Related Files
Status
An informal comment period for the Project 2025-03 Order No. 901 Operational Studies Standard Authorization Request (SAR), is open through 8 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Additionally, nominations are being sought for drafting team members through 8 p.m. Eastern, Monday, September 15, 2025.
Background
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Order No. 901. FERC issued Order No. 901 on October 19, 2023, which includes directives on new or modified NERC Reliability Standard projects. FERC Order No. 901 addresses a wide spectrum of reliability risks to the grid from the application of inverter-based resources (IBRs), including both utility scale and behind-the-meter or distributed energy resources (DERs).
Within the Order, there are four milestones that include sets of directives to NERC. In the Order, FERC has directed NERC to propose new or modified standards to mitigate reliability gaps in the current NERC Reliability Standards related to IBRs. Specifically, FERC directed NERC to develop new or modified Reliability Standards to address the following four broad topic areas related to IBRs: (1) data sharing; (2) data and model validation; (3) planning and operational studies; and (4) performance.
In January 2024, NERC filed the initial NERC Standards Development Work Plan to Address FERC Order 901 (hereafter referred to as the “Work Plan"). The Work Plan discusses how NERC will develop Reliability Standards within three tranches (Milestones 2-4) to meet FERC's filing deadlines. Milestone 4 of the Work Plan covers Operations and Planning Assessments. This Standard Authorization Request addresses Milestone 4 – Group 1 of the Work Plan, related to Operational Studies.
Standard(s) Affected: BAL-002, FAC-011, FAC-014, IRO-002, IRO-008, IRO-009, IRO-010, IRO-014, IRO-018, TOP-001, TOP-002, TOP-003, TOP-010
Purpose/Industry Need
This project will address FERC Order No. 901 directives related to the inclusion of IBR performance and behavior in operational assessments and real-time monitoring of individual IBR plants (i.e., individual IBR) as well as IBR plants in the aggregate across an operator's footprint (i.e., IBR in the aggregate). Further, the drafting team will address the similar FERC Order No. 901 directives to include aggregate DERs in operational assessments and real-time monitoring.
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