Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) would like to notify its members of two open positions on the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program Advisory Council (CMEPAC) and four open positions on the NERC Standard Review Forum (NSRF). Serving on an organizational group provides members the opportunity to develop a network of industry peers, provide input on ERO Enterprise regulatory activities, assist with efforts to identify and mitigate industry risk, and share information and best practices with participants across the region.

The follow seats are currently open:

• CMEPAC, term ends December 31, 2026
• CMEPAC, term ends December 31, 2027
• NSRF, Federal Power Marketing Agency, term ends December 31, 2025
• NSRF, Generator Power Marketer Sector, term ends December 31, 2025
• NSRF, Canadian Utility Sector, term ends December 31, 2027
• NSRF, Transmission System Operator Sector, term ends December 31, 2027

Council members must be employees of MRO members and meet the qualifications outlined in the CMEPAC Charter and the NSRF Charter, and Policy and Procedure 3: Establishment, Responsibilities, and Procedures of Organizational Groups and MRO Sponsored Representatives on NERC Organizational Groups.

About the CMEPAC

The CMEPAC provides advice and counsel to MRO’s Board of Directors, the board’s Organizational Group Oversight Committee (OGOC), staff, and registered entities on topics such as the development, retirement, and application of NERC Reliability Standards, risk assessment, compliance monitoring, and the enforcement of applicable standards. The MRO CMEPAC develops outreach and provides awareness in these areas. The MRO CMEPAC has established sub-teams to accomplish this outreach and includes the following: (a) newsletter, (b) webinar, (c) CMEPAC industry calls, and (d) annual conference planning. In addition to these sub-teams, additional teams include:  (a) standards effectiveness to control regional risks, (b) future enforceable standards, (c) participation in the annual MRO regional risk assessment, (d) annual feedback survey, along with initiatives identified by input and the council. These offer a council member a variety of ways to engage and provide input on outcomes and deliverables.

Additionally, serving on the CMEPAC provides the opportunity to participate in the Regional Risk Assessment, identify opportunities for Standard Application Guides, pre-review Quarterly Self-Certifications, provide feedback to MRO staff, and develop relationships.

The CMEPAC meets quarterly.

About the NSRF

The NSRF is a sector-balanced subgroup of the CMEPAC. The forum is comprised of industry stakeholders with relevant experience in the electric utility industry. The NSRF meets weekly to review and discuss the development of NERC Reliability Standards, including review of open Standards Authorization Requests (SARs), proposed new or modified standards, interpretations of existing standards, and other draft policies and procedures. As a forum, stakeholders collaborate on jointly agreed-upon comments to NERC and on the development of voting recommendations for NERC ballots.

Procedures Applicable to Organizational Group Members

Organizational group member travel expenses are reimbursed by MRO according to Policy & Procedure 2: Expense Reimbursement and organizational group activities are governed by Policy & Procedure 3: Organizational Groups. Outside of regularly scheduled meetings, engagement in organizational group activities is accomplished via WebEx/Teams or email correspondence.

How to Apply

If you wish to nominate yourself, or someone else, for any of these open positions, please submit a Nomination Form no later than Friday, December 6, 2024. The CMEPAC will select nominees to recommend to the board’s Organizational Group Oversight Committee at a closed special session in the fourth quarter.

For questions about this nomination process, please contact Michelle Olson, Compliance Monitoring Administrator.

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Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the reliability and security of the bulk power system in the central region of North America, including parts of both the United States and Canada. MRO is one of six regional entities in North America operating under authority from regulators in the United States through a delegation agreement with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and in Canada under similar arrangements. The primary focus of MRO is developing and ensuring com