NERC Compliance, Reliability and Security of the Bulk Electric System
In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused widespread electrical outages across Texas, with indirect impacts felt in Rapid City, SD! This event left millions without power and has been attributed with deaths throughout Texas. The reliability and security of the Bulk Electric System (BES) is the primary focus of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which oversees mandatory enforceable Reliability Standards. Reliability Standards define the requirements for operations, planning, and critical infrastructure protection (i.e., information technology and cybersecurity). While Winter Storm Uri represents a recent recognizable event, many other historical events have substantiated the need for the development and revision of new or existing requirements.
This presentation will provide an introduction to NERC Compliance, reviewing the drivers for program establishment, regulatory framework components, industry initiatives in operations, planning, and critical infrastructure protection, and impacts of recent events (e.g., SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline) on the industry.
Date and Time
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- Date: 03 Dec 2021
- Time: 03:00 PM to 03:50 PM
- All times are (UTC-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada)
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Speakers
Ms. Jenny Malon of Black Hills Energy
Biography:
Jenny Malon is the NERC Compliance Manager for Black Hills Energy, which serves 1.3 million electric and natural gas customers across eight states. Ms. Malon leads a diverse cross-functional team overseeing the NERC internal compliance program, ensuring Black Hills Energy reduces risks to BES reliability and security.
Ms. Malon received her Master’s degree in Engineering Management from SDSM&T in 2019 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Technical Management from DeVry University. She kicked off her undergraduate studies at SDSM&T, focusing on Applied and Computational Mathematics and Computer Science. She has been with Black Hills Energy for five years, supporting stakeholders in supply chain, facilities, information technology, accounting, finance, tax, operations, engineering, and generation. Ms. Malon draws from her prior experience at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (Bremerton, WA) where she provided radiological oversight for work performed on nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines. Her experience in this heavily regulated environment is credited for her continued focus on documentation, operational execution excellence, and cross-team partnerships. She serves as the Event Analysis Focus Group chair for the Western Interconnection Compliance Forum (WICF), an electrical industry peer group focused on sharing knowledge, lessons learned, and best practices.