By Tom Kleckner

When ERCOT this week instituted mandatory work-from-home requirements for staff that do not need to be in the office to handle their job responsibilities, spokesperson Leslie Sopko quickly encountered one of the major distractions of working from home: children.

“They followed me everywhere,” she said Wednesday — with a laugh — of her daughters, 7 and 4. The oldest was home from school, the youngest from daycare.

Sopko spoke from the safety of her back porch, where, armed with her laptop and cell phone, she said she could see her trees and the setting sun. It had been a day packed with responding to media inquiries and joining conference calls determining the next steps to respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Besides ensuring employees and contractors have the proper tools and resources to do their jobs, either at ERCOT facilities or from home, the grid operator has been using a wide array of communication channels to reach staff. An internal newsletter is constantly updated with new information stressing caution and offering tips on working from home, social distancing and well-being. CEO Bill Magness has sent several well-received messages of encouragement and comfort.

“We’re definitely taking as many precautionary steps as we can to keep our staff healthy and safe,” Sopko said. “We’ve been very consistent with our communications … We have received positive feedback that they do feel informed. We know we provide a critical function, and we’re dedicated to maintaining the grid’s reliability.”

On Tuesday, ERCOT issued “Pandemic Plan Preparations for Coronavirus (COVID-19),” which listed the steps it has taken to protect employees and ensure it continues to manage the grid. The plan also included a link to a redacted version of its pandemic preparedness plan.

The ISO has closed its facilities to most outside visitors since March 3, instituting travel restrictions for staff and canceling in-person meetings. Staff that need to be on-site must be on a pre-determined list and undergo temperature screenings when reporting for work. Even then, they are expected to maintain social distancing as much as possible.

Sopko said she is not aware of any confirmed cases of the virus among staff.

She said it is too early to see any change in the ISO’s load patterns, as school and business closures have only recently begun. On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order that will close schools, restaurants, bars and gyms as COVID-19 continues to spread.

“We need some time to trend the data,” Sopko said of potential changes in ERCOT’s load patterns. “We need things to settle into the new normal, if you will.”

The grid operator will announce any changes to the summer peak load forecast when it releases the summer’s final resource adequacy assessment in May.

SPP Protects Operations Staff

SPP is taking similar proactive measures, “strongly encouraging” staff to work from home if they are able and scrubbing in-person meetings through April. The RTO has closed its gates and doors to all but mail and other deliveries, as well as maintenance work — and only if visitors have been screened by security.

“Pretty much everyone is working from home,” said David Kelley, director of seams and market design, during a conference call Thursday with the Western Markets Executive Committee.

Spokesperson Derek Wingfield said the RTO’s emergency management team meets daily, “constantly monitoring and assessing” the situation. He said the current requirements could be extended if necessary.

To protect SPP’s operations and dispatch staff, all but essential traffic between the operations center and the corporate building has been prohibited, Wingfield said. The ISO has also shifted some of its operations staff to its backup operations center, 17 miles from the corporate center.

“It allows a little more distance,” Wingfield said.

Whether any staff had contracted the virus, he was unable to say with any certainty, pointing to the beginning of the allergy season.

SPP said RTOs could see “new and evolving patterns of energy use” as the coronavirus continues to spread. However, it has not yet seen a “discernable difference” in load within its footprint.

“SPP continues to closely monitor the situation as it develops, and we are confident in our ability to reliably manage the operation of the bulk electric system,” spokesperson Meghan Sever said in an email.