Regulatory Pulse

Grid Pulse | July 28, 2026 — Six Days to the NERC Computational Load Alert Deadline
Registered entities have until midnight Eastern on August 3 to report on NERC's Level 3 Alert covering computational load modeling, studies, commissioning, protection, and operations — and FERC's July 16 order has now made that alert the on-ramp to mandatory Reliability Standards due December 31, 2026. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 27, 2026 — One Week Left: NERC's Level 3 Computational Load Alert Reporting Closes August 3
With the reporting deadline on NERC's Level 3 computational load alert hitting August 3, registered entities have one week to complete all three response steps in the NERC Alert System — responses that will shape future mandatory standards for data center and AI load integration. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 26, 2026 — NERC's Level 3 Computational Load Alert: Responses Due August 3
NERC's Level 3 Essential Action Alert on computational load requires TP, PC, TO, BA, RC, and TOP responses in the NERC Alert System by August 3, 2026 — and those responses will shape the mandatory Reliability Standards FERC has ordered NERC to file by December 31. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 25, 2026 — NERC's Computational Load Alert Reporting Deadline Is Nine Days Out
NERC's Level 3 Essential Action Alert on computational loads requires TP, PC, TO, BA, RC, and TOP responses in the NERC Alert System by midnight Eastern on August 3, 2026 — and with FERC having directed NERC on July 16 to finalize computational load registry criteria and initial Reliability Standards by year-end, those responses now feed the record behind an enforceable standard. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 24, 2026 — FERC Puts PJM Governance on the Operating Table
FERC held a commission-led technical conference on July 23 in Docket No. AD26-7-000 to put concrete, actionable reforms to PJM's governance and stakeholder process on the record — a signal that changes to how the largest U.S. electricity market makes its rules may be coming. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 23, 2026 — DOE's 36th Emergency Order of 2026 Puts SPP on Federal Dispatch
DOE issued emergency Order No. 202-26-36 to Southwest Power Pool on July 20 — its 36th Section 202(c) order of 2026 — directing unit dispatch and authorizing backup generation as a last resort before an EEA 3, a sign that federal emergency authority has become a routine summer grid tool. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 22, 2026 — PJM's Federal Emergency Order Expired Last Night. The Safety Net Is Off.
DOE Emergency Order No. 202-26-35 — the Section 202(c) directive that carried PJM through July's record heat wave — expired at 11:59 PM EDT on July 21 with no successor posted, returning covered units to normal permit and market limits while unit-specific orders remain active into August. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 21, 2026 — 13 Days Left on NERC's Level 3 Computational Load Alert
NERC's Level 3 Essential Action Alert on computational loads requires TP, PC, TO, BA, RC, and TOP responses in the NERC Alert System by midnight Eastern on August 3, 2026 — and the three-step submission process means entities that wait until the last day risk an invalid response. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 20, 2026 — FERC Orders NERC To Write Reliability Standards for Data Center Loads by Year-End
FERC has directed NERC to develop mandatory Reliability Standards and compliance registry criteria for data center-scale computational loads by December 31, 2026 — the first time load-side facilities face this kind of treatment under the Federal Power Act. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 19, 2026 — FERC Puts the CAISO–SPP Seam on the Clock
FERC has ordered CAISO and SPP to file a joint report by September 30, 2026 detailing how they coordinate operations along their seams — a signal that Western seams management is now a formal regulatory matter, not just an operational courtesy. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 18, 2026 — FERC's 60-Day Clock on Large-Load Tariffs Is Running Out
FERC's June 18 Section 206 show cause orders give all six RTOs and ISOs until mid-August to justify or rewrite their large-load tariffs, reshaping how data centers and other large loads interconnect to the grid nationwide. Read more...
Grid Pulse | July 17, 2026 — PJM Runs Max Gen Alert Through Mid-July Heat as Peak Nears 145 GW
PJM issued a Maximum Generation Alert for July 16 across its 13-state footprint as forecast peak load neared 145,000 MW — a signal that grid operating margins are tightening under sustained Mid-Atlantic heat. Read more...