FERC Commissioner Allison Clements (right) speaks at NERC's Board of Trustees meeting in Washington, D.C., next to Pat Hoffman of the Department of Energy. | NERC

May 10, 2024

Happy Friday from ERO Insider, taking you on another journey through the world of electric reliability! Our intrepid crew has been hard at work as usual this week bringing you the news you can use, so let’s dive right in.

First, FERC Commissioners Mark Christie and Allison Clements dropped in on NERC’s Board of Trustees meeting this week with some encouraging words for the ERO’s leaders. Holden Mann has more from the meeting and where the commissioners feel NERC’s greatest value lies. (See Christie, Clements Praise NERC’s Honesty at Board Meeting.) 

NERC trustees also got a preview of the ERO’s upcoming Summer Reliability Assessment this week, with staff once again warning that tight margins are likely in times of extreme heat. Follow the link for a look at how grid operators can prepare ahead of the summer months. (See NERC Expecting Tight Summer Conditions.) 

A recent report says small nuclear reactors may not be as effective as their proponents say in addressing the world’s future electrical needs. Click through for details on the author’s concerns, and why some nuclear experts say it’s giving SMRs a bad rap. (See Report: Small Nuclear Reactors Not the Answer.) 

That’s all for the week that was, but we’re always keeping an eye out for the latest developments from the ERO Enterprise and beyond. Stay with us through next week for all the latest updates, and we’ll be back on Friday with the weekly email. Have a great weekend! 

Upcoming Stakeholder Meetings:

• 5/15/24: NERC Standards Committee Meeting
• 5/16/24: Inverter-Based Resource Performance Subcommittee Meeting
• 5/20/24: Technical Talk with RF