The country’s electric grid, with its hundreds of thousands of miles of high-voltage power lines, is often described as a bowl of spaghetti. Yet 99.9% of the time when you flick a switch, the lights come on.
So, who is the bulk power system’s chief detangler?
That would be the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the official watchdog of the North American bulk power system. The international non-profit known as NERC sets mandatory reliability standards for all users, owners, and operators of the electric transmission grid.
To maintain reliability, NERC oversees and evaluates grid conditions with support from six regional reliability organizations that serve as its on-the-ground partners in identifying potential problem areas. Each summer and winter, NERC releases seasonal grid assessments that evaluate whether electricity supply is sufficient to meet expected demand and highlight regions at risk of shortfalls.
These periodic reports analyze conditions that can increase demand, such as heat waves and severe cold, as well as factors that can constrain generation, including fuel or equipment shortages. They also include recommendations to address current risks and help prevent future problems. When unforeseen threats emerge, NERC issues special assessments as needed.
Every year, the organization also provides a long-term grid assessment looking ahead 10 years at what innovations or circumstances may impact the reliability of our interconnected electric energy transmission network.
Providing the electric power industry with timely insight into grid reliability, potential power shortfalls, and strategies to address them is essential to keeping the lights on.
But wait, there’s more.
NERC holds workshops, technical conferences, and trains industry personnel on how to maintain a secure grid and audits owners and operators of the bulk power system to ensure they meet all reliability standards.
NERC also operates the 24/7 Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) that provides the power industry with the latest information on cyber threats, trends, and possible solutions with alerts and advisories. E-ISAC develops and executes GridEx, the largest cyber and physical grid security exercise in North America.
Overall, NERC has come a long way from its humble beginning as an industry-led, voluntary grid watchdog. The big Northeast blackout of 1965 that impacted 30 million people led electric utilities to set up the entity to better coordinate grid dynamics.
Today, NERC is the nation’s Electric Reliability Organization that oversees the operation and planning of the grid throughout North America. Empowered by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, NERC develops mandatory, enforceable reliability standards backed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Electric cooperatives that participate in NERC activities advocate for regulations that enable co-ops to plan, maintain, and operate a reliable grid.
So how does NERC impact you as a member of an electric cooperative?
NERC helps ensure the electric grid remains reliable, secure, and resilient for the millions of people who depend on it every day. By developing and enforcing reliability standards, monitoring the bulk power system, and identifying emerging risks, NERC plays a critical role in supporting the safe delivery of electricity across North America.
For electric co-op communities, the work that NERC conducts means greater confidence that homes, schools, farms, and businesses will have reliable power around the clock.
Cathy Cash writes for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives.