The Northeast blackout of 1965 left 30 million people across 80,000 square miles in the Northeastern US and Canada without power for 13 hours. This event led to the creation of NERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an agency whose mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid.
Of course, the North American electrical grid came into existence much earlier with the invention of electricity and the formation of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company in 1882. From there, it evolved until electric utilities were autonomous and became regulated in the early 1900s.
Today, NERC defines the operating and planning standards which regulate power generation, transmission, and distribution. Among these standards, which range from vegetation management to cybersecurity, are a group of standards relating to the design, control, and performance of energy suppliers.
Since 2000, EN’s partner, Kestrel Power, has developed innovative solutions focusing on generator control systems and compliance with the regulatory requirements imposed by FERC for Regional Reliability Organizations (RTO) and Independent System Operators (ISO).
These solutions and on-site testing and control system tuning services were designed specifically to address regulatory compliance of generator controls and protections. These include turnkey support of NERC standards MOD-025, MOD-026, MOD-027, PRC-019, PRC-024, PRC-025, PRC-026, and PRC-027.
Kestrel has tested over 5,000 utility generators and performed over 3,000 MOD tests and protection and control (PRC) studies on generation sources, including large nuclear units, coal, oil, gas and combined cycles, hydroelectric, wind, and solar facilities.
For those new to these requirements, the MODs refer to on-site tests, followed by computer simulation studies and models of generation reactive capability, excitation system (voltage/reactive power controls), and turbine-governor (frequency/load controls).
As a part of this innovation, Kestrel has also developed industry-specific test equipment and analysis and reporting software to streamline and automate these requirements. Through our partnerships with several manufacturers, we are also able to support new equipment installations with vendors running tests as directed by our staff, followed by analysis and reporting.
Complementary PRC standards involve protective relays, which are well known and widely supported throughout the industry, but also require knowledge of excitation and governor system controls, which must be coordinated with protections. It is in the latter area that Kestrel’s control system experience and expertise provide added value.
Generation companies requiring compliance with these standards often require complementary work, such as operator interface and control upgrades, system integration simulation studies, and relay calibrations, to name a few.
ENTRUST Solutions Group has significantly increased its presence and capabilities to serve energy providers and operators across Canada better. With a deep understanding of Canadian energy systems, we deliver a comprehensive suite of high-voltage engineering solutions spanning transmission lines, substations and distribution projects.
Our team strictly complies with Canadian grid reliability standards and NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) requirements. This commitment enables ENTRUST to deliver innovative and compliant solutions that address the unique needs of the Canadian marketplace.
ENTRUST also brings considerable experience in renewable energy integration, including wind, hydro and large-scale battery storage projects. Our services cover the full project lifecycle—network planning, substation design, SCADA systems deployment, and renewable energy infrastructure—tailored to meet the evolving demands and regulatory requirements of Canada’s energy sector.
(630) 353-4000
info@entrustsol.com