NERC Test Bank Flashcards
The reliability Coordinator may initiate a conference call under which of the following conditions?
Anytime they want
Data required for the calculation of ACE is acquired on which of the following time intervals?
6s
All of the following are reasons to notify other systems through predetermined communication
paths EXCEPT:
a. Insufficient resources
b. Lack of single contingency coverage
c. Loss of 10 MW load
d. Sabotage incident
Loss of 10MW Load
EOP-4-4:
Uncontrolled loss of firm load for ≥ 15 minutes from a
single incident:
≥ 300 MW for entities with previous year’s peak
demand ≥ 3,000 MW
OR
≥ 200 MW for all other entitie
NERC event reporting requires a report for events or occurrences which result in a loss of generation in the amount greater than ______ outside of ERCOT?
a. 100 MW
b. 300 MW
c. 2,000 MW
d. 1,000 MW
EOP-004-4:
Total generation loss, within one minute, of:
≥ 2,000 MW in the Eastern, Western, or Quebec Interconnection
OR
≥ 1,400 MW in the ERCOT Interconnection
You are a transmission operator and provide the following operating instructions to a switchman in the field. “I want you to open breaker 33A.” The switchman responds with, “I understand that you want me to open breaker 33A.” What would then be your appropriate response?
That is Correct
All of the reasons listed below are reasons to notify other affected entities through
predetermined communication paths EXCEPT ______?
a. Insufficient resources
b. Emergency actions for inability to purchase capacity
c. Market implications
d. Lack of single contingency coverage
c
Each Balancing Authority and Generator Operator shall comply with the instructions issued by the Transmission Operator, unless such actions would violate all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Safety requirements
b. Equipment requirements
c. Market requirements
d. Regulatory requirements
c
If a transmission operator expects an emergency condition, it shall inform ____.
a. Its Reliability Coordinator and any other potentially affected Transmission Operators.
b. Its Balancing Authority and Load Serving Entity
c. Its Generator Operator and Balancing Authority
d. Its Purchase Selling Entity and Interchange Authority
a
All generation, transmission, and load operating within an Interconnection must be included within
the Metered Boundaries of a/an _______?
a. TO
b. ISO
c. Market Participant
d. Balancing Authority Area
d
(# = Blank Space. Sorry, had to use due to their auto formatting)
G1-0MW————|–Line 1—–100MW———–|
############|—Line 2—–50MW———-|
##Gen2-100MW-|—Line 3——50MW———|
G1 goes up to 100MW, what is MW on line 3?
150MW
Ratios stay the same. Line 1 gets 50%, Line 2 and 3 get 25% each.
You are operating as a Transmission Operator and you identify in your EMS that a value from SCADA is indicating 0 MVA, but the State Estimator value is 75 MVA. Which of the following actions should you take?
a. Remove the line from service immediately
b. Investigate the cause for the bad SCADA value
c. Identify why the line tripped
d. Request your EMS support group to restart the State Estimator
B. Investigate first, then maybe take action
If an IROL violation requires the adjustment of interchange transactions, which of the following actions should the Reliability Coordinator direct the Transmission Operators and Balancing Authorities to take until the transaction curtailments take place?
- Raise the limits
- Re-dispatch generation
- Shed load
- Switch transmission facilities
a. 1, 3, and 4
b. 1 and 4 only
c. 1, 2 and 3
d. 2, 3, and 4
D. 2,3,4
IRO-009-2 R1 / R2
For each IROL (in its Reliability Coordinator Area) that the Reliability Coordinator identifies the Reliability Coordinator shall
have and implement procedures that specify actions the Reliability Coordinator shall take or actions the RC will direct others to take (up to and including load shedding)
If a system operator is required to control its transmission facilities on a pre-contingency basis, which of the following actions would be appropriate if a system study indicated a potential emergency limit violation?
a. Reduce system frequency in order to reduce system load
b. Request an EEA 3 from the Reliability Coordinator
c. Reduce all interchange transactions to 0 regardless of their impact on the violation
d. Shift generation to eliminate the concern
D. Shifting generation around does not affect interchange if done in coordination
A - would only create inadvertent interchange and potentially violate frequency limits
B - EEA’s are for a BA and deal with generation deficiencies
C - this is just a dumb extra answer so I’m not going to explain it
Which of the following would result if there was a bad State Estimator solution?
a. The system would be on the verge of voltage collapse
b. EMS would be bogged down
c. The calculation of ATC would be wrong
d. Contingency Analysis program would produce incorrect results
D. This is what the estimator is used for
a- state estimator doesn’t actually control anything
b ?
c. Available Transfer Capacity would be based on real-time data. Not an estimator program
According to the NERC glossary, a constrained facility is defined as a transmission facility that is approaching, is at, or is beyond its:
a. Available transfer capability
b. Economic operating point
c. SOL or IROL
d. Normal voltage parameters
C.
A transmission facility (line, transformer, breaker, etc.) that is approaching, is at, or is beyond its System Operating Limit or Interconnection Reliability Operating Limit
Your system configuration presents you with a situation of having two parallel lines between two stations. The lines have different ratings. Line A has a rating of 250 MVA, while line B has a rating of 200 MVA. Based on the line ratings, what is the first contingency transfer capability between
the two stations?
a. 250 MVA
b. 450 MVA
c. 50 MVA
d. 200 MVA
D. Use the lowest limit
Which of the following defines the acceptable operating boundaries for the transmission system?
a. CPS 1&2
b. DCS
c. INLs
d. SOLs
d
Line A-B is overloaded with the flow going from Station A to Station B. The Reliability Coordinator has directed you to shed 20 MW of load to alleviate the overload. Which of the following is the best option to implement the directive?
a. Shed 0 MW at Station A and 20 MW at Station B
b. Shed 0 MW at Station A and 10 MW at Station B
c. Shed 10 MW at Station A and 10 MW at Station B
d. Shed 20 MW at Station A and 0 MW at Station B
A. Line AB is sending the MW FROM A to B. Shedding the load upstream of the line at station A will accomplish nothing because that will not decrease the downstream loading.
All flows are going from left to right
Line 1 >——->|—>—->Line 3
Line 2 >——->|—->—>Line 4
Gen 1 >——->|—–>–>Line 5
What happens if line 4 trips out of service?
a. The flow on Line 3 and Line 5 would increase
b. The flow on line 3 would increase and the flow on line 5 would decrease
c. Generator 1 would reduce its output
d. The flow on Line 2 would increase
A. If a line in parallel with another trips off, all parallel lines would pick up the load.
The Reliability Coordinator may use local transmission loading relief procedures if which of the following entities is experiencing a potential or actual SOL or IROL violation?
a. Reserve Sharing Group
b. Generator Operator
c. Transmission Operator
d. Balancing Authority
C.
LOCAL TLR so that does not mean the RSG. so not A
Gen Operators and BA’s do not actually own/operate any transmission lines so they don’t need them relieved. so not B or D
If a Transmission Operator is experiencing a SOL or IROL violation, how long does the entity have to correct the problem?
a. 30 minutes
b. 60 minutes
c. 10 minutes
d. None of these are correct
D
TOP-001-5 R12. Each Transmission Operator shall not operate outside any identified Interconnection Reliability Operating Limit (IROL) for a continuous duration exceeding its associated IROL Tv
TOP-001-5 R14. Has no time requirement for SOL violation
While performing a pre-outage study, you identify that the transmission outage will cause a thermal violation on a parallel path, which of the following actions would be the first one that you would implement?
a. Reschedule the outage if possible
b. Allow the outage to take place as long as no load is lost
c. Shed load to mitigate the concern
d. Allow the outage to occur and see what happens
A. Each Transmission Operator shall act to maintain the reliability of its Transmission Operator Area via its own actions or by issuing Operating Instructions.
C. Shedding load is the LAST option not the first
Which of the following would be a result of State Estimator failing to solve?
a. SCADA would stop working
b. All system tie-lines would trip
c. 10% of the load would have to shed
d. RTCA results would be flawed
D. Contingency analysis uses the model. Not scada/ controls / load shedding
By RTCA they mean Real Time Contingency Analysis
Which of the following actions should the system operator implement first if transmission line limits exceed the facilities emergency limits based on a contingency that has not yet occurred?
a. Curtail any interchange transactions that are curtailable
b. Only implement actions if the contingency occurs
c. Reduce voltages in the area of the violation
d. Remove the facility from service
A. TOP-001-5 R14. Each Transmission Operator shall initiate its Operating Plan to mitigate a SOL exceedance identified as part of its Real‐time monitoring or Real‐time Assessment
b-assessments are what gives us contingency analysis, so we act on those and dont wait for it to happen
c- generally transmission line contingencies are not voltage related
d. removing working facilities would decrease system reliability
If Line A has a flow of 500 MW and Line B had a LODF of .25 for the loss of line A. How much load would shift to line B if line A trips off?
a. 250 MW
b. 500 MW
c. 50 MW
d. 125 MW
d. 500 * .25 = 125
What is the major role of the EMS State Estimator?
a. Calculates SE values based on the telemetered data and system model
b. Establishes the values that the system operator must operate within
c. Identifies the contingencies that exist on the power system
d. Estimates the system load that is anticipated at the peak of the day
A. the stat estimator fills in values for things we don’t actually have metering for. This feeds into C. for contingency analysis, but that is actually done by other algorithms
If a reliability coordinator identifies that there is a potential transmission related problem within the area, who should they notify?
a. Other Reliability Coordinators in the Interconnection
b. Generation Operators in the area of the potential problem
c. All Purchasing Selling Entities
d. Marketers in the area
A is the only acceptable answer here. RC should also inform the TO for his area as well.
The next day analysis performed by the RC shall ensure that _____.
a. All interchange is scheduled
b. The load forecast is within 5% of actual
c. The bulk power system can be operated in anticipated normal contingency conditions
d. All unavailable generation and transmission made available
C. The ‘Reliability Coordinator’ is concerned about reliability
If a SOL or IROL violation occurs due to transfers across the system and it is determined that parallel flows are contributing to the violation, what should the system operator do?
a. Inform the Reliability Coordinator
b. Dump firm load
c. Place all system capacitors in service
d. Reduce system load
A. key word here is ‘parallel flows ACROSS the system’. shedding load wont do anything for something going all the way across, likely to another RC or BA.
The Contingency Analysis program identifies that there is a contingency on the system and provides a list of mitigating actions, what should the system operator do?
a. Request the operations support group to restart the EMS
b. Cancel all clearances across the system
c. Implement the actions immediately
d. Verify the Contingency analysis results before implementing actions
d. verify before taking action. Contingency does not equal emergency
The State Estimator provides calculated values that are then utilized by which of the following
System Operator’s tools?
a. Load forecasting system
b. Contingency analysis
c. RCIS
d. OASIS
b
Upon completion of their day-ahead studies, the reliability coordinator identifies potential problems on the transmission system during the day’s operation, which of the following should
the Reliability Coordinator notify?
a. Regional Reliability Organization
b. NERC
c. RCs in the Interconnection
d. Department of Energy
C
A doesnt exist. B doesn’t care D really doesn’t care
When contingency analysis is run and results indicate that a potential problem exists, these results should be made available to which of the following?
a. All PSEs in the area
b. All PSEs and LSEs
c. Planning Group
d. System Operators
D
NERC says that system operators should be provided notification of potential issues.
A and B were deleted from NERC. No such thing as a planning group in NERC
Which of the following systems was put in place to provide Reliability Coordinators with a mechanism to handle energy deficiencies?
a. Energy Emergency Alerts
b. Maximum Generation Alerts
c. NERC Threat Cons
d. DOE Reporting Requirements
A. EEA level 0-3
Each operating authority should periodically practice ____.
a. Simulated emergencies
b. Real-time abnormal operating conditions
c. Real-time restorations
d. RRO load shedding
A. simulations are safer than b and c
Igneous rock formations would tend to be the areas where equipment would be most impacted as a result of which of the following?
a. Geo-magnetic Disturbances
b. Low Voltage Events
c. Severe Thunder Storms
d. Load/generation Imbalance
A. The rocks provide a path for current flow in the crust
Which of the following information would be required to be submitted to the Reliability Coordinator for completion of system studies?
a. Load, cost projections, generation
b. Load, generation, reserve projections
c. Load, generation, projected system cost
d. Reserve costs, critical facility status, load
B. Even without knowing any of this just look how all the other answers say something about cost. RC does RELIABILITY not cost.
Who is responsible to disseminate GMD information?
a. Reliability coordinators
b. Balancing Authorities
c. Regional Reliability Organization
d. Transmission Operators
a
Each Balancing Authority and transmission operator shall coordinate (where confidentiality agreements allow) its current-day, next-day, and seasonal planning and operations with neighboring Balancing Authorities and Transmission Operators and with its _____.
a. Generator Operator
b. Reliability Coordinator
c. Market Participator
d. Transmission Service Provider
b
If a Balancing Authority has identified that it will have insufficient reserves due to high loads and unexpected generation outages and they have been unable to obtain any assistance from their neighbors, what should the Balancing Authority do next?
a. Seek assistance from the Reliability Coordinator
b. Request the LSE to shed load
c. Ask the Transmission operator to reduce generator MVAR output
d. Notify NERC that compliance to DCS could be impacted
A. send up an EEA
If a Balancing Authority operator identifies that the generation resources cannot meet the estimated load forecast, what should they do?
a. Lower the load estimate
b. Curtail system purchases
c. Recalculate ATC
d. Notify the Reliability Coordinator
D.
A would be fraud, B would decrease generation, C doing a math problem twice doesn’t change the answer, even if available transfer capacity would change anything
If a Balancing Authority is experiencing a capacity deficiency and has no additional generation to bring on-line, which of the following actions should be considered first?
a. Schedule emergency power regardless of cost
b. Open all transmission facilities in the heavy load areas
c. Contact all LSEs to shed firm load
d. Request a system voltage reduction
A. Buy more capacity from someone else
B. C. shedding load is LAST
D. Voltage has nothing to do with load
It is important for system operators to monitor parameters of the electric system such as MW flows, voltages, and frequencies. This is needed to indicate:
a. Strength of the electric system
b. Their tie-line transfer capability
c. Time error
d. ACE deviations
A. K. A. reliability
Which of the following is the organization that issues Geo-Magnetic activity alerts?
a. NOAA
b. Local RRO
c. FERC
d. NERC
A
In order to be compliant with NERC standard, what is the maximum time that it can take a Transmission Operator to evacuate their primary control center and get to their backup control center?
a. 30 minutes
b. 1 hour
c. 2 hours
d. 4 hours
C
E-008-2 R 1.5
If a system operator makes the determination that reliable operations cannot be maintained operating from the primary control center, the System Operator should do which of the
following?
a. Wait to receive direction from the Operations Manager
b. Turn the operation over to the Reliability Coordinator
c. Initiate evacuation to the backup control facility
d. Call in additional personnel
C. do your job, don’t be a wuss
If a transmission operator has lost functionality of their EMS, what actions should the System Operator take?
a. Wait until the functionality is restored regardless of how long it takes
b. Request building services to swap over to the control center back up power supply
c. Swap over to backup server or evacuate to backup control center
d. Inform operations management and let them decide what to do
C. Do your job
If a System Operator has lost monitoring capability in their control center, how long do they have before it must be reported to NERC and the DOE?
a. 15 minutes
b. 30 minutes
c. 60 minutes
d. 6 months
B
A transmission line between Bus A and Bus B has MW flow from Bus B to Bus A. After tripping of a parallel line, the line flow from Bus B to Bus A exceeds the lines thermal rating. Which of the following actions would assist the operator in correcting the problem?
a. Decrease generation at Bus A
b. Increase Generation at Bus A
c. Increase generation at Bus B
d. Shed load at Bus B
B.
B is powering A, so if A generates its own power the flow from B to A will go down
Which of the following situations would be an appropriate reason to manually shed load?
a. High system transfers
b. Regulating reserve deficiency
c. Provide emergency assistance to external parties
d. Continuous drop in frequency
D. If frequency cannot be arrested then there is too much load that is bogging down your generators. They do not have enough power to keep pushing that much current which causes them to slow down like a semi-truck going uphill. Getting rid of the excess load would speed them back up, like a semi-truck that has crested the hill.
Z —–100MW—>|–Line 1—–??MW————>|
############|—Line 2—–??MW———–>|——->
Gen2–100MW–>|—Line 3——??MW———->|
Line 1 has a DF of .4, Line 2 has a DF of .3, and line 3 has a DF of .3. What would be the flow on line 3?
B. 200*.3=60
When a transmission operator enters into an unknown operating state, how long do they have to return their system to a known state?
a. 10 minutes
b. 15 minutes
c. 30 minutes
d. 60 minutes
C
Returning system frequency to normal following a disturbance is the responsibility of the _____.
a. Reliability coordinator
b. Contingent Balancing Authority
c. All Balancing Authorities in the Interconnection
d. Regional monitor
B.
This is what the frequency bias is for in ACE. External entities will pick up load to make ACE = 0 proportional to their size to stabilize frequency. Deficient BA needs to get generation back to take their load back and get frequency back to 60.
Your system has experienced a system shutdown and you are in the process of restoring your system. A generator in a particular area of your system is pushing MVAR out to the system. As you restore another transmission line in the same area, without restoring any additional load, what would be the expected impact on the generator during the line restoration?
a. MW output would increase
b. MVAR output would decrease
c. MW and MVAR output would remain unchanged
d. MVAR output would increase to maximum
B.
The open ended line will act as a capacitor due to line to ground insulation being capacitive
Which of the following must each Transmission Operator ensure the availability and location of within its area to meet the needs of the restoration plan?
a. Reactive reserves
b. Sufficient generation
c. Black start capability
d. Transmission paths
C
Black start capabilities should be verified by _____.
a. Simulation
b. Whenever practicable
c. Periodic testing
d. As required by the reliability coordinator
C. Tested periodically by generator owner, notification of results to TO within 30 days. Should be started and placed on a bus, if possible.
According to NERC Standards, the Transmission Operator’s system restoration plan shall be approved by _______.
a. NERC
b. Its Reliability Coordinator
c. RRO
d. Neighboring Transmission Operator
B. RC then coordinates all plans with everyone in area
If a system is experiencing a capacity deficiency, generation and transmission facilities shall be used to the fullest extent practicable to promptly restore the system to normal frequency and voltage and return ACE to acceptable performance. This is done by all of the following EXCEPT:
a. Scheduling assistance
b. Load reduction programs
c. Using up operating reserves
d. Reducing generation output
D. Gen output going down would decrease capacity
A reliability coordinator will notify other reliability coordinators within his interconnection any time a balancing authority within its reliability coordinator area is experiencing an Energy Emergency at what level of EEA:
a. Energy emergency Alert Level 1
b. Energy emergency Alert Level 2
c. Energy emergency Alert Level 3
d. Energy emergency Alert Level 4
B. At level 2 the RC will alert everyone and post the EEA alert on RCIS to notify all RCs at the BA’s request.
What is the initial response to a drop in frequency due to the loss of a 1,000 MW generator?
a. System inertia
b. Operator intervention
c. AGC
d. Load dump
A. The inertia of the generators already spinning is going to arrest frequency slightly
Dry steam plants, flash steam plants, and binary-cycle power plants are the three main types of
what kind of generating plant?
a. Nuclear generators
b. Combustion turbine generators
c. Hydroelectric generators
d. Geothermal generators
D
When a time error correction is implemented, the scheduled system frequency is off-set by how
many Hz?
a) .02
b) .05
c) .2
d) .01
A
If a system frequency drops but remains above the underfrequency relay settings, what would be the impact on system load?
a. Load would also drop
b. Load would probably increase
c. Load would oscillate
d. There is no impact
A.
Frequency down => Motor speed down => Motor load down
Which one of the following is a function of excitation control systems?
a. Adjust the fuel supply and air flow to the boiler to match the actual and anticipated
requirements for steam pressure
b. Adjust the speed of the shaft by adjusting the amount of steam supplied to the turbine
c. Control the steam flow from the boiler to the turbine
d. Control the generator’s terminal voltage as well as its reactive output
D.
Excitation is the adjustment of current flowing through the rotor of a generator.
Rotor current up => Magnetic field around rotor up=> Stronger field going through stator windings as rotor spins => more induced voltage in stator => stator voltage goes up => system voltage goes up
and vice versa
What is the typical reason for unit cycling constraints?
a. Friction
b. Voltage problems
c. Manpower cost
d. Thermal stress
D.
If you stop a turbine the blades stop spinning (obviously). However, what is not obvious is that when the turbine blades stop the heat stops going out of the turbine as well because no blades are spinning. Therefore, the turbine gets hot from the left over energy and you can’t start the turbine again until it cools down. If you started it while it was still hot, you would get a bunch of (relatively) cool air coming into the intake and cause a thermal shock.
During the restoration of your system, what are the two major elements that you should be aware of in order to maintain good frequency control (controlling toward 60Hz) of your system?
a. System load and generator output
b. Interchange schedules and inadvertent
c. Underfrequency and out-of-step relay protection
d. Interchange in and out of your system
A.
Steady state = (ideally) 60Hz. Any change in load or generation would change frequency.
Which of the following would be the least helpful for performing a load forecast?
a. Wind
b. Humidity
c. Forced outages
d. Temperature
C.
you can plan for planned outages, but not forced outages
Data required for the calculation of ACE is acquired on which of the following time intervals?
a. 6 seconds
b. 8 seconds
c. 10 seconds
d. 4 seconds
A
The system is operating at 60 Hz, a generator operating at 1800 RPM has 4 pole pairs, how many pole pairs will a generator operating at 600 RPM require in order to maintain the 60 Hz frequency?
a. 8
b. 10
c. 12
d. 6
F=(N*P)/120
F=Hz N=Speed P=Poles 120=120
Therefore,
(60*120)/600 = 12 = C
Each balancing authority shall operate its AGC on _______, unless such operation is adverse to system or Interconnection reliability.
a. Net interchange
b. Tie line frequency bias
c. Manual
d. Constant frequency
B
The system operator can obtain voltage support from generating units by requesting them to increase their:
a. Ramp rate
b. MW output
c. Frequency response characteristics
d. Generator excitation
D
Excitation is the adjustment of current flowing through the rotor of a generator.
Rotor current up => Magnetic field around rotor up=> Stronger field going through stator windings as rotor spins => more induced voltage in stator => stator voltage goes up => system voltage goes up
and vice versa
Which of the following types of generation resources would utilize a process of fission or fusion?
a. Nuclear generators
b. Combustion turbine generators
c. Hydroelectric generators
d. Geothermal generators
A
Atoms exploding = electricity
You are operating on a hot summer day when the system is near record loads, you receive a report that severe thunder storms and rain are coming into your area, if the heavy rain occurs, what would be the expected impact on your system load?
a. System load should decrease
b. System load should remain unchanged
c. System load would remain the same, but voltages would drop
d. System load should increase
A.
Rain = cooling = temp down = less Air conditioning
Each balancing authority area or reserve sharing group must review its contingencies on a/an _______ basis.
a. Annual
b. As requested by NERC
c. Semi-annually
d. Quarterly
A
Which of the NERC Performance Standards provide the best indicator that the balancing area is maintaining the appropriate amount of contingency reserves on the system?
a. BAAL
b. System response surveys
c. DCS
d. CPS1
C.
Disturbance Control Standard
BAAL = ACE limit
CPS1 = Frequency response measurement
In order for a generator to qualify as spinning reserve, it must be:
a. A non-nuclear facility
b. Synchronized to the system
c. Able to attain its full output within 15 minutes
d. Larger than 25 MW
B
At the request of the Balancing Authority or ______, a generator operator shall perform generating real and reactive capability verification.
a. Market operator
b. Transmission owner
c. Transmission operator
d. Market participant
C
If you are operating in tie-line bias control and your EMS system loses its frequency signal. What mode of operation should you switch to?
a. Flat-tie line
b. Flat-frequency
c. Maintain current operating mode
d. Frequency bias
A. only use (NIa - NIs) so frequency doesn’t matter
What would be the impact on a Balancing Area’s ACE if the frequency bias is 250/.1 Hz and a time error correction were started?
a. 50 MW
b. 125 MW
c. 250 MW
d. 25 MW
A
TEC = a change of .02 Hz, which is 1/5 of .1
Therefore,
250*.2 = 50
ACME Balancing Authority Area’s ACE is operating at zero, its frequency bias setting is 500 MW/0.1 Hz and the system frequency is 60.00 Hz. If another Balancing Area in the interconnection loses a generator which causes the frequency to drop to 59.97 Hz. What will
ACME Balancing Authority Area’s frequency bias response be to the frequency excursion?
a. 100 MW
b. 150 MW
c. 200 MW
d. 50 MW
B.
ACE = (NIa-NIs) + (-10)(B)(Fa-Fs)
They just want to know how frequency bias is going to change generation so we don’t worry about net interchange.
-10-500(59.97-60) = 5000*-.03 = -150 = answer B
Furthermore, this other BA going down is expected to suck out 150 MW from us making NIa go up by 150. Frequency bias is going to subtract 150 from that and keep ACE at 0. Otherwise, AGC would have saw that +150 and brought generation down, resulting in a further decrease in BES frequency.
An appropriate use of a pseudo-tie is to:
a. Determine ATC
b. Account for joint owned generation
c. Pay back inadvertent
d. Off-set meter error
B
Of the following system elements, which has the least impact on the system’s Area Control Error?
a. Changes in system load
b. Changes in generator MW output
c. Changes in the Interconnection frequency
d. Changes in the generator MVAR output
D.
ACE = MW - MW - 10 BHz/.1*Hz-Hz
No MVAR in this equation
Which of the following types of units are normally operated as baseload units?
a. Nuclear units and hydro units
b. Fossil-fuel units (coal, oil, and gas)
c. Nuclear units and coal units
d. Nuclear units and combustion turbines
C.
both nuclear and coal plants run off of steam generation. steam needs to be made constantly in order to be efficient, therefore they run at pretty much full load
NERC requires that each Balancing Authority verifies and agrees with its neighboring Balancing Authorities at least once a day for the _____.
a. Total scheduled and actual interchange
b. Voltage schedules in the bordering areas
c. Interchange schedules impacted by special protection schemes
d. Unused transmission rights
A. The job of a BA is to balance interchange. They can’t do that if they don’t agree on what WAS interchanged.
All of the following are appropriate actions for an operator to take when a time correction has been issued EXCEPT:
a. Start time error correction at designated time
b. Log the time correction
c. Have plant operators adjust governor output manually
d. Enter new scheduled frequency into control system
C. Tie line bias control changes regulating reserve generators automatically when you change ACE
If a balancing area’s frequency bias is 80 MW/ 0.1 Hz, what would be the impact on the area’s ACE if the system frequency dropped to 59.97 Hz?
a. 24 MW
b. 40 MW
c. 80 MW
d. 8MW
ACE = NIa - NIs + (-10)(-80)(59.97-60)
= 800*-.03 = -24
During a system emergency, the Balancing Authority and Transmission operator shall immediately take action to restore the _____ power balance.
a. Scheduled and actual
b. Generation and interchange
c. Real and reactive
d. Static and dynamic
C
A and D don’t exist
B - TO doesn’t care about interchange
|—L1 60MW—|
|—L2 60MW—|
|—L3 OOS——|
If L1,L2,L3 have identical impedance, what would load be on L1 if L3 was put back in service?
120 / 3 = 40
Parallel paths with identical impedance = identical current flow = Identical Power flow
V=IR => P=IE
Each Transmission Operator shall arrange for supply of _____ resources within its boundaries to protect the voltage levels under contingency conditions.
a. Generation
b. Transmission
c. Regulating
d. Reactive
d. Reactive
Which of the following equipment would be considered a dynamic reactive resource?
a. Shunt capacitor
b. Shunt reactor
c. Switchable capacitor
d. Generator
D
Can’t change capacitor or reactor ratings => not dynamic
Which direction will the MVAR typically flow?
c. Uphill based on power angle
d. Downhill based on power angle
D
Relay schemes should be designed so that automatic re-closing during _____ conditions should be prevented.
a. TLR
b. System Restoration
c. Thunderstorm
d. Out-of-step
D
If a 230 kV line is loaded at its SIL, and a parallel line trips, the 230 kV line will display the
characteristics of what reactive device?
a. Wave trap
b. Shunt reactor
c. System inductor
d. Shunt capacitor
B
At SIL capacitance of line = reactance of line
Load above = reactor
below = capacitor
If a system operator is faced with a situation where a transmission line has exceeded its emergency rating, which of the following actions is NOT acceptable?
a. Switch the transmission line out of service
b. Implement a generation re-dispatch
c. Increase the emergency rating of the line
d. Shed enough load to reduce the line loading
C
You cant change a number in your protection system and expect the line to magically be okay.
System losses that impact voltage are the result of which of the following?
a. Current squared times impedance
b. Current times impedance squared
c. Square root of MW squared plus megavar squared
d. Square root of current and impedance squared
A
(I^2 * R) losses aka copper losses is the loss of voltage the longer a cable gets due to the resistance (impedance) of the cable. Therefore, as the line gets longer you will need to waste exponentially more MW to get the same power to the end of the line as it gets sucked up by copper losses.
This equation is gotten to by using ohms law in conjunction with the power equation to get power using only current and resistance.
V=IR
P=IV => P=IIR or I^2*R
What would the impedance be for a series circuit that has an AC voltage source and a resistance of
40 ohms, inductive reactance of 1.13 ohms, and a capacitive reactance of 531 ohms?
|—–R——-XL——-XC—|
|———-V——————|
531.37
Z = sqrt (R^2+(XL-Xc)^2)
Which of the following system elements would be considered reactive power sources?
1. Generators
2. Shunt reactors
3. Transformers
4. Synchronous condensers
a. 2 and 3
b. 1 and 3
c. 1 and 4
d. 3 and 4
C
You receive indication that all of the CBs on a Bus have opened and locked out, which of the
following relays would you expect to have operated?
a. 87B
b. 59G
c. 21-1
d. 87T
A
This is a bit of a strange question. Your differential (87) would open the breakers (which makes it an 87B). However, the 87 would then tell your 86 (Lockout relay) to roll, which is what LOCKs them OUT from shutting again. However, the 86 does not operate independently and if ALL the breakers on the same bus open it is almost always an 87 that happened. That is the only relay that would open ALL breakers on a single bus (that I am aware of). Differential is looking at Power-in = Power-out on the whole bus, so all breakers open if it trips.
Which of the following devices would you use if you were calculating dynamic reactive reserve for your system?
a. Transformers
b. Shunt reactors
c. Generators
d. Shunt capacitors
C
How many times are they going to ask this same question?
(# = Blank Space)
#########(X)
L1<————-CB1———–>L2
####|#########|
###CB4 (X)####CB2 (X)
####|#########|—————<Gen 1
L4<————CB3————>L3
#####(Locked-Open)
Circuit breaker 3 is out of service for maintenance work and there is a fault on line 1, which of
the following would be an impact on the ring bus and lines?
a. CB 4 would open and CB 3 would close
b. CB 2 would open and CB 3 would close
c. Line 1 would be the only de-energized line from this station
d. Line 4 would be de-energized from this station
D.
For a fault on L1, CB1 would most likely trip since it is powering L1 (and L4). That would mean L4 and L1 would both be de-energized. CB3 is locked-out for maintenance so it cannot be shut. If CB3 was not out of commission, CB4 AND CB1 would have tripped, then you could shut CB3 as per answer A.
Bus 5
|
|——X–Transformer—G3
|—O—-G4
|—X—Capacitor
If a high voltage condition exists on Bus 5, which of the following actions should you take first to lower voltage?
a. Remove bus 5 capacitor from service
b. Reduce MVAR on GEN 3
c. Adjust the taps on GEN 3 transformer
d. Start GEN 4 to absorb MVAR
A
What is the impact on a station of placing a shunt inductor in service?
a. Voltage up
b. Adds MVAR
c. Voltage down
d. MVAR constant
C
Inductors absorb MVARs and decrease voltage
Your system voltages are extremely high during a light load midnight period, all of your capacitors are off and all of your reactors are on, a 500 kV transmission line is loaded below its surge impedance loading, what can be done to reduce the impact of the transmission line on system voltage?
1. Reduce the loading on the line some more
2. Remove the line from service if it has been pre-studied
3. Load the line above its SIL
4. Open-end the line
a. 2 & 3
b. 1 & 2
c. 1 & 4
d. 3 & 4
A
Removing a long light loaded line would decrease MVAR due to losing the capacitance built up on the line
Adding load to the line to SIL would make capacitance = inductance
What would be an appropriate situation for the system operator to shed load?
a. Transmission facility is loaded at 130% of its emergency limit, voltages are decaying
rapidly, and no other actions are available
b. System frequency is 59.98 Hz and a 50 MW interchange transaction is cancelled
c. Underfrequency load shed relays have activated and frequency is currently 60.04 Hz
d. Balancing area is undergenerating by 50 MW and the only generation that is available to
correct the problem is high cost facilities
A. key words: No other actions are available
Station A
|—-Gen 1
|—-Load1
|——Reactor——–| Station B
|##|—CB—–|###|
#####Line3####|——–Load3
#############|——–Load2
#############|—————-Gen 2
#############|
If Line 3 in the identified system has a rating of 125 MW and a current flow of 150 MW from
Station B to Station A, what action can be implemented that would result in a reduction of the
flow on Line 3?
a. Open the reactor bypass CB
b. Decrease GEN 1 by 50 MW
c. Disconnect load 3
d. Reduce load at Load 2
A
Placing reactor in service would increase line impedance and decrease flows
(# = Blank Space)
34MVA->#######################<-99MVA
A—————–SW101—–SW320—–SW352————B
#######| ############## |#######|
##### 21MVA Load ######61MVA ###51MVA Load
######################Load
Based on the loads provided and the power flow, what will be the power flow across switches
101 and 320?
a. 13 MVA
b. 34 MVA
c. 48 MVA
d. 99 MVA
A
34-21 = 13MVA from A to 101 after load
99-51 = 48MVA from B to 352 after load
48+13MVA = 61MVA Load => No back flows across 101/320
=> 13MVA across 101 and 320
Where does reactive power provide the greatest benefit?
a. Only on the bulk transmission line
b. Near the generation resource
c. Near the load
d. Near the substation facility
C
Which of the following would be a concern if you were operating on the system with an
open-ended transmission line?
a. Transmission loops flows
b. Ferranti-rise effect
c. Reactive depletion
d. Exceeding surge impedance loading
B
Voltages rise because an open line is a big capacitor between the line and ground. That is the RISE part in Ferranti-rise
If a 100 MVAR shunt capacitor is operated at 90% of its rated voltage, what would the actual
MVAR output of the capacitor be?
a. 81 MVAR
b. 75 MVAR
c. 100 MVAR
d. 90 MVAR
A
(Rated/Actual)^2 = .9*.9 = .81
If a transmission operator is requested to operate a transmission line to its short time rating, this
means that the facility can be operated above which of the following?
a. Emergency rating
b. Normal continuous rating
c. 175% of the MVA limit
d. 150% of the line rating
B.
You normally operate for long-time use of the line. Power company doesn’t want to be replacing lines all the time. Therefore short-time would have higher ratings. Emergency would be its own even shorter time rating.
Surge Impedance Loading refers to which of the following?
a. MW loading at which the MVAR production of the transmission line matches its usage
b. MW loading at which reactive power production is maximized
c. MVAR loading at which the MW production of the transmission line matches its usage
d. MVAR loading of the transmission line is maximized
A
In order for each Transmission Operator to protect its system’s voltage levels under normal and Contingency conditions, they must acquire which of the following?
a. Dynamic reactive resources
b. Sufficient reactive resources
c. Sufficient transmission capacity
d. Sufficient generation supplies
B - Means static and dynamic reserves, not just dynamic
C+D is MW levels not voltage
An Event Reporting Form must be submitted for a system disturbance that meets NERC criteria
for reporting and must be completed within _________.
a. 24 hours
b. 60 days
c. 30 days
d. 12 hours
A. (or end of next business day)
According to NERC Standards, data acquisition and calculation for the Balancing Area’s ACE
should occur every:
a. 4 seconds
b. 10 seconds
c. 6 seconds
d. 2 seconds
c
Which of the following is NOT something that each Balancing Authority must agree on with adjacent Balancing Authorities at least once a day?
a. On-peak scheduled interchange
b. Off-peak scheduled interchange
c. On-peak actual interchange
d. Unused transmission capacity
D
BAs care about actual/scheduled interchange.
Reliability Coordinators, Transmission Operators, and Balancing Authorities are required to have written instructions for the loss of telecommunication facilities. These instructions are supposed to:
a. Enable continued operation of the system
b. Provide a step-by-step procedures for implementing
c. Be approved by the Regional Reliability Organization
d. Be updated monthly
A