AEP Selects Enviance For Power Grid Reliability Compliance Management

Carlsbad, CA - Enviance, the leading provider of Internet-based, on-demand systems for the management and automation of environmental, health and safety (EHS) compliance activities, recently announced that American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, has chosen Enviance as its system of record for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability compliance management tool for all serviced regions.

NERC, certified as the "electric reliability organization" by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), maintains the reliability and security of the bulk power system in North America. The corporation is tasked with developing and enforcing reliability standards; monitoring the bulk power system; assessing future adequacy; and auditing owners, operators, and users of the bulk power system. As of January 2007, NERC has begun enforcing standards that were previously voluntary. These standards are designed to ensure dependability in North America's power grid. Violations can result in fines of up to $1 million per violation per day.

In order to ensure compliance with the NERC standards, and to do so in a cost efficient manner, AEP has deployed the Enviance System, an Internet-based service that allows companies to centrally manage all aspects of regulatory compliance in real-time. The System is relied upon to centrally track, manage and report on all NERC requirements and functions including: Transmission Operator, Load Serving Entity, Transmission Planner and Distribution Provider among others. Over 42,000 tasks and notifications are being managed by the Enviance System, which automatically maintains data to establish compliance and any corrective action required to address system irregularities, and which cuts costs by automating the workflow of data capture, analysis and reporting.

The Enviance System also provides the flexibility to quickly perform impact analyses of affected standards and requirements based on any future change, perform gap analyses and corrective action tracking to closure, and a full look-ahead calendar for compliance planning.

"With $1,000,000 per day fines and imposition of massive monitoring and notification requirements, the NERC regulations reflect the complexity and risk associated with maintaining grid reliability and protecting the heartbeat of America," said Lawrence Goldenhersh, president and CEO of Enviance. "Through its deployment of Enviance, AEP has automated NERC compliance. We are honored that AEP has decided to rely on Enviance to manage its grid reliability obligations over its vast infrastructure."

AEP's NERC implementation is an extension to its existing deployment of Enviance, which is used to manage environmental compliance, including Title V, Notices of Violation, water, waste and fuels, emissions, and logistics. AEP also uses Enviance as its Greenhouse Gas tracking and reporting system of record.

SOURCE: Enviance