National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 22366:2026.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee SSM/1, Societal security management.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 January 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

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For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 292, Security and Resilience.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

0.1 Background

Energy systems are increasingly vulnerable to severe damage from disruptions including natural and human-made disruptions, posing significant risks to societies. Building energy systems that are resilient against these threats has therefore become an emerging issue.

Energy is an essential element in people’s daily lives and in business operations. When disruptive events occur, a stable, minimum energy supply is paramount to recovering and ensuring the safety of people as well as the resumption of economic activities.

Building resilience in the energy system benefits a wide range of stakeholders. National, sub-national and local governments can meet their obligations to the public and support the continuity of critical services. In this way, they can better and more effectively fulfil their responsibilities to ensure the safety of their citizens. Resilient infrastructure allows for a faster resumption of services that support the social, economic and environmental objectives and activities of an affected region. Financial institutions benefit from reduced risks to their investments by engaging and encouraging their clients to enhance the resilience of their energy supply systems.

Resilience of the energy supply networks (networks comprised of multiple interconnected and interdependent supply chains) is achieved by designing integrated social and technical systems (a combination of organizations and technology) that are capable of adapting to unforeseen changes in the operating environment. In recent years, resilience principles have evolved to specifically address the need for organizations that operate large-scale technologies to enhance resilience, reliability and continuity of complex supply chains, including the energy supply networks.

This document is related to the following key initiatives.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction,^[11^] which provides important insights and perspectives to improve energy resilience effectively;
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).^[12^] Systemic energy resilience can contribute to achieving several of these goals, including:
- Goal 9: build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation;
- Goal 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;
- Goal 13: take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
The Paris Agreement,^[13^] the objectives of which envisage a resilient energy supply network that contributes to climate change adaptation through rapid recovery from disruption.

0.2 Benefits for users

This document provides benefits to organizations such as:

National, sub-national and local governments
Implementing energy resilience plans offers significant benefits to national, sub-national, and local governments. By supporting private and public stakeholders and communities in enhancing energy resilience, governments can ensure continuous critical services during disruptions. These comprehensive plans covering disruption prevention, reduction, restoration, and information sharing provide the benefit of minimized recovery times following incidents. Additionally, governments gain the advantage of building more robust energy infrastructure, as resilient energy supply facilities, systems, and organizations are designed to maintain stable minimum energy services during and after serious system-level disruptions, ultimately leading to stronger, more reliable energy systems for their constituents.
Individual users
Implementing energy resilience initiatives offers significant benefits to individual users. By formulating and executing personalized energy resilience plans, individuals gain the advantage of resuming their normal activities more smoothly following disruptions. These initiatives also enhance their capabilities for responding effectively to disruptions, providing peace of mind and practical solutions during energy emergencies.
Residential, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors
The residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors can obtain various benefits from energy resilience enhancement initiatives implemented by governments, energy suppliers, and industrial/commercial energy consumers. These benefits include reduced downtime during emergencies, protection against economic losses, maintenance of essential services, and improved operational continuity, all contributing to greater stability and productivity across these diverse sectors.
Financial institutions
Financial institutions benefit significantly from implementing energy resilience initiatives, including positively evaluating, investing in, and financing both public and private projects that enhance energy resilience. These actions allow them to reduce risk exposure to energy-related disruptions, identify promising investment opportunities in resilient infrastructure, strengthen the sustainability of their portfolio, and contribute to broader economic stability through support of critical energy systems.
Energy supply networks
All stakeholders and contributors to energy supply networks benefit from adopting a common set of resilience principles and standardized decision frameworks. This unified approach enhances energy resilience throughout the entire supply chain, resulting in improved system reliability, more effective coordination during emergencies, reduced vulnerability to cascading failures, and ultimately delivering greater energy security for the benefit of society as a whole.

Additional potential benefits to all stakeholders include:

the recognition and understanding of social and technological contexts relevant to energy supply;
fostering social capital through building trust, broad participation and collaboration across individuals and networks.

1 Scope

This document provides the framework and principles for the energy resilience of organizations, to help reduce impacts and ultimately achieve a build back better goal after disruptive events, including natural and human-made disruptions.

It covers broad resilience engineering and management principles applicable to an energy supply network that includes social and technical considerations.

This document does not provide guidance on the application of these principles for engineering design, which require specialized considerations to address risks and define resilience measures.

This document is intended to be used by organizations responsible for, or participating in, energy supply networks.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principles of energy resilience

5 Relevant stakeholders and their roles

5.1 General

5.2 Governments

5.3 Critical industries in the energy supply network

5.4 Energy users

5.5 Financial institutions

5.6 Emergency and rescue services

6 Approaches for enhancing energy resilience

6.1 General

6.2 Identifying events affecting the energy system

6.3 Assessing risks by event

6.4 Designing resilient energy supply networks

6.5 Ensuring a resilient energy supply

6.6 Investing in projects for energy resilience

6.7 Implementing asset management

6.8 Adopting emerging technologies

6.9 Sharing knowledge

6.10 Developing and implementing an energy resilience plan

6.11 Building sustainability into energy resilience

7 Criteria for the energy resilience plan

7.1 General

7.2 Structured internal/external communication

7.3 Governance and resources for enhancing energy resilience

7.4 Emergency response system

7.5 Energy supply network management

7.6 Financing for energy resilience enhancement

7.7 Education and training

7.8 Apply the build back better concept

8 Cooperative actions for the improvement of energy resilience

8.1 General

8.2 Involvement of financial sectors

8.3 Promote expertise through cooperation

8.4 Cooperation for emergency communications

Bibliography

BS ISO 22366:2026

Security and resilience. Community resilience. Framework and principles for energy resilience

Current

Published:

31 Jan 2026