NERC’s Proposed Rules Of Procedure Would Impact Enforcement Actions

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation ("NERC") filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") for approval of proposed revisions to NERC's Rules of Procedures ("ROP") on May 7, 2012 ("ROP Petition").¹ NERC developed these revisions by determining where improvements could be made, reflecting on the experiences of NERC and the Regional Entities, and seeking comment from stakeholders on potential changes. Furthermore, these revisions implement actions set forth in NERC's 2009 Three-Year Electric Reliability Organization Performance Assessment Report.²

While the ROP Petition proposes changes throughout NERC's ROP, NERC is proposing significant changes to the Hearing Procedures section in Attachment 2 of Appendix 4C-Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program ("Appendix 4C"). Such proposed revisions include: i) permitting interested third-party interventions in enforcement hearings; ii) allowing independent system operators