SPP’s Board of Directors gathered virtually Monday to review performance metrics and stakeholder feedback for 2021 in what they hope will be their last remote meeting after almost two years of virtual gatherings.

“Clearly, everyone’s ready for in-person meetings,” CEO Barbara Sugg said.

She said not every board member filled out their surveys this year, a contrast to the normal 100% response rate. Including the Members Committee (MC), which advises the board, the rate was down from 81% to 75%.

“[Board Chair] Larry [Altenbaumer] and I will have to figure out a way to get people excited about filling this out next year,” she said.

The average board and members’ scores increased in 13 of 19 categories, dropping in only five. The average rate for meeting effectiveness fell from 4.50 to 4.43 (on a five-point scale) from 2020.

COO Lanny Nickell said SPP’s annual organizational effectiveness survey of its 21 stakeholder groups saw its lowest scores for member preparation and engagement during meetings. Members rated the groups’ overall effectiveness at 4.40 on a five-point scale, down slightly from 4.42 in 2020.

Board Chair Larry Altenbaumer and CEO Barbara Sugg adjourn the SPP board’s final meeting of the year. | SPP

 

The response rate to the RTO’s annual stakeholder satisfaction survey was up slightly from 2020 to 13.8%, but still down from the high-water mark of 21.2% set in 2017. The survey was distributed to 1,672 organizational group members, market participants and other individuals who interacted with SPP during the previous 12 months through meetings, training, customer relations interactions or other exchanges.

Respondents indicated a slightly lower overall satisfaction with SPP’s service in 2021, with scores falling from 3.87 in 2020 to 3.61, similar to ratings in 2018 and 2019. The average scores evaluating staff’s performance in three specific areas also declined by an average of 6.3% year-over-year, falling in line with 2018 and 2019.

David Osburn, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority’s general manager, suggested stakeholders might be experiencing fatigue from the number of high-level initiatives SPP has taken on during the last two years.

“The last two years have been incredibly fatiguing, and not just because we’re dealing with this remote world,” Sugg said. “We’ve just had some really big things that have taken so much time. I hope that doesn’t lead to us providing less quality service … we have to start delivering on all those things we’ve decided to take on.”

“I think the organization, the staff, board and stakeholders did just a fantastic job navigating through these past two years,” Altenbaumer said. “I know we’re all anxious to get into 2022, when the world will start moving in something that feels more normal.”

SPP plans to resume its in-person meetings in January after two years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The board, MC and Regional State Committee will meet Jan. 24-25 in Little Rock, Ark., while the Markets and Operations Policy Committee and Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) will meet Jan. 10-12 in Oklahoma City.

New Groups, Stakeholder Reps OK’d

The board also unanimously approved two new stakeholder groups, chairpersons for several working groups and advisory groups, and two representatives for empty seats on the SPC, all brought forward by the Corporate Governance Committee.

The Emergency Communications User Forum’s creation was one of several recommendations made by SPP’s comprehensive report on February’s winter storm. The group will be responsible for providing feedback to identify, improve and prioritize SPP stakeholders’ energy emergency communications needs.

SPP staff proposed forming the Future Grid Strategy Advisory Group to “proactively address, drive and shape” some of the grid’s anticipated changes and to prepare for other changes.

Named as stakeholder group chairs were:

• Allen Klassen, Evergy, Operating Reliability Working Group;
• Robert Pick, Nebraska Public Power District, Regional Tariff Working Group;
• Thomas Maldonado, Xcel Energy, Reliability Compliance Advisory Group;
• Jim Jacoby, American Electric Power, Seams Advisory Group;
• Phil Clark, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Security Advisory Group;
• Natasha Henderson, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Supply Adequacy Working Group; and
• Derek Brown, Evergy, Transmission Working Group.

Usha Turner, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, and Steve Sanders, Western Area Power Administration, will join the SPC. Turner’s term ends in December 2023 and Sanders’ in December 2024.