S) The purpose statement of MOD provides: To establish consistent data requirements, reporting procedures, and system models to be used in the analysis of the reliability of the Interconnected Transmission Systems. MOD R2 provides: The Transmission Owners, Transmission Planners, Generator Owners, and Resource Planners (specified in the data requirements and reporting procedures of MOD-011-0_R1) shall provide this steady-state modeling and simulation data to the Regional Reliability Organizations, NERC, and those entities specified within Reliability Standard MOD-011-0_R1. [5] If no schedule exists, then these entities shall provide the data on request (30 calendar days). (Footnote added.) VIOLATION DESCRIPTION On January 14, 2010, SPPC discovered that it had not filed comments on the 2014 HS3 Base Case by the December 24, 2009 scheduled deadline published by WECC. SPPC submitted comments to WECC on January 14, 2010, the same day as the discovery. SPPC s Area Coordinator is responsible for filing base case comments. In the event that its Area Coordinator is not available (e.g., sick, vacation, etc.), then the responsibility for filing comments is delegated to the Backup Area Coordinator. In its Self-Report, SPPC stated that prior to the WECC 2014 HS3 Base Case comment deadline, the SPPC Area Coordinator transferred to a new position. As a result of miscommunications during the job transition, the responsibility for base case comment completion and submission was not delegated to the Backup Area Coordinator. As a result, the comments were not provided to WECC by the scheduled deadline and on March 12, 2010, SPPC self-reported a violation of MOD R2. 4 WECC assessed a Lower VSL because SPPC failed to provide less than or equal to 25% of the steadystate modeling and simulation data to WECC. 5 Consistent with applicable FERC precedent, the term Regional Reliability Organization in this context refers to WECC. Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 2 of 8

9 Attachment a MOD R2 required SPPC to provide steady-state modeling and simulation data to WECC to be used in the analysis of the reliability of the Interconnected Transmission Systems. The steady-state modeling and simulation data submittal requirement are inclusive of comments from the entity confirming that equipment characteristics, system data, and Interchange Schedules used in the 2014 HS3 Base Case model are accurate and reliable. Therefore, because SPPC failed to provide comments by the scheduled deadline, WECC determined that SPPC was in violation of MOD R2. RELIABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT- POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL WECC determined that the violation did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system (BPS) because SPPC s late comments to the 2014 HS3 Base Case extended WECC s final release date by only a few days. For this reason, WECC determined this violation posed a minimal risk to the BPS. IS THERE A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT YES NO WITH RESPECT TO THE VIOLATION(S), REGISTERED ENTITY NEITHER ADMITS NOR DENIES IT (SETTLEMENT ONLY) YES ADMITS TO IT YES DOES NOT CONTEST IT (INCLUDING WITHIN 30 DAYS) YES WITH RESPECT TO THE ASSESSED PENALTY OR SANCTION, REGISTERED ENTITY ACCEPTS IT/ DOES NOT CONTEST IT YES III. DISCOVERY INFORMATION METHOD OF DISCOVERY SELF-REPORT SELF-CERTIFICATION COMPLIANCE AUDIT COMPLIANCE VIOLATION INVESTIGATION SPOT CHECK COMPLAINT PERIODIC DATA SUBMITTAL EXCEPTION REPORTING DURATION DATE(S) 12/24/09 (when SPPC missed the 2014 HS3 Base Case deadline to WECC) through 1/14/10 (when SPPC provided its comments to WECC) DATE DISCOVERED BY OR REPORTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 3/12/10 Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 3 of 8

10 Attachment a IS THE VIOLATION STILL OCCURRING YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN REMEDIAL ACTION DIRECTIVE ISSUED YES NO PRE TO POST JUNE 18, 2007 VIOLATION YES NO IV. MITIGATION INFORMATION FOR FINAL ACCEPTED MITIGATION PLAN: MITIGATION PLAN NO. MIT DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 3/12/10 DATE ACCEPTED BY REGIONAL ENTITY 3/30/10 DATE APPROVED BY NERC 4/19/10 DATE PROVIDED TO FERC 4/19/10 IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN ALL PRIOR VERSIONS THAT WERE ACCEPTED OR REJECTED, IF APPLICABLE N/A MITIGATION PLAN COMPLETED YES NO EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE Submitted as complete EXTENSIONS GRANTED N/A ACTUAL COMPLETION DATE 3/10/10 DATE OF CERTIFICATION LETTER 3/12/10 CERTIFIED COMPLETE BY REGISTERED ENTITY AS OF 3/10/10 DATE OF VERIFICATION LETTER 4/12/10 VERIFIED COMPLETE BY REGIONAL ENTITY AS OF 3/10/10 ACTIONS TAKEN TO MITIGATE THE ISSUE AND PREVENT RECURRENCE SPPC made changes to its process so that on a continual basis, the Transmission Planning Manager will maintain a distribution list of approved Area Coordinators and Backup Area Coordinators for control areas. All list members are required to use filters which will bring WECC messages requiring action to their attention. Additionally, all Area Coordinators and Backup Area Coordinators are required to attend a weekly meeting to discuss and assign the completion of WECC data submissions and to discuss who will complete those tasks. Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 4 of 8

11 Attachment a LIST OF EVIDENCE REVIEWED BY REGIONAL ENTITY TO EVALUATE COMPLETION OF MITIGATION PLAN (FOR CASES IN WHICH MITIGATION IS NOT YET COMPLETED, LIST EVIDENCE REVIEWED FOR COMPLETED MILESTONES) WECC reviewed an appendix from SPPC which included examples of Base Case meeting agendas, the distribution list of approved Area Coordinators and Backup Area Coordinators for control areas, and the filter applied to the incoming s from WECC. V. PENALTY INFORMATION TOTAL ASSESSED PENALTY OR SANCTION OF $6,000 FOR ONE VIOLATION OF RELIABILITY STANDARDS. (1) REGISTERED ENTITY S COMPLIANCE HISTORY PREVIOUSLY FILED VIOLATIONS OF ANY OF THE INSTANT RELIABILITY STANDARD(S) OR REQUIREMENT(S) THEREUNDER YES NO LIST VIOLATIONS AND STATUS ADDITIONAL COMMENTS NEVP, an affiliate of SPPC, has a prior violation of MOD R2 that was part of a Settlement Agreement (NOC-222) filed with FERC under NP on March 1, On March 31, 2010, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty. WECC did not consider this prior violation of NEVP to be an aggravating factor for SPPC s MOD-010 violation. WECC determined that SPPC s violation occurred as a result of the same staff that handled and was responsible for NEVP s violation, but that NEVP s first violation included fewer mitigating factors and an additional aggravating factor. Also, WECC did not apply credit for a first time violation in determining the penalty for SPPC. PREVIOUSLY FILED VIOLATIONS OF OTHER RELIABILITY STANDARD(S) OR REQUIREMENTS THEREUNDER YES NO LIST VIOLATIONS AND STATUS On October 14, 2009, NERC submitted an Omnibus filing under NP which addressed violations for certain registered entities Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 5 of 8

12 Attachment a including violations of PRC R2 for SPPC. On November 13, 2009, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the violations addressed in the Omnibus Notice of Penalty. WECC determined that this prior violation should not serve as a basis for aggravating the penalty because it involved a standard that is not the same or similar to the instant standard. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS The abovementioned Settlement Agreement for Nevada Power Company s violation of MOD R2 also included violations of EOP R1, FAC R1, PRC R2, TPL R1, TPL R1, TPL R1, TPL R1 and TLP R2 (NOC- 222) which was filed with FERC on March 1, On March 31, 2010, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty. WECC did not consider Nevada Power Company s violations as an aggravating factor when assessing the penalty in the May 27, 2010 NAVAPS for SPPC s MOD-010 violation. Nevada Power Company violated the listed Standards early in the mandatory compliance period; these violations did not relate to submitting modeling data to Nevada Power Company s Regional Reliability Organization. (2) THE DEGREE AND QUALITY OF COOPERATION BY THE REGISTERED ENTITY (IF THE RESPONSE TO FULL COOPERATION IS NO, THE ABBREVIATED NOP FORM MAY NOT BE USED.) FULL COOPERATION YES NO IF NO, EXPLAIN (3) THE PRESENCE AND QUALITY OF THE REGISTERED ENTITY S COMPLIANCE PROGRAM IS THERE A DOCUMENTED COMPLIANCE PROGRAM YES NO UNDETERMINED EXPLAIN The WECC Audit Team reviewed SPPC s Internal Compliance Program (ICP) on September 17, 2009 and WECC considered it a mitigating factor in determining the penalty amount. SPPC has a fully documented ICP that has been reviewed and approved by the General Counsel who also serves as its Chief Compliance Officer. SPPC s oversight position is identified and staffed, is supervised at a high level within the company and has direct access to the CEO and Board of Directors. SPPC operates and manages the ICP Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 6 of 8

13 Attachment a independently from personnel responsible for compliance with the Reliability Standards. The ICP has sufficient staff and an adequate budget. SPPC senior management support and participate in the ICP. SPPC s ICP has a semi-annual or shorter review cycle. EXPLAIN SENIOR MANAGEMENT S ROLE AND INVOLVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE REGISTERED ENTITY S COMPLIANCE PROGRAM, INCLUDING WHETHER SENIOR MANAGEMENT TAKES ACTIONS THAT SUPPORT THE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM, SUCH AS TRAINING, COMPLIANCE AS A FACTOR IN EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS, OR OTHERWISE. SPPC senior management support and participate in the ICP. (4) ANY ATTEMPT BY THE REGISTERED ENTITY TO CONCEAL THE VIOLATION(S) OR INFORMATION NEEDED TO REVIEW, EVALUATE OR INVESTIGATE THE VIOLATION. YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (5) ANY EVIDENCE THE VIOLATION(S) WERE INTENTIONAL (IF THE RESPONSE IS YES, THE ABBREVIATED NOP FORM MAY NOT BE USED.) YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (6) ANY OTHER MITIGATING FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (7) ANY OTHER AGGRAVATING FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (8) ANY OTHER EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 7 of 8

14 Attachment a EXHIBITS: SOURCE DOCUMENT SPPC s Self-Report dated March 12, 2010 MITIGATION PLAN SPPC s Undated Mitigation Plan MIT submitted March 12, 2010 CERTIFICATION BY REGISTERED ENTITY SPPC s Certification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated March 12, 2010 VERIFICATION BY REGIONAL ENTITY WECC s Verification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated April 12, 2010 OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION: NOTICE OF ALLEGED VIOLATION AND PROPOSED PENALTY OR SANCTION ISSUED DATE: 5/27/10 OR N/A SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS COMMENCED DATE: OR N/A NOTICE OF CONFIRMED VIOLATION ISSUED DATE: 8/4/10 OR N/A SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD INFORMATION DATE(S) OR N/A REGISTERED ENTITY RESPONSE CONTESTED FINDINGS PENALTY BOTH DID NOT CONTEST HEARING REQUESTED YES NO DATE OUTCOME APPEAL REQUESTED Sierra Pacific Power Company Page 8 of 8

15 Attachment b SPPC s Response to the Notice of Alleged Violation and Proposed Penalty or Sanction dated July 13, 2010

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27 Attachment c SPPC s Self-Report dated March 12, 2010

28 For Public Release - January 31, 2011

29 For Public Release - January 31, 2011

30 Attachment d SPPC s undated Mitigation Plan MIT submitted March 12, 2010

31 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - JANUARY 31, 2011

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41 Attachment e SPPC s Certification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated March 12, 2010

42 For Public Release - January 31, 2011

43 For Public Release - January 31, 2011 Attachment f WECC s Verification of Mitigation Plan Completion dated April 12, 2010

44 VIA COMPLIANCE WEB PORTAL April 12, 2010 Rich Salgo Director, Electric System Control Operations Sierra Pacific Power Company PO Box Reno, Nevada NERC Registration ID: NCR05390 NERC Violation ID: WECC Subject: Notice of Mitigation Plan and Completed Mitigation Plan Acceptance Reliability Standard MOD Requirement 2 Dear Rich, CONFIDENTIAL The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) has received the Mitigation Plan and the Certification of Completion and supporting evidence submitted by Sierra Pacific Power Company (SPPC) on 3/12/2010 for the alleged violation of Reliability Standard MOD Requirement 2. WECC has accepted the Mitigation Plan and the Certification of Completion for Requirement 2 of the Reliability Standard MOD and has found this requirement to be fully mitigated. No further mitigation of this requirement will be required at this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jay Loock at jay@wecc.biz. Thank you for your assistance in this effort. Sincerely, For Public Release - January 31, 2011 Laura Scholl Managing Director of Compliance lscholl@wecc.biz Laura Scholl Managing Director of Compliance LS:rh cc: Brian Pauling, SPPC Director, FERC Compliance John McGhee, WECC Director of Audits and Investigations Chris Luras, WECC Manager of Compliance Enforcement Jay Loock, WECC Senior Compliance Engineer W E S T E R N E L E C T R I C I T Y C O O R D I N A T I N G C O U N C I L W W W. W E C C. B I Z 615 ARAPEEN DRIVE SUITE 210 SALT LAKE CITY UTAH PH FX

45 Attachment g Notice of Filing

46 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Sierra Pacific Power Company Docket No. NP NOTICE OF FILING January 31, 2011 Take notice that on January 31, 2011, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) filed a Notice of Penalty regarding Sierra Pacific Power Company in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council region. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission s Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR , ). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the efiling link at Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C This filing is accessible on-line at using the elibrary link and is available for review in the Commission s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. There is an esubscription link on the web site that enables subscribers to receive notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call (866) (toll free). For TTY, call (202) Comment Date: [BLANK] Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary