By Holden Mann
FERC on Thursday granted NERC another extension on the deadline for two compliance filings ordered earlier this year so that the organization can focus on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic (RR19-7). The commission ordered the filings Jan. 23 in response to NERC’s five-year performance assessment.
One filing, originally due April 22, required the ERO to detail any audits it has conducted of regional entities during the past five years, or a plan for performing them within the next 18 months. (See NERC Wins Another 5 Years as ERO.) Last month FERC moved the due date of this filing to May 1, acknowledging that responding to “the emergency conditions related to … COVID-19” should be a higher priority for NERC. This week’s order pushes the deadline “to and including June 1.”
The second filing, initially ordered for July 21, demanded a number of revisions to NERC’s Rules of Procedure (ROP), such as updating terminology regarding the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC); providing greater transparency in its sanction guidelines; and making various improvements to its certification program. FERC last month approved a request by NERC to delay the filing until Aug. 28, which the ERO said would give more time for stakeholder comment and review by the Board of Trustees. (See FERC Approves NERC Rule Change Extension.) The new deadline for the filing is Sept. 28.
Progress Seen in Pandemic Prep
NERC has been working to assist with industry response to the pandemic, including by issuing a Level 2 alert last month and publishing a document titled “Assessing and Mitigating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)” on the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council’s website. Earlier this week, NERC described the industry as “taking aggressive steps” in response to the pandemic, with most utilities either having a written response plan or currently developing one, and a majority pledging to support mutual aid requests from others involved in a pandemic emergency. (See Industry Pandemic Prep Encouraging, NERC Says.)
The organization’s internal response includes activating its Business Continuity Plan and shifting its upcoming meetings to conference calls or video conferences. This week NERC announced that the E-ISAC’s annual security-focused conference GridSecCon, scheduled for Oct. 20-23, would be canceled. Representatives told ERO Insider that attendees’ commitments to pandemic response made confirming conference details difficult, and it seemed “more prudent” to call the event off completely.
NERC and FERC have also taken steps to relax compliance burdens for utilities through the use of regulatory discretion. Regulatory easing so far is limited to delays in obtaining and maintaining personnel certification, failure to perform required periodic actions and postponing on-site activities such as audits and certifications. (See FERC, NERC Relax Compliance in Light of COVID-19.) NERC has updated the website for its Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP) with a list of frequently asked questions related to these changes.
