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The entity that has historically been responsible for setting standards for reliable operation of interconnected transmission systems in North America is The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC. As described on its website: “The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid. NERC develops and enforces Reliability Standards; annually assesses seasonal and long-term reliability; monitors the bulk power system through system awareness; and educates, trains, and certifies industry personnel.” NERC's jurisdiction includes users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system (which consists of electric generation and transmission).
Following the major power outages in the Northeast in the 1960s and 1970s, the electric power industry joined together in an effort to convince the U.S. Congress not to pass laws regarding the operation of power systems. Instead, the industry asked to be allowed to do this on a voluntary basis. NERC was established as a voluntary organization promoting electrical system reliability and security. After a major blackout in the Midwest and Northeast in 2003, Congress passed a new law placing NERC under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission or FERC. This change made NERC standards mandatory rather than voluntary. This also gave NERC legal authority to ensure its standards and guidelines are followed.
NERC is authorized by FERC and the national governments in Canada and Mexico as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) for most of Canada, the United States, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. NERC is divided into six Regional Entities and delegates much of its authority to monitor and enforce compliance to them. The members of each of the Regional Entities come from all segments of the electricity industry: investor-owned utilities; federal power agencies; rural electric cooperatives; state, municipal, and provincial utilities; independent power producers; power marketers; and end-use customers.
The Regional entities are:
- Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO)
- Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC)
- ReliabilityFirst (RF)
- SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC)
- Texas Reliability Entity (TRE)
- Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)