Electric Co-op Today

The upcoming change in leadership at the nation’s grid watchdog gives electric co-ops an opportunity to offer the organization’s new chief executive a perspective on co-op programs and commitment to reliability, a senior NRECA staff member said.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. is seeking a successor to President and CEO Rick Sergel, who has announced his intention to retire. NRECA is working closely with other trade groups and the NERC board in providing guidance, Barry Lawson, manager of power delivery, indicated.

The new chief executive will likely be in place by the beginning of 2010, with Sergel probably remaining during a transition period, Lawson said.

“Depending on where the new chief executive comes from, industry, the regulatory/political arena or the technical world, we need to be sure they understand what makes co-ops unique, and we will provide that perspective,” he added. NRECA representatives will seek to meet with the new CEO for that purpose shortly after he takes the NERC helm.

Sergel led NERC during a very challenging time when the organization went from a small staff dealing with voluntary reliability standards to a much larger staff with significant responsibilities.

These responsibilities included development, with industry, of mandatory reliability standards and, together with regional entities, their enforcement through delegated authority from federal regulators.

The new CEO will have the responsibility of addressing issues identified in NERC’s recent “Three-Year Electric Reliability Organization Performance Assessment Report.” Among the issues cited was the need for a more focused, prioritized and expeditious approach to standards development and enhanced delegation agreements with regional entities.

However, Lawson noted, “We think it’s important for the new CEO to clearly understand that NERC must collaborate with the industry on the standards development side of its responsibilities.

“On the compliance and enforcement side,” he added, “the new CEO must bring about a solution to implement these responsibilities and to reduce the violations backlog that is weighing down NERC’s compliance enforcement efforts.”

Tags: Electric Grid, North American Electric Reliability Corporation