Texas RE's Reliability 101 & 201 is a webinar series designed for stakeholders who are new to the electric reliability industry, reliability standards, or their role. Attendance is open to anyone who wants a refresher on compliance and enforcement basics, NERC and Texas RE history, introductions to various program areas, or how to get involved with Texas RE. Additional 201 sessions are also included in the series for more in-depth discussions.
Some of Texas RE's Reliability 101 sessions will not be held live as a webinar, but recorded versions of those sessions are available below.
101: History & Introduction to Texas RE
Date: June 3, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Paul Curtis, Deputy General Counsel
Texas RE is one of the Regional Entities that comprise the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise. This session will feature a brief overview on the ERO Enteprise, of how Texas RE came to be, and what its role is as part of the electric reliability framework.
101: Registration & Certification
Date: June 4, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Erin Quigley, Manager, Registration & Certification
Registration is the first step in an entity's standards compliance journey. This session will review the different registered functions that entities serve, the types of registration agreements that exist, entity mapping, and the Centralized Organization Registration ERO System (CORES) that is used by regulators and entities to manage their registration information.
101: Intro to Align
Date: June 5, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Tammy Thomas, Enforcement Analyst and Eric Newnam, Senior O&P Compliance Engineer
Align is a platform for recording and tracking compliance monitoring and enforcement program (CMEP) data. Together with the Secure Evidence Locker (SEL) these tools enable registered entities across the ERO Enterprise to fulfill their compliance obligations and communicate with Regional Entities in a secure and uniform manner across all regions. Learning the fundamentals of these systems is vital for anyone working in the electric reliability sector. This session will review the fundamentals of Align and the SEL, how to use the tools, and who in your organization should have access.
101: Risk-Based Approach to Reliability
Date: June 6, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Rashida Caraway, Manager, Risk Assessment
Texas RE identifies risks that each entity poses to the BPS and develops a focused, risk-based compliance oversight approach. This session will review the different types of risk that a registered entity can possess, how those risks are used to determine audit scope and Inherent Risk Assessments (IRAs), and review Compliance Oversight Plans (COPs).
101: Foundations of CIP Programs
Date: June 10, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Rebekah Barber, CIP Cyber & Physical Security Analyst
Critical infrastructure is a high-value target for threat actors seeking monetary gain or foreign agents looking to compromise the security and reliability of the North American BPS. Compliance with NERC Reliability Standards is therefore crucial in mitigating these threats and ensuring a reliable grid. In this session Texas RE will introduce the fundamentals of a CIP program and discuss best practices for threat mitigation.
101: Foundations of Operations & Planning Programs
Date: June 11, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Phil Bracy, O&P Compliance Analyst
Meeting compliance obligations can be a complicated task. Depending on a registered entity's function and risk profile, they could have numerous Reliability Standards and requirements in-scope, each with separate reporting and evidentiary needs. Maintaining a robust Operations and Planning (O&P) program is essential for managing compliance needs. This session will discuss NERC's Rules of Procedure and applicable requirements, as well as strategies and implementation best practices for managing a registered entity's compliance needs.
101: Navigating Noncompliance Resolution
Date: June 12, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Kelly Landry, Enforcement Attorney
Resolving a noncompliance issue can be a complex process with different outcomes based on a variety of factors. In this session Texas RE will go through the steps of noncompliance resolution and what the potential outcomes might be.
101: NERC Data Collection, Events Analysis, and Guidelines
Date: June 13, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenters: Shirley Mathew, Senior O&P Compliance Engineer
The North American BPS is the largest and most complex machine in the entire world, and maintaining it requires a constant supply of information. In this session Texas RE will review the various data submittals that registered entities are responsible for making and the analysis, decisions, and reports that the provided data is used for.
201: Security Patch Management
Date: June 17, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenters: Jonathan Espinosa, CIP Cyber & Physical Security Analyst
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) is constantly evolving as threats to the BPS grow with technology. Keeping BES cyber systems fully patched is crucial for maintining the security of your assets. In this session Texas RE will discuss guidance and best practices for CIP-007-6 R2, Security Patch Management.
201: Operations & Planning Programs
Date: June 18, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Mario de la Garza, Manager, Operations & Planning Compliance Monitoring
Join Texas RE's Manager of O&P Compliance Monitoring Mario de la Garza, for an in-depth discussion of specific strategies for how registered entities can meet specific Reliability Standards obligations.
201: CMEP Feedback Loop
Date: June 24, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: Ashley Nwonuma, Enforcement Attorney
The Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP) is the process used to assess, investigate, evaluate, and audit in order to measure compliance with NERC Reliability Standards. The CMEP Feedback Loop refers to the life cycle of the regulation of entities where the different stages of the process feed into each other. This session will go into depth regarding the different stages of compliance oversight and how registered entities work hand-in-hand with regional entities to ensure electric reliability.
201: Compliance in Align Walkthrough
Date: June 25, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m. Central
Presenter: Eric Newnam, Senior O&P Compliance Engineer
Align is a platform for recording and tracking compliance monitoring and enforcement program (CMEP) data. Together with the Secure Evidence Locker (SEL) these tools enable registered entities across the ERO Enterprise to fulfill their compliance obligations and communicate with Regional Entities in a secure and uniform manner across all regions. This Reliability 201 session will feature a guided walkthrough of the different compliance activities entities perform on the platform as part of their reliability obligations.
201: Reliability Services
Date: June 25, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m. Central
Presenter: David Penney, Director, Reliability Services
Texas RE's Reliability Services group provides Regional coordination and execution of reliability assessments, performance analysis, events analysis, situation awareness, and infrastructure security; and conducts internal reviews of system performance, outlook, and risks to the bulk power system (BPS). Join Texas RE's Director of Reliability Services David Penney, for an in-depth discussion on what these activities mean for registered entities.
Reliability Standards - Presentation | Recording
Compliance Monitoring - Presentation | Recording
Improving Self-Reporting - Presentation | Recording
Initial Engagement Submissions - Presentation | Recording