Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16, 2015

Transcription

1 Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16, 2015 Westin Buckhead Atlanta 3391 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA The Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee (CIPC) Chair Chuck Abell called the meeting to order and, being duly noticed, the regular meeting of CIPC on December 15, 2015, began at 1:05 p.m. (EST). The meeting announcement and agenda are attached as Exhibits A and B, respectively. The meeting presentations are posted in a separate file at: CIPC Presentations Secretary Sam Chanoski announced a quorum achieved with 28 of the 31 members present which includes the following proxies: 1. FRCC Ms. Pat Boody, for Mr. Paul McClay 2. NPCC Mr. Brian Hogue, for Mr. David Cadregari 3. MRO Mr. Damon Ounsworth, for vacancy left by Mr. Gary Mayfield 4. NRECA Mr. Richie Field, for Mr. Robert Richhart Meeting Safety Briefing Westin staff The Westin security staff briefed CIPC attendees on general safety and evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency. Opening Remarks from Mr. Jerry Donovan, President and CEO of Georgia Transmission Corporation Mr. Donovan welcomed attendees to Atlanta. He noted that we live in an increasingly unsettled world, with schools across Los Angeles under lockdown this morning following a bomb threat. He shared some personal notes of his family preparedness planning in case of unexpected emergencies, and stressed the need for our industry to be always providing for society. He concluded by saying that hopefully we won t need to use these plans but we might, and he thanked the committee for its efforts, and requested us to please continue to do it well. NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines Secretary Chanoski called attention to the NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines distributed with the agenda and made a statement concerning publicly announced meetings. Attendance Chair Abell requested that all present in the meeting sign the attendance sheets; final recorded attendance was 128 CIPC members and guests.

2 Consent Agenda Upon motion by Chair Abell to approve the Consent Agenda, including the posted CIPC Minutes for the September 15-16, 2015 meeting, the Consent Agenda was approved by CIPC without any corrections edits or modifications. CIPC Chair s Report Chair Abell gave a report on recent CIPC activities, making particular mention of GridSecCon 2015 and the classified brief this quarter, and looking forward to updates and new CIPC SME elections. He noted that CIPC will do multiple training tracks at the March meeting in Louisville. He then thanked the Committee for opportunity to serve as CIPC chair for the past four years. CIPC Vice Chair Nathan Mitchell thanked Jim Brenton for his service as Vice Chair and the broader security community in the industry. He then recognized Chuck Abell for his service as Chair for the last four years. Both were recognized with a token of appreciation from the committee, along with a round of applause and a standing ovation. CIPC Nominating Committee Mr. Mike Mertz, Nominating Subcommittee Chair, briefed the CIPC members on the activities of the Nominating Committee to develop a slate of nominees for the subject matter expert positions on the CIPC Executive Committee. No additional candidates were nominated from the floor. Elections were conducted, and the following candidates were proposed for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2016: Cybersecurity - Joe Garmon, Physical Security - David Grubbs, Operations - John Galloway, Policy - Ross Johnson. Upon motion to close nominations and elect the slate, the motion passed with 28 votes for, and none against. Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ES-ISAC) Update Mr. Marc Sachs, NERC E-ISAC, an overview of activities undertaken by the E-ISAC over the past quarter since the September meeting, notably including a rebranding of the ES-ISAC to E-ISAC noting that the ES- ISAC was the only ISAC that included sector in its name. He also called attention to the new portal platform, and looks forward to improvements in 2016, including increasing portal capabilities to give it a commercial website look and feel, new IT infrastructure for both the business and CRISP, data storage and analysis, and TAXII/STIX capability. New domain addresses ( and have been secured for the portal. The E-ISAC is now fully manned and looking to augment with industry volunteers, and hopes to get a full-time person on the NCCIC floor pending DHS plans in progress. The E- ISAC plans to add ten new companies to the CRISP program in 2016, bring in more government analysis, and do more in-house unclassified analysis. Physical Security Advisory Group Update Mr. Bob Canada, NERC E-ISAC recognized several companies for their support and active participation in the PSAG, and for open communication and reporting into E-ISAC. He noted that we should all be focused on information sharing, more than just mandatory reporting. He commented on a number of initiatives underway by the PSAG, including the Design Basis Threat (DBT) initiative, and starting an Enhanced Background Investigation Screening initiative with the support of ESCC and collaboration with DOE, NRC, DHS, FBI and stakeholders. Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

3 GridEx III Initial Post-Exercise Observations Mr. Bill Lawrence, NERC E-ISAC, gave an overview of the GridEx III exercise, held November 18-19, 2015, and conducted via Distributed Play. He noted that they are currently in the identify lessons learned phase of the project. Participation in the exercise included 369 organizations (208 taking an active-play role) with 4,227 registered players. The Executive Table Top Exercise, held the afternoon of the second day of Distributed Play, had representation from ESCC, DOE, DHS, DOD, White House, FBI and National Guard, and explored hard questions in a five-hour face-to-face exercise; there are eight strategic goals and 22 recommendations identified following the exercise across topics including unity of messaging, unity of effort, and extraordinary measures. Finally, Mr. Lawrence announced the GridEx IV tentative dates are November 15-16, Development of Additional Guidance for CIP Physical Security Mr. Carl Herron, NERC Reliability Assurance, gave an overview of the R2 third party verification characteristics and expectations. He noted that information on self-certification for identification of critical assets was provided in the 2016 CMEP IP, and NERC and RE coordination is already underway focusing on security plan effectiveness for R4, R5 and R6. WECC CIP V5 Survey Dr. Joe Baugh, WECC, provided an overview and the results of a survey conducted of WECC members on the CIP V5 transition process. The survey was done to address entities compliance concerns and frequently asked questions, and gain a better understanding of CIP V5 issues in WECC. CIP V5 Transition and CIP V5 Revisions Mr. Tobias Whitney, NERC Reliability Assurance, gave an update on the current status of CIP V5 transition efforts, and provided a forward looking overview of activities planned for Once high and medium impact requirement compliance starts April 1, there will be concerted outreach on low impact requirements for 2017 and compliance monitoring will focus on CIP-002 identifications based on impact rating criteria, and focused audits in 2016 similar to v3 scheduling. The expectation is that FERC will lead audits of a limited number of targeted entities. NERC expects that these audits will be wellcoordinated with the Regions and NERC. The goals of the 2016 approach are to understand program effectiveness and support transition, identify successes and challenges, and focus on risk identification. Mr. Whitney also briefly discussed areas of standards development for 2016, including a number of issues identified during the transition. The CIPC Meeting on December 15 concluded for the day at 4:57 p.m. (EST) and reconvened on December 16 at 8:01 a.m. (EST) North American Transmission Forum (NATF) - Security Practices Group Activity Update Mr. Jim Rowan, NATF, provided an overview of the activities of the NATF Security Practices Group and its activities. Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

4 Reliability Issues Steering Committee (RISC) Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, American Public Power Association (APPA), noted that the RISC had no significant activities since the September CIPC meeting, but noted that the RISC recommendations to the NERC Board of Trustees include cybersecurity as an emerging risk for the next three years. Legislative Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, APPA, provided an update on current legislation passed, pending and contemplated in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. There are bills being discussed for both cybersecurity and information sharing, and also a comprehensive energy strategy. Of particular note is language in the Fixing America s Surface Transportation Act or the FAST Act Division F concerning Energy Security starting at section of the bill, which was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President. He also noted that the information sharing legislation was being included in an omnibus spending bill anticipated to be passed later in the week (but no specific details of the changes are available). Electricity Sub-sector Coordinating Council (ESCC) Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, APPA, gave an update on recent ESCC activities, including the ESCC s direct involvement in GridEx III distributed play and the Executive Tabletop exercise, using their Playbook v5.0. The ESCC plans to recruit more CRISP members, and is involved in the discussions around transformer reserves, looking to leverage DOE and national laboratories R&D efforts. ESCC working groups have been established for spare equipment, enhanced background screenings, EMP partnership, DHS cybersecurity initiative, and supply chain. ESCC will support the DOE Clear Path and Washington State Cascadia Rising exercises in Operating Security Subcommittee Chair Mr. Jim Brenton Grid Exercise Working Group (GEWG) Subcommittee Chair Mr. Jim Brenton, on behalf of GEWG Chair Mr. Tim Conway, provided a recap of the GridEx III participation, specifically thanking the chairs of the various planning task forces for their hard work and support. He also reminded participants to complete the GridEx survey and submit lessons learned for the after action report. Once the GridEx III work is complete in the first quarter of 2016, planning will start for GridEx IV at the September 2016 CIPC meeting. Information Sharing Task Force (ISTF) Subcommittee Chair Mr. Jim Brenton noted that the task force work is on hold pending the results of the GridEx III final report. Business Continuity Guideline Task Force (BCGTF) Subcommittee Chair Mr. Jim Brenton noted that the task force work is on hold pending the results of the GridEx III final report. Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

5 Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chair Mr. Marc Child Control Systems Security Working Group (CSSWG) Subcommittee Chair Mr. Marc Child noted that the working group has no active work assignments, and is awaiting possible work assignments from the GridEx III final report Security Training Working Group (STWG) STWG Chair Mr. William Whitney noted that there were nine training opportunities in 2015, with attendance the same as in For 2016, the working group is planning to conduct both cyber and physical security training, and is investigating whether to hold the two courses in parallel or sequentially. At the next CIPC meeting, the plan is to hold one training course Monday afternoon, and the other Tuesday morning to determine if that schedule produces more desirable results. The working group is planning on holding webinars for the months not containing CIPC meetings, and is soliciting ideas for content. Incoming CIPC Chair Child took this opportunity to announce the subcommittee chairs for next year would be: Cybersecurity Subcommittee: David Revill Operating Subcommittee: Joe Garmon Policy Subcommittee: John Galloway Physical Security Subcommittee: David Grubbs Physical Security Subcommittee Chair Mr. David Grubbs Physical Security Working Group (PSWG) PSWG Chair Mr. Ross Johnson reported that the PSWG contributed to the Design Basis Threat (DBT) work of the PSAG, and is planning webinars on how to use the DBT in vulnerability assessments. Physical Security Guidelines Task Force (PSGTF) PSGTF Chair Mr. John Breckenridge, reported that the work of updating the Threat and Incident Reporting Security Guideline, will turn into a re-write of the guideline to accommodate additional changes. The task force is looking for volunteers to assist in this effort. Policy Subcommittee Chair Mr. Nathan Mitchell Bulk Electric System Security Metrics Working Group (BESSMWG) Subcommittee Chair Mitchell announced that working group chair Mr. Roland Miller has stepped down as chair of the working group, and a new chair is needed to continue the work. Chair Mitchell provided an overview of the working group efforts. Many of the metrics identified by the working group are being collected by E-ISAC, and enhancements will be coordinated with them. The working group is looking to enhance existing metrics and develop a chapter for the NERC State of Reliability report by March Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

6 Compliance Enforcement and Input Working Group (CEIWG) CEIWG Chair Mr. Paul Crist gave an update on the progress of the working group. Physical Security Standard Working Group (PSSWG) PSSWG Chair Mr. Allan Wick reported that the CIP-014 survey was withdrawn, and all information received was destroyed without consideration. Agency Updates Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Mr. David Norton Mr. Norton did not have a prepared report, but answered questions from the CIPC members. FERC is working on the CIP V6 final rule, but could not comment on its schedule. He also noted that there is language in the currently approved TOP-003 standard dealing with secured communication, which may have CIP implications. Planning for the January technical conference on supply chain is underway. He also commented on the FERC-lead CIP audits for 2016, indicating that industry should not be fearful of them; they are expected to be conducted in a similar manner to ERO-lead audits. Department of Energy Mr. Jim McGlone Mr. McGlone provided an update on DOE activities and noted that there were 80 in attendance at the annual classified briefing, including Canadian participation and presentation. He solicited feedback on the brief to him via . The Sector Specific Plan is very close to being completed. Idaho National Laboratory will have an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) effects and mitigation study available in early DOE is working on an all-hazards space weather plan to fold into larger government plans, and also working on the Clear Path 4 and Cascadia Rising exercises for next year. Department of Homeland Security Mr. Ben Mayo and Ms. Casey Ateah Mr. Mayo has replaced Adria Martinez as the DHS NPPD liaison for the electricity sub-sector, and is looking forward to continued CIPC involvement. DHS is working with DOE on all 16 Sector Specific Plans, and will be posted publicly soon. National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) updates will be announced by Secretary Johnson Ms. Ateah (based in Atlanta, with DHS Region IV) gave an overview of getting products and services into the hands and eyes of the private industry partners that can use it. There is a pilot program running in Region IV to improve consumption and coordinate DHS efforts and programs, with the 13 PSAs in the Region leading the effort. Adjournment There being no further business, and upon motion to adjourn by Chair Abell, the CIPC adjourned on December 16 at 10:44 a.m. (EST). Submitted by, Scott R Mix NERC Staff Meeting Minutes Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

7 Agenda Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15, :00 5:00 p.m. (EST) December 16, :00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. (EST) Westin Buckhead Atlanta 3391 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA (404) Meeting Room: Ballroom B, 4 th Floor Electricity Sub-sector Classified Briefing December 15, :00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. (EST) FBI Atlanta Field Office Training Room, 3rd floor 2635 Century Parkway, N.E. Atlanta, GA Advance registration was required to attend briefing. Capacity for this event has been reached. Introductions and Welcome Mr. Chuck Abell, CIPC Chair, Ameren Services NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines and Public Announcement Mr. Sam Chanoski, CIPC Secretary, NERC Reliability Risk Management Agenda Items 1. Opening Remarks Mr. Jerry Donovan, President and CEO, Georgia Transmission Corporation 2. Administrative Mr. Sam Chanoski, CIPC Secretary, NERC Reliability Risk Management a. Safety Briefing and Emergency Precautions, Westin Staff b. Declaration of CIPC Quorum c. CIPC Roster d. Parliamentary Procedures In the absence of specific provisions in the CIPC charter, the committee shall conduct its meetings guided by the most recent edition of Robert s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. 3. Consent Agenda Mr. Chuck Abell, CIPC Chair, Ameren Services a. Draft September CIPC Minutes

8 b. Committee Membership Appointments and Changes: TRE David Grubbs City of Garland Operations TRE Jim Brenton ERCOT Cyber TRE Darrell Klimitcheck STEC Physical FRCC Paul McClay TECO Cyber FRCC Carter Manucy FMPA Physical FRCC Joe Garmon Seminole Operations MRO Marc Child Great River Cyber MRO Paul Crist LES Physical MRO Vacant Operations NPCC John Galloway ISO-NE Operations NPCC Greg Goodrich NYISO Cyber NPCC David Cadregari Iberdrola USA Physical RFC Larry Bugh RFirst Cyber RFC Kent Kujala Detroit Operations RFC Jeff Fuller DPL Physical SERC Chuck Abell Ameren Operations SERC Cynthia Hill-Watson TVA Cyber SERC Bruce Martin Duke Energy Physical SPP John Breckenridge KCPL Physical SPP Allen Klassen Westar Operations SPP Eric Ervin Westar Cyber WECC Allan Wick Tri-State Physical WECC Mike Mertz PNM Cyber WECC Lisa Carrington APS Operations APPA Scott Smith Bryan TX Utilities Physical APPA Nathan Mitchell APPA Policy CEA Francis Bradley CEA Physical CEA Ross Johnson Capital Power Physical CEA David Dunn IESO Policy NRECA Robert Richhart Hoosier Policy NRECA David Revill Georgia Trans Policy 4. Chair s Remarks Mr. Chuck Abell, CIPC Chair, Ameren Services 5. Nominating Subcommittee Report Mr. Mike Mertz, Subcommittee Chair, PNM Resources a. Slate Recommendations for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) Members to the CIPC Executive Committee b. Election of SMEs to CIPC Executive Committee 6. E-ISAC Update Mr. Marc Sachs, Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer, NERC E-ISAC 7. Physical Security Advisory Group Update Mr. Bob Canada, NERC E-ISAC 8. GridEx III Initial Post-Exercise Observations Mr. Bill Lawrence, NERC E-ISAC Agenda Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

9 9. Update: Development of Additional Guidance for CIP Physical Security Mr. Carl Herron, NERC Reliability Assurance 10. Update: CIP V5 Transition and CIP V5 Revisions Mr. Tobias Whitney, NERC Reliability Assurance 11. WECC CIP V5 Survey Dr. Joe Baugh, WECC 12. North American Transmission Forum (NATF) - Security Practices Group Activity Update Mr. Jim Rowan, NATF 13. Reliability Issues Steering Committee (RISC) Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, CIPC Vice Chair and representative to RISC, American Public Power Association (APPA) 14. Legislative Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, CIPC Vice Chair, APPA 15. Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council Update Mr. Nathan Mitchell, CIPC Vice Chair and representative to RISC, APPA 16. Operating Security Subcommittee Mr. Jim Brenton, CIPC Vice Chair and Subcommittee Chair, ERCOT a. Grid Exercise Working Group (GEWG) Mr. Jim Brenton, Subcommittee Chair, will report on behalf of GEWG Chair Tim Conway on GridEx III post-exercise activities. GEWG Charter b. Business Continuity Guideline Task Force (BCGTF) Mr. Darren Myers, BCGTF Chair, Duke Energy, will report on GridEx II assignments to the BCGTF. BCGTF Charter approved by CIPC through ballot on August 22, Cybersecurity Subcommittee Mr. Marc Child, Subcommittee Chair, Great River Energy b. Security Training Working Group (STWG) Mr. William Whitney III, STWG Chair, City of Garland Power and Light, will report on the STWG progress, scheduled training, and contemplated webinars. STWG Charter 18. Physical Security Subcommittee Mr. David Grubbs, Subcommittee Chair, City of Garland Power and Light a. Physical Security Working Group (PSWG) Mr. Ross Johnson, PSWG Chair, Capital Power will report on the progress of work completed and contemplated. PSWG Charter b. Physical Security Guidelines Task Force (PSGTF) Mr. John Breckenridge, PSGTF Chair, Kansas City Power and Light, will report on updates to the Threat and Incident Reporting Security Guideline. PRGTF Charter Electricity Sector: Physical Security Response Guideline Agenda Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

10 19. Policy Subcommittee Mr. Nathan Mitchell, CIPC Vice Chair, APPA a. Bulk Electric System Security Metrics Working Group (BESSMWG) Mr. Nathan Mitchell, APPA, will report on behalf of the BESSMWG on the progress of work completed and contemplated. BESSMWG Charter State of Reliability 2015 b. Compliance Enforcement and Input Working Group (CEIWG) Mr. Paul Crist, CEIWG Chair, Lincoln Electric System, will report on the progress of the work completed and contemplated. CEIWG Charter c. Physical Security Standard Working Group (PSSWG) Mr. Allan Wick, PSSWG Chair, Tri-State G&T, will report on the progress of the work completed and contemplated. PSSWG Charter Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee Security Guideline for the Electricity Subsector Reliability Standard CIP-014 (Physical Security), Requirement R6 Practices Guide approved by CIPC through ballot on June 22; submitted to industry for comment through August Agency Updates a. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Mr. David Norton b. Department of Energy Mr. Jim McGlone c. Department of Homeland Security Mr. Ben Mayo 21. Schedule of Important Dates: Dates Time Type Location Hotel December 15, 2015 December 15, 2015 December 16, 2015 March 7, 2016 March 8, 2016 March 8, 2016 March 9, :00 a.m. Noon Noon 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - Noon 1:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - Noon Noon 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - Noon DHS/DOE Energy Sector Classified Briefing (No CIPC Workshop) CIPC Meeting CIPC Workshop CIPC Meeting Atlanta, GA Atlanta, GA Louisville, KY Louisville, KY FBI Atlanta FBI Training Room, 3 rd floor 2635 Century Parkway, N.E. Atlanta, GA Westin Buckhead Hotel 3391 Peachtree Rd N.E. Atlanta, GA (404) Hyatt Regency Louisville 311 S 4 th Street Louisville, KY (502) Hyatt Regency Louisville 311 S 4 th Street Louisville, KY (502) Agenda Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

11 Dates Time Type Location Hotel June 7, :00 a.m. Noon CIPC Workshop TBD June 7, 2016 June 8, 2016 Noon 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - Noon CIPC Meeting TBD Westin Buckhead Hotel 3391 Peachtree Rd N.E. Atlanta, GA (404) Westin Buckhead Hotel 3391 Peachtree Rd N.E. Atlanta, GA (404) September 13, :00 a.m. Noon CIPC Workshop TBD TBD September 13, 2016 September 14, 2016 Noon 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - Noon CIPC Meeting TBD TBD October 17-21, :00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. GridSecCon 2016 Quebec City, QC TBD December 13, 2016 December 13, 2016 December 14, :00 a.m. Noon Noon 5:00 p.m. 8:00a.m. - Noon 22. Closing Remarks and Action Items 23. Adjournment Energy Sector Classified Briefing (No CIPC Workshop) CIPC Meeting TBD Atlanta, GA TBD Westin Buckhead Hotel 3391 Peachtree Rd N.E. Atlanta, GA (404) Agenda Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee December 15-16,

12 NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines I. General It is NERC s policy and practice to obey the antitrust laws and to avoid all conduct that unreasonably restrains competition. This policy requires the avoidance of any conduct that violates, or that might appear to violate, the antitrust laws. Among other things, the antitrust laws forbid any agreement between or among competitors regarding prices, availability of service, product design, terms of sale, division of markets, allocation of customers or any other activity that unreasonably restrains competition. It is the responsibility of every NERC participant and employee who may in any way affect NERC s compliance with the antitrust laws to carry out this commitment. Antitrust laws are complex and subject to court interpretation that can vary over time and from one court to another. The purpose of these guidelines is to alert NERC participants and employees to potential antitrust problems and to set forth policies to be followed with respect to activities that may involve antitrust considerations. In some instances, the NERC policy contained in these guidelines is stricter than the applicable antitrust laws. Any NERC participant or employee who is uncertain about the legal ramifications of a particular course of conduct or who has doubts or concerns about whether NERC s antitrust compliance policy is implicated in any situation should consult NERC s General Counsel immediately. II. Prohibited Activities Participants in NERC activities (including those of its committees and subgroups) should refrain from the following when acting in their capacity as participants in NERC activities (e.g., at NERC meetings, conference calls and in informal discussions): Discussions involving pricing information, especially margin (profit) and internal cost information and participants expectations as to their future prices or internal costs. Discussions of a participant s marketing strategies. Discussions regarding how customers and geographical areas are to be divided among competitors. Discussions concerning the exclusion of competitors from markets. Discussions concerning boycotting or group refusals to deal with competitors, vendors or suppliers. Any other matters that do not clearly fall within these guidelines should be reviewed with NERC s General Counsel before being discussed. III. Activities That Are Permitted From time to time decisions or actions of NERC (including those of its committees and subgroups) may have a negative impact on particular entities and thus in that sense adversely impact competition.

13 Decisions and actions by NERC (including its committees and subgroups) should only be undertaken for the purpose of promoting and maintaining the reliability and adequacy of the bulk power system. If you do not have a legitimate purpose consistent with this objective for discussing a matter, please refrain from discussing the matter during NERC meetings and in other NERC-related communications. You should also ensure that NERC procedures, including those set forth in NERC s Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Rules of Procedure are followed in conducting NERC business. In addition, all discussions in NERC meetings and other NERC-related communications should be within the scope of the mandate for or assignment to the particular NERC committee or subgroup, as well as within the scope of the published agenda for the meeting. No decisions should be made nor any actions taken in NERC activities for the purpose of giving an industry participant or group of participants a competitive advantage over other participants. In particular, decisions with respect to setting, revising, or assessing compliance with NERC reliability standards should not be influenced by anti-competitive motivations. Subject to the foregoing restrictions, participants in NERC activities may discuss: Reliability matters relating to the bulk power system, including operation and planning matters such as establishing or revising reliability standards, special operating procedures, operating transfer capabilities, and plans for new facilities. Matters relating to the impact of reliability standards for the bulk power system on electricity markets, and the impact of electricity market operations on the reliability of the bulk power system. Proposed filings or other communications with state or federal regulatory authorities or other governmental entities. Matters relating to the internal governance, management and operation of NERC, such as nominations for vacant committee positions, budgeting and assessments, and employment matters; and procedural matters such as planning and scheduling meetings. NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines 2