Modernizing NERC Reliability Standards for Inverter-Based Resources: Status and Opportunities

On October 19, 2023, in Order No. 901, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization, to develop new or modified Reliability Standards that address reliability gaps related to inverter-based resources in the following areas: data sharing; model validation; planning and operational studies; and performance requirements. Given the urgency, NERC must submit new or modified standards in three tranches starting in November 2024. NERC is working to address the directives. Concurrently, utilities and ISOs/RTOs are adopting various requirements for interconnecting IBR as part of their compliance with FERC Order No. 2023, which requires certain modeling and performance capabilities of IBR as a condition of interconnection. This panel will discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating IBR, especially regarding energy adequacy and sufficient reliability services: (1) the reliability risks associated with IBR and how Order No. 901 and other reforms propose to address them; (2) status and observations regarding the ongoing standards development in response to Order No. 901; and (3) status of adoption of interconnection requirements pertaining to IBR.