FERC Issues Order on Proposed New Reliability Standards Development Procedure

On September 3, 2010, FERC issued an order in Docket No. RR10-12 approving NERC’s June 10, 2010 petition seeking approval to replace NERC's Reliability Standards Development Procedure (RSDP) with a new "Standard Processes Manual" (to be incorporated into the NERC Rules of Procedure). However, in its order, FERC expressed concern about NERC's references in the new manual to classifying elements of a Reliability Standard beyond the Requirements into categories such as “enforceable” versus “informational.” FERC expressed concern that “designating additional elements beyond the Requirement as enforceable in the Standard Processes Manual could create confusion and uncertainty . . .” FERC therefore directed that NERC submit a compliance filing to address these concerns. To view the approval, click here.