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September 8, 2011 Outage Event Response

On May 1, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released a joint report titled "Arizona-Southern California Outages on September 8, 2011: Causes and Recommendations" (Joint Report) summarizing the causes and findings of their eight-month review of the September 8, 2011 Southwest event that affected nearly three million customers in Southern California, Arizona, and Baja California, Mexico. The report identified 27 recommendations for preventing similar future events in the West.

In a letter to WECC dated July 26, 2012, Gerry Cauley, President and CEO of NERC, presented his thoughts on the Joint Report and eight broader systemic concerns that NERC identified. Mr. Cauley requested that WECC leadership provide a comprehensive, Interconnection-wide detailed report outlining near-term remediation actions completed or in progress and plans for additional actions going forward.

On September 28, 2012, a Response Report by WECC was prepared in response to the Joint Report and Mr. Cauley's letter. WECC and its members have been working diligently since the event and the issuance of the Joint Report to address underlying issues and the specific recommendations contained therein. Significant progress has already been made in many areas.

There are 51 WECC activities currently underway, all with defined timelines that reflect a sense of urgency. While WECC recognizes the need to resolve these issues expeditiously, it must ensure that well-reasoned, technically sound actions are not compromised in the interest of time. Consequently, the timeframe for completion of the activities ranges from 2011-2015.