NBSO’s primary responsibilities are to ensure the reliability (adequacy and security) of the electrical power system, as well as to facilitate the development and operation of a competitive electricity market in New Brunswick. Adequacy is the ability of the electric system to supply the electrical demand and security means the ability of the electric system to withstand sudden disturbances such as outages due to lightning.

In October 2005, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) named the NBSO as the Reliability Coordinator for the Maritimes Area.

There are only 17 Reliability Coordinators in all of North America. The Reliability Coordinator is the entity that is the highest level of authority who is responsible for the operation of the Bulk Electric System, has the Wide Area View of the Bulk Electric System, and has the operating tools, processes and procedures, including the authority to prevent or mitigate emergency operating situations.

In the Reliability Coordinator, the NBSO provides:

• System Planning to ensure the power system meets current and future needs of its customers.
• Area Coordination to coordinate power system activities with other responsible authorities.
• Resource Adequacy to forecast and to ensure that enough power is available to consumers and industry.
• Resource Balancing to ensure that load on the power system is balanced between in-province use and the flow of electricity between neighboring systems.
• Operations to provide day-to-day supervision of the power system.