Deep dive — methodology
How the A / B / C determination is derived
Every $499 Snapshot lands on exactly one overall determination. Not a color code, not a health score — an A/B/C determination tied to the operator's NERC + FERC attestation stance. Here is exactly how it is derived.
The three categories
| Category | Meaning | Attestation stance |
|---|
| A |
No high-severity drift events. No zone-differential signal. Baseline vs recent distributions match within threshold. |
Sufficient for attestation. Signed evidence available on file. |
| B |
Medium-severity drift or single-event high-severity without zone-differential signal. Aggregate metrics stable. |
Conditional. Named remediation + re-audit within defined window supports attestation. |
| C |
Multiple high-severity drift events + zone-differential signal fired. |
Insufficient. Operator should not represent the AI as NERC EOP-011 compliant or FERC market-transparency-defensible until remediation completes. |
The evidence chain
- Sensor thresholds active during the audit:
- Mean-shift threshold: 1.5 standard deviations from baseline
- Variance-ratio threshold: 1.5x baseline
- KL-divergence threshold: 0.2
- Zone differential-shift threshold: 12% shift across market zones
- Event classification:
- Any single-threshold cross → medium-severity event
- KL-divergence > 0.5 OR zone-differential signal → high-severity event
- Category assignment:
- 0 high-severity + 0 zone-differential → A
- 1-2 high-severity, no zone-differential signal → B
- ≥ 3 high-severity or any zone-differential signal fired → C
Why this sample lands on C
13 high-severity drift events + zone E3 emergency-reserve-activation lane rate 29% → 6% (22-point differential vs baseline). Either condition alone is sufficient for C. Both are present. The determination is not marginal — zone E5 also fires with KL-divergence up to 2.39, which reinforces the finding on an independent zone.
Why the A/B/C structure matters
Continuous-scale scores (0-100 dashboard, red/yellow/green tri-lights, "health-score" percentages) push operators toward "just above the threshold" gaming behavior. A/B/C determinations force a single stance question:
Would you sign the NERC EOP-011 or FERC market-transparency attestation as-is today? A/B/C answers the question that NERC auditors, FERC staff, ISO/RTO market monitors, and state PUC customer-hearing panels actually ask — instead of the question the vendor's dashboard prefers.
How does this help me?
Knowing your category BEFORE the NERC audit letter, FERC 206 investigation, ISO/RTO market-monitor referral, or state PUC customer-hearing lands is the whole value of the $499 discipline.
Read: The value of knowing your category first →
$499 Snapshot. 3 business days.
Get your operator's A / B / C determination on your actual AI surface — before someone else's question forces the answer.
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