About NERC

About GADS

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to assure the reliability and security of the bulk power system in North America. NERC develops and enforces Reliability Standards; annually assesses seasonal and long‐term reliability; monitors the bulk power system through system awareness; and educates, trains, and certifies industry personnel. NERC’s area of responsibility spans the continental United States, Canada, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. NERC is the electric reliability organization (ERO) for North America, subject to oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and governmental authorities in Canada. NERC's jurisdiction includes users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system, which serves more than 334 million people.

The ERO’s key programs, which impact more than 1,900 bulk power system owners and operators, are based on four pillars of continued success:

• Reliability – to address events and identifiable risks, thereby improving the reliability of the bulk power system.
• Assurance – to provide assurance to the public, industry, and government for the reliable performance of the bulk power system.
• Learning – to promote learning and continuous improvement of operations and adapt to lessons learned for improved bulk power system reliability.
• Risk-based Approach – to focus attention, resources, and actions on issues most important to bulk power system reliability.

​Generating Availability Data System (GADS)The electric utility industry initiated GADS in 1982 to expand data collection activities that it began in 1963. Today, NERC’s GADS maintains operating histories on more than 7,700 generating units in the North America.
GADS is recognized as a valuable source of reliability information for total unit and major equipment groups and is widely used by industry analysts in a variety of applications. Through GADS, NERC collects information about the performance of electric generating equipment and provides assistance to those researching information on power plant outages. GADs also supports equipment availability analyses and other decision-making processes in the industry. GADS data is also used in conducting assessments of generation resources and improving their performance.
GADS is a mandatory industry program for conventional generating units that are 20 MW and larger. GADS is open to any organization that operates electric generating facilities and is willing to follow the GADS reporting requirements specified in the GADS Data Reporting Instructions (DRI).