texas review 2017 - texas review.pdf · to statcom leads to ... september marks national...
TRANSCRIPT
From the Desk of the CEO
Texas REview S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7
T e x a s R e l i a b i l i t y E n t i t y , I n c .
From the Desk of the
CEO 1
Upcoming Events 2
CrashOverride Malware 2
NERC Lesson Learned:
Auxiliary Power Loss
to STATCOM Leads to
UVLS Operation
3
ERO Enterprise
Program Alignment 3
August 2017 Board
Recap 4
Multi-Region
Registered Entities
(MRRE) Coordinated
Oversight
4
NERC Initiatives and
Activities 5
Contact Information 6
Career Opportunities 7
Upcoming Important
Dates at Texas RE 7
September marks National Preparedness Month. We have seen the importance of preparation in recent days with the impact of Hurricane Harvey in certain parts of Texas. I commend our stakeholders for their recovery efforts and want to share our best wishes with all those impacted by the hurricane. One way we can prepare for future events is through training. Throughout the fall, there are a number of excellent training opportunities for stakeholders.
First up, on September 7, is the joint ERCOT and Texas RE Generator Winter Weatherization Workshop. Held each year, this workshop is an opportunity for entities to share and learn best practices and lessons learned regarding protection of the BPS from severe cold weather events. Our last winter was particularly warm, but we all know that the weather can be unpredictable.
In October, we have two events planned: Texas RE is partnering with the Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA) to deliver Compliance Basics: What You Need to Know as a Market Participant, and we will be holding our Fall Standards and Compliance Workshop. The Compliance Basics workshop on October 2 is part of the GCPA’s 32nd Annual Fall Conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. Senior staff from Texas RE will give a high-level overview of activities undertaken by Texas RE, NERC, and FERC to ensure electric reliability in the ERCOT region. This event is specifically targeted to people unfamiliar with compliance, but who would like to develop a basic understanding of compliance as it affects their companies or clients. If you are a Primary Compliance Contact, or serve in a compliance role at your company, this event is not intended for you. Instead, it is a program to help people you work with gain an appreciation for the importance of your
work in compliance. If you know someone who could benefit from this training, registration information is available on page two. Like all Texas RE training, this event is free.
The following week, on October 12, we will host our Fall Standards and Compliance Workshop in the Texas RE Conference Center. We expect to offer a day of relevant information that you can immediately put into practice. For example, we plan to provide an in-depth walk-through of an audit, with real-world compliance examples from our audit team leads. The current agenda is now available and registration is open.
Finally, we want to encourage all registered entities to participate in GridEx IV, on November 15-16. GridEx is a biennial exercise designed to simulate a cyber/physical attack on electric and critical infrastructure across North America. This is a continent-wide exercise organized by NERC and designed to test the electric sector’s crisis response during a large-scale attack on the grid. This event offers hands-on training with real-time scenarios.
Training is an excellent way to refresh your skills. I hope to see you at one of these events.
Regards, Lane Lanford
T e x a s R E v i e w
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P a g e 2
Upcoming Events
ERCOT and Texas RE Generator Winter Weatherization Workshop
On September 7, 2017, ERCOT and Texas RE will hold a joint workshop to address winter weatherization. The workshop will be held at ERCOT’s Taylor facility at 810 Airport Road, Taylor, Texas 76574. The event will be available to attend in person or via WebEx. For further details, including a full agenda, please refer to ERCOT’s website. RSVP to Mallory Vrana at ERCOT.
Texas RE and GCPA Compliance Basics Workshop
On October 2, 2017, Texas RE will be offering a free seminar to kick off the GCPA Annual Fall Conference.
Compliance Basics: What You Need to Know as a Market Participant, is intended for those who aren’t
generally involved in compliance activities, but would like a general overview of what Texas RE does, and
how compliance functions in the ERCOT region.
For more information, click here.
2017 Fall Standards and Compliance Workshop
On October 12, 2017, Texas RE will hold its Fall Standards and Compliance Workshop. Registration is open,
and we encourage all stakeholders to participate. The workshop will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in
the Texas RE Conference Center, located at 805 Las Cimas Parkway, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78746.
Agenda | In-Person Registration | Listen Only Webinar
The National Cybersecurity and Communications
Integration Center (NCCIC), a division of the
Department of Homeland Security, recently made key
findings widely available related to the malware
program used last year to cripple the electric grid in
Ukraine, CrashOverride. Although the investigation is
still ongoing, NCCIC is sharing its findings to provide
organizations with detection and mitigation
recommendations to help prevent future compromises
within their critical infrastructure networks.
There is no evidence to suggest that CrashOverride
malware has affected U.S. critical infrastructure, but
NCCIC cautions that the tactics, techniques, and
procedures that make up the malware could possibly
be adapted to target U.S. critical information networks
and systems.
The full report, including risk evaluation, detection, mitigation, and technical analysis of the malware, can be found here. For further information, contact [email protected].
Delores Etter
Chair (Independent)
John Coughlin
Vice Chair (Independent)
Fred Day (Independent)
Vacant (Independent)
Lane Lanford President and CEO
Brenda Hampton
MRC Chair (Affiliated)
Liz Jones
MRC Vice Chair (Affiliated)
Brandy Marty Marquez Commissioner,
Public Utility
Commission (ex-officio, non-voting)
Tonya Baer
Office of Public Utility
Counsel (ex-officio, non-voting)
Texas RE Board of Directors
CrashOverride Malware
T e x a s R E v i e w
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P a g e 3
NERC Lesson Learned: Auxiliary Power Loss to STAT-COM Leads to UVLS Operation
A voltage disturbance on the transmission system led to the loss of redundant auxiliary cooling system
power sources for a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), causing the STATCOM to trip. Both
auxiliary cooling power supplies were fed from the same high-voltage substation. The loss of the
STATCOM exacerbated a low-voltage condition on the transmission system. Undervoltage load shed
(UVLS) relays on distribution feeders in the area tripped as a result of the low voltage, shedding 92 MW
of firm load.
A STATCOM’s auxiliary power is critical to operating its cooling system, which has two pump motors
that circulate coolant through the power electronics. During normal operation, one cooling pump runs
and the other remains on standby. If the power to the circulating pump is disturbed, a transfer switch
will operate to switch to the backup feed and pump.
To correct this issue in the future, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was installed to supply the
STATCOM auxiliary equipment. The auxiliary power system is critical to the proper operation of
STATCOM equipment. Proper system design should ensure that auxiliary power sources are
redundant and fed from sources that are electrically separated from areas that need STATCOM voltage
support. If that is not feasible, a UPS should be considered.
ERO Enterprise Program Alignment
As part of the ERO Enterprise Program Alignment Process, NERC has
created an updated consistency reporting tool. With this tool, registered
entities and other relevant industry stakeholders will have a transparent,
repeatable process for reporting any perceived inconsistencies in the
approach, methods, or practices implemented and executed by the
Regional Entities.
Concerns logged with the consistency reporting tool will be captured in a
centralized resource repository. NERC will classify the issue through an
initial screening process to ensure the issue is appropriately addressed,
then work with Regional Entities and stakeholders to analyze the issue and
determine the scope and material impact. The ERO Enterprise will
develop recommendations and determine the priority of the activities,
taking into consideration all ERO Enterprise efforts. Finally, NERC will
post the issue along with recommendations/results, and provide status
updates on its activities.
The ERO Enterprise Program Alignment Process is intended to enhance
efforts to identify, prioritize, and resolve alignment issued across the ERO
Enterprise. The program relies on regional observations and registered
entity reporting. The program aims to strengthen the ERO Enterprise’s
collaborative and transparent approach to resolving consistency issues.
Reports may be submitted anonymously, but including contact information
may expedite the process of understanding the scope and impact of
reported issues.
For more information about Program Alignment, please email
[email protected]. You may also call us at Texas RE anytime to
discuss your concerns. Our contact information is located on page six.
T e x a s R E v i e w
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P a g e 4
August 2017 Board Recap The Audit, Governance, and Finance Committee (AG&F) and Board of Directors (Board) met at the
Texas RE offices on August 16, 2017.
The AG&F Committee approved minutes from the May 24 meeting, reviewed financial and human
resources reports, and recommended that BKD continue to serve as Texas RE’s independent auditor.
The Board approved BKD as the independent auditor at its meeting.
Due to the recent resignation of Dr. Massoud Amin from the Board, the Board voted to reconstitute the
Nominating Committee and to appoint a new Chair of the Director Compensation Committee. The
Nominating Committee, now Chaired by Independent Director John Coughlin, will begin searching for a
new Independent Director shortly. The Board also heard updates from the NERC Program Areas,
Protocol Compliance, and an update on FERC activities.
The Member Representatives Committee (MRC) has a conference call scheduled for September 8, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.
Multi-Region Registered Entities (MRRE) Coordinated Oversight
Texas RE is actively engaged in
Coordinated Oversight for Multi-Region
Registered Entities. Through this
program, regional entities coordinate
oversight activities for registered entities
operating in multiple regions. Since the
program’s full deployment in June 2015,
Texas RE has participated in 16
Coordinated Oversight engagements, and
has served as the Lead Region in 10
cases. Texas RE takes pride in the
proficiency and professionalism of our
staff. Notably, several members of our
staff, including audit team leaders, Kenath
Carver and Keith Smith, have received
accolades for their efforts from other
Regional Entities involved in Coordinated
Oversight projects.
We look forward to maintaining these high
standards as Coordinated Oversight
continues to mature. If you ever have any
questions or concerns about Coordinated
Oversight, please contact us at
T e x a s R E v i e w
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P a g e 5
NERC Initiatives and Activities
Project Name Open through 8:00 p.m. ET on date listed
Project 2016-4 — Modifications to PRC-025-1 September 7, 2017
Project 2016-2 — Modifications to CIP Standards | CIP-012-1 September 11, 2017
Project 2016-2 — Modifications to CIP Standards | Proposed Definition of Control Center
September 12, 2017
Project 2016-2 — Modifications to CIP Standards | Technical Rationale and Justification for CIP-012-1
September 12, 2017
Comment and Ballot Periods
T e x a s R E v i e w
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 P a g e 6
Contact Information for Texas RE Management
Main Phone Number: (512) 583-4900
Website: www.texasre.org Twitter:
Name and Title Phone Email
Lane Lanford—President & CEO (512) 583-4940 [email protected]
Jim Albright—Vice President & Chief
Operating Officer
(512) 583-4962 [email protected]
Tammy Cooper—General Counsel &
Corporate Secretary
(512) 583-4960 [email protected]
Judy Foppiano—CFO & Director,
Corporate Services
(512) 583-4959 [email protected]
Curtis Crews—Director, Compliance
Assessments
(512) 583-4989 [email protected]
Derrick Davis—Director, Enforcement,
Reliability Standards & Registration
(512) 583-4923 [email protected]
Mark Henry—Director, Reliability
Services
(512) 583-4988 [email protected]
Paula Mueller—Director, Protocol
Compliance
(512) 583-4938 [email protected]
Irma Bernard—Manager, Accounting (512) 583-4914 [email protected]
Rochelle Brown—Manager, CMEP
Coordination & Registration
(512) 583-4921 [email protected]
Rachel Coyne—Manager, Reliability
Standards Program
(512) 583-4956 [email protected]
Paul Curtis—Assistant General
Counsel
(512) 583-4924 [email protected]
Sarah Lewis—Manager, External
Relations
(512) 583-4931 [email protected]
Trey Melcher—Manager, Compliance
Monitoring
(512) 583-4932 [email protected]
Cameron Moore—Manager, IT &
Security
(512) 583-4954 [email protected]
Kara Powers—Manager, Human
Resources
(512) 583-4919 [email protected]
Brent Read—Manager, Risk
Assessment
(512) 583-4916 [email protected]
Joseph Younger—Manager,
Enforcement
(512) 583-4939 [email protected]
Upcoming Important Dates at Texas RE
September 4 – Texas RE Office Closed for Labor Day
September 7 – Generator Winter Weatherization Workshop – 9:00 a.m. (At ERCOT Taylor Location)
September 8 – MRC Conference Call – 1:00 p.m.
September 14 – BAL-001-TRE-1 Technical Conference – 9:00 a.m.
September 21 – Talk with Texas RE – 1:30 p.m.
September 26 – NRWG/NSRF Joint Meeting – 9:30 a.m. (At ERCOT Met Center Location)
805 Las Cimas Parkway Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78746
Phone: (512) 583-4900 E-mail: [email protected]
To ensure the reliability of the bulk
power system in the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT) region, Texas
Reliability Entity, Inc. monitors and
enforces compliance with Reliability
Standards for the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation;
develops regional standards; and
monitors and reports on compliance
with the ERCOT Protocols.
Texas Reliability Entity, Inc.
www.texasre.org
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September
Career Opportunities
We are proud of the work we do. Join us!
Risk Assessment Engineer CIP Security Engineer/Analyst
Accounting Assistant (Part-Time)