Eop 011-3

EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

Standard Development Timeline
This section is maintained by the drafting team during the development of the standard and will be
removed when the standard becomes effective.
Description of Current Draft
This is the first draft of the proposed standard for a formal 30-day comment period.
Completed Actions
Standards Committee approved Standard Authorization Request (SAR)

Date
11/17/2021

SAR posted for comment

11/22/21 – 12/21/21

Anticipated Actions
30-day formal comment period with ballot

Date
May – June 2022

30- day formal comment period with additional ballot
10-day final ballot

August – September 2022
September 2022

NERC Board of Trustees (Board) adoption

October 2022

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

A. Introduction
1.

Title:

Emergency Operations

2.

Number:

EOP-011-3

3.

Purpose: To address the effects of operating Emergencies by ensuring each
Transmission Operator and Balancing Authority has developed plan(s) to mitigate
operating Emergencies and that those plans are implemented and coordinated
within the Reliability Coordinator Area as specified within the requirements.

4.

Applicability:
4.1. Functional Entities:
4.1.1 Balancing Authority
4.1.2 Reliability Coordinator
4.1.3 Transmission Operator

5.

Effective Date: See Implementation Plan for Project 2021-07.

B. Requirements and Measures
R1.

Each Transmission Operator shall develop, maintain, and implement one or more
Reliability Coordinator-reviewed Operating Plan(s) to mitigate operating Emergencies
in its Transmission Operator Area. The Operating Plan(s) shall include the following, as
applicable: [Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: Real-Time Operations,
Operations Planning, Long-term Planning]
1.1. Roles and responsibilities for activating the Operating Plan(s);
1.2. Processes to prepare for and mitigate Emergencies including:
1.2.1. Notification to its Reliability Coordinator, to include current and
projected conditions, when experiencing an operating Emergency;
1.2.2. Cancellation or recall of Transmission and generation outages;
1.2.3. Transmission system reconfiguration;
1.2.4. Redispatch of generation request;
1.2.5. Operator-controlled manual load shedding during an Emergency that
accounts for each of the following:

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1.2.5.1.

Provisions for manual Load shedding capable of being
implemented in a timeframe adequate for mitigating the
Emergency;

1.2.5.2.

Provisions to minimize the overlap of circuits that are
designated for manual Load shed and circuits that serve
designated critical loads;

1.2.5.3.

Provisions to minimize the overlap of circuits that are
designated for manual Load shed and circuits that are utilized
for underfrequency load shed (UFLS) or undervoltage load
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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

shed (UVLS); and
1.2.5.4.

Provisions for limiting the utilization of UFLS or UVLS circuits
for manual Load shed to situations where warranted by
system conditions.

1.2.6. Provisions to determine reliability impacts of:
1.2.6.1.

cold weather conditions; and

1.2.6.2.

extreme weather conditions.

M1. Each Transmission Operator will have a dated Operating Plan(s) developed in
accordance with Requirement R1 and reviewed by its Reliability Coordinator;
evidence such as a review or revision history to indicate that the Operating Plan(s) h as
been maintained; and will have as evidence, such as operator logs or other operating
documentation, voice recordings or other communication documentation to show
that its Operating Plan(s) was implemented for times when an Emergency has
occurred, in accordance with Requirement R1.
R2.

Each Balancing Authority shall develop, maintain, and implement one or more
Reliability Coordinator-reviewed Operating Plan(s) to mitigate Capacity Emergencies
and Energy Emergencies within its Balancing Authority Area. The Operating Plan(s)
shall include the following, as applicable: [Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon:
Real-Time Operations, Operations Planning, Long-term Planning]
2.1. Roles and responsibilities for activating the Operating Plan(s);
2.2. Processes to prepare for and mitigate Emergencies including:
2.2.1. Notification to its Reliability Coordinator, to include current and
projected conditions when experiencing a Capacity Emergency or Energy
Emergency;
2.2.2. Requesting an Energy Emergency Alert, per Attachment 1;
2.2.3. Managing generating resources in its Balancing Authority Area to
address:
2.2.3.1.

capability and availability;

2.2.3.2.

fuel supply and inventory concerns;

2.2.3.3.

fuel switching capabilities; and

2.2.3.4.

environmental constraints.

2.2.4. Public appeals for voluntary Load reductions;
2.2.5. Requests to government agencies to implement their programs to
achieve necessary energy reductions;
2.2.6. Reduction of internal utility energy use;
2.2.7. Use of Interruptible Load, curtailable Load and demand response;
2.2.8. Provisions for Transmission Operators to implement operator-controlled
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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

manual Load shed in accordance with Requirement R1 Part 1.2.5; and
2.2.9. Provisions to determine reliability impacts of:
2.2.9.1.

cold weather conditions; and

2.2.9.2.

extreme weather conditions.

M2. Each Balancing Authority will have a dated Operating Plan(s) developed in
accordance with Requirement R2 and reviewed by its Reliability Coordinator;
evidence such as a review or revision history to indicate that the Operating Plan(s)
has been maintained; and will have as evidence, such as operator logs or other
operating documentation, voice recordings, or other communication
documentation to show that its Operating Plan(s) was implemented for times when
an Emergency has occurred, in accordance with Requirement R2.
R3.

The Reliability Coordinator shall review the Operating Plan(s) to mitigate operating
Emergencies submitted by a Transmission Operator or a Balancing Authority
regarding any reliability risks that are identified between Operating Plans. [Violation
Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: Operations Planning]
3.1. Within 30 calendar days of receipt, the Reliability Coordinator shall:
3.1.1. Review each submitted Operating Plan(s) on the basis of compatibility
and inter-dependency with other Balancing Authorities’ and Transmission
Operators’ Operating Plans;
3.1.2. Review each submitted Operating Plan(s) for coordination to avoid risk to
Wide Area reliability; and
3.1.3. Notify each Balancing Authority and Transmission Operator of the results
of its review, specifying any time frame for resubmittal of its Operating
Plan(s) if revisions are identified.

M3. The Reliability Coordinator will have documentation, such as dated emails or other
correspondences that it reviewed, Transmission Operator and Balancing Authority
Operating Plans, within 30 calendar days of submittal in accordance with
Requirement R3.
R4.

Each Transmission Operator and Balancing Authority shall address any reliability risks
identified by its Reliability Coordinator pursuant to Requirement R3 and resubmit its
Operating Plan(s) to its Reliability Coordinator within a time period specified by its
Reliability Coordinator. [Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: Operation
Planning]

M4. The Transmission Operator and Balancing Authority will have documentation, such as
dated emails or other correspondence, with an Operating Plan(s) version history
showing that it responded and updated the Operating Plan(s) within the timeframe
identified by its Reliability Coordinator in accordance with Requirement R4.
R5.

Each Reliability Coordinator that receives an Emergency notification from a
Transmission Operator or Balancing Authority within its Reliability Coordinator Area
shall notify, within 30 minutes from the time of receiving notification, other Balancing
Authorities and Transmission Operators in its Reliability Coordinator Area, and

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

neighboring Reliability Coordinators. [Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: RealTime Operations]
M5. Each Reliability Coordinator that receives an Emergency notification from a Balancing
Authority or Transmission Operator within its Reliability Coordinator Area will have,
and provide upon request, evidence that could include, but is not limited to, operator
logs, voice recordings or transcripts of voice recordings, electronic communications,
or equivalent evidence that will be used to determine if the Reliability Coordinator
communicated, in accordance with Requirement R5, with other Balancing Authorities
and Transmission Operators in its Reliability Coordinator Area, and neighboring
Reliability Coordinators.
R6.

Each Reliability Coordinator that has a Balancing Authority experiencing a potential or
actual Energy Emergency within its Reliability Coordinator Area shall declare an
Energy Emergency Alert, as detailed in Attachment 1. [Violation Risk Factor: High]
[Time Horizon: Real-Time Operations]

M6. Each Reliability Coordinator, with a Balancing Authority experiencing a potential or
actual Energy Emergency within its Reliability Coordinator Area, will have, and provide
upon request, evidence that could include, but is not limited to, operator logs, voice
recordings or transcripts of voice recordings, electronic communications, or
equivalent evidence that it declared an Energy Emergency Alert, as detailed in
Attachment 1, in accordance with Requirement R6.

C. Compliance
1.

Compliance Monitoring Process
1.1. Compliance Enforcement Authority
“Compliance Enforcement Authority” (CEA) means NERC or the Regional Entity, or
any entity as otherwise designated by an Applicable Governmental Authority, in
their respective roles of monitoring and/or enforcing compliance with the
mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards in their respective jurisdictions.
1.2. Evidence Retention
The following evidence retention period(s) identify the period of time an entity is
required to retain specific evidence to demonstrate compliance. For instances where
the evidence retention period specified below is shorter than the time since the last
audit, the CEA may ask an entity to provide other evidence to show that it was
compliant for the full-time period since the last audit.
The applicable entity shall keep data or evidence to show compliance as
identified below unless directed by its CEA to retain specific evidence for a
longer period of time as part of an investigation.


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The Transmission Operator shall retain the current Operating Plan(s),
evidence of review or revision history plus each version issued since the last
audit and evidence of compliance since the last audit for Requirements R1
and R4 and Measures M1 and M4.
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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations



The Balancing Authority shall retain the current Operating Plan(s), evidence
of review or revision history plus each version issued since the last audit and
evidence of compliance since the last audit for Requirements R2 and R4, and
Measures M2 and M4.



The Reliability Coordinator shall maintain evidence of compliance since the
last audit for Requirements R3, R5, and R6 and Measures M3, M5, and M6.

1.3. Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program:
As defined in the NERC Rules of Procedure, “Compliance Monitoring and
Enforcement Program” refers to the identification of the processes that will be
used to evaluate data or information for the purpose of assessing performance
or outcomes with the associated Reliability Standard.

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

Violation Severity Levels
Violation Severity Levels
R#

Time Horizon

VRF

Lower VSL
R1

R2

Real-time
Operations,
Operations
Planning, Longterm Planning

Real-time
Operations,
Operations

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High

High

N/A

N/A

Moderate VSL

High VSL

Severe VSL

The Transmission
Operator developed a
Reliability
Coordinatorreviewed Operating
Plan(s) to mitigate
operating
Emergencies in its
Transmission
Operator Area, but
failed to maintain it.

The Transmission
Operator developed
an Operating Plan(s)
to mitigate operating
Emergencies in its
Transmission
Operator Area, but
failed to have it
reviewed by its
Reliability
Coordinator.

The Transmission
Operator failed to
develop an
Operating Plan(s) to
mitigate operating
Emergencies in its
Transmission
Operator Area.

The Balancing
Authority developed
a Reliability
Coordinator-

The Balancing
Authority developed
an Operating Plan(s)
to mitigate operating

The Balancing
Authority failed to
develop an

OR
The Transmission
Operator developed
a Reliability
Coordinatorreviewed Operating
Plan(s) to mitigate
operating
Emergencies in its
Transmission
Operator Area, but
failed to implement
it.

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

Violation Severity Levels
R#

Time Horizon

VRF

Lower VSL
Planning, Longterm Planning

Moderate VSL
reviewed Operating
Plan(s) to mitigate
operating
Emergencies within
its Balancing
Authority Area, but
failed to maintain it.

High VSL
Emergencies within
its Balancing
Authority Area, but
failed to have it
reviewed by its
Reliability
Coordinator.

Severe VSL
Operating Plan(s) to
mitigate operating
Emergencies within
its Balancing
Authority Area.
OR
The Balancing
Authority developed
a Reliability
Coordinatorreviewed Operating
Plan(s) to mitigate
operating
Emergencies within
its Balancing
Authority Area, but
failed to implement
it.

R3

Operations
Planning

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High

N/A

N/A

The Reliability
Coordinator
identified a reliability
risk, but failed to
notify the Balancing
Authority or
Transmission

The Reliability
Coordinator
identified a reliability
risk, but failed to
notify the Balancing
Authority or
Transmission
Operator.

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

Violation Severity Levels
R#

Time Horizon

VRF

Lower VSL

Moderate VSL

High VSL

Severe VSL

Operator within 30
calendar days.
R4

Operations
Planning

R5

Real-time
Operations

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High

High

N/A

N/A

The Transmission
Operator or
Balancing Authority
failed to update and
resubmit its
Operating Plan(s) to
its Reliability
Coordinator within
the timeframe
specified by its
Reliability
Coordinator.

The Transmission
Operator or
Balancing Authority
failed to update and
resubmit its
Operating Plan(s) to
its Reliability
Coordinator.

N/A

N/A

The Reliability
Coordinator that
received an
Emergency
notification from a
Transmission
Operator or
Balancing Authority
did notify
neighboring
Reliability
Coordinators,
Balancing Authorities

The Reliability
Coordinator that
received an
Emergency
notification from a
Transmission
Operator or
Balancing Authority
failed to notify
neighboring
Reliability
Coordinators,
Balancing Authorities

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

Violation Severity Levels
R#

Time Horizon

VRF

Lower VSL

R6

Real-time
Operations

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High

N/A

Moderate VSL

N/A

High VSL

Severe VSL

and Transmission
Operators, but
failed to notify
within 30 minutes
from the time of
receiving
notification.

and Transmission
Operators.

N/A

The Reliability
Coordinator that had
a Balancing
Authority
experiencing a
potential or actual
Energy Emergency
within its Reliability
Coordinator Area
failed to declare an
Energy Emergency
Alert.

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EOP-011-3 Emergency Operations

D. Regional Variances
None.

E. Interpretations
None.

F. Associated Documents
None.

Version History
Version

Date

1

November 13,
2014

Adopted by Board of Trustees Merged EOP-001-2.1b, EOP002-3.1 and EOP-003-2.

1

November 19,
2015

2

June 11,2021

FERC approved EOP-011-1.
Docket Nos. RM15-7-000,
RM15-12-000, and RM15-13000. Order No. 818
Adopted by Board of
Trustees

2

2

August 24,2021 FERC approved EOP011-2. Docket Number
RD21-5-000
August 24,2021 Effective Date

3

TBD

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Action

Change Tracking

Revised under Project 201906

4/1/ 2023
Revised under Project 202107

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Attachment 1
Attachment 1-EOP-011-3
Energy Emergency Alerts

Introduction
This Attachment provides the process and descriptions of the levels used by the Reliability
Coordinator in which it communicates the condition of a Balancing Authority which is
experiencing an Energy Emergency.
A.

General Responsibilities
1.

Initiation by Reliability Coordinator. An Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) may be
initiated only by a Reliability Coordinator at 1) the Reliability Coordinator’s own
request, or 2) upon the request of an energy deficient Balancing Authority.

2.

Notification. A Reliability Coordinator who declares an EEA shall notify all Balancing
Authorities and Transmission Operators in its Reliability Coordinator Area. The
Reliability Coordinator shall also notify all neighboring Reliability Coordinators.

B. EEA Levels
Introduction
To ensure that all Reliability Coordinators clearly understand potential and actual Ene rgy
Emergencies in the Interconnection, NERC has established three levels of EEAs. The
Reliability Coordinators will use these terms when communicating Energy Emergencies to
each other. An EEA is an Emergency procedure, not a daily operating practice, and is not
intended as an alternative to compliance with NERC Reliability Standards.
The Reliability Coordinator may declare whatever alert level is necessary, and need not
proceed through the alerts sequentially.
1.

2.

EEA 1 — All available generation resources in use. Circumstances:


The Balancing Authority is experiencing conditions where all available
generation resources are committed to meet firm Load, firm transactions, and
reserve commitments, and is concerned about sustaining its required
Contingency Reserves.



Non-firm wholesale energy sales (other than those that are recallable to meet
reserve requirements) have been curtailed.

EEA 2 — Load management procedures in effect. Circumstances:


The Balancing Authority is no longer able to provide its expected energy
requirements and is an energy deficient Balancing Authority.



An energy deficient Balancing Authority has implemented its Operating
Plan(s) to mitigate Emergencies.

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Attachment 1



An energy deficient Balancing Authority is still able to maintain minimum
Contingency Reserve requirements.

During EEA 2, Reliability Coordinators and energy deficient Balancing Authorities have the
following responsibilities:
2.1 Notifying other Balancing Authorities and market participants. The energy deficient
Balancing Authority shall communicate its needs to other Balancing Authorities and
market participants. Upon request from the energy deficient Balancing Authority,
the respective Reliability Coordinator shall post the declaration of the alert level,
along with the name of the energy deficient Balancing Authority on the RCIS website.
2.2 Declaration period. The energy deficient Balancing Authority shall update its
Reliability Coordinator of the situation at a minimum of every hour until the EEA 2 is
terminated. The Reliability Coordinator shall update the energy deficiency
information posted on the RCIS website as changes occur and pass this information
on to the neighboring Reliability Coordinators, Balancing Authorities and
Transmission Operators.
2.3 Sharing information on resource availability. Other Reliability Coordinators of
Balancing Authorities with available resources shall coordinate, as appropriate, with
the Reliability Coordinator that has an energy deficient Balancing Authority.
2.4 Evaluating and mitigating Transmission limitations. The Reliability Coordinator shall
review Transmission outages and work with the Transmission Operator(s) to see if
it’s possible to return to service any Transmission Elements that may relieve the
loading on System Operating Limits (SOLs) or Interconnection Reliability Operating
Limits (IROLs).
2.5 Requesting Balancing Authority actions. Before requesting an EEA 3, the energy
deficient Balancing Authority must make use of all available resources; this includes,
but is not limited to:

3.

2.5.1

All available generation units are on line. All generation capable of
being on line in the time frame of the Emergency is on line.

2.5.2

Demand-Side Management. Activate Demand-Side Management within
provisions of any applicable agreements.

EEA 3 —Firm Load interruption is imminent or in progress. Circumstances:


The energy deficient Balancing Authority is unable to meet minimum
Contingency Reserve requirements.

During EEA 3, Reliability Coordinators and Balancing Authorities have the following
responsibilities:
3.1 Continue actions from EEA 2. The Reliability Coordinators and the energy deficient
Balancing Authority shall continue to take all actions initiated during EEA 2.

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Attachment 1

3.2 Declaration Period. The energy deficient Balancing Authority shall update its
Reliability Coordinator of the situation at a minimum of every hour until the EEA 3 is
terminated. The Reliability Coordinator shall update the energy deficiency
information posted on the RCIS website as changes occur and pass this information
on to the neighboring Reliability Coordinators, Balancing Authorities, and
Transmission Operators.
3.3 Reevaluating and revising SOLs and IROLs. The Reliability Coordinator shall evaluate
the risks of revising SOLs and IROLs for the possibility of delivery of energy to the
energy deficient Balancing Authority. Reevaluation of SOLs and IROLs shall be
coordinated with other Reliability Coordinators and only with the agreement of the
Transmission Operator whose Transmission Owner (TO) equipment would be
affected. SOLs and IROLs shall only be revised as long as an EEA 3 condition exists, or
as allowed by the Transmission Owner whose equipment is at risk. The following are
minimum requirements that must be met before SOLs or IROLs are revised:
3.3.1

Energy deficient Balancing Authority obligations. The energy deficient
Balancing Authority, upon notification from its Reliability Coordinator of
the situation, will immediately take whatever actions are necessary to
mitigate any undue risk to the Interconnection. These actions may
include Load shedding.

3.4 Returning to pre-Emergency conditions. Whenever energy is made available to an
energy deficient Balancing Authority such that the Systems can be returned to its
pre- Emergency SOLs or IROLs condition, the energy deficient Balancing Authority
shall request the Reliability Coordinator to downgrade the alert level.
3.4.1

Notification of other parties. Upon notification from the energy
deficient Balancing Authority that an alert has been downgraded, the
Reliability Coordinator shall notify the neighboring Reliability
Coordinators (via the RCIS), Balancing Authorities, and Transmission
Operators that its Systems can be returned to its normal limits.
Alert 0 - Termination. When the energy deficient Balancing Authority is
able to meet its Load and Operating Reserve requirements, it shall
request its Reliability Coordinator to terminate the EEA.

3.4.2

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Notification. The Reliability Coordinator shall notify all other Reliability
Coordinators via the RCIS of the termination. The Reliability Coordinator
shall also notify the neighboring Balancing Authorities and Transmission
Operators.

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