Submitting outage requests to NCPA Dispatch

How to submit, confirm, track, change and cancel outage requests in the NCPA Outage Request Portal.

Updated November 12, 2026. Questions: outage@ncpa.com · Dispatch Center (24 h) 916-786-3518.

Who can use the portal

The Outage Request Portal is where you ask NCPA Dispatch to schedule an outage or derate of a generating resource. It replaces emailing the Application for Work (AFW) form, although outage@ncpa.com still works if you need it.

The request form is on the portal's home page. There's no account to create and no password.

• Use your company email address. The portal accepts addresses at company domains that NCPA has approved. If your address isn't accepted, email the AFW form to outage@ncpa.com as before, or call Dispatch at 916-786-3518, and ask to have your company's domain added.
• Personal addresses (Gmail, Outlook.com and similar) can't be approved. Anyone who signs in sees every request from their own email domain, so only company domains are allowed. Senders on personal addresses keep using outage@ncpa.com.

Before you submit

These guidelines help with submission and don't guarantee CAISO approval. The Scheduling Coordinator remains responsible for accurate outage information and for complying with the CAISO Tariff and the Outage Management BPM.

Submit a request

The form opens with the timing rules and a reminder about same-day outages. Fields marked * are required.

1. Requester. Enter your name and your company email address. Company and phone are optional, but they help Dispatch reach you.

   

2. Resource. Type the CAISO Resource ID. If NCPA recognizes it, the portal fills in the SCID and Resource Type and shows the plant name under the field. Check the Resource Type, because it decides which other fields appear.

   

3. Outage type and duration. Pick the Opportunity and the Nature of Work. If you aren't sure of the Nature of Work, choose Not sure - Dispatch to select. Enter the start and end in Pacific time on a 24-hour clock, in 15-minute steps. Answer the Resource Adequacy question: has RA been claimed for the outage month? Emergency return time is optional (for example "8-12 hours" or "N/A").

   

4. Availability during the outage. Enter the MW the resource can still provide. More fields appear for batteries and for resources that provide ancillary services (see the next section). Leave anything that doesn't apply blank.
5. Work details. Describe the purpose of the outage and the work. Fill in Revises request # only if this request replaces an earlier one. If you can sign in, change the original request instead. Attach up to 5 files, 10 MB in total: PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, text or images.

   

6. Press Submit request. If anything needs fixing, a red box lists it above the button.

Fields that appear only when needed

The form shows extra fields only for the resources and work that need them.

Confirm your email address

If you aren't signed in, the portal asks you to confirm that the request came from you before Dispatch sees it.

1. Open the email "Confirm your NCPA outage request #…" and select the link. The link works for 48 hours.
2. On the page that opens, press Confirm request. The button is deliberate: some email security scanners open links automatically, and the button stops them from confirming requests on your behalf.

   

3. You'll see Request confirmed. The request now goes to Dispatch, and a receipt email follows.

   

A request that's never confirmed stays Pending verification. Dispatch doesn't see it, and it doesn't appear in your company's list.

What happens next

Replying: replies to any portal email go to outage@ncpa.com, which reaches NCPA Dispatch.

Sign in to see your company's requests

Signing in lets you see every request from your company's email domain, change one, or ask to cancel it. There's no password; the portal emails you a code.

1. Select Sign in at the top right of the portal, enter your work email and press Email me a code.

   

2. Enter the 8-digit code from the email "Your NCPA outage portal sign-in code". The code expires in 10 minutes.

   

3. You stay signed in for 8 hours on that browser, or until you select Sign out.

Closed requests (Withdrawn, CAISO Denied, Refused - call SC, Cancellation requested) are hidden until you tick Show closed.

While you're signed in, the form fills in your email and tells you that requests go straight to Dispatch.

Open a request

Select any row to see the full request, the CAISO OMS ID once Dispatch has entered it, every change made through the portal, and messages from Dispatch.

Change a request

1. Open the request and select Revise this request. The form opens with the current values.
2. Change what you need. Add a note to Dispatch if it helps, then press Send revision.
3. The status changes to Revision submitted. Dispatch is emailed exactly which fields changed, and the changes are listed on the request.

• You can't add attachments to a revision. Email extra files to outage@ncpa.com with the request number.
• A new start date can't be today or earlier.
• Requests that are Withdrawn, CAISO Denied, Refused - call SC or Cancellation requested can't be changed here. Call Dispatch at 916-786-3518.
• If the request was already entered in CAISO OMS, Dispatch updates the OMS card from your revision.

Ask to cancel a request

1. Open the request and select Request cancellation.
2. Say why the outage should be cancelled, then press Send cancellation request.
3. The status changes to Cancellation requested. Dispatch withdraws the outage after reviewing it, and the status then becomes Withdrawn.

What each status means

If something goes wrong

Contacts

• NCPA Scheduling Coordinator (24 hours): 916-781-4237. Same-day outages and urgent questions.
• NCPA Dispatch Center (24 hours): 916-786-3518.
• outage@ncpa.com: outage coordination, the AFW form by email, and replies to portal emails.