Inverter-Based Resource (IBR) Registration Initiative

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order in 2022 directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to identify and register owners and operators of currently unregistered inverter-based resources (also known as “IBRs”) that are connected to the bulk power system (BPS). The purpose of this initiative is to close an identified reliability gap with IBRs connected to the BPS that have a material impact on the BPS but are unregistered and therefore not subject to the NERC Reliability Standards.

NERC is addressing the risk by requiring candidates who own and/or operate non-BES inverter-based generating resources that have an aggregate nameplate capacity of greater than or equal to 20 MVA delivering such capacity to a common point of connection at a voltage greater than or equal to 60 kV to register with NERC.

ReliabilityFirst is one of six Regional Entities that work alongside NERC as part of the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise. Together, along with partners in the electric utility industry and other stakeholders, we are working to identify and register all of these unregistered IBRs that are connected to the BPS by 2026 as part of an official work plan approved by FERC. In the ReliabilityFirst footprint, the most common types of IBRs include solar, wind and battery energy storage systems. For more details on this regulatory structure, click here.

For the latest updates on this initiative, see the NERC Quick Reference Guide and follow our LinkedIn. Questions related to this initiative? Please reach out to ReliabilityFirst’s Registration department via our Contact Us page.

Registration Information IBR Registration Initiative 101

See how the initiative will work

This video produced by NERC highlights:

How IBRs fit into the big picture of electric grid reliability and why these entities need to be registered
The history behind this initiative, including the FERC order directing it
How NERC plans to identify, educate, and register currently unregistered IBRs
What unregistered IBRs should expect, including the registration process, their compliance obligations, and timeline

Key updates

Inverter-Based Resource Registration Initiative updates from NERC include the following:

Webinars, recordings, one-pagers, and other resources

NERC hosted an informational webinar on July 14 focused on the registration process for Category 2 GOs and GOPs. Click here to view a recording of the webinar.
To assist the Regional Entity assessment process, NERC has published an ERO Enterprise Practice Guide on the application of the new Category 2 Registration Criteria.
Please see the documentation required to register new Generator Owner (GO) and Generator Operators (GOP) functional entities in the ReliabilityFirst (RF) Region.
NERC’s Milestone 3 Summary was updated in July, and NERC released the first Standards Quarterly Outlook video, focused on FERC Order No. 901 and Milestone 3 Efforts on July 23.
NERC published the IBR Registration Initiative Reliability Standards Compliance Dates for Generator Owners & Generator Operators on March 18, 2025. The guide provides finalized and pending Reliability Standard compliance dates applicable to Category 2 registration. This document will be updated quarterly.
For newly identified entities, the Joining the ERO Enterprise infographic provides background on the ERO Enterprise and its mission and provides a step-by-step overview of the registration process.
For currently registered entities, the Expanding Your Registration infographic explains how to update existing registrations in CORES to reflect new Category 2 Generator Owner/Generator Operator responsibilities.
The ERO Enterprise hosted a webinar focused on the recently released IBR Practice Guide on March 3, 2025. The webinar recording is available here and the presentation slides are posted here.
The ERO Enterprise hosted an IBR Registration Initiative webinar for new registrants on Nov. 13, 2024. The webinar recording is available here and the presentation slides are posted here.

Other updates

NERC continues to develop new and modified Reliability Standards related to the IBR Registration Initiative as well as FERC Order No 901. NERC staff maintains an up-to-date project list on the Standards Under Development page, which includes indicators for projects that are associated with IBR, Distributed Energy Resources (DER), and Order 901.
NERC and the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) continue to actively support outreach and engagement efforts to the IBR community by participating in various targeted stakeholder engagements.