As NERC’s leadership sees “light at the end of the tunnel” of the COVID-19 pandemic, CEO Jim Robb is considering a partially online format for future meetings of the organization’s Board of Trustees inspired by the successful shift to remote work in 2020.

Under a framework proposed by Robb during Wednesday’s meeting of the Member Representatives Committee (MRC), the full board would meet in person every quarter, as it did until last spring when many participants were no longer able to attend because of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The February and August meetings would be open to stakeholders and accompanied by an in-person meeting of the MRC, while the May and November meetings would be open to in-person attendance by board members only. Stakeholders could still listen in via web conference, and the MRC would hold its quarterly meeting virtually, a format that Chair Roy Thilly said the organization was considering at the board’s online meeting last May. (See “COVID-19 Prompts Further Meeting Changes,” NERC Board of Trustees/MRC Briefs: May 14, 2020.)

Robb presented this new “rhythm” of stakeholder engagement as a way to reduce the cost of in-person meetings, which he said the organization estimated to be about $1 million when travel costs for all participants are factored in. But the proposal is also meant to extend the benefits that NERC has seen through the unexpected experiment in remote operations.

“[Over] the last nine months, through this format … we’ve been able, in general, to attract more participants to our meetings, and different participants than we’ve seen before have been able to speak,” Robb said, because of the fact that “now you don’t have to get on a plane” to participate in a meeting.

The limitation of in-person meetings allows other changes as well, Robb noted. With only two mass gatherings a year, each one becomes a more special event. For example, under the proposal outlined by Robb, the February meeting would function as an annual meeting “with a celebratory dinner and acknowledgement of outgoing/incoming trustees and stakeholder leaders.” The August meeting would still be held in Canada and would help with outreach to Canadian stakeholders.

NERC is also discussing with the heads of major stakeholder committees the possibility of similarly replacing some in-person gatherings with remote meetings. This could also help the organization reduce the meeting space requirements for its offices in Atlanta and D.C., though Robb said NERC has no plans for such reductions in the near future.

Responses Council Prudence, Boldness

Participants in the conference call were generally supportive of rethinking the meeting schedule. MRC Chair Jennifer Sterling, of Exelon, noted that the board has previously considered moving from four to three meetings a year, so Robb’s proposal is not unprecedented. (See “Board Seeking Cut to Three Meetings per Year,” NERC MRC Briefs: Nov. 5, 2019.)

Some cautioned against taking the virtual meeting approach too far, however. Board Vice Chair Kenneth DeFontes suggested that NERC’s success with remote operation was because of the existing relationships built over years between current members. He wondered if newcomers would have the same opportunities to build trust with their colleagues with a reduced amount of in-person meetings.

Bill Gallagher of the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority noted that while the proposed schedule would allow four in-person board meetings per year, the MRC would be limited to two.

If “we’re only meeting twice a year, and the rest of it is virtual, carrying out our own responsibilities may be compromised,” Gallagher said. “I don’t think that’s something we ought to do. The MRC has responsibilities that are distinct from the board, but no less important.”

Sylvain Clermont, director of operational technologies convergence at Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie, said that leadership should consider a bolder approach to incorporating technology rather than trying “to replicate the way we were doing business” before. He reminded participants that they have all grown familiar with online collaboration and video conferencing tools and suggested that NERC could explore how those products’ features could be used to enable greater productivity.

“I know that there’s probably technological challenges in that, but I would like us to think broader than just trying to replicate the formula with, in part, some virtual settings,” Clermont said. “I would like to see how we could make engagement … a frequent and dynamic and continuous process, so that ideas could be shared dynamically more often, and discussions happen more frequently.”

Robb emphasized that the schedule discussed Wednesday is a strawman intended to inspire discussion. NERC leadership will work on a proposal incorporating stakeholders’ suggestions ahead of the upcoming board and MRC conference calls in February.