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Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program

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Uniform Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program

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The NERC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program works to ensure compliance by all bulk power system owners, operators, and users with NERC reliability standards approved by applicable governmental authorities.  Bulk power system owners, operators, and users are required to register with NERC and comply with all approved reliability standards and report all violations of the reliability standards to their regional entity.  NERC also actively monitors registered entities for compliance with a select number of reliability standards.  For those actively monitored standards, registered entities are required to periodically report their compliance with certain requirements to their regional entity, even if they are fully compliant with the requirements.  Through a series of delegation agreements, each regional entity carries out the NERC compliance monitoring and enforcement program.  NERC oversees each regional entity's compliance monitoring and enforcement process; each region is responsible for reviewing and enforcing compliance with all registered entities within the region.  The Compliance and Certification Committee provides guidance and support for the program.  

NERC's compliance efforts comprise three key activities:  

  1. Compliance monitoring is the process used to assess, investigate, evaluate, and audit in order to measure compliance with NERC standards. 
     
  2. Compliance enforcement ensures that corrective mitigating actions are taken to preserve bulk power system reliability.  Financial penalties and sanctions for noncompliance are administered as described in the NERC Sanction Guidelines.  If a violation of a standard is confirmed, then corrective actions are taken.  In general, sanctions or penalties for noncompliance are based on the level of noncompliance and its frequency, and are intended to deter further violations.
     
  3. Due Process provides registered entities the opportunity to contest any finding of a violation of a NERC reliability standard.  The process allows for hearings at the regional entity and appeals before NERC.  Further appeals may be possible at the appropriate governmental authority.

Regional Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Programs

NERC relies on the regional entities to enforce the NERC standards with bulk power system owners, operators, and users through approved delegation agreements.  Regional entities are responsible for monitoring compliance of the registered entities within their regional boundaries, assuring mitigation of all violations of approved reliability standards and assessing penalties and sanctions for failure to comply.   

Regional hearing processes are available to resolve contested violations or penalties or sanctions.  If resolution cannot be achieved at the regional level, NERC maintains an appeals process to hear disputes.  

Who Must Comply?

All bulk power system owners, operators, and users must comply with approved NERC reliability standards.  These entities are required to register with NERC through the appropriate regional entity.

Contact Us

For more information about the Compliance Enforcement Program please contact us.

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