What is the purpose of NERC’s “PRC” standards?

NERC’s “PRC” standards are designed to ensure protection system reliability, which is crucial for maintaining the stability and integrity of the electric grid. These standards focus on the performance and maintenance of protection systems, including relays and associated hardware. By setting requirements for design, testing, and operation, these standards help to prevent misoperations that can lead to outages or system failures.

Properly functioning protection systems are essential for detecting faults and isolating problematic sections of the grid, ultimately protecting both people and equipment. This focus on reliability ensures that systems can respond adequately to disturbances, maintaining a stable power supply and minimizing the risk of widespread outages.

Other options do not align with the specific goals of the PRC standards. For instance, regulating power degradation procedures, communicating during outages, or enforcing operational cost management are outside the scope of what the PRC standards specifically address. Each of these alternative focuses represents important areas of electrical reliability and system management but does not capture the core purpose of the PRC standards as centered on the reliability of protection systems.