By Holden Mann

NERC says it is confident the electric industry is “taking aggressive steps to confront” the COVID-19 pandemic, based on responses to its recent Level 2 alert.

The alert was sent on March 10 and advised registered entities to maintain situational awareness, reinforce good personal hygiene practices, and review and update business continuity plans. (See Coronavirus, Cybersecurity Top WECC Board Discussion.) It directed recipients to inform NERC by March 20 whether their organizations:

• have a written response plan that covers pandemic emergencies;
• have reviewed staffing requirements and resources for critical roles in a potential pandemic emergency in North America;
• anticipate being able to offer mutual aid to other industry participants involved in a pandemic emergency;
• have reviewed supply chains for potential disruption of critical goods and services by a pandemic emergency; and
• expect to encounter any specific additional risks to reliable and secure operations in a potential pandemic emergency.

According to a press release, risks identified by respondents include staffing and material shortages, along with delays to major construction and maintenance projects that could create constraints over the summer. The “vast majority” of registered entities reported that they either have a written response plan or are in the process of developing one, while a “large majority” have reviewed supply chain needs.

More than half said they would support mutual aid requests — which NERC CEO Jim Robb called “a key consideration” during the spring and summer storm season — and the majority said they have reviewed staffing requirements.

NERC said reliability coordinators have “generally” activated their backup control centers, isolated key workers and are maintaining deep-cleaning routines, along with participating in weekly situational awareness calls with NERC. Utilities also remain engaged with the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which recently detailed its own COVID-19 operations summary.

Along with ordering the Level 2 alert, NERC has activated its Business Continuity Plan and shifted its upcoming meetings to conference calls or video conferences in light of safety restrictions from global health authorities and travel restrictions by many stakeholders. The organization confirmed last month that an employee in its Atlanta office had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, though the individual had not visited the office since March 10. (See NERC Employee Tests Positive for Coronavirus.)

In light of the outbreak, NERC and FERC have also taken steps to relax compliance burdens for utilities via 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 will provide its report on industry readiness to FERC as an informational filing. The organization is also working on a comprehensive assessment of potential reliability risks and considerations from the pandemic, scheduled for release in April, that will draw on lessons learned from utilities around the world.