From the Desk of the CEO

An important part of looking forward for any organization is looking back at where you have been, what has gone well, and how you can continuously improve in the future. Right now, Texas RE is finishing up our 2025 Corporate Goals and Focus Areas document, which we will present to our Board of Directors and Membership at our December 11 Board Meeting. But before we move forward to 2025, I think it is important review the company’s performance this past year in relation to our stated goals.

In 2024, Texas RE had four corporate goals; the first of which was to support the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise model. The ERO Enterprise is made up of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and six Regional Entities (REs), including Texas RE. Many NERC-registered entities operate across multiple Regions, so ensuring effective communication across each Region’s boundaries is imperative. In 2024, Texas RE took a leading and participatory role on a wide variety of ERO Enterprise committees, sub-committees, working groups, and other collaborative bodies such as the ERO’s Operations Leadership Team, the Reliability Assessment Subcommittee, and the Inverter-Based Resources subgroup to name a few. Working with these groups and helping to foster a collaborative environment among industry groups, regulators, and the ERO Enterprise has been at the forefront of our efforts for the past year, and will continue to be into the future as we work closely with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), NERC, the Federal Electric Reliability Council (FERC), and related organizations.

Texas RE’s second corporate goal was to enhance our information technology and security capabilities. This is an undertaking that every organization grapples with year in and year out, and in 2024 Texas RE took proactive steps to ensure the sensitive data that we’re entrusted with is kept safe and confidential. Our Cybersecurity Governance Council (CGC) oversaw the completion of all key IT activities, including the implementation of approved ERO Security Principles as embodied in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, and annual testing of our incident response plans.

Our third corporate goal for 2024 was to foster an outstanding workplace culture. We recently announced that Texas RE was again named a Top Workplace by the Austin-American Statesman. Additionally, we also won the Work/Life Flexibility Award for having the highest rated feedback among participating companies on how well employees are able to balance their work and personal lives. We’re very proud to be recognized two years in a row for the culture we’ve created at Texas RE because that is something we’ve pursued very intentionally. One example of our efforts occurred in March, when Texas RE again hosted the Women’s Leadership in Grid Reliability and Security Conference, an event that brought together industry leaders from all across the ERO to speak on the critical roles women fill in what has historically been a male-dominated industry. This conference was spearheaded by Texas RE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which works closely with our executive leadership to help make Texas RE the outstanding place to work that it is.

Our final corporate goal for 2024 is an ongoing project; to integrate Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) into our business processes. Of all our goals for this year, this one has likely been the most transformative as it has impacted all aspects of our operations. To support this goal, Texas RE created a new role dedicated to ERM and established an internal ERM Council to oversee continued implementation of the ERM program. We established an ERM training program and have embedded robust and effective risk-management practices into Texas RE’s strategic planning, resource allocation, and decision-making activities.

Looking back on 2024 and our achievements is very gratifying. More importantly, it enables us to clearly demonstrate what we want to accomplish and how we are meeting those goals. I thank all of our stakeholders who come with us on this journey every day and look forward to another outstanding year of ensuring electric reliability.

Reliably,
Jim Albright