Which statement best describes the escalation path for BES incidents in relation to TO/BA involvement?

• A. The Reliability Coordinator and the Regional Entity
• B. The Regional Entity and the Plant Manager
• C. The Public Affairs Office and the IT Director
• D. The Compliance Auditor and the Operations Manager

Answer: (A)

When a BES incident occurs and TO/BA involvement is part of the situation, the escalation path goes to the Reliability Coordinator and the Regional Entity. The Reliability Coordinator is the central authority responsible for the real-time reliability of the bulk electric system in its region and coordinates directly with Transmission Owners and Balancing Authorities during an event to assess impact, coordinate actions, and guide restoration. The Regional Entity provides regional oversight and compliance coordination, receiving incident reports and facilitating consistent handling across the region, including any required notifications to NERC or regulators. The other roles listed are not the formal escalation channels for BES incidents; they may handle internal or public communications or specific operational tasks, but they do not serve as the official escalation path for BES reliability events.