FERC Tweaks Power Reports: Grid Safety Gets a Facelift
Published Date: 3/3/2026
Notice
Summary
FERC is updating how certain power companies report important data to keep the electric grid safe and reliable. These changes affect generator owners, operators, and transmission folks, with new reporting rules rolling out soon. You’ve got until April 2, 2026, to share your thoughts, and these updates aim to keep things smooth without extra costs.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Category 2 Generators Now Covered
If you own or operate non-bulk inverter-based resources that have or contribute to an aggregate nameplate capacity of at least 20 MVA and connect to a common point at voltage ≥60 kV (called "category 2"), you are now included in the NERC definitions for Generator Owner and Generator Operator. That change means you must comply with the reporting and documentation obligations of eight specific Reliability Standards: BAL-001-TRE-2, IRO-010-5, MOD-032-1, PRC-012-2, PRC-017-1, TOP-003-6.1, VAR-001-5, and VAR-002-4.1.
Estimated Annual Reporting Hours and Costs
FERC estimates the new reporting and record-retention tasks will take between 4 and 40 hours per listed requirement per year for affected entities, with per-standard per-respondent costs illustrated in the notice (examples: 4 hrs = $254.08; 8 hrs = $508.16; 20 hrs = $1,270.40; 40 hrs = $2,540.80). The Commission provides tables with the number of respondents, total annual hours, and total annual cost for each FERC-725 collection tied to the eight standards.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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