National Reliability Standards

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is certified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) for the United States, with the authority to enforce reliability standards on all owners, operators, and users of the bulk-power system (BPS).

NERC works with all stakeholder segments of the electric industry to develop standards for the reliable planning and operation of the BPS.

Reliability standards are the planning and operating rules that electric utilities follow to ensure the most reliable system possible. These standards are developed by the industry using a balanced, open, fair, and inclusive process managed by the NERC Standards Committee. The Committee is facilitated by NERC staff and comprised of representatives from many electric industry sectors.

Proposed standards are reviewed and approved by the NERC Board of Trustees, which then submits the standards to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Canadian provincial regulators for approval. Once approved, the standards become legally binding on all owners, operators, and users of the bulk power system.

Standards must be just and reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest. Participation by industry experts and compliance personnel in the standards development process ensures that the standards are technically sound, fair, and balanced.

For information on mandatory NERC Reliability Standards, visit the NERC Web site:

• Reliability Standards  contains a complete list of standards and NERC's matrix of standards by functional entity along with violation risk factors (VRF Matrix).
• Reliability Standards Under Development  contains a complete list of all NERC projects with standards currently being developed.
• Standards News  contains NERC messages on standards.