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November 30, 2010 Ms. Kimberly Bose Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20426 Re: NERC Abbreviated Notice of Penalty regarding Tex-La Electric Cooperative of

Texas, Inc., FERC Docket No. NP11-__-000 Dear Ms. Bose: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) hereby provides this Abbreviated Notice of Penalty (NOP) regarding Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. (Tex-La), with information and details regarding the nature and resolution of the violation1 discussed in detail in the Settlement Agreement (Attachment a) and the Disposition Document attached hereto, in accordance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (Commission or FERC) rules, regulations and orders, as well as NERC Rules of Procedure including Appendix 4C (NERC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP)).2

This NOP is being filed with the Commission because Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP-RE) and Tex-La have entered into a Settlement Agreement to resolve all outstanding issues arising from SPP-RE’s determination and findings of the enforceable violations of PRC-005-1 R1 and R2 and PRC-008-0 R1. According to the Settlement Agreement, Tex-La admits the violations and has agreed to the assessed penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000), in addition to other remedies and actions to mitigate the instant violations and facilitate future compliance under the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement. Accordingly, the violations identified as NERC Violation Tracking Identification Numbers SPP200900069, SPP200900070

1 For purposes of this document, each violation at issue is described as a “violation,” regardless of its procedural posture and whether it was a possible, alleged or confirmed violation. 2 Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards (Order No. 672), III FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204 (2006); Notice of New Docket Prefix “NP” for Notices of Penalty Filed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Docket No. RM05-30-000 (February 7, 2008). See also 18 C.F.R. Part 39 (2010). Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242 (2007) (Order No. 693), reh’g denied, 120 FERC ¶ 61,053 (2007) (Order No. 693-A). See 18 C.F.R § 39.7(c)(2).

NERC Notice of Penalty Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. November 30, 2010

and SPP200900078 are being filed in accordance with the NERC Rules of Procedure and the CMEP. Statement of Findings Underlying the Violations This NOP incorporates the findings and justifications set forth in the Settlement Agreement executed on November 16, 2010, by and between SPP-RE and Tex-La. The details of the findings and the basis for the penalty are set forth in the Disposition Documents. This NOP filing contains the basis for approval of the Settlement Agreement by the NERC Board of Trustees Compliance Committee (NERC BOTCC). In accordance with Section 39.7 of the Commission’s regulations, 18 C.F.R. § 39.7, NERC provides the following summary table identifying each violation of a Reliability Standard resolved by the Settlement Agreement, as discussed in greater detail below.

NOC ID

NERC Violation ID

Reliability Std.

Req. (R) VRF Duration

Total Penalty

($)

NOC-249

SPP200900069 PRC-005-1 1 High3 6/18/07-3/4/10

5,000 SPP200900070 PRC-005-1 2 High4 6/18/07-3/4/10

SPP200900078 PRC-008-0 1 Medium 6/18/07-11/6/09

The text of the Reliability Standards at issue and further information on the subject violations are set forth in the Disposition Documents. PRC-005-1 R1- OVERVIEW On January 14, 2009, Tex-La self-reported a violation of PRC-005-1 R1. SPP-RE determined that Tex-La, as a Distribution Provider and Transmission Owner, violated PRC-005-1 R1 because Tex-La’s Protection Systems maintenance and testing procedures did not include routine maintenance and testing of its Protection System instrument transformers. PRC-005-1 R2- OVERVIEW On January 14, 2009, Tex-La also self-reported a violation of PRC-005-1 R2. SPP-RE determined that Tex-La, as a Distribution Provider and Transmission Owner, violated PRC-005-1 R2 because it did not have evidence that its Protection System devices were maintained within the intervals identified in its Protection System, Maintenance, Testing and Misoperations Program.

3 The VRF assigned PRC-005-1 R1 and its sub requirements R1.1 and R1.2 is “High” in the December 17, 2007 NERC filing of Revised Violation Risk Factors for Approved Reliability Standards. 4 PRC-005-1, R2 has a “Lower” VRF. During a final review of the standards subsequent to the March 23, 2007 filing of the Version 1 VRFs, NERC identified that some standards requirements were missing VRFs; one of these include PRC-005-1 R2.1. On May 4, 2007, NERC assigned PRC-005 R2.1 a “High” VRF. In the Commission’s June 26, 2007 Order on Violation Risk Factors, the Commission approved the PRC-005-1 R2.1 “High” VRF as filed. Therefore, the “High” VRF was in effect from June 26, 2007. In the context of this case, SPP RE determined that the violation related to both 2.1 and 2.2, and therefore a “High” VRF is appropriate in this case.


PRC-008-0 R1- OVERVIEW As a result of an April 27, 2009 through April 30, 2009 Compliance audit, SPP RE found Tex-La, as a Distribution Provider and Transmission Owner, to be in violation of PRC-008-0 R1 because, although Tex-La was tracking the maintenance and testing of its UFLS devices listed in its PRC-005-1 maintenance and testing program, the ETEC/Tex-La’s UFLS procedure, Implementation and Documentation of UFLS Equipment Maintenance Program5

did not include a list identifying Tex-La’s UFLS devices and a schedule for the UFLS relay maintenance and testing as required by the standard.

Statement Describing the Assessed Penalty, Sanction or Enforcement Action Imposed6

Basis for Determination Taking into consideration the Commission’s direction in Order No. 693, the NERC Sanction Guidelines, the Commission’s July 3, 2008, October 26, 2009 and August 27, 2010 Guidance Orders,7

the NERC BOTCC reviewed the Settlement Agreement and supporting documentation on August 3, 2010, September 10, 2010 and October 12, 2010. The NERC BOTCC approved the Settlement Agreement, including SPP-RE’s assessment of a five thousand dollar ($5,000) financial penalty against Tex-La and other actions to facilitate future compliance required under the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement. In approving the Settlement Agreement, the NERC BOTCC reviewed the applicable requirements of the Commission-approved Reliability Standards and the underlying facts and circumstances of the violations at issue.

In reaching this determination, the NERC BOTCC considered the following factors:8

1. the violations constituted Tex-La’s first occurrence of violation of PRC-008-0 R1 and PRC-005-1 R2, and the second violation of PRC-005-1 R1,

9

2. Tex-La self-reported the PRC-005-1 R1 and PRC-005-1 R2 violations;

which SPP RE determined did not warrant aggravation of the assessed penalty, as discussed in the Disposition Document;

3. SPP-RE reported that Tex-La was cooperative throughout the compliance enforcement process;

4. there was no evidence of any attempt to conceal a violation nor evidence of intent to do so;

5. SPP-RE determined that the violations did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the reliability of the BPS, as discussed above and in the Disposition Documents; and

5 Tex-La follows the ETEC Implementation and Documentation of UFLS Equipment Maintenance Program. 6 See 18 C.F.R. § 39.7(d)(4). 7 North American Electric Reliability Corporation, “Guidance Order on Reliability Notices of Penalty,” 124 FERC ¶ 61,015 (2008); North American Electric Reliability Corporation, “Further Guidance Order on Reliability Notices of Penalty,” 129 FERC ¶ 61,069 (2009); North American Electric Reliability Corporation, “Notice of No Further Review and Guidance Order,” 132 FERC ¶ 61,182 (2010). 8 At the time of the violation, Tex-La was in the process of developing its Internal Compliance Program and therefore SPP RE did not consider it a factor in determining the assessed penalty. 9 The first violation occurred in the SERC Region, as discussed in the Disposition Document.


6. SPP-RE reported that there were no other mitigating or aggravating factors or extenuating circumstances that would affect the assessed penalty.

For the foregoing reasons, the NERC BOTCC approves the Settlement Agreement and believes that the assessed penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is appropriate for the violations and circumstances at issue, and is consistent with NERC’s goal to promote and ensure reliability of the BPS. Pursuant to 18 C.F.R. § 39.7(e), the penalty will be effective upon expiration of the 30 day period following the filing of this NOP with FERC, or, if FERC decides to review the penalty, upon final determination by FERC.


Attachments to be included as Part of this Notice of Penalty The attachments to be included as part of this NOP are the following documents:

a) Settlement Agreement by and between SPP-RE and Tex-La executed November 16, 2010, included as Attachment a with the following noted Appendixes;

1. Appendix A1 Self-Report Screen Shot PRC-005-1 R1 (undated);

2. Appendix A2 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2382 PRC-005-1 R1 submitted March 9, 2010;

3. Appendixes A3, A7 Certification of a Completed MP PRC-005-1 R1 dated March 4, 2010;10

4. Appendix A4 Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-005-1 R1 dated March 30, 2010;

5. Appendix A5 Self-Report Screen Shot PRC-005-1 R2 (undated);

6. Appendix A6 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2383 PRC-005-1 R2 submitted March 4, 2010; 7. Appendixes A3, A7 Certification of a Completed MP PRC-005-1 R2 dated March 4,

2010;

8. Appendix A8 Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-005-1 R2 dated March 30, 2010;

9. Appendix A9 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-1760 PRC-008-0 R1 submitted June 15, 2009;

10. Appendix A10 Certification of a Completed MP PRC-008-0 R1 dated November 6, 2009;

11. Appendix A11 Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-008-0 R1 dated February 25, 2010;

b) Post Audit Work Sheet PRC-008-0 R1 dated April 30, 2009 included as Attachment b;

c) Disposition Document for Common Information dated November 16, 2010 included as Attachment c;

i. Disposition Document for PRC-005-1 R1 and R2 included as Attachment c-1; and

ii. Disposition Document for PRC-008-0 R1 included as Attachment c-2. A Form of Notice Suitable for Publication11

A copy of a notice suitable for publication is included in Attachment d.

10 The Settlement Agreement incorrectly states that the Certification of Completion was submitted on March 9, 2010. 11 See 18 C.F.R. § 39.7(d)(6).


Notices and Communications Notices and communications with respect to this filing may be addressed to the following:

Gerald W. Cauley President and Chief Executive Officer David N. Cook* Sr. Vice President and General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation 116-390 Village Boulevard Princeton, NJ 08540-5721 (609) 452-8060 (609) 452-9550 – facsimile [email protected] Edd Hargett* Manager East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. P.O. Box 631623 Nacogdoches, TX 75963 936.560.9532 936.560.9215 (facsimile) [email protected] Seth Brown, P.E.* Principal, Transmission Services GDS Associates, Inc. 1850 Parkway Place, Suite 800 Marietta, GA 30067 770.425.8100 770.426.0303 (facsimile) [email protected] Fred Ritts* Legal Counsel Brickfield, Burchette, Ritts & Stone, P.C. 1025 Thomas Jefferson St., NW 8th floor-West Tower Washington, DC 20007 202.342.0800 202.342.0807 (facsimile) [email protected]

Rebecca J. Michael* Assistant General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation 1120 G Street, N.W. Suite 990 Washington, DC 20005-3801 (202) 393-3998 (202) 393-3955 – facsimile [email protected] Stacy Dochoda* General Manager Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity 16101 La Grande, Ste 103 Little Rock, AR 72223 501.688.1730 501.821.8726 (facsimile) [email protected] Joe Gertsch* Manager of Enforcement Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity 16101 La Grande, Ste 103 Little Rock, AR 72223 501.688.1672 501.821.8726 (facsimile) [email protected] SPP RE File Clerk* Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity 16101 La Grande, Ste 103 Little Rock, AR 72223 501.688.1681 501.821.8726 (facsimile) [email protected] *Persons to be included on the Commission’s service list are indicated with an asterisk. NERC requests waiver of the Commission’s rules and regulations to permit the inclusion of more than two people on the service list.


Conclusion Accordingly, NERC respectfully requests that the Commission accept this Abbreviated NOP as compliant with its rules, regulations and orders.

Respectfully submitted, /s/ Rebecca J. Michael Gerald W. Cauley President and Chief Executive Officer David N. Cook Sr. Vice President and General Counsel North American Electric Reliability Corporation 116-390 Village Boulevard Princeton, NJ 08540-5721 (609) 452-8060 (609) 452-9550 – facsimile [email protected]

Rebecca J. Michael Assistant General Counsel North American Electric Reliability

Corporation 1120 G Street, N.W. Suite 990 Washington, DC 20005-3801 (202) 393-3998 (202) 393-3955 – facsimile [email protected]

cc: Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity Attachments

Attachment a

Settlement Agreement by and between SPP-RE and Tex-La executed November 16, 2010

For Public Release - November 30, 2010

Appendix A1 to the Settlement Agreement

Self-Report Screen Shot PRC-005-1 R1 (undated)

Self Report Maintenance Page lof2

Self Report Maintenance

Self Report Details-------------------------------; • Standard Requirement • Date Alleged PRC-005-1 R1 " Violation Occurred

Jun 18, 2007

• Alleged Violation Description and Cause

During an internal compliance review conducted in December, 2008, ETEC and Tex-La discovered that its maintenance procedures did not include routine maintenance testing of instrument transformers. The NERC Glossary of Terms defines Protection Systems to include "voltage and current sensing devices". This would indicate that for a time, a gap existed in ETEC and Tex-

• Potential Impact to the Bulk Power System

It is estimated that there was no impact to the B.E.S. due to the fact that ETEC and Tex-La have experienced no Misoperations due to failure of an instrument transformer.

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Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2382 PRC-005-1 R1 submitted March 9, 2010

Mitigation PlanMitigation Plan submitted on: Mar 09, 2010

Mitigation Plan Completed (Yes/No):

Mitigation Plan Completed On:

Southwest Power Pool REConfidential Non Public Information

Page 1 of 9

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Section A: Compliance Notices

• Section 6.2 of the NERC CMEP 1

sets forth the information that must be included in a Mitigation Plan. The

Mitigation Plan must include:

(1) The Registered Entity's point of contact for the Mitigation Plan, who shall be a person (i) responsible for filing

the Mitigation Plan, (ii) technically knowledgeable regarding the Mitigation Plan, and (iii) authorized and

competent to respond to questions regarding the status of the Mitigation Plan. This person may be the

Registered Entity's point of contact described in Section B.

(2) The Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s) of Reliability Standard(s) the Mitigation Plan will correct.

(3) The cause of the Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s).

(4) The Registered Entity's action plan to correct the Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s).

(5) The Registered Entity's action plan to prevent recurrence of the Alleged or Confirmed violation(s).

(6) The anticipated impact of the Mitigation Plan on the bulk power system reliability and an action plan to

mitigate any increased risk to the reliability of the bulk power-system while the Mitigation Plan is being

implemented.

(7) A timetable for completion of the Mitigation Plan including the completion date by which the Mitigation Plan

will be fully implemented and the Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s) corrected.

(8) Implementation milestones no more than three (3) months apart for Mitigation Plans with expected

completion dates more than three (3) months from the date of submission. Additional violations could be

determined or recommended to the applicable governmental authorities for not completing work associated with

accepted milestones.2

(9) Any other information deemed necessary or appropriate.

(10) The Mitigation Plan shall be signed by an officer, employee, attorney or other authorized representative of

the Registered Entity, which if applicable, shall be the person that signed the Self Certification or Self Reporting

submittals.

(11) This submittal form may be used to provide a required Mitigation Plan for review and approval by regional

entity(ies) and NERC.

• The Mitigation Plan shall be submitted to the regional entity(ies) and NERC as confidential information in

accordance with Section 1500 of the NERC Rules of Procedure.


1. Uniform Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program ("NERC CMEP") of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (a copy of the current version approved by theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission is posted on NERC's website.) Or the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Compliance Monitoring and EnforcementProgram – Province of Manitoba, Schedule “B” to the Interim Agreement on Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement in Manitoba between NERC, the Regional Entity,and Manitoba Hydro (available upon request from the Regional Entity).

2. Implementation milestones that precede the date that a Mitigation Plan becomes effective in Manitoba will be considered to be extended until the date that the Mitigation Plan becomes effective.

Page 2 of 9


• This Mitigation Plan form may be used to address one or more related alleged or confirmed violations of one

Reliability Standard. A separate mitigation plan is required to address alleged or confirmed violations with

respect to each additional Reliability Standard, as applicable.

• If the Mitigation Plan is accepted by regional entity(ies) and approved by NERC, a copy of this Mitigation Plan

will be provided to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or filed with the applicable governmental

authorities for approval in Canada.

• Regional Entity(ies) or NERC may reject Mitigation Plans that they determine to be incomplete or inadequate.

• Remedial action directives also may be issued as necessary to ensure reliability of the bulk power system.

• The user has read and accepts the conditions set forth in these Compliance Notices.


Page 3 of 9


Section B: Registered Entity Information

B.1

Identify your organization:

Entity Name: Tex-La Electric Cooperative Of Texas, Inc

Address: 2905 Westward Drive, P. O. Box 631623, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963, United States

NERC Compliance Registry ID: [If known] NCR01342

B.2

Identify the individual in your organization who will serve as the Contact to Regional Entity regarding

this Mitigation Plan. This person shall be technically knowledgeable regarding this Mitigation Plan and

authorized to respond to Regional Entity regarding this Mitigation Plan.:

Name: William Bateman

Title: Project Manager

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 770-425-8100


Page 4 of 9


Section C: Identity of Reliability Standard Violation associated with this

Mitigation Plan

C.1

This Mitigation Plan is associated with the following violation(s) of the reliability standard listed below:

Standard Requirement: PRC-005-1 R1

Description: Each Transmission Owner and any Distribution Provider that owns a transmission

Protection System and each Generator Owner that owns a generation Protection System shall

have a Protection System maintenance and testing program for Protection Systems that affect

the reliability of the BES. The program shall include:

Violation Date: Jun 18, 2007

C.2

Identify the cause of the violation(s) identified above:

During an internal compliance review conducted in December, 2008, Tex-La discovered that its

maintenance procedures did not include routine maintenance testing of instrument

transformers. The NERC Glossary of Terms defines Protection Systems to include "voltage and

current sensing devices". This would indicate that for a time, a gap existed in Tex-La?s

compliance with these Requirements. On January 14, 2009, Tex-La Electric Cooperative of

Texas, Inc. submitted a self report for an alleged violation of PRC-005-1 R1 and PRC-005-1 R2.

The gap for the confirmed violation of PRC-005-1 R1 was from June 18, 2007 to September 4,

2009. The gap for the confirmed violation of PRC-005-1 R2 was from June 18, 2007 to March 6,

2008 and June 18, 2007 to April 14, 2008.

In a letter dated May 22, 2009 to SPP-RE, Tex-La felt that it made an error in self reporting a

violation of NERC Standard PRC-005-1, R1 & R2. Tex-La does not own or operate any looped

transmission facilities in the SPP Region, nor does Tex-La have any transmission protection

systems in the SPP Region. This is consistent with the information presented to the Audit Team

during the Tex-La Compliance Audit that occurred from April 27-30, 2009.

Tex-La is registered as a Transmission Owner (?TO?) in SPP as a proactive measure. There are

future plans for Tex-La or its Members to develop looped transmission in the SPP Region, but

that has not occurred to date.

SPP-RE subsequently determined that Tex-La did own a transmission Protection System and

was subject to NERC Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 R2.

C.3

Provide any relevant information regarding the violations associated with this Mitigation Plan: [If known]

This Mitigation Plan also covers NERC Violation ID SPP200900069, PRC-005, R2.


Page 5 of 9


Section D: Details of Proposed Mitigation Plan

Mitigation Plan Contents

D.1

Identify and describe the action plan, including specific tasks and actions that your organization is

proposing to undertake, or which it undertook if this Mitigation Plan has been completed, to correct the

violation(s) identified above in Section C.1 of this form:

In order to correct possible violations to NERC Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 Requirement 1 &

2, regarding bushing current transformers, Tex-La has taken the following corrective measures:

1.Revise ETEC PGP PRC005 to include maintenance and testing program for the maintenance

and testing of bushing current transformers.

2.Perform maintenance and testing on transmission Protection System Elements for Tenaha

Switch Station.

3.Present the revised Transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program to the

Tex-La Member Distribution Cooperatives for their review.

4.Obtain ETEC Senior Management approval for the new PGP PRC005 and transmission

Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program.

5.Review maintenance and testing results for Tenaha Switch Station.

After completing both processes, Tex-La will submit the completed Mitigation Plan form to SPP.

Mitigation Plan Timeline and Milestones D.2

Provide the timetable for completion of the Mitigation Plan, including the completion date by which the

Mitigation Plan will be fully implemented and the violations associated with this Mitigation Plan are

corrected: Mar 04, 2010

D.3

Milestone Activities, with completion dates, that your organization is proposing for this Mitigation Plan:

Milestone Activity *Proposed

Completion Date(Shall not be greaterthan 3 months apart)

Actual CompletionDate

1a. Perform Maintenance and Testing atTenaha Switch Station, phase 1.

Mar 06, 2008 Mar 06, 2008

1b. Perform Maintenance and Testing atTenaha Switch Station, phase 2.

Apr 14, 2008 Apr 14, 2008

3. Present revised Program to the ETECMembers.

Jul 31, 2009 Jun 29, 2009

2. Review and revise PGP PRC005 toincorporate missing elements.

Sep 04, 2009 Sep 04, 2009

4. Approve and implement the revisedProgram.

Sep 04, 2009 Sep 04, 2009

5.Submit completed Mitigation PlanMaterial to SPP.

Mar 04, 2010 Mar 04, 2010


Page 6 of 9


(*) Note: Implementation milestones no more than three (3) months apart for Mitigation Plans with expected completion dates more than

three (3) months from the date of submission. Additional violations could be determined for not completing work associated with accepted

milestones.

Additional Relevant Information (Optional) D.4

If you have any relevant additional information that you wish to include regarding the mitigation plan,

milestones, milestones dates and completion date proposed above you may include it here:


Page 7 of 9


Section E: Interim and Future Reliability Risk

Abatement of Interim BPS Reliability Risk

E.1

While your organization is implementing the Mitigation Plan proposed in Section D of this form, the

reliability of the Bulk Power System may remain at higher risk or be otherwise negatively impacted until

the plan is successfully completed. To the extent they are, or may be, known or anticipated: (i) identify

any such risks or impacts; and (ii) discuss any actions that your organization is planning to take or is

proposing as part of the Mitigation Plan to mitigate any increased risk to the reliability of the bulk power

system while the Mitigation Plan is being implemented:

Maintenance and testing of the protective relays occurred in March and April of 2008. Gaps of

approximately 9 months existed in which no test records were available. During the gap period,

no misoperations occurred.

Prevention of Future BPS Reliability Risk E.2

Describe how successful completion of the Mitigation Plan as laid out in Section D of this form will

prevent or minimize the probability that your organization incurs further violations of the same or similar

reliability standards requirements in the future:

All Bulk Electric System transmission Protection Elements at Tenaha Switch have been

incorporated into the East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures

PRC005 Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance and Testing. The

maintenance and testing schedules for the transmission Protection System Elements have been

entered into a spreadsheet and added to the OATI webCompliance database.

E.3

Your organization may be taking or planning other action, beyond that listed in the Mitigation Plan, as

proposed in Section D.1, to prevent or minimize the probability of incurring further violations of the same

or similar standards requirements listed in Section C.1, or of other reliability standards. If so, identify

and describe any such action, including milestones and completion dates:


Page 8 of 9


Section F: Authorization An authorized individual must sign and date the signature page. By doing so, this individual, on behalf of your

organization:

(a) Submits the Mitigation Plan, as laid out in Section D, to the Regional Entity for acceptance and

approval by NERC, and

(b) If applicable, certifies that the Mitigation Plan, as laid out in Section D of this form, was completed (i)

as laid out in Section D of this form and (ii) on or before the date provided as the 'Date of Completion of

the Mitigation Plan' on this form, and

(c) Acknowledges:

1. I am Project Manager of Tex-La Electric Cooperative Of Texas, Inc.

2. I am qualified to sign this Mitigation Plan on behalf of Tex-La Electric Cooperative Of Texas,

Inc.

3. I have read and understand Tex-La Electric Cooperative Of Texas, Inc's obligations to comply

with Mitigation Plan requirements and ERO remedial action directives as well as ERO documents,

including, but not limited to, the NERC Rules of Procedure and the NERC CMEP currently in effect

or the NERC CMEP-Province of Manitoba, Schedule B currently in effect, whichever is applicable.

4. I have read and am familiar with the contents of the foregoing Mitigation Plan.

5. Tex-La Electric Cooperative Of Texas, Inc agrees to be bound by, and comply with, this

Mitigation Plan, including the timetable completion date, as accepted by the Regional Entity,

NERC, and if required, the applicable governmental authorities in Canada.

Authorized Individual Signature ______________________________________________________

(Electronic signature was received by the Regional Office via CDMS. For Electronic Signature Policy see CMEP.)



Authorized On: Mar 04, 2010


Page 9 of 9


Appendixes A3, A7 to the Settlement Agreement

Certification of a Completed MP PRC-005-1 R1 dated March 4, 2010

SPP RE Mitigation Plan Completion Form

Certification of a Completed Mitigation Plan

All Mitigation Plan Completion Certification submittals shall include data or information sufficient for SPP RE to verify completion of the Mitigation Plan. SPP RE may request such additional data or information and conduct follow-up assessments, on-site or other Spot Checking, or Compliance Audits as it deems necessary to verify that all required actions in the Mitigation Plan have been completed and the Registered Entity is in compliance with the subject Reliability Standard. (CMEP Section 6.6) Registered Entity Information Company Name: Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.

Company Address: P.O. Box 631623, 2950 Westward Drive, Nacogdoches, TX 75963

NERC Compliance Registry ID (if known): NCR01342 Date Original Mitigation Plan was submitted to SPP RE: March 4, 2010 Date Mitigation Plan was completed: March 4, 2010 Name of Standard and the Requirement(s) covered under the accepted Mitigation Plan: PRC-005, R1 PRC-005, R2 NERC Violation ID # (if known): SPP200900069, SPP200900070 Date of Certification: March 4, 2010 I certify that the mitigation plan for the above named alleged or confirmed violation has been completed on the date shown above, and that all information submitted information is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Name: William M. Bateman

Title: Compliance Manager/PCC/Project Manager - GDS Associates, Inc.


Phone: 770-799-2462

Authorized Individual Signature ___ _

To close out a completed Mitigation Plan, fill out this form, save and email it to: [email protected]



Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-005-1 R1 dated March 30, 2010

CONFIDENTIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION

Ms. Tasha Ward Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity

Compliance Specialist II 415 N. McKinley, Ste 140 [email protected] Little Rock, AR 72205-3020

P 501.688.1738

F 501.821.8726

March 30, 2010

VIA E-MAIL ONLY

Mr. Bill Bateman

Compliance Manager, Tex-La

GDS Associates, Inc.

1850 Parkway Place, Suite 800

Marietta, Georgia 30067

[email protected]

Re: MITIGATION PLAN COMPLETION NOTICE

Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.: NCR01342

NERC Violation Identification Number: SPP200900069

NERC Standard: PRC-005-1 R11

SPP RE Violation Identification Number: 2008-019

Mitigation Plan Number:





Dear Mr. Bateman:

On March 4, 2010, the Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP RE) received Tex-La

Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.’s (Tex-La) Certification of Mitigation Plan Completion for

the subject mitigation plans. The SPP RE has completed its review of the evidence in support of

completion of the mitigation plans. SPP RE finds Tex-La has successfully completed the above

referenced mitigation plans on March 4, 2010.

If you have any questions you may contact me at the contact information shown above.

Very Respectfully,

Tasha Ward

1 This Alleged Violation includes sub requirements R1.1 and R1.2.


For Public Release - November 30, 2010For Public Release - November 30, 2010

mailto:[email protected]

mailto::[email protected]

Notice of Mitigation Plan Completion

Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.

March 30, 2010

Page 2

Tasha Ward

TW

cc: (via e-mail only)

Seth Brown

John Pasierb

SPP RE

Stacy Dochoda

SPP RE File Clerk



Self-Report Screen Shot PRC-005-1 R2 (undated)

Self Report Maintenance Page lof2

Self Report Maintenance

Self Report Details-------------------------------; • Standard Requirement • Date Alleged PRC-005-1 R2 " Violation Occurred

Jun 18, 2007

• Alleged Violation Description and Cause

During an internal compliance review conducted in December, 2008, ETEC and Tex-La discovered that its maintenance procedures did not include routine maintenance testing of instrument transformers. The NERC Glossary of Terms defines Protection Systems to include "voltage and current sensing devices". This would indicate that for a time, a gap existed in ETEC and Tex-

• Potential Impact to the Bulk Power System

It is estimated that there was no impact to the B.E.S. due to the fact that ETEC and Tex-La have experienced no Misoperations due to failure of an instrument transformer.

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Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2383 PRC-005-1 R2 submitted March 4, 2010

Mitigation PlanMitigation Plan submitted on: Mar 04, 2010




Page 1 of 9

South

west P

ower

Poo

l REC

onfid

entia

l Non

Pub

lic In

form

ation






(1) The Registered Entity's point of contact for the Mitigation Plan, who shall be a person (i) responsible for filing

the Mitigation Plan, (ii) technically knowledgeable regarding the Mitigation Plan, and (iii) authorized and

competent to respond to questions regarding the status of the Mitigation Plan. This person may be the

Registered Entity's point of contact described in Section B.





(6) The anticipated impact of the Mitigation Plan on the bulk power system reliability and an action plan to

mitigate any increased risk to the reliability of the bulk power-system while the Mitigation Plan is being

implemented.

(7) A timetable for completion of the Mitigation Plan including the completion date by which the Mitigation Plan

will be fully implemented and the Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s) corrected.

(8) Implementation milestones no more than three (3) months apart for Mitigation Plans with expected

completion dates more than three (3) months from the date of submission. Additional violations could be

determined or recommended to the applicable governmental authorities for not completing work associated with

accepted milestones.2


(10) The Mitigation Plan shall be signed by an officer, employee, attorney or other authorized representative of

the Registered Entity, which if applicable, shall be the person that signed the Self Certification or Self Reporting

submittals.

(11) This submittal form may be used to provide a required Mitigation Plan for review and approval by regional

entity(ies) and NERC.

• The Mitigation Plan shall be submitted to the regional entity(ies) and NERC as confidential information in

accordance with Section 1500 of the NERC Rules of Procedure.


1. Uniform Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program ("NERC CMEP") of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (a copy of the current version approved by theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission is posted on NERC's website.) Or the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Compliance Monitoring and EnforcementProgram – Province of Manitoba, Schedule “B” to the Interim Agreement on Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement in Manitoba between NERC, the Regional Entity,and Manitoba Hydro (available upon request from the Regional Entity).

2. Implementation milestones that precede the date that a Mitigation Plan becomes effective in Manitoba will be considered to be extended until the date that the Mitigation Plan becomes effective.

Page 2 of 9


• This Mitigation Plan form may be used to address one or more related alleged or confirmed violations of one


respect to each additional Reliability Standard, as applicable.

• If the Mitigation Plan is accepted by regional entity(ies) and approved by NERC, a copy of this Mitigation Plan

will be provided to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or filed with the applicable governmental

authorities for approval in Canada.

• Regional Entity(ies) or NERC may reject Mitigation Plans that they determine to be incomplete or inadequate.

• Remedial action directives also may be issued as necessary to ensure reliability of the bulk power system.

• The user has read and accepts the conditions set forth in these Compliance Notices.


Page 3 of 9



B.1



Address: 2905 Westward Drive, P. O. Box 631623, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963, United States


B.2




Name: John Pasierb



Phone: 770-425-8100


Page 4 of 9



Mitigation Plan

C.1



Description: Each Transmission Owner and any Distribution Provider that owns a transmission

Protection System and each Generator Owner that owns a generation Protection System shall

provide documentation of its Protection System maintenance and testing program and the

implementation of that program to its Regional Reliability Organization on request (within 30

calendar days). The documentation of the program implementation shall include:


C.2


During an internal compliance review conducted in December, 2008, Tex-La discovered that its

maintenance procedures did not include routine maintenance testing of instrument

transformers. The NERC Glossary of Terms defines Protection Systems to include "voltage and

current sensing devices". This would indicate that for a time, a gap existed in Tex-La?s

compliance with these Requirements. On January 14, 2009, Tex-La Electric Cooperative of

Texas, Inc. submitted a self report for an alleged violation of PRC-005-1 R1 and PRC-005-1 R2.

The gap for the confirmed violation of PRC-005-1 R1 was from June 18, 2007 to September 4,

2009. The gap for the confirmed violation of PRC-005-1 R2 was from June 18, 2007 to March 6,

2008 and June 18, 2007 to April 14, 2008.

In a letter dated May 22, 2009 to SPP-RE, Tex-La felt that it made an error in self reporting a

violation of NERC Standard PRC-005-1, R1 & R2. Tex-La does not own or operate any looped

transmission facilities in the SPP Region, nor does Tex-La have any transmission protection

systems in the SPP Region. This is consistent with the information presented to the Audit Team

during the Tex-La Compliance Audit that occurred from April 27-30, 2009.

Tex-La is registered as a Transmission Owner (?TO?) in SPP as a proactive measure. There are

future plans for Tex-La or its Members to develop looped transmission in the SPP Region, but

that has not occurred to date.

SPP-RE subsequently determined that Tex-La did own a transmission Protection System and

was subject to NERC Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 R1.

C.3


This Mitigation Plan also covers NERC Violation ID SPP200900069, PRC-005, R1.


Page 5 of 9




D.1




In order to correct possible violations to NERC Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 Requirement 1 &

2, regarding bushing current transformers, Tex-La has taken the following corrective measures:

1.Revise ETEC PGP PRC005 to include maintenance and testing program for the maintenance

and testing of bushing current transformers.

2.Perform maintenance and testing on transmission Protection System Elements for Tenaha

Switch Station.

3.Present the revised Transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program to the

Tex-La Member Distribution Cooperatives for their review.

4.Obtain ETEC Senior Management approval for the new PGP PRC005 and transmission

Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program.

5.Review maintenance and testing results for Tenaha Switch Station.

After completing both processes, Tex-La will submit the completed Mitigation Plan form to SPP.




corrected: Mar 04, 2010

D.3





1a. Perform Maintenance and Testing atTenaha Switch Station, phase 1.

Mar 06, 2008 Mar 06, 2008

1b. Perform Maintenance and Testing atTenaha Switch Station, phase 2.

Apr 14, 2008 Apr 14, 2008

3. Present revised Program to the ETECMembers.

Jul 31, 2009 Jun 29, 2009

2. Review and revise PGP PRC005 toincorporate missing elements.

Sep 04, 2009 Sep 04, 2009

4. Approve and implement the revisedProgram.

Sep 04, 2009 Sep 04, 2009

5.Submit completed Mitigation PlanMaterial to SPP.

Mar 04, 2010 Mar 04, 2010


Page 6 of 9




milestones.





Page 7 of 9




E.1







Maintenance and testing of the protective relays occurred in March and April of 2008. Gaps of

approximately 9 months existed in which no test records were available. During the gap period,

no misoperations occurred.





All Bulk Electric System transmission Protection Elements at Tenaha Switch have been

incorporated into the East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures

PRC005 Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance and Testing. The

maintenance and testing schedules for the transmission Protection System Elements have been

entered into a spreadsheet and added to the OATI webCompliance database.

E.3






Page 8 of 9



organization:






(c) Acknowledges:



Inc.



including, but not limited to, the NERC Rules of Procedure and the NERC CMEP currently in effect

or the NERC CMEP-Province of Manitoba, Schedule B currently in effect, whichever is applicable.




NERC, and if required, the applicable governmental authorities in Canada.





Authorized On: Mar 04, 2010


Page 9 of 9


Appendixes A3, A7 to the Settlement Agreement

Certification of a Completed MP PRC-005-1 R2 dated March 4, 2010





NERC Compliance Registry ID (if known): NCR01342 Date Original Mitigation Plan was submitted to SPP RE: March 4, 2010 Date Mitigation Plan was completed: March 4, 2010 Name of Standard and the Requirement(s) covered under the accepted Mitigation Plan: PRC-005, R1 PRC-005, R2 NERC Violation ID # (if known): SPP200900069, SPP200900070 Date of Certification: March 4, 2010 I certify that the mitigation plan for the above named alleged or confirmed violation has been completed on the date shown above, and that all information submitted information is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Name: William M. Bateman

Title: Compliance Manager/PCC/Project Manager - GDS Associates, Inc.


Phone: 770-799-2462

Authorized Individual Signature ___ _

To close out a completed Mitigation Plan, fill out this form, save and email it to: [email protected]



Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-005-1 R2 dated March 30, 2010


Ms. Tasha Ward Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity

Compliance Specialist II 415 N. McKinley, Ste 140 [email protected] Little Rock, AR 72205-3020

P 501.688.1738

F 501.821.8726

March 30, 2010

VIA E-MAIL ONLY

Mr. Bill Bateman

Compliance Manager, Tex-La

GDS Associates, Inc.

1850 Parkway Place, Suite 800

Marietta, Georgia 30067

[email protected]


Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.: NCR01342









Dear Mr. Bateman:

On March 4, 2010, the Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP RE) received Tex-La

Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.’s (Tex-La) Certification of Mitigation Plan Completion for

the subject mitigation plans. The SPP RE has completed its review of the evidence in support of

completion of the mitigation plans. SPP RE finds Tex-La has successfully completed the above

referenced mitigation plans on March 4, 2010.

If you have any questions you may contact me at the contact information shown above.

Very Respectfully,

Tasha Ward





mailto::[email protected]

Notice of Mitigation Plan Completion

Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.

March 30, 2010

Page 2

Tasha Ward

TW

cc: (via e-mail only)

Seth Brown

John Pasierb

SPP RE

Stacy Dochoda

SPP RE File Clerk



Mitigation Plan MIT-07-1760 PRC-008-0 R1 submitted June 15, 2009

Mitigation PlanMitigation Plan submitted on: Jun 15, 2009



Southwest Power Pool RE

Page 1 of 9

South

west P

ower

Poo

l RE






(1) The Registered Entity's point of contact for the Mitigation Plan, who shall be a person (i) responsible

for filing the Mitigation Plan, (ii) technically knowledgeable regarding the Mitigation Plan, and (iii)

authorized and competent to respond to questions regarding the status of the Mitigation Plan. This

person may be the Registered Entity's point of contact described in Section B.





(6) The anticipated impact of the Mitigation Plan on the bulk power system reliability and an action plan

to mitigate any increased risk to the reliability of the bulk power-system while the Mitigation Plan is

being implemented.

(7) A timetable for completion of the Mitigation Plan including the completion date by which the

Mitigation Plan will be fully implemented and the Alleged or Confirmed Violation(s) corrected.

(8) Key implementation milestones no more than three (3) months apart for Mitigation Plans with

expected completion dates more than three (3) months from the date of submission. Additional

violations could be determined or recommended to the Applicable Governmental Authority for not

completing work associated with accepted milestones.


(10) The Mitigation Plan shall be signed by an officer, employee, attorney or other authorized

representative of the Registered Entity, which if applicable, shall be the person that signed the Self

Certification or Self Reporting submittals.

• This submittal form may be used to provide a required Mitigation Plan for review and approval by regional

entity(ies) and NERC. • The Mitigation Plan shall be submitted to the regional entity(ies) and NERC as confidential information in

accordance with Section 1500 of the NERC Rules of Procedure. • This Mitigation Plan form may be used to address one or more related alleged or confirmed violations of one



1. 'Uniform Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation;' a copy of the current version approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is posted on NERC's website.

Page 2 of 9


respect to each additional Reliability Standard, as applicable. • If the Mitigation Plan is accepted by regional entity(ies) and approved by NERC, a copy of this Mitigation Plan

will be provided to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in accordance with applicable Commission

rules, regulations and orders. • Regional Entity(ies) or NERC may reject Mitigation Plans that they determine to be incomplete or inadequate. • Remedial action directives also may be issued as necessary to ensure reliability of the bulk power system. • The user has read and accepts the conditions set forth in these Compliance Notices.


Page 3 of 9



B.1



Address: P. O. Box 631623, 2905 Westward Drive, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963, United States


B.2




Name: John Pasierb



Phone: 770-425-8100


Page 4 of 9



Mitigation Plan

C.1



Description: The Transmission Owner and Distribution Provider with a UFLS program (as

required by its Regional Reliability Organization) shall have a UFLS equipment maintenance and

testing program in place. This UFLS equipment maintenance and testing program shall include

UFLS equipment identification, the schedule for UFLS equipment testing, and the schedule for

UFLS equipment maintenance.


C.2


The requirement states the UFLS devices shall be indentified and scheduled for maintenance

and testing. Tex-La is testing the relays but did not have a schedule for the testing and

maintenance of the relays. The devices were not identified on a summary sheet. They did have

testing records and the plan stated the testing intervals but the schedules were missing.

C.3



Page 5 of 9




D.1




In order to correct possible violations to NERC Reliability Standard PRC-008-0, Requirement 1,

regarding UFLS relays, Tex-La will take the following corrective measures:

1.Develop a form to list all UFLS Relays owned and operated by Tex-La and its Members. This

form will also include testing schedules and dates.

2.Send the UFLS form out to the Tex-La Members and ask them to complete it listing all UFLS

Relays that they own and/or operate.

3.Review the list of UFLS Relays and incorporate it into the ETEC Protection System

Maintenance and Testing Program.

4.Request each Tex-La Member provide Tex-La with the last test date and next test date for all

UFLS Relays.

5.Incorporate the UFLS Relay last test dates and next test dates into the overall ETEC/Tex-La

UFLS Relay Testing Form.

6.Save the ETEC/Tex-La UFLS Relay Testing Form into WebCompliance and set-up tracking to

notify Tex-La when testing reports are due from the Members.

After completing this process, Tex-La will submit the completed Mitigation Plan form to SPP.




corrected: Nov 06, 2009

D.3





1.Develop a form to list all UFLS Relaysowned and operated by Tex-La and itsMembers.

Jun 15, 2009

2.Send the UFLS form out to the Tex-LaMembers and ask them to complete itlisting all UFLS Relays.

Jun 22, 2009

4. Request each Tex-La Member provideTex-La with the last test date and next testdate for all UFLS

Jun 22, 2009


Page 6 of 9




milestones.




3. Review the list of UFLS Relays andincorporate it into the ETEC Program.

Aug 21, 2009

5.Incorporate the UFLS Relay last testdates and next test dates into the overallETEC/Tex-La UFLS

Oct 21, 2009

6. Save the ETEC/Tex-La UFLS RelayTesting Form into WebCompliance and set-up tracking.

Oct 28, 2009

7. Send Completed Mitigation Form to SPP. Nov 06, 2009


Page 7 of 9




E.1







Since the UFLS Relays are being tested and maintained on a regular basis, this potential

violation has minimal risk of impact to the Bulk Power System.





After successful completion of this Mitigation Plan, Tex-La will have a clearer data set of all of

its UFLS Relays and their testing schedules.

E.3






Page 8 of 9



organization:






(c) Acknowledges:



Inc.



including, but not limited to, the NERC Rules of Procedure and the applicable NERC CMEP.




NERC, and if required, the Applicable Governmental Authority.





Authorized On: Jun 05, 2009


Page 9 of 9



Certification of a Completed MP PRC-008-0 R1 dated November 6, 2009





NERC Compliance Registry ID (if known): NCR01342 Date Original Mitigation Plan was submitted to SPP RE: June 15, 2009 Date Mitigation Plan was completed: November 6, 2009 Name of Standard and the Requirement(s) covered under the accepted Mitigation Plan: PRC-008, R1 NERC Violation ID # (if known): SPP200900078 Date of Certification: November 6, 2009 I certify that the mitigation plan for the above named alleged or confirmed violation has been completed on the date shown above, and that all information submitted information is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge.

William M. Bateman

Title: Compliance Manager/PCC/Project Manager - GDS Associates


Phone: 770-799-2462

Authorized Individual Signature ___ _ To close out a completed Mitigation Plan, fill out this form, save and email it to:

[email protected]



Mitigation Plan Completion Review PRC-008-0 R1 dated February 25, 2010


Ms. Tasha Ward Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity Compliance Specialist II 415 N. McKinley, Ste 140 [email protected] Little Rock, AR 72205‐3020 P 501.688.1738 F 501.821.8726

February 25, 2010

VIA E‐MAIL ONLY Mr. Bill Bateman Compliance Manager, Tex‐La GDS Associates, Inc. 1850 Parkway Place, Suite 800 Marietta, Georgia 30067 [email protected]


Tex‐La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc.; NCR01342

NERC Violation Identification Numbers: SPP200900078 NERC Standard: PRC‐008‐0 R1 SPP RE Violation Identification Number: 2009‐008 Mitigation Plan Number: MIT‐07‐1760

Dear Mr. Bateman: The Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP RE) has completed its review of the evidence in support of completion of the Mitigation Plan for the subject violation. SPP RE finds the Tex‐La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. (Tex‐La) has successfully completed the above referenced Mitigation Plan on November 6, 2009.

If you have any questions you may contact me at the contact information shown above. Very Respectfully,

Tasha Ward Tasha Ward

TW/ms cc: (via e‐mail only) Tex‐La Edd Hargett




Notice of Mitigation Plan Completion Tex‐La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. February 25, 2010 Page 2 Tambra Offield Seth Brown John Pasierb Alvin Taylor SPP RE Stacy Dochoda Enforcement


Attachment b

Post Audit Work Sheet PRC-008-0 R1 dated April 30, 2009

Post Audit Screening Worksheet

Prepared By: Joe Gertsch Date: April 30, 2009

Registered Entity: Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. Function(s) Applicable to Audit/Spot Check Finding of Possible Violation:

BA TOP TO GO GOP LSE

DP PSE TSP PA RP TP

RSG RC IA RRO Standards: PRC-008-0 R1 Violation previously reported or discovered (open violations):

Yes No Unknown Has this violation been reported to any other region: Yes No Unknown

If Yes selected: Provide the other region(s):

FRCC MRO NPCC RFC SERC SPP RE

TxRE WECC Date violation occurred/began: June 18, 2007 Date violation discovered (End Date of Audit/Spot Check): Compliance Audit - April 30, 2009. Is the violation still occurring? Yes No

Detailed explanation and cause of violation: Although Tex-La had included its UFLS relays in its PRC-005-1, Protection Systems maintenance and testing program (ETEC Maintenance and Testing Program Procedure, Rev. 7, March 20, 2009)1

1 Tex-La adopted the ETEC Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures in 2007. This relationship was confirmed in an April, 16, 2010, Tex-La letter to SPP RE signed by the General Manager of Tex-La.

and had established testing interval for the UFLS relays similar to the

PRC-005-1 Protections Systems relays, Tex-La had not included a maintenance and testing schedule for its UFLS relays in its UFLS equipment maintenance and testing program as prescribed by PRC-008-0 R1.

Audit/Spot Check Team Preliminary Assessment of Potential Impact to the Bulk Power System: SPP determined the violations did not create a serious or substantial risk to the BPS because Tex-La was testing its UFLS relays within the interval identified in the Protection Systems maintenance and testing program, but failed to include the schedule of testing of the UFLS equipment in its UFLS procedure. The violation was a documentation issue because Tex-La was maintaining its UFLS equipment within its established intervals. Additional Comments:

Attachment c

Disposition Document for Common Information dated November 16, 2010

Attachment c

Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. Page 1 of 7

DISPOSITION OF VIOLATION1

INFORMATION COMMON TO INSTANT VIOLATIONS

Dated November 16, 2010

REGISTERED ENTITY NERC REGISTRY ID NOC# Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. (Tex-La)

NCR011532 NOC-249

REGIONAL ENTITY

Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP RE)

I. REGISTRATION INFORMATION

ENTITY IS REGISTERED FOR THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS: BA DP GO GOP IA LSE PA PSE RC RP RSG TO TOP TP TSP

X X X X X X

5/31

/07

5/31

/07

5/31

/07

5/31

/07

5/31

/07

5/31

/07

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTERED ENTITY Tex-La is a member led electric cooperative headquartered in Nacogdoches, Texas, providing electric service to seven distribution electric cooperatives in east Texas. It provides service to its member distribution cooperatives through seventeen 12.5 kV POI’s (Points of Interconnection), two 25 kV POI’s, seven 69 kV POI’s and nineteen 138 kV POI’s. Tex-La’s member distribution cooperatives own and operate approximately 29 miles of 138kV transmission line in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and approximately 69 miles of 138 kV and 135 miles of 69 kV transmission line in the Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity (SPP RE) Region. Tex-La had a summer peak load of 113 MW in 2009. Each of the Tex-La member cooperatives has delegated its responsibility for compliance with the NERC Reliability Standards to Tex-La. Tex-La is registered on the NERC Compliance Registry in the SPP RE, Texas Reliability Entity (TRE) and SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC) regions. Tex-La, along with Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative (NTEC) and Sam Rayburn G&T Electric Cooperative (SRG&T) (collectively G&T Members) are 1 For purposes of this document and attachments hereto, each violation at issue is described as a “violation,” regardless of its procedural posture and whether it was a possible, alleged or confirmed violation. 2 On 3/27/2009 Tex-La consolidated its NERC Compliance Registry registration NCR 01153 in SPP RE’s region into NCR01342

Attachment c


members of the East Texas Electric Cooperative (ETEC). ETEC was formed in 1987 to provide the planning and power supply needs of the G&T Members. ETEC currently owns and operates approximately 158 miles of 138kV transmission line in SPP. Additionally, ETEC has a minority ownership interest in three generating facilities located in SERC. ETEC is registered in the NERC Compliance Registry in the SPP RE and SERC regions. With regard to the NERC Reliability Standards, the G&T Members and ETEC exist individually as registered entities and are individually responsible for compliance with NERC Reliability Standards. Notwithstanding their standing as individual registered entities, the G&T Members and ETEC have common staff and share the same Compliance Officer and Compliance Manager. Additionally, the G&T Members have adopted Policies, Guidelines and Procedures for the NERC Reliability Standards developed by ETEC consultants.3

IS THERE A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT YES NO WITH RESPECT TO THE VIOLATION(S), REGISTERED ENTITY

NEITHER ADMITS NOR DENIES IT (SETTLEMENT ONLY) YES ADMITS TO IT YES DOES NOT CONTEST IT (INCLUDING WITHIN 30 DAYS) YES WITH RESPECT TO THE ASSESSED PENALTY OR SANCTION, REGISTERED ENTITY ACCEPTS IT/ DOES NOT CONTEST IT YES

II. PENALTY INFORMATION

TOTAL ASSESSED PENALTY OR SANCTION OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($5,000) FOR 3 VIOLATIONS OF TWO RELIABILITY STANDARDS. (1) REGISTERED ENTITY’S COMPLIANCE HISTORY

PRIOR VIOLATIONS OF ANY OF THE INSTANT RELIABILITY STANDARD(S) OR REQUIREMENT(S) THEREUNDER YES NO LIST ANY CONFIRMED OR SETTLED VIOLATIONS AND STATUS

A NOCV covering a prior violation of PRC-005-1 (NOC-033) for Tex-La occurred in the SERC region; was approved by the NERC BOTCC on April 24, 2008; and filed with FERC under NP08-25-000

3Tex-La adopted the ETEC Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures in 2007. This relationship was confirmed in an April, 16, 2010, Tex-La letter to SPP RE signed by the General Manager of Tex-La.

Attachment c


on June 5, 2008. On July 3, 2008, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty A NOCV covering a prior violation of PRC-005-1, (NOC-031), for ETEC, an affiliate of Tex-LA, occurred in the SERC region; was approved by the NERC BOTCC on April 24, 2008; and filed with FERC under NP08-17-000 on June 4, 2008. On July 3, 2008, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty. A Settlement Agreement covering prior violations of PRC-005-1 R1 and R2 and PRC-008-0 R1, (NOC-248), for ETEC, an affiliate of Tex-LA, occurred in the SPP RE region; was approved by the BOTCC on July 12, 2010; and filed with FERC under NP10-162-000 on September 30, 2010. On October 29, 2010, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS SPP RE considered Tex-La’s prior violation and the prior violation by ETEC in the SERC region in determining the assessed penalty for instant violation, but did not treat the repeat violation of Tex-La or ETEC’s violation as aggravating factors in this case. SPP’s consideration relied on SERC’s determinations that:

1) the violations were documentation related; 2) did not represent substantive lapses in the ETEC and Tex-

La’s procedures; 3) the violations occurred concurrently and prior to January

2008 (during the period the Commission Stated NERC and the Regional Entities should focus their enforcement resources on the most serious violations);

4) Additionally, Tex-La and ETEC worked cooperatively with SERC;

5) Tex-La and ETEC acted immediately to mitigate and/or correct the violations;

6) the violations were mitigated in accordance with approved Mitigation Plans and were verified as mitigated by SERC;

7) the actions taken by Tex-La and ETEC would maintain reliability; and

8) Enforcement discretion was appropriate in those cases to assess no penalty for these prior violations because (1) they occurred during the period of transition to mandatory standards during which the Commission authorized such discretion (see Order Nos. 693 and 693-A4); and (2) the violations were deemed by SERC not to be violations that put bulk power system reliability at serious or substantial risk.

Attachment c


In this case, ETEC consultants developed Policies, Guidelines and Procedures for the NERC Reliability Standards which were adopted by G&T Members. Therefore, the violations of ETEC are relevant to each of the G&T Members.

SPP RE, however, did not consider prior violations of NTEC and SRG&T. SPP RE determined that, because of the independent investor relationship that each of the G&T Members has with ETEC, there is no influence between the G&T Members in regards to compliance with NERC Reliability Standards. The G&T Members are joint financial investors in ETEC; making ETEC an affiliate of each G&T Member.

PRIOR VIOLATIONS OF OTHER RELIABILITY STANDARD(S) OR REQUIREMENTS THEREUNDER YES NO

LIST ANY PRIOR CONFIRMED OR SETTLED VIOLATIONS AND STATUS

A NOCV covering a prior violation of FAC-008-1 R1, CIP-001-1 R1, R2, R3, and R4 (NOC-033), for Tex-La occurred in the SERC region; was approved by the NERC BOTCC on April 24, 2008; and filed with FERC under NP08-25-000 on June 5, 2008. On July 3, 2008, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty A NOCV covering a prior violation of FAC-008-1 R1 and CIP-001-1 R1, R2, R3, and R4 (NOC-031) for ETEC occurred in the SERC region; was approved by the NERC BOTCC on April 24, 2008; and filed with FERC under NP08-17-000 on June 4, 2008. On July 3, 2008, FERC issued an order stating it would not engage in further review of the Notice of Penalty.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

(2) THE DEGREE AND QUALITY OF COOPERATION BY THE REGISTERED ENTITY (IF THE RESPONSE TO FULL COOPERATION IS “NO,” THE ABBREVIATED NOP FORM MAY NOT BE USED.) FULL COOPERATION YES NO

IF NO, EXPLAIN

Attachment c


(3) THE PRESENCE AND QUALITY OF THE REGISTERED ENTITY’S COMPLIANCE PROGRAM IS THERE A DOCUMENTED COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

YES NO EXPLAIN

At the time of the self-report, Tex-La (through ETEC) was developing its Policy, Guideline and Procedure documents, and therefore SPP did not consider Tex-La’s internal compliance program a factor in determining the assessed penalty. Tex-La’s compliance program was to include self-assessment and self-enforcement of internal controls to prevent recurrence of violations through the use of internal assessments. Since Tex-La submitted its self-reports, Tex-La has been committed to developing and improving its internal procedures to maintain compliance with the NERC Reliability Standards. As noted above, the G&T Members are affiliates of ETEC, but not corporate affiliates of one another and are managed independently of one another. Their relationship as a member of ETEC is analogous to an independent consultancy, under which ETEC provides consulting and power supply services to the G&T Members. Notwithstanding the sharing of certain staff and consultants, the G&T Members remain responsible for their own compliance decisions. Therefore, SPP RE determined that it would not consider PRC-005-1 and other violations by the G&T Members as an aggravating factor in determining the assessed penalty for this violation.

EXPLAIN SENIOR MANAGEMENT’S ROLE AND INVOLVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE REGISTERED ENTITY’S COMPLIANCE PROGRAM, INCLUDING WHETHER SENIOR MANAGEMENT TAKES ACTIONS THAT SUPPORT THE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM, SUCH AS TRAINING, COMPLIANCE AS A FACTOR IN EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS, OR OTHERWISE. As described above, Tex-La’s compliance program, including the role of senior management, was under development at the time of the violations.4

(4) ANY ATTEMPT BY THE REGISTERED ENTITY TO CONCEAL THE VIOLATION(S) OR INFORMATION NEEDED TO REVIEW, EVALUATE OR INVESTIGATE THE VIOLATION. 4 The internal compliance program was implemented on July 26, 2010 and was not reviewed by SPP RE.

Attachment c


YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (5) ANY EVIDENCE THE VIOLATION(S) WERE INTENTIONAL (IF THE RESPONSE IS “YES,” THE ABBREVIATED NOP FORM MAY NOT BE USED.)

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (6) ANY OTHER MITIGATING FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (7) ANY OTHER AGGRAVATING FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN (8) ANY OTHER EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:

NOTICE OF ALLEGED VIOLATION AND PROPOSED PENALTY OR SANCTION ISSUED DATE: OR N/A SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS COMMENCED DATE: 1/20/2010 OR N/A NOTICE OF CONFIRMED VIOLATION ISSUED DATE: OR N/A SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD INFORMATION

Attachment c


DATE(S) OR N/A REGISTERED ENTITY RESPONSE CONTESTED FINDINGS PENALTY BOTH NO CONTEST HEARING REQUESTED YES NO DATE OUTCOME APPEAL REQUESTED

Disposition Document for PRC-005-1 R1 and R2

Attachment c-1


DISPOSITION OF VIOLATION Dated November 16, 2010

NERC TRACKING NO.

REGIONAL ENTITY TRACKING NO.

SPP200900069 SPP200900070

SPP200900069 SPP200900070

I. VIOLATION INFORMATION RELIABILITY STANDARD

REQUIREMENT(S) SUB-REQUIREMENT(S)

VRF(S) VSL(S)

PRC-005-1 1 High1 High PRC-005-1 2 High2 Severe

VIOLATION APPLIES TO THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS: BA DP GO GOP IA LSE PA PSE RC RP RSG TO TOP TP TSP

X X PURPOSE OF THE RELIABILITY STANDARD AND TEXT OF RELIABILITY STANDARD AND REQUIREMENT(S)/SUB-REQUIREMENT(S) The purpose statement of PRC-005-1 provides: “To ensure all transmission and generation Protection Systems[3

] affecting the reliability of the Bulk Electric System (BES) are maintained and tested.”

PRC-005-1 R1 provides: Each Transmission Owner and any Distribution Provider that owns a transmission Protection System and each Generator Owner that owns a generation Protection System shall have a Protection System maintenance and testing program for Protection Systems that affect the reliability of the BES. The program shall include:

1 The VRF assigned PRC-005-1 R1 and its sub requirements R1.1 and R1.2 is “High” in the December 17, 2007 NERC filing of Revised Violation Risk Factors for Approved Reliability Standards. 2 PRC-005-1, R 2 has a “Lower” VRF. During a final review of the standards subsequent to the March 23, 2007 filing of the Version 1 VRFs, NERC identified that some standards requirements were missing VRFs; one of these include PRC-005-1 R2.1. On May 4, 2007, NERC assigned PRC-005 R2.1 a “High” VRF. In the Commission’s June 26, 2007 Order on Violation Risk Factors, the Commission approved the PRC-005-1 R2.1 “High” VRF as filed. Therefore, the “High” VRF was in effect from June 26, 2007. In the context of this case, SPP RE determined that the violation related to both 2.1 and 2.2, and therefore a “High” VRF is appropriate in this case. 3 The NERC Glossary of Terms Used in Reliability Standards defines Protection System as “Protective relays, associated communication systems, voltage and current sensing devices, station batteries and DC control circuitry.”

Attachment c-1


R1.1. Maintenance and testing intervals and their basis. R1.2. Summary of maintenance and testing procedures.

PRC-005-1 R2 provides: Each Transmission Owner and any Distribution Provider that owns a transmission Protection System and each Generator Owner that owns a generation Protection System shall provide documentation of its Protection System maintenance and testing program and the implementation of that program to its Regional Reliability Organization[4

R2.1. Evidence Protection System devices were maintained and tested within the defined intervals.

] on request (within 30 calendar days). The documentation of the program implementation shall include:

R2.2. Date each Protection System device was last tested/maintained.

VIOLATION DESCRIPTION On January 14, 2009, Tex-La submitted a Self-Report stating it had violated (a) PRC-005-1 R1 because Tex-La’s Protection Systems maintenance and testing procedures did not include routine maintenance and testing of its Protection System instrument transformers, and (b) PRC-005-1 R2 because it did not have evidence that its Protection System devices had been tested and maintained within the intervals identified in its Protection System, Maintenance, Testing and Misoperations Program. RELIABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT- POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL SPP RE has determined the risk to the reliability of the BPS of Tex-La’s violation of PRC-005-1 R1 and PRC-005-1 R2 as minimal. Tex-La Protection System only has seven protection systems to test and these protection systems devices are continuously monitored. Had one of the elements of its protection system failed, the loss of signal would have been communicated to the appropriate personnel through the associated microprocessor relay which is continuously monitored. 4 Consistent with applicable FERC precedent, the term ‘Regional Reliability Organization’ in this context refers to SPP RE.

Attachment c-1


II. DISCOVERY INFORMATION (Information for this section is the same for both Violations)

METHOD OF DISCOVERY SELF-REPORT

SELF-CERTIFICATION COMPLIANCE AUDIT COMPLIANCE VIOLATION INVESTIGATION

SPOT CHECK COMPLAINT PERIODIC DATA SUBMITTAL EXCEPTION REPORTING

DURATION DATE(S) 6/18/07 (when the Standard became mandatory and enforceable) through 3/4/10 (when Tex-La completed its Mitigation Plans) DATE DISCOVERED BY OR REPORTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 1/14/09 IS THE VIOLATION STILL OCCURRING

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN

REMEDIAL ACTION DIRECTIVE ISSUED YES NO PRE TO POST JUNE 18, 2007 VIOLATION YES NO

III. MITIGATION INFORMATION PRC-005 R1 FOR FINAL ACCEPTED MITIGATION PLAN:

MITIGATION PLAN NO. MIT-07-2382 DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 3/9/105

DATE ACCEPTED BY REGIONAL ENTITY 3/11/10

DATE APPROVED BY NERC 3/15/10 DATE PROVIDED TO FERC 3/15/10

IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN ALL PRIOR VERSIONS THAT WERE ACCEPTED OR REJECTED, IF APPLICABLE NONE MITIGATION PLAN COMPLETED YES NO

EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE Submitted as complete 5 The Settlement Agreement incorrectly states the Mitigation Plan was submitted on March 4, 2010.

Attachment c-1


EXTENSIONS GRANTED NONE ACTUAL COMPLETION DATE 3/04/10

DATE OF CERTIFICATION LETTER 3/04/10 CERTIFIED COMPLETE BY REGISTERED ENTITY AS OF 3/04/10

DATE OF VERIFICATION LETTER 3/30/10 VERIFIED COMPLETE BY REGIONAL ENTITY AS OF 3/04/10

ACTIONS TAKEN TO MITIGATE THE ISSUE AND PREVENT RECURRENCE All BPS transmission Protection Elements have been incorporated into the East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures PRC005 Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance and Testing. The maintenance and testing schedules for the transmission Protection System Elements have been entered into a spreadsheet and added to the OATI web-Compliance database. Tex-La took the following corrective actions: (1) revise the ETEC PGP PRC005 program to include the maintenance and testing program for the maintenance and testing of bushing current transformers; (2) perform maintenance and testing on transmission Protection System Elements for Tenaha Switch Station; (3) present the revised Transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program to the Tex-La Member Distribution Cooperatives for their review; (4) obtain ETEC Senior Management approval for the new PGP PRC005 and transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program; and (5) review maintenance and testing results for Tenaha Switch Station.

LIST OF EVIDENCE REVIEWED BY REGIONAL ENTITY TO EVALUATE COMPLETION OF MITIGATION PLAN OR MILESTONES (FOR CASES IN WHICH MITIGATION IS NOT YET COMPLETED, LIST EVIDENCE REVIEWED FOR COMPLETED MILESTONES)

1. Protection System maintenance and testing procedure, Protection System, Maintenance, Testing and Misoperations Program, (Rev. 9, dated September 4, 2009), and

2. summary of the testing and maintenance records for Tex-La’s instrument transformers

PRC-005 R2 FOR FINAL ACCEPTED MITIGATION PLAN:

MITIGATION PLAN NO. MIT-07-2383 DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 3/4/10 DATE ACCEPTED BY REGIONAL ENTITY 3/11/10 DATE APPROVED BY NERC 3/15/10 DATE PROVIDED TO FERC 3/15/10

Attachment c-1



EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE Submitted as complete EXTENSIONS GRANTED NONE ACTUAL COMPLETION DATE 3/04/10



ACTIONS TAKEN TO MITIGATE THE ISSUE AND PREVENT RECURRENCE All BPS transmission Protection Elements have been incorporated into the East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures PRC005 Transmission and Generation Protection System Maintenance and Testing. The maintenance and testing schedules for the transmission Protection System Elements have been entered into a spreadsheet and added to the OATI web-Compliance database. Tex-La took the following corrective actions: (1) revise the ETEC PGP PRC005 program to include the maintenance and testing program for the maintenance and testing of bushing current transformers; (2) perform maintenance and testing on transmission Protection System Elements for Tenaha Switch Station; (3) present the revised Transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program to the Tex-La Member Distribution Cooperatives for their review; (4) obtain ETEC Senior Management approval for the new PGP PRC005 and transmission Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program; and (5) review maintenance and testing results for Tenaha Switch Station.


1. completed testing reports for the missing Protection System devices; and

2. attestation of the review and approval of the test reports of the missing Protection System devices by the Project Engineer for Tex-La.

Attachment c-1


EXHIBITS: (Attached to the Settlement Agreement as Appendixes) PRC-005-1 R1

SOURCE DOCUMENT Appendix A1 Self-Report Screen Shot (undated) MITIGATION PLAN Appendix A2 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2382 submitted March 9, 20106

CERTIFICATION BY REGISTERED ENTITY Appendixes A3, A7 Certification of a Completed MP dated March 4, 2010

VERIFICATION BY REGIONAL ENTITY Appendix A4 Mitigation Plan Completion Review dated March 30, 2010 PRC-005-1 R2

SOURCE DOCUMENT Appendix A5 Self-Report Screen Shot (undated) MITIGATION PLAN Appendix A6 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-2383 submitted March 4, 2010 CERTIFICATION BY REGISTERED ENTITY

Appendixes A3, A7 Certification of a Completed MP dated March 4, 2010

VERIFICATION BY REGIONAL ENTITY Appendix A8 Mitigation Plan Completion Review dated March 30, 2010

6 The Mitigation Plan was signed on March 4, 2010.

Disposition Document for PRC-008-0 R1

Attachment c-2

Page 1 of 4

DISPOSITION OF VIOLATION Dated November 16, 2010

NERC TRACKING NO.

REGIONAL ENTITY TRACKING NO.

SPP200900078 SPP200900078

I. VIOLATION INFORMATION

RELIABILITY STANDARD

REQUIREMENT(S) SUB-REQUIREMENT(S)

VRF(S) VSL(S)

PRC-008-0 1 Medium Lower

VIOLATION APPLIES TO THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS: BA DP GO GOP IA LSE PA PSE RC RP RSG TO TOP TP TSP

X X PURPOSE OF THE RELIABILITY STANDARD AND TEXT OF RELIABILITY STANDARD AND REQUIREMENT(S)/SUB-REQUIREMENT(S) The purpose statement of PRC-008-0 provides: “Provide last resort system preservation measures by implementing an Under Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) program.” PRC-008-0 R1 provides:

The Transmission Owner and Distribution Provider with a UFLS program (as required by its Regional Reliability Organization) shall have a UFLS equipment maintenance and testing program in place. This UFLS equipment maintenance and testing program shall include UFLS equipment identification, the schedule for UFLS equipment testing, and the schedule for UFLS equipment maintenance.

VIOLATION DESCRIPTION During an April 27, 2009 through April 30, 2009 Compliance audit, SPP RE found Tex-La to be in violation of PRC-008-0 R1 because, although Tex-La was tracking the maintenance and testing of its UFLS devices listed in its PRC-005-1 maintenance and testing program, the ETEC/Tex-La’s UFLS procedure, Implementation and Documentation of UFLS Equipment Maintenance Program1

1 Tex-La follows the ETEC Implementation and Documentation of UFLS Equipment Maintenance Program.

did not include a list identifying Tex-La’s UFLS devices and a schedule for the UFLS relay maintenance and testing as required by the standard.

Attachment c-2

Page 2 of 4

RELIABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT- POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL SPP RE has determined that the risk to the reliability of the BPS of Tex-La’s violation of PRC-008-0 R1 is minimal because Tex-La was testing its UFLS relays within the interval identified in the PRC-005-1 Protection Systems maintenance and testing program, but simply failed to include a list of the equipment and the schedule of testing of the UFLS equipment in its UFLS procedure.

II. DISCOVERY INFORMATION METHOD OF DISCOVERY SELF-REPORT

SELF-CERTIFICATION COMPLIANCE AUDIT COMPLIANCE VIOLATION INVESTIGATION

SPOT CHECK COMPLAINT PERIODIC DATA SUBMITTAL EXCEPTION REPORTING

DURATION DATE(S) 6/18/07 (when the Standard became mandatory and enforceable) through 11/6/09 (when Tex-La completed its Mitigation Plan MIT-07-1760) DATE DISCOVERED BY OR REPORTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 4/30/09 IS THE VIOLATION STILL OCCURRING

YES NO IF YES, EXPLAIN

REMEDIAL ACTION DIRECTIVE ISSUED YES NO PRE TO POST JUNE 18, 2007 VIOLATION YES NO

III. MITIGATION INFORMATION FOR FINAL ACCEPTED MITIGATION PLAN:

MITIGATION PLAN NO. MIT-07-1760 DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL ENTITY 6/15/092

DATE ACCEPTED BY REGIONAL ENTITY 6/16/09

3

DATE APPROVED BY NERC 6/23/09

DATE PROVIDED TO FERC 6/23/09 2 The Mitigation Plan was signed on June 5, 2009. 3 The Settlement Agreement incorrectly states that SPP RE accepted the Mitigation Plan on June 15, 2009.

Attachment c-2

Page 3 of 4


EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE 11/06/09 EXTENSIONS GRANTED NONE ACTUAL COMPLETION DATE 11/06/09



ACTIONS TAKEN TO MITIGATE THE ISSUE AND PREVENT RECURRENCE Tex-La revised its Implementation and Documentation of UFLS Equipment Maintenance Program, (Rev. 2, March 23, 2009) procedure to identify its UFLS equipment and included the required schedule for UFLS relay maintenance and testing. Tex-La took the following corrective actions: (1) developed a form to list all UFLS relays owned and operated by Tex-La and its Members (this form will include testing schedules and dates); (2) send the UFLS form out to the Tex-La Members and ask them to complete it listing all UFLS relays that they own and/or operate; (3) review the list of UFLS relays and incorporate it into the ETC Protection System Maintenance and Testing Program; (4) request each Tex-La Member provide Tex-La with the last test date and next test date for all UFLS relays; (5) incorporate the UFLS relay last test dates and next test dates into the overall ETC/Tex-La UFLS Relay Timing Form; and (6) save the ETC/Tex-La UFLS Relay Testing Form into WebCompliance and set-up tracking to notify Tex-La when testing repots are due from the Members.


1. the list of the UFLS relays in the Tex-La UFLS program; 2. the schedule of the previous, current and future test dates for all

UFLS relays listed in the ETEC/Tex-LA Maintenance and Testing Program Procedure; and

Attachment c-2

Page 4 of 4

3. a screen shot of Tex-La’s WebCompliance program that documents tracking of UFLS relay testing.

EXHIBITS: (Attached to the Settlement Agreement as noted as Appendixes)

SOURCE DOCUMENT (Not attached to Settlement Agreement) Post Audit work Sheet dated April 30, 2009 MITIGATION PLAN Appendix A9 Mitigation Plan MIT-07-1760 submitted June 15, 2009 CERTIFICATION BY REGISTERED ENTITY

Appendix A10 Certification of a Completed MP dated November 6, 2009

VERIFICATION BY REGIONAL ENTITY Appendix A11 Mitigation Plan Completion Review dated February 23, 2010

Attachment d

Notice of Filing

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. Docket No. NP11-___-000

NOTICE OF FILING November 30, 2010

Take notice that on November 30, 2010, the North American Electric Reliability

Corporation (NERC) filed a Notice of Penalty regarding Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas, Inc. in the Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity region.

Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant.

The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions

in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 14 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

This filing is accessible on-line at http://www.ferc.gov, using the “eLibrary” link and is available for review in the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. There is an “eSubscription” link on the web site that enables subscribers to receive email notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please email [email protected], or call (866) 208-3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502-8659. Comment Date: [BLANK]

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary