Enforcement
SERC Enforcement is responsible for resolving violations of the NERC Reliability Standards and the SERC Regional Reliability Standards. SERC Enforcement is bound by the NERC Rules of Procedure (ROP) and strives to be independent, without conflict of interest, objective, and fair in resolving Enforcement actions.
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Compliance Monitoring
Coordinated Oversight
Technical Feasibility Exception
Risk Management
Risk Awareness & Oversight
Assessment & Self-Report
Registration & Certification
Requesting Settlement Negotiations
At any time, a registered entity may request settlement negotiations for Possible Violations of the NERC Reliability Standards or the SERC Regional Reliability Standards. The registered entity should submit the request on company letterhead using the Settlement Request Template
Penalties and Sanctions
SERC Enforcement uses the principles listed in the NERC Sanction Guidelines (Appendix 4B of the NERC ROP) to determine appropriate and fair penalties and/or sanctions for violations of the NERC Reliability Standards and/or the SERC Regional Reliability Standards.
Filing Process
SERC Enforcement uses two means of resolving violations of the NERC Reliability Standards. A Notice of Penalty (NOP) is reserved for serious risk violations, intentional violations, or significant compliance failures. A spreadsheet Notice of Penalty (SNOP) is used for lesser risk violations that do not qualify for the Find, Fix, Track and Report (FFT) or Compliance Exception process.
After a NOP or SNOP is filed with FERC, FERC has 30 days to issue an order indicating it will review the enforcement action. In most cases, FERC will issue an order of no further review. At that point, SERC will notify the registered entity and issue an invoice for payment of the penalty, if any.
After SERC has confirmed that the registered entity has mitigated all of the violations within an enforcement action and taken all other steps required by the settlement agreement, SERC will notify the registered entity that the enforcement action is closed. SERC will release any associated data retention requirements.
Hearings
If SERC and a registered entity cannot reach a settlement agreement to resolve violations of the NERC Reliability Standards and/or the SERC Regional Reliability Standards, SERC will issue a Notice of Alleged Violation (NAV), which starts the process in which the registered entity must respond within certain timeframes (see Section 5.3 of Appendix 4C of the NERC ROP).
A registered entity can contest the proposed penalty or sanction, or both the Alleged Violation and proposed penalty or sanction, pursuant to the steps identified in Section 5.4 of Appendix 4C of the NERC ROP. If SERC and the registered entity cannot resolve all issues within a specified time, the registered entity may request a hearing. The hearing process is set forth in Attachment 2 to Appendix 4C of the NERC ROP.
Documents
Quick Links
NERC Enforcement and Mitigation
The NERC Enforcement and Mitigation page provides links to previously filed enforcement actions from NERC and all of the Regional Entities. It also provides public postings of issues resolved through the FFT and the Compliance Exception processes.
NERC Reliability Standards
The NERC Reliability Standards link lists Standards that are mandatory and currently enforceable within the United States.
NERC Rules of Procedure
SERC Enforcement is governed by Section 400, Section 1500, Appendix 4B, and Appendix 4C of the NERC ROP.
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