Settlement Procedures

For an entity that has received a “Notice of Alleged Violation and Proposed Penalty or Sanction,” or NAVAPS, for an alleged violation of a North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standard, and has chosen to contest the penalty or sanction, the option of settling is available at any point. At no point during the processes and procedures described in the Electric Reliability Organization Sanctions is the option to settle with Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. (Texas RE) not available.

If the entity contacts Texas RE regarding the possibility of settlement, Texas RE will issue a “Confirmation of Settlement Discussion” to the entity and NERC. The NAVAPS process will temporarily be on hold. However, the settlement talks can be ended at any time.

During settlement talks, Texas RE will determine a penalty range; and the entity should expect to make a settlement offer that will enhance reliability, may require spending money that would not normally have been spent, and/or benefit the industry.