NERC CIP compliance cost: what drives it

What does NERC CIP compliance cost a registered entity?

NERC CIP has no fixed price, and cost follows from scope. The first driver is categorization under CIP-002, which decides which BES Cyber Systems exist and whether each is rated high, medium or low impact. The impact rating then decides which requirements apply and how many systems, EACMS, PACS and Protected Cyber Assets must be documented, tested and monitored. The second driver is the recurring calendar: quarterly, 35-day and 15-month tasks run every year whether or not anything changes. The regulator's figures below are a starting point for budgeting, not a quote from anyone who would do the work.

FERC's paperwork burden estimates give two reference points. For the 2028 virtualization revisions, FERC estimated that 400 entities would update compliance documentation at 57.7 hours and $4,905 per standard, or 577 hours and $49,045 per entity across the 10 affected standards, using an $85 loaded hourly wage (FERC Order No. 919). For CIP-015-1 internal network security monitoring, FERC's Order No. 907 estimated 340 hours and $32,116 per entity per year in each of the first three years for the 400 entities it expected to take on extra paperwork. These are regulator estimates of documentation effort, not vendor prices, and they leave out tooling, hardware, licenses, staff time for technical work and penalty exposure.

Your actual figure depends on your own systems and staff: how many BES Cyber Systems you have, their impact ratings, how many of your assets already produce logs and configuration baselines, and whether your CIP Senior Manager and delegates can absorb the work internally. When you ask for a quote from a partner, request a written scope that lists the impact ratings, the Applicable Systems in each standard, the number of systems and vendors in scope, and which recurring tasks are included and for how long. Ask the partner to separate one-time setup from annual run costs, so you can compare the first year with later years.

Who is paid for what in a CIP program

This table compares who pays for each part of a NERC CIP program, whether the cost is one-time or recurring, and what moves it up or down. Read it to see which costs stay with the registered entity and which can be bought in from a partner or vendor. The main takeaway is that the entity owns its controls and its compliance, while partners and tools only reduce the effort of preparing systems and evidence.

Cost component	Who is paid and for what	One-time or recurring, and main cost drivers
Internal CIP staff time	The registered entity pays its own engineers, operators, access administrators and compliance staff for recurring CIP tasks and evidence collection	Recurring. Rises with the number of BES Cyber Systems, the number of applicable requirements (high or medium impact versus low impact only) and the 15-day, 35-day, quarterly and 15-month task calendar
CIP Senior Manager and delegates	The registered entity pays for the named CIP Senior Manager and any delegates who approve policies, exceptions and delegations, and who answer for compliance to the Regional Entity	Recurring. Driven by program size, the number of delegation levels, and how many regulated sites and vendors must be overseen
Tooling and monitoring products	The registered entity pays software vendors or cloud providers for licenses, subscriptions or hosting. Confirm license and edition limits before purchase	Mostly recurring licensing, plus one-time integration. Drivers include the number of assets monitored, retention periods and whether the tool produces audit-ready evidence
Implementation partner's scoped work	The registered entity pays a partner such as DeployOpen under a written scope to plan, configure, document and test systems and to prepare evidence. The partner does not own the controls or issue findings	Mostly one-time for build and documentation, with optional recurring support or retainers. Drivers are the agreed scope, the number of systems, the current state of documentation and the deliverables named in the quote
Consultants for specific readiness tasks	The registered entity pays a consultant for a defined task, such as a gap review of CIP-002 categorization or a mock evidence walk-through. The consultant advises but does not replace the CIP Senior Manager	One-time per task, sometimes repeated before a scheduled audit. Drivers are the scope of the task, the size of the evidence set and the readiness of internal records
Regional Entity audit process	The registered entity bears its own preparation and response effort. Regional Entity auditors and NERC, not partners, review evidence and issue findings and any penalties	Recurring on the audit cycle, with audit frequency set by the Regional Entity or by Section 403.10.1 for certain registered functions. Drivers are evidence quality, the audit period and the number of findings to resolve
Penalty exposure	The registered entity bears any sanction from NERC or the Regional Entity. The Sanction Guidelines reference a maximum of $1,584,648 per violation, per day (18 CFR 385.1602(d), as adjusted by Order No. 906)	Contingent, not budgeted. Drivers are violation severity, risk factor, duration, self-reporting and mitigation quality. Confirm current figures in the eCFR before use
Regulatory paperwork burden	FERC estimated paperwork effort for new and revised standards in Order No. 919 and Order No. 907. These are regulator estimates of internal effort, not vendor fees	One-time per revision, plus recurring work once a new requirement is operating. Drivers are the number of affected standards and the entity's current documentation maturity

What makes NERC CIP cost more or less

Most of the effort in a NERC CIP program comes from how many systems fall under the standards and how they are classified, not from the standards' text alone. The cards below cover the scoping and architecture choices that raise or lower the workload, and the checks to run before asking for a quote. Only about 270 of the roughly 1,725 US registered entities reported high or medium impact systems in 2024, so many programs are considerably smaller than the largest ones.

Number of BES Cyber Systems

Every BES Cyber System identified under CIP-002-5.1a carries its own inventory, baselines, access lists, patch tracking and evidence. The count of systems therefore multiplies most recurring tasks. Ask whether each system is needed as a separate BES Cyber System or whether related Cyber Assets can be grouped under one documented categorization with a clear rationale. Document the reasoning, because the categorization itself is audited.

High, medium and low impact split

The impact rating under CIP-002-5.1a decides which requirements apply. High and medium impact systems carry the heaviest control sets, while low impact systems fall under the CIP-003 plan with a much lighter workload. Entities near a bright line, such as generation close to 1500 MW at one plant or Transmission Facilities near 500 kV, should confirm the rating with engineering records before accepting a larger program. Reclassifying an asset is a scoping decision, not a paperwork change.

External Routable Connectivity

Medium impact systems with External Routable Connectivity bring in extra requirements, including remote access, perimeter controls and, under CIP-015-1, internal monitoring. Systems without that connectivity avoid part of that scope. Review network diagrams for routable paths, including vendor access, historian links and telemetry feeds. Isolating a system from routable networks can reduce scope, but the architecture change itself has a cost that should be weighed against the recurring control effort it removes.

EACMS, PACS and PCA count

Electronic Access Control or Monitoring Systems, Physical Access Control Systems and Protected Cyber Assets are often scoped in because they support BES Cyber Systems, so their count can exceed the count of the systems they protect. Each one adds patching, log review, access management and recovery work. Consolidating access control and monitoring into fewer, well-documented platforms reduces the number of in-scope devices. Ask any partner to inventory these supporting assets explicitly before estimating effort.

Locations and Control Centers

Each physical location, substation, plant and Control Center adds its own physical security perimeter, visitor logs, maintenance records and local access reviews. Multiple sites multiply these tasks even when the systems are similar. Standardizing configurations and access processes across sites lowers the cost of each additional location. Ask how the quote handles site visits, travel and separate evidence packages per location.

Third-party and cloud storage of BCSI

Storing BES Cyber System Information with a cloud or third-party provider brings that provider into the scope of CIP-004-7 and CIP-011-3 controls, including access authorization, encryption, key management and secure disposal. Each provider needs assessment evidence and contract terms that support those obligations. Keeping BCSI on entity-controlled, self-hosted infrastructure reduces the number of external parties to assess, but it moves the operating burden in-house. Confirm the provider list before procurement begins.

Evidence maturity

Most CIP requirements require evidence kept for three calendar years, and programs with ad hoc records spend more time reconstructing proof at audit notice than running controls. Automated logs, configuration baselines and ticketed approvals reduce the recurring effort of answering a Regional Entity request. Ask a partner which evidence will be generated automatically, which needs manual capture, and how retention is enforced for each control.

How to read FERC's paperwork estimates for new standards

FERC's burden estimates measure documentation effort, not the cost of building or running a CIP program. When the Commission approves a new or revised CIP standard, it publishes an estimate of the paperwork that entities will need to produce, priced at an $85 loaded hourly wage. The estimate counts only the entities expected to take on that extra paperwork, so it is a per-entity figure for the documentation work, not a total spend. Read the number as the hours needed to write, revise and approve procedures, plans and records for the standard. It does not include engineering changes to systems, new tools, testing, staff training beyond the document work, or the time spent operating the new controls each year. A reader who budgets from the paperwork figure alone will understate the project.

For the 2028 virtualization revisions in Order No. 919, FERC estimated that 400 entities would update compliance documentation at 57.7 hours and $4,905 per standard, or 577 hours and $49,045 per entity across the 10 affected standards. For CIP-015-1 in Order No. 907, the estimate is built from line items: 40 hours to document INSM processes, and 60 hours each for documenting network data feeds and their rationale, anomaly detection baselines, evaluation and escalation methods, data retention, and data protection. Adding initial policy development brings the first-year figure to 340 hours and $32,116 per entity, repeated in each of the first three years. Use these line items as a checklist. If your own draft policies already cover some of them, your internal estimate should fall, and if your architecture has more feeds or baselines than a typical entity, it should rise.

Actual effort depends on architecture. The number of BES Cyber Systems, their impact ratings, the number of network data feeds, whether systems are virtualized, and how many teams must sign off all change the hours. Ask your CIP Senior Manager and technical leads to estimate each line item against your own environment before accepting any external figure, and ask any implementation partner to price the technical deployment separately from the documentation so the two can be compared. Confirm the current version of each order and its effective date against the NERC CIP standards page before you finalize the plan, because effective dates shape when the paperwork must be complete.

Which recurring CIP tasks drive ongoing internal effort

Most of the internal effort in a NERC CIP program is not the one-time build but the calendar of recurring obligations that repeats for the life of the program. The cards below group the tasks that consume staff time most often, and the evidence burden that follows each one.

Quarterly awareness and access checks

CIP-004-7 requires security awareness reinforcement and access authorization checks on a quarterly cycle, so the same people must be reviewed and reminded four times a year. Effort rises with the number of individuals who hold electronic or physical access to BES Cyber Systems and BCSI, and with the number of access groups that must be reconciled against authorization records. Check how access is granted and removed across identity systems, contractors and shared accounts before the first quarterly cycle begins.

Patch evaluations on a 35-day cycle

CIP-007-6 R2 requires security patch sources to be tracked and evaluated on a cycle that repeats every 35 calendar days, with a decision recorded for each patch. The work scales with the number of vendors, operating systems, firmware versions and applications in scope, and with how many of those assets cannot be patched on schedule and need a documented plan. Ask whether patch intake is centralized and whether the evaluation record is produced automatically or assembled by hand.

High impact configuration monitoring

For high impact BES Cyber Systems, CIP-010-4 R2 requires baseline configuration monitoring every 35 days, and CIP-007-6 R4 requires log reviews every 15 days. Each cycle needs a comparison against an approved baseline, a record of any detected changes, and evidence that changes were authorized or investigated. Effort grows with the number of Cyber Assets per system and with the number of vendor-specific devices that cannot report configuration in a common format.

Fifteen-month tests and reviews

Training, access reviews, incident response and recovery plan tests, and vulnerability assessments all fall on a 15-calendar-month cycle. These tasks tend to bunch into the same quarter, which creates peaks in staff time and vendor coordination. Build a single calendar that groups them, and confirm which tests need outside participants, since scheduling outside staff is often the longest lead time in the cycle.

Three-year evidence retention

Most CIP standards require keeping evidence of each requirement for three calendar years, and any noncompliance records must be kept until mitigation is complete and approved if that takes longer. Because the cycles above repeat, the retained volume grows every year, and each audit can ask for records from any point in the retention window. Confirm where evidence is stored, who can retrieve it, how it is protected under BCSI rules, and how it is deleted once the retention period ends.

Evidence assembly for each cycle

Recurring tasks produce little value unless each cycle ends with records that an auditor can trace back to a requirement, a system and a responsible person. Staff time often goes into collecting screenshots, exporting logs and reconciling tickets after the fact rather than into the control itself. When requesting a quote, ask how evidence is generated during each cycle and how much of that work can be automated without changing the control's scope.

What penalty exposure adds to the budget

Penalty exposure is a financial risk that the budget has to account for, not a cost a registered entity should plan to pay. The civil penalty ceiling referenced by NERC's Sanction Guidelines under 18 CFR 385.1602(d) is $1,584,648 per violation, per day, as adjusted by FERC Order No. 906 in January 2025. That ceiling is the statutory maximum, not a forecast, and it is reached only in the most serious circumstances. Finance and risk owners should treat it as the tail of a range that the CIP Senior Manager can influence through the decisions described below, and record it in the risk register alongside the cost of the compliance program itself.

The Appendix 4B base penalty table in NERC's Sanction Guidelines sets per-day starting ranges that depend on two factors: the risk factor and the severity of the violation. At the lowest end, a Lower risk factor and Lower severity violation falls between $1,000 and $3,000 per day. At the highest end, a High risk factor and Severe severity violation falls between $20,000 and $1,291,894 per day. The lowest value of the applicable range is generally used as the starting point, and adjustments follow from aggravating and mitigating factors. Because the penalty is calculated per day, the length of time a deficiency goes uncorrected drives exposure as much as the initial violation does, which makes the recurring calendar of 35-day, 15-day and 15-month tasks a financial control as well as a compliance one.

Self-reporting, the speed and quality of the mitigation plan, and the internal controls that prevented or detected the issue are the factors an entity can most directly affect. Ask the Regional Entity how it applies these factors to your asset mix before you set a reserve, and have counsel review any penalty-related position before it is communicated. The specifics of how Self-Reports, self-logging and Compliance Exceptions affect outcomes are set out in the sibling enforcement guide, so confirm the current treatment with your Regional Entity and counsel rather than relying on general descriptions of the process.

How impact rating changes the program size

High impact entities carry the widest CIP program. Under the Attachment 1 criteria in CIP-002-5.1a, high impact generally covers Control Centers of Reliability Coordinators and qualifying Balancing Authority, Transmission Operator and Generator Operator Control Centers. The requirements for high impact BES Cyber Systems reach most of CIP-004 through CIP-011, along with their associated EACMS, PACS and PCA. Many of those requirements sit in Applicable Systems tables that list high impact apart from medium impact, so one asset can generate several rows of obligations. Effort depends less on the rating itself than on how many BES Cyber Systems fall into it and how many monitoring feeds, access paths and backup sets must be evidenced.

Short recurring cycles: CIP-010-4 R2 requires baseline monitoring every 35 days for high impact, and CIP-007-6 R4 requires log reviews every 15 days.
Quarterly personnel tasks: CIP-004-7 adds quarterly security awareness and quarterly access authorization checks.
Longer recovery exercises: CIP-009 requires operational exercises every 36 months for high impact systems, in addition to the 15-month testing cycle.
Future monitoring scope: CIP-015 internal network security monitoring reaches inside the Electronic Security Perimeter of high impact systems once it becomes enforceable.
Evidence volume: Most CIP standards require keeping evidence of each requirement for three calendar years, which multiplies quickly across many systems.

Confirm how many BES Cyber Systems your categorization placed at high impact and whether each one has its own log, baseline and recovery evidence trail.

How to get a defensible cost estimate

This sequence turns a vague budget question into a written scope that a partner or internal team can price. Each step produces an artifact you can show a CIP Senior Manager, a finance reviewer or a quoting firm, so the estimate rests on your own asset counts rather than on a generic figure.

Complete the CIP-002 categorization
The CIP Senior Manager or a delegate reviews each facility against the bright-line criteria in CIP-002-5.1a Attachment 1 and assigns every BES Cyber System a high, medium or low impact rating. Scope drives everything that follows, so this step comes first. You know it is done when each system has a documented rating, the rationale is recorded, and the CIP Senior Manager has approved the list.
Build the BES Cyber System inventory
Using the categorization output, list every BES Cyber System with its site, impact rating, function and whether it has External Routable Connectivity. Operations and engineering staff usually hold the knowledge needed for this list, so involve them directly. The output is one inventory that every later step references, and it is complete when operations signs off that no system has been left off.
Map applicable requirements to each system
For each impact rating, mark which requirement parts apply to which systems, using the Applicable Systems column in each CIP standard. For example, a medium impact system with External Routable Connectivity brings in different controls than one without it. The output is a matrix of systems against requirements, and the check is that a second reviewer can trace every requirement part to a named system or confirm it does not apply.
Count supporting assets and associated systems
For each in-scope BES Cyber System, count the associated Electronic Access Control or Monitoring Systems, Physical Access Control Systems and Protected Cyber Assets. Records should show each asset type by site and by system. These counts are the largest driver of recurring effort, because most patch, configuration monitoring, logging and access tasks scale with them. The output is a count sheet, verified against your asset management records.
Identify vendors and cloud services holding BCSI
List every vendor, contractor and cloud or SaaS service that can access BES Cyber System Information, remote access BES Cyber Systems or hold BCSI off premises. Include the contract owner, the data location and whether the provider has access to the systems. This list feeds CIP-013 procurement work, the CIP-004 access rules and the CIP-011 protections. It is complete when procurement and the CIP Senior Manager have reviewed it against contracts and access logs.
Estimate internal hours from the recurring calendar
Lay out the recurring obligations, including the quarterly tasks in CIP-004-7, the 35-day patch evaluations and configuration monitoring, the 15-day log reviews for high impact systems, and the 15-month reviews and tests. For each task, record who performs it, how many systems or assets it covers, and the evidence it produces. Use your own staff time and the asset counts from earlier steps. The output is an hours-by-task worksheet that shows recurring effort separately from one-time work.
Request a fixed-scope written quote
Send the inventory, requirement matrix, asset counts and vendor list to any implementation partner and ask for a quote tied to a written scope. Ask which deliverables are included, which evidence is produced, what the partner will not do, and which tasks recur after delivery. Confirm that the partner prepares systems and evidence while the registered entity keeps accountability. The estimate is defensible when your internal hours and the partner quote can be compared line by line against the same scope.

What usually inflates CIP cost

Most NERC CIP cost overruns come from rework, not from the controls themselves. The six patterns below share one root cause: scope, ownership and evidence drifted apart, so the same work was done twice or done under audit pressure. Each card names the pattern and the step that keeps the cost predictable.

Late categorization changes

A CIP-002 categorization that is revised after controls are already built can move systems between high, medium and low impact and change which requirements apply. Each move can reopen policies, configurations, access lists and evidence. Lock the categorization and its rationale in writing before buying tools or drafting procedures. Re-run it when a new asset, Control Center change or major acquisition occurs, and price those reviews into the program budget.

Unclear IT and operations ownership

When IT and operations both assume the other maintains a BES Cyber System's baseline, patch status or access list, gaps appear only at audit time and fixes are bought twice. The CIP Senior Manager must name who performs each recurring task and who approves it. Write a responsibility matrix that maps each requirement to one accountable owner and one backup. Ask any outside partner to work from that matrix, not from its own assumptions.

Inventories that do not match the field

Asset lists built from procurement records or old diagrams often omit Protected Cyber Assets, remote access paths and Transient Cyber Assets. Each missing item then needs its own patch, baseline and access work once found. Reconcile the inventory against physical walkdowns and live network data before scoping any control. Check the list against the Applicable Systems column of each standard, since a missing EACMS or PACS changes scope even when the BES Cyber System itself is correct.

Missed 35-day and 15-month cycles

A missed patch evaluation or baseline check is not fixed by doing it late. Teams usually rebuild the prior cycles' records, which is costly when they were never captured. The recurring deadlines include 35-day patch evaluations under CIP-007-6 R2, 35-day baseline monitoring for high impact systems under CIP-010-4 R2 and 15-month reviews and tests. Put every recurring deadline on a shared calendar with a named owner and a reminder before the due date. Confirm the calendar covers each Applicable System, not only the main Control Center.

Evidence gathered only at audit notice

Evidence collected after a notification letter arrives means staff search old tickets, screenshots and logs under deadline, and gaps are harder to explain. Most CIP standards require retaining evidence for three calendar years, and longer for open noncompliance. Collect evidence on the normal cycle and store it in a retention repository with dated, attributable records. Ask whether the retention design covers each standard's period, not only the most recent one.

Unscoped consultant work

Open-ended consulting engagements tend to grow as new questions arise, and the hours cannot be tied to a requirement or a deliverable. The entity still owns the controls and evidence, so the work is repeated when an assessor asks for something unscoped. Require a written scope that lists each requirement, system population, deliverable and acceptance test before work begins. Reserve a separate line for ongoing support so that recurring tasks are not hidden in project hours.

NERC CIP cost questions buyers ask

Is there a fixed price for NERC CIP compliance?

No. NERC CIP cost depends on scope, and no fixed price applies to every registered entity. The main drivers are the number of BES Cyber Systems, their impact ratings under CIP-002-5.1a, whether medium impact systems have External Routable Connectivity, how many EACMS, PACS and Protected Cyber Assets sit inside the scope, and how much of the work is already in place. Entities with only low impact assets carry a much smaller program than those with high impact Control Centers. Before you compare quotes, confirm the scope in writing, because two proposals that look similar can cover very different systems. DeployOpen does not publish a price list. A quote follows from the written scope.

Can our own staff run NERC CIP compliance in-house?

Yes. Registered entities can run their CIP program with their own CIP Senior Manager, delegates and technical staff, and many do. The entity owns its controls, its policies and its evidence, and it must be able to show that its recurring work happens on time. The recurring calendar is the main workload. It includes quarterly tasks under CIP-004-7, patch evaluations every 35 calendar days under CIP-007-6 R2, log reviews every 15 days for high impact systems under CIP-007-6 R4, and 15-month tests and reviews. Ask whether your team has capacity for that calendar for the full audit period, not only for the first year.

What does an implementation partner do for NERC CIP, and what does it not do?

An implementation partner prepares systems, configurations and evidence for your CIP program. Under a written scope, it may help with categorization inputs, technical configuration, monitoring and logging setup, backup and recovery testing, documentation and evidence collection. It does not own your controls, sign your policies, act as your CIP Senior Manager, or represent your entity to a Regional Entity. DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure, and runs security testing that can feed your evidence. It does not issue audit reports, attestations or certificates. Those come from the Compliance Enforcement Authority, not from a consultant.

How long does NERC CIP readiness take?

The timeline depends on scope, so ask for a written schedule rather than a generic duration. Readiness work usually follows the size of the systems in scope, how far current controls already match the requirements, and how quickly your teams can approve changes in production environments. Ask the provider to break the schedule into phases: scoping and categorization inputs, configuration and tooling, documentation and evidence, a dry run of recurring tasks, and handover. Also ask which dates depend on your own decisions, such as change windows or outage approvals. Remember that the CIP program is ongoing, so readiness is only the start of the calendar.

Can a consultant issue a NERC CIP compliance certificate?

No. There is no NERC CIP certificate. Compliance is monitored by the Compliance Enforcement Authority, which is a Regional Entity or NERC, through Compliance Audits, Spot Checks, Self-Certifications, Self-Reports, self-logging, periodic data submittals, investigations and complaints. A consultant or implementation partner cannot issue a compliance determination or stand in for the auditor. Be cautious with any proposal that promises a certificate, a stamp or a guaranteed audit result. Ask instead how the partner will prepare the evidence the Regional Entity will request and how your CIP Senior Manager will review it.

What penalty exposure should we weigh when budgeting?

Penalty exposure is a reason to budget for consistent recurring work, not a reason to buy a certificate. NERC's Sanction Guidelines reference a maximum civil penalty of $1,584,648 per violation, per day, as adjusted by FERC Order No. 906 and shown in the eCFR in October 2026. The Appendix 4B base penalty table starts at per-day ranges from $1,000 to $3,000 for the lowest risk and severity combination, and up to $20,000 to $1,291,894 for the highest. Actual outcomes depend on risk, severity and mitigation. Ask your advisers how they will track recurring deadlines and how they will support Self-Reports and mitigation plans if a gap appears.

What should we ask for in a NERC CIP quote?

Ask for a written scope that names every BES Cyber System, the impact rating and its basis, and each CIP requirement covered. A useful quote usually separates:

One-time work such as categorization inputs, configuration, tooling, and initial policy and evidence development
Recurring work such as 35-day, 15-day, quarterly and 15-month tasks, and whether it is done by you or the provider
Assumptions about your environment, access, change windows and staff time
Deliverables, acceptance criteria and the schedule
Who owns each control, evidence file and policy after handover

Also ask how retention will be handled, since most standards require evidence for three calendar years, and how the provider handles access to BCSI.

Which parts of the cost recur after the first year?

Several components recur. Your staff time for the 15-day, 35-day, quarterly and 15-month tasks continues every year, as does evidence retention and the review of policies. Tooling and licenses, if you use commercial products, renew on their own schedule. Periodic testing of backups, recovery plans and incident response plans repeats on the 15-month cycle, and vulnerability assessments follow the same cadence. Plan changes also recur. The FERC paperwork estimate for the 2028 virtualization revisions was calculated for entities updating compliance documentation at 57.7 hours per standard, which the FERC Order No. 919 burden estimate put at $4,905 per standard. Ask any provider to show which costs fall in the first year and which continue.

How DeployOpen scopes NERC CIP readiness work

DeployOpen approaches NERC CIP compliance cost by first fixing the scope: which BES Cyber Systems are in play, their impact ratings and the Applicable Systems that follow from them. We then prepare the systems, controls and evidence that drive recurring effort, and hand them over in documented form. DeployOpen prepares readiness only and does not issue audit reports or certifications.

How we scope

Engagements are fixed-scope, with scope, deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts.
We review the CIP-002 categorization inputs and list the Applicable Systems each impact rating triggers.
The written scope states which recurring 15-day, 35-day, quarterly and 15-month tasks are covered and who performs them.

How we build

We prepare self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure, including configuration monitoring and log retention.
We configure recurring technical evidence, such as patch tracking and baseline comparisons, so routine collection needs less manual work.
We test the controls we build and document the results against each in-scope requirement for your CIP Senior Manager.

How we hand over

We deliver runbooks, configuration records and evidence procedures written for your own staff to operate.
We document the assumptions behind the scope, so you can see which cost drivers would change if categorization changed.
Your organization keeps ownership of its controls, policies and evidence, and of decisions made by the CIP Senior Manager.

How we support

Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers, scoped in writing separately from the readiness work.
We can review evidence packages before a Regional Entity audit notice arrives, without representing your organization to auditors.
Ask any partner to confirm in writing which tasks stay with your staff and which tasks the partner performs.