Mandatory Electricity Reliability Standards

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct2005) made electricity reliability standards mandatory and enforceable. The law authorized the creation of a self-regulatory 'electric reliability organization' to develop and enforce the standards. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approve the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) as the enforcing organization on June 20, 2006. The requirements became active on June 18, 2007. The provision of the law was included in the legislation because of the massive blackout in 2003 that left 50 million people with electricity. NERC can now order corrective measures and fines from $1,000 to $1 million per day.

Standards relate to the planning and operation of the bulk power system and covers such areas as balancing customer demand with generation supplies, emergency operations, cyber security, vegetation management and disturbance reporting. More than 1,400 entities must comply with the NERC reliabiility standards. (Transmission & Distribution World)