A proposed update to WECC’s long-term strategy has sparked a debate over whether the organization should describe itself as “The Voice of Reliability in the West.”
The phrase figures prominently in a draft of the long-term strategy, which was discussed by WECC’s Board of Directors on Sept. 17 and during its annual member meeting Sept. 18.
WECC decided to update the strategy in part because the Western Interconnection is changing “at a magnitude and pace that is unparallelled,” the draft document said. The current version of the strategy was adopted in 2020. (See WECC Board Approves New Chair, Long-term Strategy.)
“Even in the last year, new things are coming into focus,” General Counsel Jeff Droubay told the board. “Large loads, as an example, brought about by data centers, AI, crypto mining. We’re seeing these loads come online in an unprecedented way.”
The draft strategy lists five “impact areas” that largely are focused on reliability.
“Our holistic risk-based approach uses all the tools and skills available to deliver comprehensive risk mitigation strategies,” the document states under Impact Area 1.
But during the member meeting, some members questioned the strategy’s statement that WECC is “uniquely positioned to be The Voice of Reliability in the West.”
Pat O’Connell, chair of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, said the term “the voice” was “a little too heavy-handed.”
O’Connell noted that he’s deeply involved in reliability in New Mexico in his work as a regulator. And groups participating in the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) also are playing a role in reliability, he said.
“There is no one of us in charge of the whole thing,” O’Connell said.
Others at the meeting suggested alternative wording such as “a critical voice for reliability” or “a strong voice leading the pursuit of interconnection reliability.”
WECC member Grace Anderson from the California Energy Commission said the strategy should further emphasize WECC’s interconnection-wide work. She said reliability of the Western Interconnection is different from distribution reliability, for example.
During the board meeting, WECC board member Felicia Marcus said she likes that the strategy describes how WECC is viewed by others. For example, Impact Area 4 states that WECC’s “resource- and technology-neutral, interconnection-wide perspective is respected and trusted to assure decision-makers that they have an independent partner to rely on.”
But Anderson said the document left her unsure about WECC’s plan of action.
“To me, I think about a strategic plan, and it’s about what we’re going to do, how we’re going to prioritize,” Anderson said.
Responding to Anderson, Droubay said the plan is intended to work “hand-in-glove” with scorecards WECC uses to show whether initiatives are proceeding on schedule.
Another goal of WECC’s long-term strategy update is to align with a new strategy being developed by the ERO Enterprise, which consists of NERC and six regional entities including WECC.
The plan’s first area of focus is using “a broad range of data, tools and approaches” to address existing risks and prepare for emerging and unknown risks to the grid.
Other focus areas are maintaining cyber- and physical security programs; promoting stakeholder engagement; and performing as an “effective and efficient team.”
During the Sept. 17 meeting, WECC’s board voted to endorse the ERO Enterprise Long-term Strategy. NERC’s board is expected to vote on the strategy in December.
As for its own long-term strategy, WECC will accept feedback on the draft document through October. A final version of the document is expected to go to the WECC board for approval in December.