Western Electricity Coordinating Council

The Western Electricity Coordinating Council, commonly known as WECC, is the regional reliability organization for the Western Interconnection, the large interconnected electricity system spanning much of western North America. Its geographic area includes the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the northern part of Baja California in Mexico, and all or portions of 14 western U.S. states. The region covers nearly 1.8 million square miles, making WECC geographically the largest and one of the most diverse of the six regional entities operating under the North American Electric Reliability Corporation framework. WECC's central purpose is to support the reliability of the Bulk Electric System, or BES, across the Western Interconnection. It does not function as a conventional electricity retailer, utility, generator, or transmission owner. Instead, it provides a framework in which utilities, balancing authorities, transmission operators, generators, resource owners, and other qualified participants coordinate planning and operations. Its work includes supporting reliability assessments, coordinating high-voltage intertie paths, facilitating information exchange, and contributing to the development, monitoring, and enforcement of reliability requirements. The organization traces its origins to 1967, when 40 power systems formed the Western Systems Coordinating Council, or WSCC. The original coordinating body was created to improve cooperation and reliability among the power systems operating in the western region. In 2002, WSCC became WECC following the merger of three regional transmission associations. This reorganization broadened the institution's role and established the name under which it operates today. A further institutional change came in 2007, when WECC was designated the Regional Entity for the Western Interconnection. Under that arrangement, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation delegated regional authority to WECC, subject to the wider reliability framework overseen by NERC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. WECC consequently became responsible for regional implementation of specified reliability functions, including compliance monitoring and enforcement, while continuing to support coordinated planning and operations. WECC membership is open to entities that satisfy the qualifications established in its bylaws. The organization describes its processes as emphasizing transparency and open participation in meetings and related activities. Its work is particularly important because the Western Interconnection contains a wide variety of system conditions, market structures, jurisdictions, generation resources, transmission paths, and operating environments. WECC's role is to provide common regional coordination without replacing the operational responsibilities of individual system owners and operators. In its present form, WECC supports reliability coordinators and resource owners and operators throughout the Western Interconnection. Its responsibilities include regional coordination, reliability analysis, compliance-related activity, and assistance with the planning and operation of high-voltage interconnections. The organization is therefore best understood as an independent electricity-system reliability and coordination institution rather than a consumer-facing commercial brand.

WECC's history begins with the growth of interconnected electric systems in the western part of North America. In 1967, 40 power systems established the Western Systems Coordinating Council, or WSCC, to provide a common forum for coordinating the operation and reliability of the region's interconnected power network. The council's formation reflected the need for cooperation across utility and jurisdictional boundaries as electricity systems became more dependent on interconnected transmission paths. For its early decades, WSCC served as a coordinating institution for the western systems participating in the Western Interconnection. Its role centered on cooperation among power-system organizations, including the coordination of planning and operating practices. The Western Interconnection developed as a large and diverse network extending across the western United States, western Canada, and part of northern Mexico. Its size and diversity created a continuing need for regional technical coordination, particularly where power transfers crossed organizational or national boundaries. In 2002, the organization changed its name and institutional form. WSCC became the Western Electricity Coordinating Council when three regional transmission associations merged. The merger created the organization known as WECC and expanded the regional framework through which planning, operational coordination, and reliability activities could be conducted. The new organization retained the historic Western Interconnection focus while adopting a broader regional identity. The North American electricity-reliability framework changed significantly in the following years. In 2007, WECC was designated the Regional Entity for the Western Interconnection. The designation followed the delegation by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation of certain authority that NERC had received from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As a Regional Entity, WECC assumed defined responsibilities for creating, monitoring, and enforcing applicable reliability requirements within its region. This role complemented rather than replaced the operational responsibilities of utilities, balancing authorities, transmission operators, generators, and other system participants. WECC's regional territory encompasses Alberta and British Columbia, the northern portion of Baja California, and all or parts of 14 western U.S. states. The area covers approximately 1.8 million square miles, making it the largest geographically of NERC's six regional entities. It is also structurally diverse, containing multiple jurisdictions, resource mixes, system operators, and transmission arrangements. This diversity has shaped WECC's continuing emphasis on coordination, common reliability processes, technical assessment, and participation by affected entities. Membership is available to entities that meet the qualifications in WECC's bylaws. The organization has presented transparency and open participation as principles for its meetings and processes. Its activities support reliability coordinators and resource owners and operators across the Western Interconnection. Among its functions are coordinating high-voltage intertie paths, supporting the development of reliability standards, coordinating planning and operating activities, and conducting compliance-related work. WECC's institutional history therefore represents a progression from a voluntary coordinating council formed in 1967, through the 2002 consolidation and renaming, to its formal regional-entity role beginning in 2007. Its continuing identity is tied to the reliability of the Western Interconnection and to cooperation among the organizations that plan, operate, own, and regulate the region's bulk electric system.

• 2007

  Designation as the Western Interconnection Regional Entity

  [1]Western Electricity Coordinating Councilen.wikipedia.org

  WECC was designated the Regional Entity for the Western Interconnection and received delegated reliability responsibilities within the NERC and FERC framework.

• 2002

  WSCC becomes WECC

  [1]Western Electricity Coordinating Councilen.wikipedia.org

  The Western Systems Coordinating Council became the Western Electricity Coordinating Council after three regional transmission associations merged.

• 1967

  Formation as Western Systems Coordinating Council

  [1]Western Electricity Coordinating Councilen.wikipedia.org

  Forty power systems formed the Western Systems Coordinating Council to coordinate reliability and related activities across the western North American power system.

An independent, region-wide reliability and coordination organization serving the Western Interconnection rather than a power utility, electricity retailer, or equipment manufacturer.

• Electricity grid reliability

  Regional reliability coordination

  WECC provides the regional framework for coordinating Bulk Electric System reliability across the Western Interconnection. This involves cooperation among reliability coordinators, resource owners, operators, and other qualified participants across multiple jurisdictions and interconnected transmission systems.

• Regulatory and compliance coordination · 2007

  Reliability standards and compliance services

  As the Regional Entity for the Western Interconnection, WECC supports the regional development, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of applicable electricity-reliability requirements under authority delegated through the North American Electric Reliability Corporation framework.

• Power-system planning

  Planning and operating coordination

  WECC provides a forum and processes for coordinating the planning and operation of participating systems. Its activities help system participants address reliability issues associated with regional transfers, interconnected facilities, and the diverse operating conditions of the Western Interconnection.

• 2002

  Merger and transition from WSCC to WECCM&A

  Background

  Three regional transmission associations merged in the context of reorganizing regional electricity coordination in the West.

  Action taken

  The Western Systems Coordinating Council adopted the Western Electricity Coordinating Council identity and continued its regional reliability and coordination work under the new organization.

  Aftermath

  The merger created the organization that later served as the Regional Entity for the Western Interconnection.

  Source

1. 1Western Electricity Coordinating Councilen.wikipedia.org