NERC & FERC Compliance for Renewables

December 6-7, 2022 | Denver, CO and Online :: Mountain Time

“Outstanding speaker and great content!” Technical and Development Manager, Elawan Energy

“I was thrilled at how much our presenters were able to provide more detail on their own experience with this topic as veterans to the subject matter. It really made all the difference in adding expert context to the course.” Consultant, Lightsource bp

“Excellent course. Especially for those looking to get their organization NERC compliant.” Colorado River Commission

Renewable energy providers and their suppliers continue to wrestle with the complexities of the NERC reliability standards implementation, compliance, and enforcement process. Full audit schedules within each regional entity ensure that the stakes remain high. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards add another level of complexity, further demonstrating to the power industry the difficulties associated with the legislating reliability and security.

With the increasing number of new generation and transmission projects being proposed and built, it’s important to understand the implications of being a NERC registered entity and the complicated and costly process of compliance. This course is a great place to start for organizations that own, operator, or support renewable energy and/or new independent power producers. There are a host of important factors to consider that can have a significant impact on operations. One of the key tenets that supports compliance, or can help mitigate a penalty, is a robust culture of compliance. To demonstrate a culture of compliance, a registered entity must show an enterprise-wide commitment to the process.

This course is an in-depth introduction to NERC standards, compliance, and monitoring and is designed to give the necessary background for all staff to understand the concepts and complexities of NERC compliance in order to communicate and build a culture of compliance and reliability and prepare for upcoming audits.

Learning Outcomes

• Define the role of FERC and NERC in mandatory compliance for renewables
• Review the background for the NERC standards and discuss major recent revisions
• Explain how violations are determined and identify which standards are the most violated
• Define a culture of compliance and its importance in the compliance monitoring and enforcement process
• Examine strategies to build an internal compliance program
• Examine the NERC CIP and 693 Standard requirements: Current version and upcoming revisions
• Analyze the audit process and demonstrate strategies for success before, during, and after an audit
• Discuss emerging trends in NERC compliance including CIP Version 6/7, the Reliability Assurance Initiative (RAI), the new and emerging standards on Physical Security, Geomagnetic Disturbances, Distributed Energy Resources, etc.
• Discuss the complexities of building a compliance program

Tuesday, December 6, 2022 : Mountain Time

Overview of NERC / FERC Compliance

• Federal Power Act & NERC as Electric Reliability Organization
• Rulemaking & Standards Development
• Compliance & Registration Overview
• Understanding JROs and CFRs
• Audits Process
• Enforcement Overview
• Trajectory of Standards
• What is a Generator Owner/Operator and How Has it Changed?
• Frequently Violated Standards (e.g. FAC, PRC, and CIP)

NERC & FERC Requirement

• Facility Ratings
• Vegetation Management
• Protection System Maintenance & Management
• Scheduling & Forecasting
• Operator Training
• Communications Infrastructure & Operations
• Remote Control Centers (US & Overseas)
• Reactive & Voltage Control
• Electronic Quarterly Reports
• Market Integration and Compliance

NERC Compliance In Practice

• Involving Internal Stakeholders: Operations, Legal, and Senior Management
• Self-Assessments & Monitoring Practices
• Defining & Achieving a Culture of Compliance
• Managing Risk, Managing Compliance
• Preparing for an Audit: What to do Before, During and After an Onsite Compliance Audit: Successful Strategies and Avoiding Common Pitfalls
• Coordinating with an Off-Taker and/or Transmission Provider
• Industry Involvement: How Much, When and Where?
• Enforcement Processes
• Measuring & Managing Cost of Compliance
• Tools, Systems, and Applications (Compliance Technology)
• Comply, Assure, Integrate, Innovation Model

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 : Mountain Time

NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)

This session will provide an overview of the NERC CIP Reliability Standards and provide insight into what it takes to comply with the same on an ongoing basis.

• Introduction
• The “Why” of Security for Renewable Generators
• History and Background of the NERC CIP Reliability Standards
• Site versus Control Center Security Requirements
• Common Assumptions and Mistakes
• Prevalent NERC CIP Compliance Challenges (Version 6/7)
• Overview of Current NERC CIP Requirements
• Supply Chain and Cyber Security, Managing Complexity and Compliance
• Tools and Resources
  • A Few Words About “Tools” and NERC CIP Compliance
  • Active Vulnerability Assessment Tools
• Danger: Active Scanning of ICS Environments is Risky Business!
  • Resources
• Emerging Issues and New Standards

Terry Brinker, Senior Reliability Consultant and Project Manager, Burns & McDonnell

M. Brinker has over 25 years of industry expertise in nearly every facet of the business. He has led numerous large-scale CIP and O&P projects including audits, audit preparation, mitigation plans, root cause analysis, risk assessments, and internal controls implementation. Mr. Brinker has excellent people skills and excels in managing people, processes, and procedures. He has led multiple departments and transformed the industry through initiative such as Risk-based Registration. He also has extensive familiarity in Control Room Operations, Power Plant Operations, Transmission System Construction & Maintenance, Compliance, Registration & Certification, and Project Management.

James Crawford, Senior Compliance Consultant, Burns & McDonnell

Mr. Crawford is a seasoned professional with over eighteen years of progressive electric utility industry experience in Project Management and Transmission Customer Service. Experienced with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) filing requirements and interpretation of regulatory orders and proceedings. Experienced Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazards and Performance Analysis (HPA) Engineering Specialist serving as Team Leader/HPA Specialist. Demonstrated ability to function effectively as a team player, as well as work independently to achieve organizational goals. Dedicated performer willing to go the extra mile to meet aggressive goals.

Jerome Farquharson, Global Practice Director, Burns & McDonnell

Mr. Farquharson is an experienced Security Network Engineer with 17 years IT experience that includes experience in Network Design Implementation using the NIST, ISO, ISA and FISMA standards as well as 10 years of regulatory compliance experience with HIPPA, FERC, and NERC standards. As the leader of Burns & McDonnell’s Compliance and Critical Infrastructure Protection practice, Mr. Farquharson has spent the past eleven years implementing internal compliance programs, evaluating security architectures and risk assessments medium and large sized IOU, Municipality and Cooperative environments. He has presented educational papers at numerous industry conferences and forums to address transmission and generation operational compliance issues. He has performed numerous compliance audits for large investor-owned utilities to determine the level of regulatory exposure and define mitigation strategies to minimize penalty. Mr. Farquharson is actively involved with the NERC subcommittees and regional Information Systems Audit and Control Associations. His initiatives have helped define security, regulatory compliance and utility technology solutions for critical infrastructure organizations such as electric utilities, government facilities and process industries. Mr. Farquharson has also successfully completed the Fundamentals of Auditing for NERC Compliance Training Course.

EUCI Conference Center

6400 S Fiddlers Green Cir.

Greenwood Village CO, 80111

The EUCI conference center is conveniently located adjacent to the Arapahoe at Village Center Light Rail Station, allowing easy access to and from DIA, Downtown, and Local Area Attractions.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

NERC & FERC Compliance for Renewables

December 6-7, 2022 | Denver, CO

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before November 04, 2022 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.9 CEUs for this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program 

Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.  

Instructional Methods  

PowerPoint presentations will be used in this course.  

Upon successful completion of this event, program participants interested in receiving CPE credits will receive a certificate of completion.

Course CPE Credits: 10.5
There is no prerequisite for this Course.
Program field of study: Specialized Knowledge
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None

EUCI is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org

Who Should Attend

• Renewable generation owners and/or operators (e.g. compliance, operations, and/or legal teams)
• New market entrants (e.g. small IPPs, private-equity owners, and/or foreign owners)
• Third-party / Independent Service Providers (e.g. contracted operations and maintenance)
• Asset and/or operations managers
• Compliance managers and directors
• Project developers
• Transmission owners and operators, including merchant transmission projects
• Attorneys and regulators