NERC Measuring Utility Coronavirus Readiness

The devastating coronavirus crisis is on everybody’s minds, including the leadership of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which recently sent out a questionnaire to its utility members.  The questionnaire aims to compile information regarding what utilities are doing to weather the pandemic storm. 

Details of the NERC Coronavirus Questionnaire

NERC’s questionnaire was due on March 20, 2020, and the results have been sent to FERC for analysis.  Much of the impetus for NERC’s initiative is the fact that the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) predicts that a whopping 40% of the utility workforce could end up out of commission from the coronavirus.  As such, the questionnaire seeks to answer the following burning questions:

• How are utilities prepared to deal with potential staff shortages, including not only employees but also contractors, suppliers and vendors?
• What if mutual assistance resources are not available when they are needed most?
• What are utilities doing to ramp up cybersecurity measures during this time when more employees are working from home and scammers have come out of the woodwork?
• How will utilities handle a potential shortage of supplies during recovery efforts?

Aside from the questionnaire, NERC has published the following recommendations for electric utilities during this time of uncertainty:

• Keep close tabs on the progression of the coronavirus, and adapt operations as necessary
• Enhance cleaning protocols, especially within control rooms and utility vehicles
• Review business continuity plans to make sure they are adequate to keep the company afloat in the face of potential workforce shortages
• Assess the resilience of supply chains
• Assess planned construction and maintenance activities to see what can be temporarily scaled back
• Increase readiness for cyber attacks

The bottom line is that this coronavirus is negatively impacting everybody, including electric utilities.  But unlike many people, utility crew personnel do not have the luxury of working from home.  Therefore, NERC and other utility associations are trying to make sure that the impact of the coronavirus is as small as possible.  A tall task, indeed!