Restoration shows up on the RC exam because it is where the functional model gets stress-tested. Most operators can tell you the Transmission Operator restores its own area. Fewer can explain cleanly what the Reliability Coordinator owes that process, or why the plan sitting on the shelf had to be approved by somebody else before it counted for anything.
Today's topic is system restoration and blackstart coordination under EOP-005 (System Restoration from Blackstart Resources) and EOP-006 (System Restoration Coordination) — two standards that get confused with each other constantly, and that the exam knows it.
Test Tips
- Sort the two standards by functional entity before you read the answer choices. EOP-005 is the Transmission Operator standard, with obligations reaching Generator Operators that own Blackstart Resources and Transmission Owners that own facilities in the restoration plan. EOP-006 is the Reliability Coordinator standard. If the stem asks who has the restoration plan for the area being restored, that is the TOP. If it asks who coordinates across areas, that is the RC.
- Get the approval direction right. The TOP writes the restoration plan; the RC approves it (EOP-005 R1). Distractors love to reverse this — an RC submitting its plan to a TOP for approval, or a TOP approving its own. Both wrong. The RC also maintains its own restoration plan for the RC Area under EOP-006 R1. Two different documents, two different owners.
- Know the glossary terms cold. Blackstart Resource and Cranking Path are NERC Glossary terms and get tested as straight definitions. A Blackstart Resource starts without support from the System (or stays energized while separated from it), can energize a bus, meets the TOP's plan needs for real and reactive capability and frequency and voltage control — and, the part candidates miss, is included in the Transmission Operator's restoration plan. A cranking path is the portion of the system that can be isolated and then energized to deliver power from a generation source to start other units.
- Anything crossing a boundary is an RC answer. Synchronizing separated islands, restoring across a TOP boundary, coordinating with a neighboring RC — all of it routes through the Reliability Coordinator, because the RC holds the wide-area view. The moment a question describes a boundary being crossed, stop considering the TOP-level options.
- The functional model does not switch off during a blackout. The TOP still directs restoration inside its own area. The RC still coordinates and can still issue Reliability Directives. Three-part communication under COM-002 applies during restoration exactly as it does on a normal shift — expect at least one question that pairs a restoration scenario with directive acknowledgement, because that is where candidates get sloppy.
- Restoration plans are living documents. EOP-005 obligates the TOP to review and update the plan on a recurring basis, verify through analysis, simulation, or testing that it will actually accomplish what it claims, and train the operating personnel who would execute it. Any answer choice that implies "approved once, good indefinitely" is the distractor.
5 Practice Questions
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A Transmission Operator finalizes a revision to its system restoration plan. Before that revised plan is valid for use, what must occur?
- A. The plan must be filed with the Regional Entity
- B. The plan must be approved by the Transmission Operator's Reliability Coordinator
- C. The plan must be approved by each Generator Operator with a Blackstart Resource identified in it
- D. The plan must be posted to the Transmission Owner's OASIS site
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Which functional entity is the applicable entity under EOP-006 — System Restoration Coordination?
- A. Balancing Authority
- B. Generator Operator
- C. Reliability Coordinator
- D. Transmission Owner
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During restoration from a widespread outage, two separately energized islands — one restored by a Transmission Operator in one RC Area, one by a Transmission Operator in an adjacent RC Area — are ready to be synchronized. Who is responsible for coordinating that action?
- A. The Transmission Operator whose island is carrying the larger load
- B. The Balancing Authority of each island, acting independently
- C. The Reliability Coordinators, coordinating with each other
- D. The Generator Operator of the largest online blackstart unit
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Which statement best describes a Cranking Path?
- A. The transmission path used to deliver emergency energy purchases from a neighboring Balancing Authority
- B. A portion of the electric system that can be isolated and then energized to deliver power from a generation source to enable the startup of one or more other generating units
- C. The predetermined switching order used to restore load following operation of underfrequency load shedding
- D. Any transmission line operated at 345 kV or above that appears in a restoration plan
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A generating unit can start without support from the System, can energize a bus, and has been tested by its owner. It is not identified in any Transmission Operator's restoration plan. Under the NERC Glossary, does it qualify as a Blackstart Resource?
- A. Yes — self-start capability alone establishes it as a Blackstart Resource
- B. Yes, provided the Generator Operator has notified its Balancing Authority
- C. No — a Blackstart Resource must be included in the Transmission Operator's restoration plan
- D. No — only hydro and combustion turbine units can qualify as Blackstart Resources
Answer Key & Explanations
- B. EOP-005 R1 requires each Transmission Operator to have a restoration plan approved by its Reliability Coordinator. RC approval is the step that makes the plan usable — not a Regional Entity filing, and not sign-off by the generator owners named in it.
- C. EOP-006, System Restoration Coordination, is the Reliability Coordinator standard. EOP-005 is the Transmission Operator-facing restoration standard. Sorting the two by applicable entity resolves a large share of restoration questions on its own.
- C. Restoration actions that cross TOP or RC boundaries are coordinated by the Reliability Coordinators. The RC has the wide-area view and coordinates restoration within its RC Area and with neighboring RCs under EOP-006; a TOP cannot unilaterally tie into another TOP's island.
- B. That is the NERC Glossary definition of Cranking Path. The other choices describe emergency purchases, load restoration switching, and a voltage threshold — none of which is what the term means.
- C. Inclusion in the Transmission Operator's restoration plan is part of the NERC Glossary definition of Blackstart Resource. Self-start capability is necessary but not sufficient, and the definition contains no fuel-type or technology restriction.
One More Thing
Standards get revised. Before you sit for the exam, confirm the currently enforceable version and requirement text of any standard you are studying at nerc.com — the concepts above hold, but requirement numbering can move between revisions.
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