By Eric Graftaas, MRO Principal Power Systems Engineer

As part of NERC’s Inverter-Based Resource (IBR) Registration Initiative, Generator Owners (GOs) and Generator Operators (GOPs) with Category 2 IBR facilities should be aware of upcoming compliance obligations.

On May 15, 2026, several NERC Reliability Standards become effective and enforceable for newly registered Category 2 IBR entities. This represents an important step in expanding NERC oversight to ensure that previously unregistered IBRs are operating in alignment with reliability expectations and requirements.

The initial set of enforceable standards includes requirements related to balancing, operations, modeling, protection systems, and voltage control. Applicable registered entities should be prepared to meet these obligations, including having processes, data, and controls in place, before the compliance deadline.

The initial list of standards is expected to expand over time when additional standards become applicable through the NERC standards development process.

For a list of these standards and additional information, please refer to: Reliability Standards Compliance Dates for GOs and GOPs IBR Registration Initiative Supplemental Q2 2026.

Questions can be directed to [email protected].