Reliability Report -- 1999 - Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

Section 4 – Conclusion
The Electricity Generation Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1996 mandates that the
Commission ensure that levels of reliability that existed prior to the restructuring of the electric utility
industry continue in the new competitive markets. In response to this mandate, the Commission adopted
reporting requirements designed to ensure the continuing safety, adequacy and reliability of the
generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Commonwealth. The Commission also
established reliability benchmarks and standards with which to measure the performance of each EDC,
and standards for the inspection and maintenance of electric distribution facilities.
Given the uncertainty of weather and other events that can affect reliability performance, the
Commission has stated that EDCs should set goals to achieve benchmark performance or better to allow
for those times when unforeseen circumstances push the indices above the benchmark. In recognition of
these unforeseen circumstances, the Commission set the performance standard as the minimum level of
EDC reliability performance. The standard is the level of performance beyond which the company must
either justify its poor performance or provide information on the corrective measures it will take to
improve performance. Performance that does not meet the standard for any reliability measure may be
the threshold for triggering additional scrutiny and potential compliance enforcement actions.
In 2010, more than half of the EDCs performed better than their benchmarks, which is the
Commission’s ultimate goal. Although last year’s overall performance was not as impressive as that of
2009, only two EDCs exceeded one standard each. Obviously, there are external factors which can
affect such performance, like an unusually high number of non-excludable weather events. It is the
dedication of utility employees, adequate funding, and proper management practices and planning that
must be recognized as the internal deciding factors.
Through ongoing oversight of utility performance and enforcement of newly established inspection and
maintenance standards, the Commission will continue to ensure that the reliability of electric service in
Pennsylvania is maintained.
Electric Service Reliability in Pennsylvania 2010 45