Serc Reliability Corporation

THE MISSION OF THE SERC RELIABILITY CORPORATION (SERC) IS TO ASSURE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT REDUCTION OF RISKS TO THE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY OF THE BULK POWER SYSTEM. SERC PROVIDES STATUTORY FUNCTIONS CALLED FOR IN SECTION 215 OF THE FEDERAL POWER ACT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS DELEGATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN SERC AND THE NORTH AMERICAN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION (NERC). SERC PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS: ANALYZE EVENTS TO IDENTIFY LESSONS LEARNED THAT WILL IMPROVE RELIABILITY; PROMOTE BPS RELIABILITY, ADEQUACY AND SECURITY; HELP DEVELOP RELIABILITY STANDARDS FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN BULK POWER SYSTEM (BPS) AND THE SERC REGION; MONITOR AND ENFORCE APPROVED MANDATORY RELIABILITY STANDARDS; REGISTER AND CERTIFY RESPONSIBLE ENTITIES UNDER THE RELIABILITY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM; ASSESS THE BPS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE RISK PROFILE IN ORDER TO ASSURE RELIABILITY, ADEQUACY, AND SECURITY; AND TRAIN OPERATING PERSONNEL TO ASSURE COMPETENCE.

THE COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM (CMEP) IS THE LARGEST PROGRAM AREA AT SERC, AND IS IMPLEMENTED PURSUANT TO SERC'S DELEGATION AGREEMENT AND THE NERC UNIFORM CMEP DEVELOPED UNDER SECTION 215(C) OF THE FEDERAL POWER ACT AND APPROVED BY THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION. THE SERC CMEP IS IMPLEMENTED BY PERSONNEL THAT ARE INDEPENDENT OF STAKEHOLDERS AND REGISTERED ENTITIES. THE SERC CMEP IS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO FIVE AREAS: COMPLIANCE MONITORING; COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES; ENTITY ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION; ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION AND CERTIFICATION; AND ENFORCEMENT.1.) THE COMPLIANCE MONITORING AREA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING COMPLIANCE AUDITS, SPOT CHECKS, AND COMPLIANCE INVESTIGATIONS; FOR SERVING AS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS FOR ALL STANDARDS; AND FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROCESS FOR TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY EXCEPTIONS (TFE) TO THE NERC CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION (CIP) RELIABILITY STANDARDS.2.) THE COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AREA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING AND DEPLOYING CMEP-RELATED ANALYTICS AND COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENTS.3.) THE ENTITY ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION AREA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING AND DEPLOYING ENTITY INHERENT RISK ASSESSMENTS (IRA) AND INTERNAL CONTROLS EVALUATIONS (ICE); FOR SERVING AS THE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR ALL NON-COMPLIANCE ISSUES DISCOVERED AND/OR SELF-REPORTED TO THE REGION; FOR DETERMINING THE COMPLETE SCOPE OF VIOLATIONS; FOR DETERMINING THE ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL RISK POSED BY VIOLATIONS TO BPS RELIABILITY; AND FOR REVIEWING REGISTERED ENTITY MITIGATING ACTIVITIES TO ENSURE THAT ENTITIES CORRECT ISSUES AND PREVENT RECURRENCE THROUGH APPROPRIATE MITIGATION.4.) THE ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION AND CERTIFICATION AREA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REGISTERING OWNERS, OPERATORS, AND USERS OF THE BPS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH NERC RELIABILITY STANDARDS; AND FOR CERTIFYING APPLICABLE ENTITIES WHO PERFORM RELIABILITY-RELATED FUNCTIONS.5.) THE ENFORCEMENT AREA EVALUATES ALL POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS OF RELIABILITY STANDARDS BY SERC REGISTERED ENTITIES AND CONDUCTS A THOROUGH ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE IF A VIOLATION ACTUALLY OCCURRED. THE ENFORCEMENT STAFF NOTIFIES THE REGISTERED ENTITY OF ITS FINDINGS REGARDING THE VIOLATION AND ANY APPLICABLE PENALTIES OR SANCTIONS. THE ENFORCEMENT STAFF MAY ALSO ENGAGE IN SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE REGISTERED ENTITY. THE PROPOSED ENFORCEMENT ACTION, ALONG WITH ANY PROPOSED PENALTY OR SANCTIONS, IS SUBMITTED TO NERC FOR ITS REVIEW AND APPROVAL, AND SUBSEQUENT SUBMITTAL TO FERC. IF A REGISTERED ENTITY CHALLENGES THE FINDINGS OF THE VIOLATION AND/OR PENALTY, THE ENFORCEMENT STAFF PROSECUTES THE CASE BEFORE A HEARING BODY MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE NERC BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND SERC BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

THE SECOND LARGEST PROGRAM AT SERC IS THE RELIABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS (RAPA) PROGRAM. SERC'S RAPA PROGRAM PROVIDES ANALYSIS, DATA GATHERING, AND ANALYSIS OF EVENTS ON THE BPS. THE RAPA FUNCTION IDENTIFIES RELIABILITY RISKS TO THE BPS IN THE SERC FOOTPRINT FOR THE PURPOSE OF INTEGRATED RISK ANALYSIS. RAPA'S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE A CULTURE OF RELIABILITY EXCELLENCE AMONG THE OWNERS OF BPS ASSETS. THE PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHES THIS MISSION BY IDENTIFYING RISKS TO RELIABILITY, ANALYZING PERFORMANCE AND PRIORITIZING SIGNIFICANT RISKS.SERC CONDUCTS AN INDEPENDENT RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE BPS WITHIN THE SERC REGION, INCLUDING DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS. THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM USES INFORMATION FROM ITS INTERNAL DATA COLLECTION SOURCES ALONG WITH OTHER PROGRAMS, SUCH AS NERC TRANSMISSION AVAILABILITY DATA SYSTEM (TADS), GENERATING AVAILABILITY DATA SYSTEMS (GADS), AND DEMAND RESPONSE AVAILABILITY DATA SYSTEM (DADS). SERC EVALUATES THE OVERALL RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, AND ADEQUACY OF THE SERC REGION AND REPORTS ITS RESULTS TO NERC. SERC'S WORK SUPPORTS NERC'S OBLIGATION TO PERFORM SIMILAR ANALYSIS OF THE INTERCONNECTED NORTH AMERICAN BPS.

THE THIRD LARGEST PROGRAM IS TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND OPERATOR CERTIFICATION. THE SERC TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND OPERATOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM PROVIDES EDUCATION AND TRAINING NECESSARY TO OBTAIN ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE BPS. SERC TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS SUPPORT THE CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFIED SYSTEM OPERATORS IN THE SERC REGION. THE PROGRAM'S TARGET AUDIENCE IS BPS OPERATING PERSONNEL, SYSTEM OPERATORS, OPERATIONS SUPPORT PERSONNEL, AND TRAINING PERSONNEL. SERC SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SERC'S STAFF TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN POWER SYSTEM OPERATING TOPICS.SERC ALSO PROVIDES EDUCATION TO REGISTERED ENTITIES THROUGH ROBUST OUTREACH ENGAGEMENTS, FOCUSING PRIMARILY ON COMPLIANCE ACTIVITIES, INTERNAL CONTROLS, AND EMERGING RELIABILITY ISSUES.