Extreme Events Resiliency Workshop Agenda
Extreme Events Resiliency Workshop Presentation Materials
Extreme Events Resiliency Workshop - Day 1 Keynote
Day one of Texas RE’s Extreme Events Resiliency Workshop will bring diverse voices from the ERO Enterprise and industry into conversations about planning for, and operationalizing resiliency in the face of, both natural and man-made extreme events. The format will be a series of panels where a moderator from Texas RE will lead a group of industry experts in discussions on key grid resiliency topics.
Moderator: Curtis Crews (Texas RE)
Panelists: Scott Aaronson (Edison Electric Institute), Won Choe (Consolidated Edison of New York)
The resilience of the electric grid is the foundational building block for our energy future. Grid resilience continues to be a topic of industry focus as extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and the threat of cyber-attacks grows. The electric power industry is developing resilience metrics and frameworks to guide deployment and operation of advanced technologies on the grid. The panelists will discuss their view and experience regarding technologies and techniques to improve resilience, the challenges associated with the proposals, the time factors involved, and the consequences of not addressing resiliency.
Moderator: Kenath Carver (Texas RE)
Panelists: Ann Delenela (Entergy), Scott Smith (Bryan Texas Utilities), Shanna Ramirez (CPS Energy)
The recent SolarWinds compromise, Colonial pipeline ransomware attack, and ongoing foreign-state sponsored malicious cyber activity continue to highlight the need for an elevated cybersecurity posture. The strength of an organization’s cyber resiliency to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to adverse conditions, stresses, attacks, or compromises is critical to maintain the reliability and security of the Bulk Power System. This group of industry-leading information security experts will review their experiences on maintaining cyber resiliency during extreme events and give their recommendations for hardening systems against persistent cyber threats. This discussion will cover themes such as fault tolerance, supply chain, cloud services, ransomware, cybersecurity incident response and reporting, disaster recovery, business continuity, cybersecurity awareness training and testing, government funding for cyber resiliency, and talent acquisition.
Introduction: Jim Albright (Texas RE)
Speaker: Julie Parsley (Pedernales Electric Cooperative)
Moderator: Mark Henry (Texas RE)
Panelists: Liz Jones (Oncor), Sam Siegel (Vistra), Thomas Coleman (NERC), Kimberly Denbow (American Gas Association)
Interactions between the electric and natural gas industries becomes more critical as our interdependence grows with further electrification and decarbonization. The February 2021 winter storms highlighted vulnerabilities related to the gas-electric interface under extreme conditions. Industry and government have worked to improve communication and support, despite the many differences in products, delivery systems, and markets. This panel will provide a comprehensive look at the complex, multi-jurisdictional issues associated with gas-electric coordination, bringing diverse perspectives from the gas and electric industries into conversation. The panel will discuss the ongoing developments around the gas-electric interface in Texas, highlighting improvements and continuing challenges as both industries expand to meet growing needs in and out of Texas.
Moderator: Brad Woods (Texas RE)
Panelists: JP Skeath (NERC), Larry Collier (NERC), Kevin Carden (Astrapé Consulting)
Preparation for known threats to the electric grid is vital to mitigating or eliminating downtime due to extreme events. Long-term planning for extreme heat and cold weather events plays a vital role in grid resiliency, as the recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rulemaking projects focused on transmission planning activities related to extreme weather events have made clear. With the FERC rulemaking project serving as a point of departure, this panel will discuss the types of events to plan for, how they are modeled, the scenarios that need to be incorporated into planning processes, and the role NERC Reliability Standards play in planning for resiliency.
Day two of the Extreme Events Resiliency Workshop will focus more specifically on winter weatherization activities in the ERCOT Region as part of Texas RE’s annual winterization outreach. It will bring key regulators from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), ERCOT, and other organizations together to provide updates on activities throughout the interconnection. It will also provide perspectives from both thermal and renewable generators on winterization best practices, lessons learned from the past winters, and the ongoing resiliency challenges for generators operating in the Texas Interconnection.
Speaker(s): Texas RE Staff
Speaker: Thomas Gleeson (PUCT)
Speaker: Natalie Dubiel (RRC)
Speaker: David Kezell (ERCOT)
Speaker: Chris Coleman (ERCOT)
Speaker: Mike Del Casale (Calpine)
Resiliency in Response to Extreme Events Panel
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Curtis Crews is the Director of O&P Compliance & Risk at Texas RE is currently responsible for directing all NERC compliance activities for the Texas Interconnection. Curtis has supervised or managed engineering groups for ERCOT ISO, Austin Energy, and the Lower Colorado River Authority and has over 25 years of experience with emphasis in Real-Time environments. Curtis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. |
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Won Choe is Director of Emergency Preparedness at Consolidated Edison of New York. Won has over twenty years of operational and engineering experience at Con Edison, keeping the lights on for nearly 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County. He has navigated numerous emergencies like Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Isaias and Hurricane Ida in multiple capacities. As Director of Emergency Preparedness, he oversees resources, plans, regulations, and meteorology/technology. Prior to his time in the utility industry, Won served as a naval nuclear officer. He holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Fordham University. |
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Scott Aaronson leads EEI's security and preparedness team where he focuses on industry security and resilience initiatives, establishing collaborative partnerships between government and electric companies—and across critical infrastructure sectors—that enhance security for the energy sector. In addition to his role at EEI, Scott also serves as the Secretary for the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC). In these roles, Scott has provided testimony before state and federal legislative and regulatory bodies and to the United Nations Security Council. Scott received a Bachelor's Degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder for his undergraduate studies, and a Master's Degree from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. He also has received continuing education in executive leadership from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. |
Cyber Resiliency for Extreme Events Panel
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Kenath Carver is the Director of Cybersecurity Outreach & CIP Compliance at Texas RE and has been with the company since 2012. He has over 15 years of Information Technology experience and prior to joining Texas RE, Kenath worked as an IT Business Solutions Analyst and Senior IT Security Administrator. Mr. Carver holds numerous industry-leading certifications, including: CompTIA Network+, Security +, CySA+; GIAC CIP, and ISC2 SSCP. |
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Scott Smith is the Chief Information Security officer for the City of Bryan. He is responsible for cyber security as well as compliance for NERC CIP, PCI DSS, and CJIS standards requirements. His expertise is in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Information Security Management, and IT Compliance Management. Prior to his current position, Mr. Smith spent 11 years as the Manager of IT Operations for Bryan Texas Utilities overseeing the utilities’ infrastructure, security and compliance programs. Scott is a member of Infragard, ISSA, ISACA, and holds active CISSP, CISM and CGCIO certifications. |
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Ann Delenela is a security strategist with over 25 years of experience in information technology, information security, and cyber/physical security management. She is currently Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for Entergy, a Fortune 500 company where she is responsible for enterprise and operational cyber security, physical security systems, and regulatory compliance. Prior to Entergy, Ann was Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for Ameren Services where she was responsible for enterprise cybersecurity covering Ameren’s Corporate, Electric, Nuclear and Gas operations. Prior to joining Ameren, Ann was with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and served as their Chief Security Officer with overall responsibility for the company’s cyber security, physical security, and emergency management programs. Her previous experience includes multiple technical, managerial, and strategic roles within industries ranging from energy, telecommunication, software development and consulting. |
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Shanna Ramirez joined CPS Energy in 2015 as Director & Senior Counsel where she oversees CPS Energy's Legal, Audit, Compliance, Ethics, and Integrated Security functions, and provides leadership to Board Relations as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. Shanna is responsible for driving strategic initiatives to advance the interests of our customers and community, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. In her previous role, Shanna oversaw the cyber, physical and data security, incident response, and business continuity. Prior to joining CPS she practiced employment litigation at Haynes and Boone, LLP, and was Vice President & Deputy General Counsel for Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., supervising Legal Services, Safety & Risk, Claims, and Licensing & Compliance. Shanna earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Trinity University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law. She is also a graduate of the Executive Education, Accelerated Development Program at Rice University. |
Keynote Address
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Julie Caruthers Parsley is the first female Chief Executive Officer at Pedernales Electric Cooperative. Before coming to PEC, Parsley was a founding partner of Parsley Coffin Renner LLP, a law firm specializing in utility regulations, was a commissioner of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), and a Regional State Committee member in the Southwest Power Pool. She was also a member of the Texas Energy Planning Council and served on the ERCOT Board. In 2022, Parsley was appointed to the State Energy Plan Advisory Committee. She also serves as a board member of Texas Electric Cooperatives, serves as an Advisory Trustee on the board of Southwest Research Institute, is a founding board member of the Association of Women in Energy, and is a member and frequent speaker for the Gulf Coast Power Association. Before serving as PUC Commissioner, Parsley served as Texas Solicitor General, the first female to serve in that role, and was an adjunct professor of law, teaching appellate practice and procedure at the University of Texas School of Law. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University, and she received her Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University School of Law, which later honored her by selecting her to give the commencement speech to the graduating class in December 2002. Most recently Parsley was named 2021 Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech School of Law. |
Resiliency in the Gas-Electric Interface
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Mark Henry is the Director of Reliability Services & Registration at Texas RE. He has experience in the electric power industry including generation, transmission, and control center assignments as an electrical engineer and engineering supervisor at the Lower Colorado River Authority for nearly 15 years. He has worked with the bulk power system compliance program since joining the ERCOT ISO in December 1999. Mark is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and holds a BSEE from the University of Texas at Austin. |
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Liz Jones is Vice President Regulatory Affairs for Oncor, where she develops regulatory policy for the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Ms. Jones has engaged in similar activities at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and the Texas Reliability Entity. Ms. Jones previously served as an Assistant General Counsel and Administrative Counsel for the PUC, addressing electric, telephone, open-records, and open-meetings issues. Ms. Jones was also an associate with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in San Diego, California. Ms. Jones holds a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. with honors from The University of Texas School of Law; she is licensed to practice law in Texas and California. |
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Thomas Coleman is Chief Technical Advisor at NERC. He works with industry and stakeholders to assess, report on, and provide recommendations to ensure the reliability of the North American Bulk Power System. Mr. Coleman leads the efforts around NERC’s natural gas risk strategy and is the NERC lead for NERC’s Electric Gas Working Group. He has led initiatives for the NERC Reliability Issues Steering Committee as well as efforts around long term, short term and historical reliability assessments. Mr. Coleman joined NERC in 2014. Prior to joining NERC Mr. Coleman traded power and natural gas commodities and directed long term origination at JP Morgan and Williams Energy. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida and his MBA from Vanderbilt University. |
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Kimberly Denbow is the Vice President of Security & Operations at the American Gas Association (AGA) and has been with AGA for 25 years. Ms. Denbow supports AGA’s all-hazards emergency preparedness activities and pipeline resilience and reliability initiatives. Ms. Denbow has served as staff executive for multiple AGA Operations Section technical committees and she serves as the industry liaison to numerous U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Energy (DOE) natural gas physical and cybersecurity programs. Ms. Denbow is an active member of the Oil & Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council (ONG SCC) and the Pipeline Sector Coordinating Council. Ms. Denbow has a Bachelor of Science in marine biology from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. |
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Sam Siegel is Vice President of Wholesale Regulatory Compliance for Vistra Corp. Sam provides compliance coverage and regulatory support for Vistra’s generation and commercial risk management businesses. He is responsible for leading interactions with regulators such as FERC, NERC, CFTC, Exchanges (e.g., ICE and CME), Public Utility Commissions, Regional Entities (e.g., TexasRE) and ISOs (e.g., ERCOT and PJM). Sam serves on the Texas Energy Reliability Council (TERC) as the member representing dispatchable electric energy. Prior to Vistra, Sam worked in Compliance at several investment banks and as a litigator at large national law firm. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Plan II and History from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law. |
Planning for Resiliency Panel
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Brad Woods is a Senior Reliability Engineer in Texas RE's Reliability Services department. Prior to joining Texas RE, Brad had 19 years of experience in the electric power industry with 12 years consisting of transmission planning. Brad holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas and is a licensed Professional Engineer. |
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John Paul Skeath’s current focus at NERC is related to DER modeling, model verification, cyber contingency definition and mapping, and disturbance report analysis. He is involved in various NERC Reliability and Security Technical Committee (RSTC) subgroups, including the System Planning Impacts of DER Working Group (SPIDERWG). John Paul “JP” graduated from Colorado School of Mines in 2017 with his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science and from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2018 with an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. |
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Kevin Carden is the Director of Astrapé Consulting, an energy consulting organization with a focus on resource adequacy. Under his leadership for the past 17 years, Astrapé Consulting has performed planning reserve margin studies, ELCC studies, renewable integration studies, and operational flexibility studies for utilities, regulators, and ISOs worldwide. Kevin also led the redevelopment of SERVM, a now industry-leading Resource Adequacy Planning tool, which is licensed by Astrapé. He holds a U.S. patent in Generation Reliability Modeling techniques (#7698233) and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Alabama. |
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Larry Collier started his career as a system and network engineer in the private sector and as a Department of Defense contractor before turning his interested toward cybersecurity. He built an information security program and NERC CIP compliance program for a municipal electric utility before joining NERC on their Security & Grid Transformation team to collaborate with the industry on addressing emerging technology and risks. |
PUCT Winterization Activities
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Thomas Gleeson is the Executive Director of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), where he has served in multiple roles for nearly fifteen years. Previously Thomas worked as a legislative analyst for the Texas Senate and a budget analyst for the Legislative Budget Board. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and a Master of Public Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. |
Railroad Commission Winterization Activities Update
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Natalie Dubiel is an attorney in the Railroad Commission’s Office of General Counsel who is the primary handler of gas utility and pipeline regulation, including pipeline safety matters. Over the years, Natalie has represented the Commission in gas utility contested rate case proceedings, related gas utility administrative proceedings, and pipeline safety dockets and administrative matters. Natalie recently led the Commission’s 2020 amendment to its pipeline safety regulations and is advising the Commission on Senate Bill 3 implementation (87th Legislature) and rulemakings. Additionally, Natalie handles various administrative law matters for the Commission, including leading and conducting rulemakings and advising on all matters involving the Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. Natalie received her undergraduate degree in political science from Texas A&M University and a law degree from South Texas College of Law. Natalie is a licensed attorney in the State of Texas and joined the Commission’s Office of General Counsel in 2015. Prior to joining the Texas Railroad Commission, Natalie began her legal career in Houston at Hendershot Cowart P.C. |
ERCOT Winterization Activities Update
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David Kezell is Director of Weatherization and Inspection at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Over the last ten years he has also worked in Senior Director and Director roles at CPS Energy and Seminole Electric Cooperative in Tampa, Florida respectively. Previously he worked with WorleyParsons (now Worley) in several roles including Project Manager, Director of Construction Management, and General Manager of Chattanooga Operations. Earlier in his career he worked for an independent power producer and consulting engineering firms in the San Francisco Bay area. While there he helped to develop and execute new power projects and worked as an air quality compliance consultant. He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and Arizona State University and is a licensed Mechanical Engineer in California. |
2022-23 Preliminary Winter Weather Outlook and Review of Historical Winter Extremes
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Chris Coleman is ERCOT's has been ERCOT's chief meteorologist since 2012. Prior to joining ERCOT he worked in aviation, doing weather forecasting for the Minneapolis airport, and then retail doing long-range weather forecasting until he joined Exelon in 2008. |
Thermal Generation Winter Weather Prep and Lessons Learned
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Mike Del Casale is Calpine’s Senior Vice President of Power Operations managing the Calpine fleet since October 2017 and has served in the power industry for more than 39 years. In previous roles at Calpine, he has served as Vice President of Regional Operations and Construction, Vice President of Engineering and Construction, East Region Asset Manager, and Plant Manager at the York Energy Center. Before joining Calpine in 2010, he was involved in a number of plant construction and commissioning projects, along with other operations and engineering positions throughout his career. Mike worked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for several years before joining Delmarva Power and Light, which later became Conectiv Energy. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Villanova University. |
Renewable Generation Winter Weather Prep and Lessons Learned
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Keith Smith is the Head of Compliance and Reliability for US Onshore Operations at Ørsted where he manages activities associated with NERC and ISO/RTO rules and regulations. Keith has 13 years of experience in the electric power industry, including roles as a Network Model Engineer at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and as an O&P Compliance Engineer and Manager at Texas Reliability Entity. Keith holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. |