As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, NERC told stakeholders Wednesday it will keep its offices in Atlanta and D.C. closed and extend its work-from-home policy through the end of the year, while evaluating in-person stakeholder meetings on a case-by-case basis.
Speaking to the Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committee, Teri Stasko — NERC’s assistant general counsel and director of enforcement — credited the organization’s “dedicated and perseverant” employees for keeping their work going despite being forced to stay home with no transition time.
Technology has also proven unexpectedly helpful in expanding NERC’s engagement with industry and other stakeholders, with Stasko noting that the June meeting of the Reliability and Security Technical Committee, held entirely online, attracted more than twice as many attendees as the previous in-person meeting in March. (See NERC RSTC Briefs: June 10, 2020.) In addition, she praised the efforts of NERC’s management to “creatively adapt” to the challenges of motivating staff virtually.
However, though these adaptations have allowed individual productivity to remain high, Stasko acknowledged the psychological toll taken on NERC staff by the indefinite extension of both the office closure, which was originally planned to end May 25, and the remote work posture, previously scheduled to last through July. (See Align Tool Set for 2021 Rollout.) Several teams have complained that they feel “less aligned” and miss the opportunities for spontaneous conversations provided by in-person gatherings.
COVID-19 Likely Still Holds Surprises
NERC’s extended remote work posture and office closure is based both on what is already known about the coronavirus, as well as on several consciously conservative presumptions:
- The full range of the virus’s transmissibility and severity, along with other characteristics, is still unknown.
- A widely available vaccine or effective treatment is unlikely in 2020, meaning that social distancing and face coverings will still be needed.
- Local conditions affecting NERC’s employees are likely to vary across the Atlanta and D.C. areas.
- Utilities and other stakeholders will likely continue to work remotely, limit travel and restrict nonessential visitors from facilities for the rest of the year.
“As we prepared this presentation, we realized that we could probably remove the NERC logo from the slide deck and add almost any entity’s logo, as we are likely taking similar actions,” Stasko said. NERC hopes to allow staff to return to the office on a voluntary basis in the first half of 2021, but teleconferencing will remain the norm and visitors will be highly restricted.
While NERC’s offices are closed, the organization is putting extensive modifications in place to help enforce social distancing protocols. Changes include traffic directions in hallways and other common areas, and strict enforcement of occupancy limits in meeting and break rooms. These measures are being complemented by modifications by the property management companies for both locations, such as improved cleaning protocols for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; elevator occupancy limits; and alterations to restrooms.
NERC activated its Business Continuity Plan early in the pandemic, closing its offices and shifting upcoming meetings to conference calls or video conferences. Some events, such as the security-focused conference GridSecCon — originally scheduled for Oct. 20-23 — have been canceled outright, while others have been rescheduled, like the inaugural Electric Power Human Performance Improvement Symposium that was moved from September to March.
