Registration
Organization Registration
This page provides an overview of key concepts, processes, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) resources, and contact information in support of entity functional registration.
Registration is defined by the NERC Organization Registration program in Section 500 of the NERC Rules of Procedure, and the Organization Registration Manual and Statement of Compliance Registry Criteria can be found in the NERC Rules of Procedure Appendices 5A and 5B.
For questions about the registration process within the ReliabilityFirst region, or to register an entity on the NERC Compliance Registry, please submit requests to compliance@rfirst.org.
About Registration
ReliabilityFirst’s registration function ensures that the entities necessary for the reliable operation of the Bulk Electric System are registered appropriately and responsible for compliance to the Reliability Standards. All Bulk Electric System owners, operators, and users responsible for or intending to be responsible for the following functions are required to register with NERC through the Organization Registration process.
- Reliability Coordinator (RC)
- Transmission Operator (TOP)
- Balancing Authority (BA)
- Planning Authority/Coordinator (PA/PC)
- Transmission Planner (TP)
- Transmission Service Provider (TSP)
- Transmission Owner (TO)
- Resource Planner (RP)
- Distribution Provider (DP)
- Distribution Provider UFLS (DP-UFLS)
- Generator Owner (GO)
- Generator Operator (GOP)
- Reserve Sharing Group (RSG)
- Frequency Response Sharing Group (FRSG)
- Regulation Reserve Sharing Group (RRSG)
– ERO Enterprise GO GOP Asset Verification Form
– RF Organization Registration Procedure
Overview of Entity Registration Process
To determine the function(s) for which an entity is applicable and should be registered, please refer to the NERC website and the Appendix 5B Statement of Compliance Registry Criteria, which is found on the NERC Rules of Procedure page.
All requests for new or revised NERC registrations should be submitted to ReliabilityFirst through the Centralized Organization Registration ERO System (CORES) tool. ReliabilityFirst Registration staff will review each request and respond accordingly.
Once an entity’s request for registration is approved by ReliabilityFirst and NERC, the Primary Compliance Contact (PCC) will receive a NERC notification letter of listing on the “NERC Compliance Registry (NCR).” The PCC is responsible for assigning any needed ERO Portal access permissions to other entity users that registered for ERO Portal accounts. Registered entities are responsible for maintaining and updating all contact information in the ERO Portal/CORES.
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CORES
The Centralized Organization Registration ERO System (CORES) was developed to provide consistency and alignment across the ERO for registration activities. The CORES platform enables entities to manage their registration information, contact information, and functional mapping relationships from one application.
All entities seeking to submit a new registration or change request to RF will need to register for an ERO Portal account to access CORES. Entities are also required to complete the steps for Multi-Factor Authentication that automatically appear when attempting to log into the ERO Portal and other NERC applications for the first time.
Before submitting an application in the CORES tool, please contact ReliabilityFirst Registration staff at compliance@rfirst.org to discuss all new registration requests or upcoming registration changes.
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Registered Entity Contact Maintenance
Registered Entities are responsible for ensuring their contact information and user role assignments are, at all times, current and up-to-date in all applicable NERC applications and systems (CORES, MIDAS, NERC Alerts, GMD, GADS, TADS, etc.).
Contact Information
CORES contact information is used in many ways and is shared by many NERC applications, including Align. Updating contact information in all systems is critical to ensuring effective communication is maintained with our registered entities and helps to avoid inadvertent time delays.
Role Changes
Compliance contact roles must be updated in CORES according to any role changes at an entity. Alternate Compliance Contact (ACC) roles can be deactivated, but Primary Compliance Contact (PCC) and Primary Compliance Officer (PCO) roles require that a contact/person always be assigned. This means that any previous assignment of these roles is kept until a new contact/person is added and assigned that role in CORES, which will automatically remove the old assignment. Keep in mind that any user with an ERO Portal account that has entity administrator rights to a specific entity record can review and edit permission rights for that entity.
Periodic Reviews
Entities are expected to periodically review their contact information in CORES. Entities should not wait for such reviews to make changes — they should keep systems up-to-date always. Reviews are solely intended as a guarantee that system data is, in fact, accurate. The more frequently this information is reviewed, the better.
Joint Registration Organizations
An entity may register as a Joint Registration Organization (JRO) on behalf of one or more of its members or related entities.
- This JRO registration must be for one or more functions for which the members or related entities would otherwise be required to register. The JRO accepts on behalf of its members or related entities all compliance responsibility for the Reliability Standards applicable to that function or functions, including reporting requirements. Typical examples of organizations that should consider a JRO are the joint action agencies or the generation-and-transmission cooperatives.
- Any entity seeking to register as a JRO must submit to ReliabilityFirst a written agreement that governs itself and its members or related entities for all requirements/sub-requirements for the specific function(s) for which the entity is registering for and accepts full responsibility for.
- Registered entities wishing to register a JRO must complete a JRO web form in CORES and submit it to the region for review and verification that the agreement provides for the proper assignment of responsibilities consistent with the JRO.
- The JRO point of contact must notify and provide ReliabilityFirst with any changes to the JRO agreement or documentation. Please see the NERC Rules of Procedure, Section 500, specifically sections 507 and 508.
- ReliabilityFirst Registration will review the JRO application and may request additional information. Accepted JROs are registered with NERC and listed on NERC’s Compliance Registry page.
- For questions about JROs or other registration-related issues, please contact ReliabilityFirst Registration.
Coordinated Functional Registration
In addition to registering as an entity responsible for all functions that it performs itself, multiple registered entities may enter into a Coordinated Functional Registration (CFR) agreement for one or more Reliability Standard(s) and/or requirements/sub-requirements applicable to a specific function.
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- The CFR submission must include a written agreement that governs itself and clearly delineates the entities’ respective compliance responsibilities for each registered entity that is party to the CFR agreement.
- All parties to a CFR agreement must be registered for the same specific function for which the CFR agreement has been created.
- Under a CFR agreement, each entity shall take full compliance responsibility for those Reliability Standards and/or requirements/sub-requirements it has registered for in the CFR. Parties to a CFR divide their compliance responsibilities for NERC Standard(s) and/or requirements related to a particular function.
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Registered entities wishing to enter into a CFR must submit the CFR through the NERC CFR Portal in CORES for review and verification that the agreement provides for the proper assignment of responsibilities consistent with the CFR.
- ReliabilityFirst Registration will review the CFR application and may request additional information. Accepted CFRs are registered with NERC and listed on NERC’s Compliance Registry page.
- For questions about CFRs or other registration-related issues, please contact ReliabilityFirst Registration.
BES Definition and Implementation
➡️ Detailed information on the application of the NERC Bulk Electric System (BES) definition, and materials designed to provide entities with the information needed to make uniform determinations of BES elements is located on the NERC Bulk Electric System Definition, Notification, and Exception Process Project Page.
➡️ Please refer to the NERC BES FAQ document for quick answers to many commonly asked questions. If you can’t find your answer there, or would like to submit a comment/question, please visit our Contact Us page and direct your question to Registration.