Standard Processes Manual 2010
Status:
Approved by the NERC Board of Trustees on December 16, 2010, pending regulatory approval.
 
Purpose/Industry Need:
During its January 2010 meeting, the NERC Standards Committee approved posting for industry comment a new NERC Standard Processes Manual (Manual).  The draft Manual is the product of three parallel efforts to improve NERC’s standards development processes:
  • Industry stakeholders submitted numerous comments during the development of the Three-year Performance Assessment, indicating the need for improvements to the standards processes, that would improve standards quality, reduce standards development time, reduce resource burdens on the industry to review and comment on draft standards, and improve the overall quality of NERC standards. 
  • The Standards Committee and its Process Subcommittee have been working on ideas to improve the effectiveness and speed of standards development while respecting NERC and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards development principles.
  •  NERC’s Ad Hoc Group for Results-based Reliability Standards submitted a preliminary report to the NERC Board of Trustees in November 2009 that highlighted the need to provide guidance to standards drafting teams and better “quality” control over the development of reliability standards.
In response to the Three-year Performance Assessment, a review by NERC staff and a member of the Standards Committee’s Process Subcommittee was conducted to compare NERC’s standards development process against ANSI’s requirements for standards accreditation, and to compare NERC’s standards development process against three other ANSI-accredited standards developers.  The work of all these efforts was merged by NERC staff and combined into a new “Standard Processes Manual” that is intended to replace the “Reliability Standards Development Procedure Version 7” manual in its entirety.
 
The proposed manual is intended to result in improvements to the standards processes by making more efficient use of limited resources while improving the quality of standards and maintaining ANSI accreditation of the standards process.
 
To assist you in the review, the following documents have been posted:
  • ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards
  • Table comparing ANSI’s Essential Requirements for accreditation as a standards developer against three other ANSI-accredited standards development processes, NERC’s last board-approved version of the Reliability Standards Development Procedure (RSDP), and the proposed Standard Processes Manual (SPM)
  • Reliability Standards Development Procedure Version 7
  • Standard Processes Manual
Members of the Standards Committee’s Process Subcommittee will work with NERC staff in considering and responding to all comments received (all comments and responses will be publicly posted) in response to this posting and will recommend to the Standards Committee appropriate next steps leading to the adoption by NERC of a new NERC Standard Development Process Manual during 2010.  (The Standard Committee also intends to propose additional improvements to other NERC standards development guidance documents to support the Results-Based Standards Initiative. These changes will be addressed in subsequent announcements.)
Draft Action Dates Results Consideration of Comments
Supplemental Work: Revisions to Address FERC Directives
Proposed Modifications to
Standard Processes Manual
 
Recirculation Ballot 11/09/2010 - 11/13/2010 Summary>>
Proposed Modifications to
Standard Processes Manual
 
Supporting Materials:
Comment Form (Word)
 
 
Initial Ballot

 
10/28/2010-11/07/2010 Summary>> Consideration of Comments>>
Ballot Pool
Info>> | Join>>
 
10/18/2010-10/28/2010
Comment Period

 
10/18/2010-11/07/2010 Consideration of Comments>>
Original Project: Transition from Reliability Standards Development Procedure
Proposed Modifications to NERC’s Standards Development Processes

Standards Process Manual

Clean
| Redline to Initial Ballot


Supporting Materials:

Reliability Standards Development Procedure
Summary Comparisons of NERC Process and ANSI Processes

2009 ANSI Essential Requirements
Recirculation Ballot

Info>> | Vote>>
4/30/2010 -5/10/2010
(closed)
Summary>>

Full Record>>
Proposed Modifications to NERC’s Standards Development Processes

Standards Process Manual
Clean | Redline to Last Posting


Supporting Materials:
Reliability Standards Development Procedure
Summary Comparisons of NERC Process and ANSI Processes

2009 ANSI Essential Requirements
Initial Ballot

Info>> | Vote>>
4/19/2010 -4/29/2010
(closed)
Summary>>

Full Record>>
Consideration of Comments>>
Pre-ballot Window
Info>> | Join>>
3/18/2010 -4/19/2010
(closed)
Proposed Modifications to NERC’s Standards Development Processes

Standards Process Manual

Supporting Materials:
Comment Form (Word)
Reliability Standards Development Procedure
Summary Comparisons of NERC Process and ANSI Processes

2009 ANSI Essential Requirements
Comment Period

Info>>
1/27/2010 -3/12/2010 Consideration of Comments>>