What type of audits does NERC conduct?

NERC, or the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, primarily conducts compliance audits. These audits focus on ensuring that electric utilities and other organizations comply with established reliability standards and regulations. Compliance audits are essential for maintaining the overall reliability and security of the North American bulk electric system. NERC assesses whether entities are meeting required guidelines and practices, thus helping to prevent outages and enhance the overall functioning of the electric grid.

The focus of NERC lies in reliability and operational standards, which is why compliance audits are crucial. Specific evaluations might include how well organizations follow mandatory reliability standards regarding operations, maintenance, and planning. This process helps to identify potential risks and areas needing improvement.

While financial audits examine the accuracy of an organization’s financial records, performance audits assess efficiency and effectiveness in operations. Safety audits, on the other hand, focus on occupational safety and health measures. These types of audits are not the main focus of NERC's responsibilities, which center on compliance with reliability standards rather than financial aspects or general performance metrics.