Overview[]
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a self-regulatory, non-government organization which has statutory responsibility to regulate bulk power system users, owners, and operators through the adoption and enforcement of standards for fair, ethical and efficient practices. it is composed of the owners and operators of the power grid and has been named by FERC as the "Electric Reliability Organization."
NERC is also responsible for standards for critical infrastructure protection (CIP), which focus on planning and procedures for the physical security of the power grid. NERC's CIP standards essentially approach cybersecurity as an extension of reliability, and address nine areas including Sabotage Reporting, Critical Cyber Asset Identification, and Electronic Security Perimeters, and Recovery Plans for Critical Cyber Assets.[1] These standards identify what utilities must do to protect “cyber assets” seen as critical to the reliability of the bulk power system.