When a Reliability Coordinator receives an Emergency notification from a Transmission Operator or Balancing Authority within its Reliability Coordinator Area, within how many minutes must they notify other Balancing Authorities and Transmission Operators in its Reliability Coordinator Area, and neighboring Reliability Coordinators?

• A. 30 minutes
• B. 15 minutes
• C. 60 minutes
• D. 90 minutes

Answer: (A)

When an Emergency notification is received, the Reliability Coordinator must quickly spread that information to all affected parties to enable coordinated action across the grid. The required window for notifying other Balancing Authorities and Transmission Operators in its own RC Area, as well as neighboring Reliability Coordinators, is 30 minutes. This timeframe keeps situational awareness rapid enough to coordinate across areas—facilitating actions like generation re-dispatch, stabilization measures, and inter-area coordination—without delaying response unnecessarily. A shorter window could be impractical for ensuring the notification reaches everyone, while longer windows risk slowing the collective response during a true emergency.