By Tom Kleckner, Robert Mullin and Rich Heidorn Jr.
NYISO and MISO on Monday joined PJM, ERCOT and CAISO in suspending in-person stakeholder meetings in response to the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus.
The New York ISO said all stakeholder meetings would be conducted via teleconference until further notice. It also suspended nonessential business travel. MISO said late Monday that it has changed all in-person meetings for this week to webinar. The RTO is also weighing the possibility of canceling its quarterly Board Week, scheduled for March 24-26 in New Orleans.
The two grid operators’ announcements followed PJM’s on Thursday. The RTO said stakeholder meetings would be webcast only through March 20, when it will begin re-evaluating access to its Valley Forge campus weekly. During that period, it is suspending all visits to its offices except for “essential business personnel and vendors that need to deliver critical items or services.” All business travel for PJM employees and contractors is suspended, including speeches and trainings.
The RTO also is canceling the first three weeks of the PJM Operator Seminar set for Baltimore on March 10, saying “it was not prudent to have a concentration of grid operators in one place.” It is considering replacing portions of the in-person training with online training. It will also consider the need to cancel the remaining weeks of the seminar scheduled in April and May in Columbus, Ohio, and at PJM.
COVID-19 has infected more than 97,800 people worldwide, killing more than 3,300.
ERCOT
ERCOT was the first to scrap in-person meetings, announcing March 3 that it was replacing them through March 15 with webinars or conference calls. The Texas grid operator has instituted restrictions for visitors to all of its facilities and is canceling nonessential business travel by staff and contractors for the same period.
On Monday, the grid operator extended the restrictions through March 31. ERCOT said on Friday that it was canceling six sessions of its black start training, which was to begin March 17. The monthly Technical Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for March 25 has been postponed until at least April 1.
ERCOT is also monitoring staff and their family’s international travel, instructing staff with illness or symptoms to stay home, and deep-cleaning its facilities. It said it will review its restrictions on a weekly basis and alert stakeholders to any changes.
“ERCOT provides a critical service to Texans, and we are taking an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of our staff during this time,” spokesperson Leslie Sopko said in an email.
On March 1, the state’s largest energy conference was canceled because of COVID-19’s spread. (See CERAWeek Canceled as COVID-19 Virus Spreads.) And on Friday, Texas caused even bigger waves when Austin canceled the South by Southwest media festival. The annual event draws hundreds of thousands of people to Texas’ capital and contributes an estimated $450 million to the local economy.
CAISO
CAISO alerted stakeholders Wednesday that “to protect the health of the company’s staff and prevent possible disruption to critical business operations,” it has issued temporary restrictions on all in-person meetings through April 1 or until further notice. In-person meetings hosted by CAISO and its Western Energy Imbalance Market will be conducted as teleconferences or webinars when possible, the ISO said.
The policy applies to a series of key meetings scheduled for this month, including those for CAISO’s Board of Governors; the Western EIM Governing Body and Governance Review; the Market Surveillance Committee; the Market Performance and Planning Forum; and the 2021 Local Capacity Requirements process. The decision will also impact CAISO’s March 11 Resource Interconnection Fair.
The ISO has also restricted visitor access to its facilities and suspended nonessential business travel for employees.
“We understand that the new protocol may be an inconvenience, and we apologize for any changes in travel plans, but continued reliable operation of the electrical system is our company’s first priority,” CAISO CEO Steve Berberich said.
ISO-NE and SPP
ISO-NE and SPP had not canceled in-person meetings as of Thursday, although all said they were monitoring the outbreak and following guidance from federal, state and local health agencies to mitigate COVID-19’s spread.
ISO-NE suggested members’ employees not meet with its staff or visit its facilities if they feel ill or show symptoms. The RTO referenced CDC’s expectation that the number of coronavirus cases will continue to grow, and recommended stakeholders consider following its guidelines.
“It is important to stress that, at this time, the risk to [ISO-NE] business operations remains low,” the grid operator said in an email to members.
SPP told RTO Insider it is continuing to work with health officials to monitor COVID-19 and influenza threats and respond appropriately. The RTO said it would use its communication channels and social media to alert its stakeholders of any steps being taken.
On Thursday, SPP emailed its stakeholders to say it had stopped some international travel, but that it had not cancelled meetings or placed restrictions on domestic travel to and from its offices. The RTO encouraged those attending SPP business meetings who feel ill or who are restricted by their organizations from traveling to use its web and teleconference options.
“We have a robust emergency management and business continuity plan that exists to maintain uninterrupted provision of our critical services,” SPP’s Derek Wingfield said. “Our goal is to ensure both the health and safety of our employees and the continued reliability of the grid.”
