The Project 2026-02 package passed NERC's final ballot, announced October 15, 2026: three new standards (CLO-001-1, CLO-002-1, CLO-003-1) plus revisions to FAC-001-5 and FAC-002-5. Next comes adoption by the NERC Board of Trustees, then filing with FERC. FERC's July 16, 2026 order requires NERC to file the initial standards and proposed registration criteria by December 31, 2026, and a work plan for further computational load standards by March 1, 2027.
Who is covered
As balloted, the standards apply to sites with at least 50 MW of total connected load served through equipment connected to the bulk power system at 100 kV or above. Several buildings can be treated as one site. The threshold was raised from an original proposal of 20 MW at 60 kV.
Obligations fall on computational load owners and operators, and on the grid entities they connect to: planning coordinators, transmission planners, transmission owners and operators, balancing authorities and reliability coordinators.
CLO-001-1: interconnection studies, modeling and verification
CLO-001-1 requires coordinated interconnection studies, commissioning procedures and planning model data for each site. Owners must provide data on how equipment trips, rides through and recovers during disturbances, and must document model verification showing that site-specific parameters represent the equipment and settings actually in service.
- Planning coordinators define which changes are "qualified changes" and specify the modeling data they need.
- Verification documentation must be updated within 180 days of a hardware, software, firmware or setting change that alters the site's dynamic response.
- In the posted drafts, initial verification was due within 365 days of the in service date, with periodic reverification after that.
- Companion revisions to FAC-001-5 and FAC-002-5 align transmission owner interconnection requirements and studies so obligations are not duplicated.
CLO-002-1: operational data and communications
CLO-002-1 sets data and communications requirements between sites and their transmission operator, balancing authority and reliability coordinator. Operators must generally follow operating instructions unless doing so is physically impossible or would violate safety, equipment, regulatory or statutory requirements, and must notify the issuing entity when they cannot comply. The standard also requires communications capability and personnel training.
CLO-003-1: protection coordination and disturbance monitoring
CLO-003-1 requires a process for developing and coordinating protection settings across entities, plus three kinds of recording: sequence of events for specified circuit breakers, fault recording, and continuous dynamic disturbance recording. Who records depends on who owns the equipment.
The posted drafts also specified technical details, including:
- Input sampling of at least 960 samples per second and dynamic recording of at least 60 observations per second.
- Time synchronization to UTC within plus or minus 1 millisecond.
- Data formats: IEEE C37.111 (COMTRADE) for fault and dynamic records, with C37.232 file naming.
- Data provided within 15 calendar days of a request, and restoration of failed recording capability within 90 days or a corrective action plan.
Requirement numbers and values above reference the drafts posted for comment. Confirm against the final text approved by FERC.
Implementation timeline
Clocks start at the effective date that follows FERC approval. As balloted:
| Standard | Who | Time after effective date |
|---|---|---|
| CLO-001-1 | Planning coordinators: qualified changes and modeling data specifications | 3 months |
| CLO-001-1 | Transmission owners, distribution providers, generator owners: interconnection requirements | 6 months |
| CLO-001-1 | Remaining study, commissioning and owner obligations | 9 months |
| CLO-002-1 | Transmission operators, balancing authorities, reliability coordinators: data specifications | 6 months |
| CLO-002-1 | Computational load owners and operators | 12 months, generally |
| CLO-003-1 | Protection coordination | 9 months |
| CLO-003-1 | Recording, new sites | 15 months or in service date, whichever is later |
| CLO-003-1 | Recording, existing sites | 36 months |
The measurement gap
As drafted, model verification checks that the model's parameters match the design and settings of the equipment. It does not require the model to be compared against how the facility actually behaved during a disturbance. Some parameters that matter most, such as UPS transfer thresholds, disturbance counting and lockout logic, and recovery timers, can be hard to verify from design data alone, and the drafts allow owners to state which parameters could not be verified.
Recording rules, meanwhile, only require data to be retrievable for a short window. Unless recorded events are captured and kept deliberately, a year of real disturbances can pass without leaving any evidence behind for the verification that follows.
That is why measured evidence matters even where the rules do not strictly demand it: planners and utilities increasingly want proof that the model matches reality, and the first serious ride-through failure will be judged on recorded data. See why spec sheet models fail.
Readiness checklist
- Confirm whether each site meets the 50 MW and 100 kV applicability test, counting multiple buildings as one site where they share service.
- Identify your transmission planner, planning coordinator and the operating entities you will report to.
- Inventory existing recorders, relays, meters and historians, and check them against CLO-003 recording requirements.
- Collect UPS, transfer switch and protection settings that govern ride-through, transfer and recovery.
- Start keeping disturbance records now, before obligations begin.
- Build or refresh the dynamic model using measured events where they exist.
- Set up a change log so modifications that alter dynamic response trigger reverification on time.
- Review your utility's own large load technical requirements, which may apply sooner than the NERC standards.
We map your sites against these obligations and your utility's requirements as part of every engagement. Request a demo
Frequently asked questions
What are the NERC CLO standards?
CLO-001-1, CLO-002-1 and CLO-003-1 are NERC reliability standards for computational loads such as data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. They cover interconnection studies and modeling, operational data and communications, and protection coordination and disturbance monitoring. They were developed under NERC Project 2026-02 and passed final ballot in October 2026.
What does CLO stand for?
CLO refers to computational load. The standards assign obligations to computational load owners and operators, alongside transmission planners, planning coordinators, transmission owners and operators.
Which data centers are covered?
As balloted, sites with at least 50 MW of total connected load served through equipment connected to the bulk power system at 100 kV or above. Multiple buildings can form one site. The original proposal was 20 MW at 60 kV.
When do the CLO standards take effect?
NERC must file the standards with FERC by December 31, 2026. After FERC approval and the effective date, obligations phase in over roughly 3 to 36 months depending on the requirement and whether the site is new or existing.
What is model verification under CLO-001?
The computational load owner provides its transmission planner documentation that the site-specific model parameters represent the in-service equipment and settings. As balloted, verification must be updated within 180 days of a change that alters the dynamic response of the site.
What recording does CLO-003 require?
Sequence of events recording for specified breakers, fault recording, and continuous dynamic disturbance recording, with responsibility based on equipment ownership. The drafts also specify sampling rates, time synchronization, data formats and how quickly data must be produced on request.
Do utilities have their own large load requirements?
Yes. Many transmission owners now publish large load technical requirements covering ride-through, monitoring, modeling and staged energization, enforced through interconnection and service agreements. These can be stricter than the NERC standards and can apply sooner.
Sources
- POWER Magazine: NERC reliability standards for data centers and crypto loads pass final ballot
- POWER Magazine: FERC orders mandatory NERC reliability standards for computational loads
- Utility Dive: reliability standards for AI data centers pass final NERC ballot
- NERC: Primer for computational loads (PDF)
This guide is general information, not legal advice.
