WICF Community

WICF Charter

History

The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) recognized a need for active interaction between WECC’s Compliance Staff and entities that are subject to WECC’s compliance enforcement authority, as delegated by the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO). To meet that need, WECC established outreach with a mission to provide an open forum for the exchange of information regarding the WECC Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP) for mandatory and enforceable NERC and WECC Reliability Standards (Reliability Standards) in the Western Interconnection. Many entities in the Western Interconnection expressed the need for a forum independent of WECC. As a result of these discussions the Western Interconnection Compliance Forum (WICF) was formed in 2007 as a new organization within the Western Interconnection supported by and on behalf of entities that are subject to Reliability Standards. Over time, WICF’s focus expanded to include the sharing of lessons learned, risk management approaches, internal control practices, and other strategies that support effective compliance programs and the reliable operation of the Bulk Power System. A WICF Steering Committee has been formed that is comprised of volunteers representing various entities in the WICF membership.

Vision Statement

WICF provides entities subjected to Reliability Standards and related reliability oversight activities within the Western Interconnection a forum to share knowledge, lessons learned, emerging risks, internal control practices, compliance matters, and effective program strategies that promote continuous improvement and support the reliable and secure operation of the Bulk Power System.

Purpose

The purpose of WICF is to:

  • Provide an open forum for members to share compliance lessons learned, risk insights, internal control practices, and effective methods for implementing and sustaining compliance with Reliability Standards.
  • Promote a common understanding of NERC and WECC compliance, monitoring, risk, and oversight expectations within the Western Interconnection, including the effective implementation of internal controls and reliability-focused compliance programs.
  • Identify, communicate, and discuss issues, risks, emerging trends, lessons learned, and potential solutions that may impact the ability of Registered Entities to comply with and effectively meet the intent and requirements of Reliability Standards.
  • Foster a collaborative relationship among Registered Entities, WECC, and NERC where the collective voice of the WICF membership can be heard in an effort to promote effective, efficient, risk-informed, and reasonable approaches to reliability compliance, risk management, internal controls, and Reliability Standards implementation.

Membership

To join WICF, an individual must demonstrate one of the following eligibility requirements and must not be in an Enforcement role:

  • Anyone currently employed by a NERC Registered Entity operating in the Western Interconnection,
  • Anyone under contract by a NERC Registered Entity operating in the Western Interconnection to perform work related to NERC compliance for that Registered Entity,
  • Anyone currently employed by a NERC Registered Entity operating in the Western Interconnection that previously had a defined NCR number, but has been deregistered, whose responsibilities include electric utility compliance,
  • Anyone employed by a company which has received written confirmation from WECC of a pending NERC registration, or
  • Employees of industry organizations or trade associations whose membership in WICF is determined to be beneficial to the membership. Industry organization and trade association memberships will be approved by the WICF Steering Committee. A list of industry organizations and trade associations with membership will be subject to review at any time and will be provided to a member upon request. 

All WICF members may attend and participate in meetings, vote, and access and supplement the organization’s private members-only website (EEI’s Engage WICF Community).

If a member ends employment or contractual obligation with that NERC Registered Entity or WICF Steering Committee approved industry organization or trade association under which his/her membership was granted or changes status (for example, an individual who was an employee when membership was granted who becomes a contractor for the organization for which he/she was previously employed), the member shall notify WICF upon the end of the affiliation for membership termination. If the member expects to continue WICF membership via reestablishment of member qualifications as required in this Charter, membership shall be suspended until qualification is reestablished.

Access to both the WICF meetings and members-only website is granted to professionals who are seeking information in their efforts to improve the mandatory reliability compliance industry, but not for direct financial benefit. Any member who is determined to be directly soliciting business from the WICF membership through its forum and/or benefiting financially from membership may have membership revoked by a majority vote of the Steering Committee. WICF members concerned with the activity or behavior of any member may file their concern with a WICF Steering Committee member.

Access to WICF closed meetings or the members-only website are not intended for individuals that perform a monitoring or enforcement role in any Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program that relates to the Reliability Standards.

It is the intention of the WICF Steering Committee that all material discussed at WICF meetings and on the members-only website shall be treated as confidential and proprietary and is restricted to internal use only within the WICF membership. However, the WICF Steering Committee cannot guarantee complete confidentiality of all information, so members must assume responsibility for its protection and use it at their own risk. Information is not intended to be released to the public, media, individuals that perform a monitoring or enforcement role, or other personnel who do not have a valid need to know.

WICF Steering Committee Qualifications

In order to run for a position on the WICF Steering Committee, WICF members must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Currently employed by a NERC Registered Entity operating in the Western Interconnection with a defined NCR number, or
  • Currently employed by a company which has received written confirmation from WECC of a pending NERC Registration.


In Canadian provinces where a registry is held separate from NERC, that region’s registry will be considered the equivalent of the NERC Registry.

WICF Steering Committee Structure and Operation

Steering Committee Officers: WICF Officers shall consist of a Chair, a Vice Chair, a member services manager and a Secretary each serving one (1) year terms until the next officer election, with no limit to the number of total terms. WICF Officers will be nominated and voted on by the WICF Steering Committee with the majority vote prevailing. The WICF shall hold annual elections for Officer positions no later than December 15. Officer terms shall commence on January 1 following the election and conclude on December 31 of that calendar year. To ensure continuity of leadership, incumbent officers shall remain in their positions until their successors are duly elected and assume office. To be eligible to serve as a WICF Officer, a Steering Committee member must first have served one full year as a Steering Committee member and have Reliability Standard compliance experience related to their employment at a Registered Entity.

The Steering Committee member responsibilities, under the direction of the WICF Officers, may include, but are not limited to, coordination of meetings, developing meeting agendas, managing WICF networking and communication tools, communication on compliance matters, and actions undertaken by WICF members that are consistent with the scope set forth in this Charter.

WICF Officers, or their designee, are expected to attend appropriate WECC meetings such as open sessions of the WECC Board and Committees meetings and the NERC Trades and Forums Meetings.

Steering Committee Members: It is the goal of the Steering Committee to represent the diversity of the Registered Entities within the Western Interconnection. The Steering Committee shall be composed of Registered Entity members of WICF, nominated and elected by receiving the largest number of votes from the membership. The Steering Committee is comprised of fourteen (14) members. Each Registered Entity is limited to one (1) Steering Committee representative. The Steering Committee may choose to accept or decline a representative from WECC and/or NERC to act as a liaison to the Steering Committee.

Terms: Steering Committee members shall serve three-year terms, with no limit on the number of terms a member may serve. To maintain continuity and staggered representation, approximately one-third of the Steering Committee positions shall be subject to election each year. The Steering Committee may, by majority vote, adjust individual term lengths as necessary to preserve the intent of staggered three-year terms and approximately one-third annual turnover.

  • Elections: The WICF shall hold annual elections for Steering Committee members in the fourth quarter of each calendar year. Steering Committee member terms shall commence on the next regularly scheduled Steering Committee meeting following the election and conclude after the annual election approximately three years later. To ensure continuity of the Steering Committee, incumbent members shall remain in their positions until their successors are duly elected and assume office. The election results will be posted.
  • Steering Committee Member Replacement: At times unexpected Steering Committee vacancies may occur. As necessary, the Steering Committee may choose to either conduct a new special election or appoint a Steering Committee Member to fill this unexpected vacancy. The Steering Committee will determine whether appointment or special election is most appropriate based on the timing of the vacancy. Alternatively, the Steering Committee could utilize a recent regular or special election to replace the Steering Committee Member vacancy with the candidate who obtained the next-largest number of votes from the membership as long as that candidate’s entity is not already represented on the Steering Committee. In both cases, a newly elected or appointed Steering Committee Member shall typically serve the remaining term of the vacancy.
  • Meetings: The Steering Committee shall meet in person or via teleconference/virtual meeting as necessary to fulfill its duties but not less than quarterly.  The WICF membership shall endeavor to meet at least once per calendar year. The date and time for the meeting shall be established by the Steering Committee.
  • Quorum for Voting: Any official motion of the WICF Steering Committee shall require a vote of its members to formally approve the matter. At least two-thirds (2/3) of the total Steering Committee membership shall be required to be present for a vote to be valid. A simple majority vote of the members present is required to approve the motion put forward.

WICF Voting: Any official motion of the WICF shall require a vote of its membership to formally approve the matter. Examples of official motions of the WICF may include, but are not limited to, amendments to the Charter, or election of Steering Committee members. Votes may occur either by secret ballot, at a regularly scheduled WICF meeting or via electronic balloting. A simple majority vote is required to approve the motion put forward.

Version History

VersionActionDateApproved
1.0New charter approved during the San Francisco meeting shortly after the creation of WICF.December 19, 2007WICF Meeting Vote
2.0Membership qualification, balloting process, & technical updates.September 2009WICF Meeting Vote
3.0Technical improvements for clarity, and created non-voting membership sector for contracted consultants and industry trade groups.October 18, 2011WICF Website Ballot
4.0Technical improvements for clarity, improvements on Steering Committee rotation of terms, and provision of special elections to replace vacancies while preserving one-third turnover of Steering Committee positions up for election.February 13, 2015WICF Website Ballot
5.0Clarified language on WICF membership, removed non-voting delineation – all members are voting, clarified Steering Committee candidate requirements, and extended WICF membership to employees of deregistered entities.November 15, 2017WICF Meeting Vote
5.1Corrected unintended language in trade group membership qualification, and clarified member notification to WICF of employment change.April 11, 2018WICF Steering Committee
6.0Technical improvements for clarity and addition of member services manager officer position. Addition of line number to facilitate review and reference process.October 25,2018WICF Meeting Vote
6.1Order of paragraphs rearranged to clarify document. Removed “not” from line 43.February 1, 2024WICF Steering Committee
6.2Clarified language on WICF membership to ensure contractors are working for a NERC Registered Entity operating in the Western Interconnection.October 28, 2024WICF Steering Committee
7.0Changed WICF History, Vision and Purpose to align with activities beyond strict compliance. Improved Steering Committee election and voting details due to one WECC Fall Workshop per year.October 29, 2026WICF Meeting Vote