Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy  Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to direct the North American Electric  Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Commission-certified Electric Reliability  Organization, to submit for approval Reliability Standards that address the impact of  geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) on the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System.   The Commission proposes to do this in two stages.  In the first stage, the Commission  proposes to direct NERC to file, within 90 days of the effective date of a final rule in this  proceeding, one or more Reliability Standards that require owners and operators of the  Bulk-Power System to develop and implement operational procedures to mitigate the  effects of GMDs consistent with the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System.  In the  second stage, the Commission proposes to direct NERC to file, within six months of the  effective date of a final rule in this proceeding, one or more Reliability Standards that  require owners and operators of the Bulk-Power System to conduct initial and on-going  Docket No. RM12-22-000  – 2 –  assessments of the potential impact of GMDs on Bulk-Power System equipment and the  Bulk-Power System as a whole.  Based on those assessments, the Reliability Standards  would require owners and operators to develop and implement a plan so that instability,  uncontrolled separation, or cascading failures of the Bulk-Power System, caused by  damage to critical or vulnerable Bulk-Power System equipment, or otherwise, will not  occur as a result of a GMD.  This plan cannot be limited to operational procedures or  enhanced training alone, but should, subject to the needs indentified in the assessments,  contain strategies for protecting against the potential impact of GMDs based on factors  such as the age, condition, technical specifications, or location of specific equipment.   These strategies could include automatically blocking geomagnetically induced currents  from entering the Bulk-Power System, instituting specification requirements for new  equipment, inventory management, and isolating certain equipment that is not cost  effective to retrofit.  This second stage would be implemented in phases, focusing first on  the most critical Bulk-Power System assets.