Aligning Strategy with Evolving Reliability Risks
Kirsten Maw of Charles River Associates is an experienced power industry consulting professional who advises utilities, government agencies, and energy providers on regulatory strategy and compliance, with a focus on FERC, NERC, and ISO regulations.
In 1974, Erno Rubik invented what he initially called the Magic Cube, using it as a teaching tool to help students understand and learn geometry. As a professor of architecture, he wanted a hands-on way to demonstrate how parts of a structure could move independently without falling apart.
His first versions were wooden cubes, held together with rubber bands, a smart solution but not built to last. By the 1980s, the cube began its journey toward global recognition, eventually becoming the iconic Rubik’s Cube that we all know today.
Much like the evolution of the Rubik’s Cube, the way utilities approach NERC compliance and manage grid, system, and delivery reliability risks has transformed dramatically since the early Reliability Standards Implementation Era days. What began as a compliance-driven, zero-defect, check-the-box exercise is now a dynamic, multidimensional practice shaped by risk frameworks and constant regulatory and policy shifts.
Today, compliance and risk management resemble a constant turning puzzle, much like Rubik’s Cube. With every move, the alignment of risk and compliance across the organization is reshaped. Achieving harmony on one side can disrupt another, underscoring the deep interconnectivity of these dimensions.
See Figure 1.