COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Six energy
companies Friday officially launched Grid Assurance™, an
independent company providing transmission sparing solutions for
critical electric transmission equipment.
Michael Deggendorf, senior vice
president, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), was named
Grid Assurance™ CEO and will oversee the formation and operations
of the company. At KCP&L, Deggendorf has led
FERC-regulated transmission business efforts, Transource and the
development of Grid Assurance™.
Grid Assurance™ was founded by affiliates of American Electric
Power (NYSE:AEP), Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Duke Energy
(NYSE:DUK), Edison International (NYSE:EIX), Eversource Energy
(NYSE:ES) and Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) to enhance grid
resiliency and give electric transmission owners faster access to
long-lead time critical equipment necessary to recover from
catastrophic events that could impact the nation's electric
grid.
Several energy companies signed a memorandum of understanding to
pursue development of Grid Assurance™ in June 2015. The companies sought and secured
regulatory assurances from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
for the structure and other components of Grid Assurance™ before
officially launching the company.
"Grid Assurance™ is an industry-led, proactive response to the
numerous potential risks facing our nation's transmission system
including severe weather and catastrophic events like earthquakes
or physical and cyberattacks," Deggendorf said. "By maintaining a
readily available supply of critical equipment necessary to restore
power delivery if the transmission system is severely damaged, Grid
Assurance™ will help protect consumers and communities from the
devastating impacts that delays in restoring electricity can have
on quality of life and the nation's economy."
Deggendorf will bring on key management team members in the
coming weeks. Marketing to and accepting subscribers will begin
immediately, followed by ordering critical transmission sparing
equipment based on secured subscriptions. A headquarters location
for Grid Assurance™ will be determined in the coming months.
Restoring critical elements of the transmission system can be
delayed by extended lead times required to design, build and
deliver some replacement equipment including large transformers,
circuit breakers and other specialized components of the system.
Some transformers can take up to 18 to 24 months to build and
deliver.
Grid Assurance™ will provide a readily available inventory of
equipment at secure, strategically located warehouses in
the United States and also will
offer logistics support to facilitate expedited delivery of that
equipment to affected sites following a qualifying event.
Subscription to inventory and services will be open to all
transmission owners. Qualifying events can include physical
attacks, cyberattacks, electromagnetic pulses, catastrophic events,
solar storms, earthquakes and severe weather events.
"Due to the benefits of inventory pooling, diversification and
improved logistics, Grid Assurance™ is a more cost-effective,
efficient way for transmission owners to prepare for high-impact,
low-frequency events that could severely damage the transmission
system, and there has been considerable interest from potential
subscribers. It would be significantly more expensive for every
transmission owning entity to independently procure and securely
house the spare equipment necessary for recovery from rare, but
potentially catastrophic events like earthquakes or a coordinated
physical or cyberattack," Deggendorf said.
Grid Assurance™ services are intended to complement existing
sparing programs at individual energy companies and established
industry solutions. Federal agencies and policymakers have
identified enhancing transmission system resiliency as a priority
and critical to ensuring the viability of the nation's electric
system. Grid Assurance™ is working with industry experts and
government agencies to ensure that Grid Assurance™ is aligned with
the federal government's efforts to secure the transmission grid.
Subscription to Grid Assurance™ will serve as a permissible element
of compliance with the resiliency requirements of the North
American Electric Reliability Corporation.
About Grid Assurance™:
Affiliates of American
Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Duke Energy
(NYSE:DUK), Edison International (NYSE:EIX), Eversource Energy
(NYSE:ES) and Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) are founding member
companies of Grid Assurance™ , a limited liability company that
offers cost-effective solutions for enhancing transmission system
grid resiliency and faster access to critical transmission
equipment following a catastrophic event. Additional information is
available at GridAssurance.com.
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SOURCE American Electric Power