North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) was formed to ensure that the bulk electric system in North America is reliable, adequate and secure. NERC's membership consists of eight Regional Reliability Councils one of which is the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC). NPCC is an international electric regional reliability council formed to promote the reliability and efficiency of the interconnected power systems within its geographic area of New York, the six New England states, Ontario, Québec, and the Maritime Provinces in Canada. Members of both NERC and NPCC are required to follow stringent compliance standards in order to insure safe, reliable, efficient and fair operation of the entire grid. Both NERC and NPCC are transitioning from voluntary to mandatory Standards.