Upcoming Events
Aug. 17, 2-3:30 p.m. ET | Tech Talk with RF
Our August Tech Talk will be on Monday, Aug. 17, at 2 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for additional details to be posted to our website calendar and LinkedIn feed.
Aug. 18, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET | Electric Grid Bootcamp: Policymaker primer on reliability and emerging system risks
This policymakers’ forum at ReliabilityFirst is designed to provide a practical, technical foundation in electric grid reliability and oversight.
Participants will gain an overview of the respective roles of NERC, ReliabilityFirst, utilities, and regional transmission organizations, and how reliability standards are developed, monitored, and enforced.
Through discussions on engineering assessments, system monitoring, major disturbance events, and emerging reliability risks such as: large load growth, system complexity, and resource transitions. The agenda equips policymakers and staff with a clearer understanding of how decisions made at the state and federal level intersect with real-world grid operations.
The day concludes with an interactive exercise that highlights the tradeoffs inherent in energy policy choices and their implications for reliability and security.
Sept. 14-16 | Fall Reliability & Security Summit
Register now for our 2026 Fall Reliability & Security Summit. This year’s event will be held in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 14-16.
The summit begins Monday, Sept. 14, with closed meetings of the Compliance User Group (CUG) and Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee (CIPC) as well as an optional tour of a nearby data center.
Then our General Session on Tuesday, Sept. 15, features a full day of insightful presentations, panel discussions, networking, on-site breakfast and lunch, and an awards reception to close the day.
Half-day programming follows on Wednesday, Sept. 16, with guests choosing from one of three breakout sessions, focusing either on energy policy, critical infrastructure protection, or data submittals.
Stay tuned for full agenda details to be posted to our website and LinkedIn.
News and Updates
FERC's large load orders address reliability challenges
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took several significant actions to address the integration of large loads on the bulk power system (BPS) at its monthly open meeting in June. Included among these actions are provisions to safeguard reliability, requiring that regional transmission organizations and independent system operators use study procedures and operational requirements that reflect large loads’ unique characteristics and the grid reliability impacts of these facilities.
NERC has identified emerging reliability challenges from computational loads, such as data centers and cryptocurrency mining, which are connecting to the grid at a rapid pace and posing unique risks to the reliability and security of the BPS. Among many other initiatives, NERC’s Large Loads Action Plan includes the development of new registration criteria and one or more foundational Reliability Standards, which NERC intends to file for FERC consideration by the end of 2026.
NERC State of Reliability finds that grid remains stable, but risks increasing
NERC issued its 2026 State of Reliability Report in June, finding that while the electric grid remains stable, risks are increasing given rapidly rising demand, more frequent extreme weather, and the integration of large amounts of computational loads and inverter-based resources (IBRs).
The report states that risks are evolving and reducing the margin for error on the system, and that 1) maintaining and expanding infrastructure and resource adequacy and 2) anticipating, modeling, and mitigating these risks are critical going forward. It also includes recommendations for the ERO and for industry in certain risk areas. The report overview is available here, and the full technical assessment is available here.
NERC issues Reliability Insight on supply chain security
NERC’s latest Reliability Insights takes a closer look at the impacts of availability and cyber security risks within the supply chain. It also provides recommended actions to enhance security, including proactive and enhanced risk management practices, vendor oversight, and information sharing through the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC).
Read it here.
WECC and NERC issue joint report examining November 2025 grid disturbance in Wyoming
On November 13, 2025, a cascading outage of dozens of transmission lines led to the loss of more than 1 GW of load and 4.5 GW of generation within seconds, leaving roughly 250,000 customers in four states without power for hours.
To understand the underlying causes and contributing factors, WECC and NERC worked with the entities involved to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the incident. This report outlines the observations of that analysis, providing details of the disturbance, contributing factors, and actions to be considered to prevent a similar event.
Read it here.
New Jersey passes three bills related to electric grid
New Jersey Governor Mickie Sherrill signed three bills into law on July 7, including the “Data Center Fair Share Act” (A796), “Repeal ROE Adder Act” (A2757), and the “Advanced Grid Technologies Act” (A5188).
The Data Center Fair Share Act will create a new ratepayer class and rate structure for data centers. Specifically, each electric public utility will file an application with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to establish a tariff for the provision of electricity to large load data centers. The tariffs must: 1) ensure that non-data center ratepayers are protected from any increased costs that result from increased electricity demand caused by large load data centers; and 2) incentivize large load data centers to develop and utilize methods to increase energy efficiency.
The Repeal ROE Adder Act requires RTO membership for New Jersey utilities, which would then allow for removal of an RTO participation incentive for those utilities.
The Advanced Grid Technologies Act will increase oversight of supplemental transmission projects, requiring utilities to pursue a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity before they construct a supplemental transmission project. It also establishes an expedited review process for supplemental transmission projects utilizing advanced transmission or distribution technologies.