Certrec’s NERC Penalties

Black Hills Electric Penalized $150,000 for Violations of FERC Regulations

December 20, 2023

Summary of NERC Penalties

REGION	WHEN?	ENTITY	COMPLIANCE AREA	VIOLATION	REASON	PENALTY AMOUNT
FERC	Quarter 4 - December 2023	Black Hills Electric	FERC's Regulations	FPA Section 205 and 18 C.F.R. Part 35	Black Hills Electric, a public utility company providing electric services, was penalized for violationing FPA Section 205 and 18 C.F.R. Part 35 of the Commission's regulations. The company violated regulations by starting jurisdictional service and entering into related agreements without the required notice. Additionally, Black Hills Electric failed to file 103 jurisdictional agreements, including rates, charges, and all related contracts for jurisdictional service, at least 60 days prior to the commencement of such service.	$150,000

Summary:

Enforcement determined that Black Hills violated FPA section 205 and Part 35 of the Commission’s regulations by commencing jurisdictional service, and entering into associated agreements, without providing the requisite notice. FPA Section 205 and the Commission’s regulations, 18C.F.R. Part 35, require that public utilities file with the Commission a variety of documents related to rates and terms of jurisdictional service, including the types of agreements that Enforcement found the Black Hills Electric Public Utilities did not timely file. As determined by Enforcement, the agreements at issue included: including: (1) rates and charges for jurisdictional service, and all contracts and agreements relating to such service, at least 60 days in advance of the commencement of jurisdictional service; and (2) service agreements “authorizing a customer to take electric service under the terms of a tariff, or any part there of . . . not more than 30 days after electric service has commenced . . . .

Additional Discussion:
FERC Enforcement determined that by failing to file the 103 jurisdictional agreements at issue, Black Hills violated Section 205 and Part 35 of the Commission’s regulations.

Associated Files:

20231205-185FERC61172-IN23-10-000-Black Hills-Settlement Agreement_0

About Certrec:
Certrec is a leading provider of regulatory compliance solutions for the energy industry with the mission of helping ensure a stable, reliable, bulk electric supply. Since 1988, Certrec’s SaaS applications and consulting expertise have helped hundreds of power-generating facilities manage their regulatory compliance and reduce their risks.

Certrec’s engineers and business teams bring a cumulative 1,500 years of working experience in regulatory areas of compliance, engineering, and operations, including nuclear, fossil, solar, wind facilities, and other Registered Entities generation and transmission.

Certrec has helped more than 200 generating facilities establish and maintain NERC Compliance Programs. We manage the entire NERC compliance program for 80+ registered entities in the US, Canada, and Mexico that trust us to decrease their regulatory and reputational risk. Certrec is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified and has successfully completed annual SOC 2 Type 2 examinations.

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