2012 SERC CMEP Implementation Plan - SERC Home Page

Section 1: SERC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement ProgramPower System posed by the issue, the relevant corrective and preventative actions, and theappropriate penalties and sanctions, if any. Additional information may be requested from theRegistered Entity to facilitate the assessment. If SERC compliance enforcement staff determinessufficient basis exists to allege a violation, then staff contacts the Registered Entity and overviewsthe bases, the potential daily penalty exposure, the status of any mitigation activities undertaken bythe Registered Entity, the proposed penalty given the facts and circumstances of the AllegedViolation, and the basic Registered Entity response options. Subsequently, staff will eithercommence settlement negotiations and/or issue a Notice of Alleged Violation and ProposedPenalty or Sanction (NAVAPS) to the Registered Entity. Upon completion of the settlementagreement or confirmation of the violation in accordance with applicable SERC procedures andprovisions of the CMEP, and approval by the SERC president, SERC staff will submit thesettlement agreement or Notice of Confirmed Violation (NOCV) to NERC for its approval. Uponapproval of the settlement or NOCV by NERC, a Notice of Penalty will be filed with FERC andsimultaneously served upon the Registered Entity and publicly posted pursuant to the ROP.SERC staff has developed and continues to refine an extensive set of compliance implementingprocedures. These procedures detail the actions and processes that SERC uses to conduct itscompliance monitoring and enforcement responsibilities. Procedures are aligned with and follow asimilar numbering scheme to the applicable sections of the CMEP to promote linkage. One ormore members of SERC compliance staff are assigned as subject matter experts (SMEs) for eachprocedure to ensure technical accuracy and to help coordinate revisions. New procedures andprocedure revisions are posted publicly for comment to promote transparency. The SERCCompliance Implementing Procedures are on the SERC website (www.serc1.org) under the“Compliance” tab.E. Board Compliance CommitteeThe SERC Board Compliance Committee, a balanced stakeholder committee of the SERC Boardof Directors, is responsible for oversight of SERC compliance staff and its implementation of theCMEP. The Board Compliance Committee, or a subset thereof, also acts as the hearing bodyresponsible for resolving any disputes related to either a finding of an Alleged Violation or asanction administered for an Alleged Violation.SERC compliance staff works independently to complete all of the steps in the Regional Entitycompliance monitoring and enforcement process. These steps conducted by staff includeevaluating whether sufficient basis exists to allege a violation of an approved Reliability Standard,issuing a Notice of Alleged Violation, confirming a violation, developing proposed sanctions andpenalties, negotiating settlements, and accepting mitigation plans.At the conclusion of the staff’s work, following the filing of a Notice of Penalty with FERC, thecompliance staff conducts a review of the enforcement action, including the approved penaltiesand sanctions, and mitigation plans with the Board Compliance Committee.F. Compliance StaffSERC compliance staff conducts compliance monitoring activities pursuant to the eight monitoringmethods set forth in the CMEP and enforces compliance with Reliability Standards throughassessment and determinations of Alleged Violations, imposition of appropriate penalties andsanctions in accordance with the CMEP and the Penalties and Sanctions Guidelines (Appendix 4Bof the NERC ROP), and approval and verification of completion of mitigation activities and actionsto prevent recurrence. To accomplish these activities, SERC’s compliance staff is further dividedSERC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program2012 CMEP Implementation PlanNovember 1, 2011 3