(AssurX: Morgan Hill. CA) -- ICF International and AssurX Inc., leading providers of consulting services and technology solutions, have announced a strategic partnership to provide comprehensive, outsourced management solutions for North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) compliance for the energy and utilities industry.
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ICF’s industry expertise and regulatory experience, combined with AssurX’s proven software solution, creates a suite of services with the depth and breadth of capabilities to support energy-sector clients in achieving their NERC compliance goals and objectives. The combined solution provides NERC (693) and NERC-compliance software services, as well as in-house CIP cyber-security help.
“We are excited to team with the industry’s leading NERC-compliance software developer to provide companies with a comprehensive set of outsourced NERC-compliance management services,” says Michael Sanchez, vice president of Energy Risk and Compliance for ICF International. “By combining the capabilities of AssurX and ICF, we look forward to helping our clients maintain NERC compliance so they can reallocate internal resources to other high-value initiatives.”
Energy companies face constant challenges in meeting and complying with NERC standards, but not all of them have the internal resources to effectively manage NERC compliance, and many have been forced to assign these responsibilities to already heavily burdened employees. This strategic partnership brings together ICF’s compliance assessment and advisory services with the AssurX One program to provide complete outsourced compliance management services. Together, ICF and AssurX provide clients with unparalleled expertise, and these services can be provided for about half the total cost of a full-time compliance employee.
The combined outsourced solution includes:
Managing regulatory compliance and best practices (ICF)
• Ongoing reliability compliance assessments
• Monitor standards under development
• Communicate approved changes to standards
• Self-certification management
• Annual NERC awareness training
• Annual management presentation
• Maintain ICP documentation
AssurX One secure on-demand software solution
• Document management and evidence collection
• Seamless automatic regulatory updates
• PRC and maintenance compliance
• Corrective action process (NERC find, fix, and track reporting)
• Built-in metrics and dashboards
• Audit and self-certification management
• No hardware or software to install
• No internal IT support required
• Highly secure data center (SAS 70, Type II-certified)
• Quick software implementation and training
• BES cyber-security (CIP) management
“A comprehensive compliance solution is needed for the registered entities that do not have the day-to-day resources to maintain a strong compliance program,” says Trey Kirkpatrick, vice president of Energy and Utilities Compliance Services at AssurX. “There are continual changes within the NERC-regulated industry, and smaller entities are having trouble keeping up. With the industry experience of ICF International and the proven AssurX NERC-compliance software program, this solution could benefit many registered entities.”
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