Guide to the MBR Relational Database Portal

Guide to the MBR Relational Database Portal

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) created the MBR portal to store and manage data submitted by companies that sell electricity at market-based rates under Order 860.

Main Functions:

• Search for company IDs, EIA information, and submitted data

• Create GIDs and Asset IDs

• Access reports, such as market power studies and asset appendices

• Generate new asset appendix serial numbers

Searching in the MBR Portal

There are several tools for searching within the portal to find information related to a company, upstream owners, market studies and identifiers needed for submission.

First is the general search. The general search allows users to look up any company CID, LEI or GID identifiers. These are important for reporting Upstream owners, affiliates, and counterparties in power purchase agreements. Enter the partial name of a company to find what identifier they have on file.

Next search feature is the Gen Assets database. This search will find a Gen Asset ID that was created by someone who needed to submit information for the generator. When EIA data is not available for a generator, or is not listed in FERCs database, a Gen Asset ID must be created to identify the generator in the Entities to Gen Assets Relational Database.

EIA860 Data is in the portal. FERC provides a copy of the EIA database and it can be used to search plant codes and generator IDs for existing generators.  However, FERC is several months/years behind in populating the most current EIA data, so even if a generator has an EIA ID, it may not necessarily show in FERCs Portal. If FERC does not have EIA data for a specific generator, then the EIA identifiers cannot be used for submission. A rejection will occur indicating that the EIA data is not valid. When FERC does not have current EIA data, you must generate a GenAsset ID and submit in place of EIA.

Searching submitted data is probably the most complex search in the portal. Because companies can have several update submissions for any of the data, it can be hard to decipher what data is active and which is not. For example, if a company submits an end date for a generator or a Purchase Agreement as an update, the portal will show the submission in the database. It will appear as an active record, therefore appearing as if the relationship is still intact. However, when looking in the end data field, that is populated with a previous date, it means the generator is no longer part of the asset appendix.

This company’s search for Generators in the Entities To Gen Assets Submitted Data section appears as if all the listed generators are part of their asset appendix, but two of them are not part of the appendix; one as of December 2021 and the other as of June 2024. So be careful and always watch for end dates in the submitted data to know exactly what assets are still part of the company. For best results, it is better to view the current asset appendix of a company to get a better representation of what assets they own.

Creating IDs

Creating GIDs and GenAsset IDs is something any user can do. If a GID or Asset ID is needed for any entity or generator, it can be created by the person who is submitting the data. IDs do not have to be created by the owner. Duplicate IDs may exist for entities or individuals. What is most important is that when setting up the ID it contains the information required for FERC to correctly identify who/what the ID is for. Searching in the general search or Gen Asset search can locate any existing GIDs or Asset IDs.

MBR Reports and Asset Management

MBR Reports section has a variety of information from looking up market share screens and asset appendices to viewing a list of company affiliates. There are two different Asset Appendix reports. One for current and another for all historical reports.

As noted in a prior blog on Asset Appendix reports, UUAs, Generators and PPAs may not always be present in the reports unless the start date is one that has already come about. Start dates in the future will not show the particular asset until the date arrives. Removing assets is done by entering in relationship end dates and “actual” end dates. Scheduled end dates do not automatically have an asset drop off, so make note of any schedule end dates in the PPAs.

Asset Appendix Serial Numbers can be generated any time in the “Asset Appendix Serial Number page. Click on the entity and click generate and you have an updated AASN for a company without having to submit a filing. Best used when you have a change in status or triennial, but do not have an update to submit to the database.

Getting Comfortable with the Portal

Like any tool, the MBR portal becomes more intuitive with practice. While it might seem overwhelming at first, it's actually a goldmine of information for MBR submissions. Take time to explore each feature, and you'll find it's a valuable resource for managing market-based rate data.

The key is remembering to verify end dates, double-check current assets, and stay aware of the lag in EIA data. With these points in mind, you'll be navigating the portal like a pro in no time.

Once familiar locating the necessary information creating successful submissions will be a breeze with the help of the MBR portal.