The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) announced today that they will open a joint inquiry into the operations of the bulk-power system during the extreme winter weather conditions currently being experienced by the Midwest and South central states. The severe cold weather over the weekend, and continuing into this week, has contributed to power outages affecting millions of electricity customers throughout the region.
For now, the emphasis must remain on restoring power to customers and securing the reliability of the bulk-power system. In the days ahead, FERC and NERC will formally begin the inquiry, which will work with other federal agencies, states, regional entities and utilities to identify problems with the performance of the bulk-power system and, where appropriate, solutions for addressing those issues.
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