PROGRAM SECTIONS

1. Generation Maintenance Performance Standards and Assessment Guidelines

Fundamental standards must be met by a maintenance organization if it is to be successful, over time, in maintaining the performance of its generating assets. This section highlights those important performance standards and provides a set of assessment guidelines to facilitate evaluation of the performance of the organization with respect to each standard. This document was developed from industry experience. The standards were developed in conjunction with Appendix A, Maintenance Guidelines for Electric Generating Facilities, which may provide additional insight as to how to meet a standard.

The purpose of Section 1 is to define the standards for generation asset owners to use in the self-assessments and certification of their maintenance program. CPUC auditors will also use this document during the audit of a facility in determining the adequacy of a maintenance program. The standards address both line organization and functional performance areas. The line organization performance areas focus on the traditional departmental performance, primarily for the maintenance organization. The functional performance areas focus on processes and behaviors that cross organizational boundaries and that address maintenance department organizational integration and interfaces. Operations, engineering, and chemistry have been included at the functional levels, to the extent that those activities are integral to the larger concept of maintenance. There clearly is some redundancy in the assessment guidelines between the performance standards as a result of addressing both organizational and functional requirements.

For each performance standard there is a set of assessment guidelines intended to provide a sense of the breadth and depth of the standard. These are a collection of "Best Practices", and not an exclusive set of criteria to demonstrate that a standard is being met. Those performing audits and assessments must keep in mind that the assessment guidelines may not be all inclusive of activities associated with the performance standard. It may be beneficial to the user of this document to refer to the Maintenance Guidelines for Electric Generating Facilities, detailed in Appendix A, to gain additional insight regarding how to satisfy a particular performance standard. Generating asset owners may use different approaches to meet a standard. Given that the assessment guidelines represent only a means to an end, the certification process emphasizes achievement of the performance standards.

Generating asset owners are to use this document in performing the self-assessments required for initial certification and periodic re-certification that their programs meet the intent of the generation maintenance performance standards. During the certification process, each asset owner must document, in summary format, how each standard is being met. In cases where a standard is not being satisfied, the asset owner must provide an action plan and time line for achieving the standard, or adequately justify its alternative to the standard.

.

2. Generating Unit Performance Metrics

This section describes those methods and measures used to monitor and confirm the ultimate effectiveness of a generating facility maintenance program, and, alert the CPUC of the potential need to perform audits of generating asset owner compliance to Section 1, the Generation Maintenance Performance Standards and Assessment Guidelines, as certified.

The ultimate objective of the Generation Maintenance Program is to improve generating capability within California. Therefore, measurement of maintenance program impact on generation capability is the essential metric. For this purpose, the CPUC intends to use Capacity Unavailability Factor (CUF). The CUF is equal to the sum of all of the hours of lost generation, normalized to the net maximum capacity for the unit, divided by the period hours, and expressed as a percentage. In essence, it is the percentage of total capability that was not available over the reporting period, for all reasons. It does not address whether or not the generating asset was bid into the system.

CUF is numerically equal to NERC GADS EUF (North American Electric Reliability Council's Generation Availability Data System Services Equivalent Unavailability Factor). The CPUC chose to modify the name and expand the terms in the numerator to make the equation clear as to the factors that are being utilized.

This factor was chosen as the primary metric because each factor in the numerator is believed to be sensitive to the effect of a change to the applied maintenance program. However, there is no single performance metric that can suffice to evaluate the effectiveness of a maintenance program, especially during periods when generator operational characteristics change significantly. Other operating parameters will be monitored along with CUF to assure that conclusions regarding plant operation are not drawn from an incomplete set of measurements.

It should also be recognized the CUF performance measure, despite its close relationship to the adequacy or effectiveness of the maintenance program, is a historical or lagging indicator. Thus, identification of deterioration in performance can sometimes be better accomplished by ad hoc review of the raw data. Therefore, the CPUC will use additional information or measures derived from the raw data to provide early warnings that some element of a maintenance program may have deteriorated. It is recommended that generating asset owners do the same.

3. Verification and Audit Process

While it is recognized that unit performance metrics are the truest indicator of the effectiveness of a maintenance program, the metrics are lagging indicators, with a fairly long time constant. The CPUC believes that a more timely verification process is needed to provide assurance that generation asset owners are employing effective maintenance programs. Therefore, the CPUC has developed a process to verify that generation asset owners are employing maintenance programs. This section describes the methods employed to provide the assurance that generation asset owners implement maintenance programs, which meet the performance standards. The methods described reflect the principle that the generation asset owners can best assess the manner and effectiveness in satisfying the performance standards, and will improve their maintenance programs and practices through the performance of such assessments. The verification and audit methods adopted include an initial certification process, periodic re-certifications, or notification of interim significant changes to programs; and a process of both random and triggered audits by the CPUC.

The Section 1 Generation Maintenance Performance Standards and Assessment Guidelines document will serve as the audit benchmark against which each maintenance program will be evaluated, both by the generating asset owner when doing self-assessments, and by the CPUC when performing audits. The performance standards and assessment guidelines were derived from, and supported by the Maintenance Guidelines for Electric Generating Facilities in Appendix A.