By Jessie Mitchell, MRO Chief of Staff
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is inviting electric industry stakeholders to participate in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webinar focused on its May 4, 2026, Level 3 Alert: Computational Load Modeling, Studies, Instrumentation, Commissioning, Operations, Protection, and Control. The session will provide clarification on the alert’s required response process and offer participants an opportunity to ask questions directly of NERC staff. While the webinar is open to the public, questions from entities required to respond to the alert will receive priority.
The Level 3 Alert is the highest level within NERC’s alert framework and was issued in response to reliability concerns associated with large computational loads, including data centers. NERC cited instances of sudden, customer-initiated load reductions and power system oscillations that occurred within seconds, creating reliability risks for the bulk power system and limiting operators’ ability to respond in real time. The alert requires applicable entities to implement specified actions and submit responses through NERC’s Alert system no later than August 3, 2026.
The webinar is part of efforts to advance NERC’s Large Loads Action Plan, an initiative designed to address emerging reliability challenges posed by large and rapidly growing electrical loads. As part of this important initiative, NERC launched Project 2026-02: Computational Loads in March to develop new reliability standards for computational load entities and is accelerating efforts to establish registration criteria for large computational load entities.
The webinar will be held on July 8, 2026 | 2:00–4:00 p.m. Eastern.