Market Meeting Support Susan Munson ERCOT Retail Market Liaison Commercial Operations Subcommittee (COPS) June 10, 2008

2 Overview Outline of Market Working Group and Task Force support project Recommended general guidelines for Working Groups and Task Forces Draft responsibilities of ERCOT Working Group/Task Force Meeting Facilitator and ERCOT Meeting SME Questions and Discussion

3 Market Meeting Support Project

4 Background ERCOT Meeting Management concept was developed 3 years ago –Meeting Manager –Meeting Subject Matter Expert (SME) –Meeting Services Coordinator –Meeting Records Coordinator Changes since: new market leadership, new ERCOT meeting representatives and subject- matter experts Revisited current ERCOT support of working groups and task forces

5 What’s going on now with Meeting Support? Scope of project: Coordinate, revise, and document Working Group and Task Force support for ERCOT Market Operations Roles and Responsibilities defined and documented (including name change: Meeting Manager  Meeting Facilitator) Collaborate with Working Group and Task Force leadership to determine their support needs Present support requirements to ERCOT Meeting Facilitators and SMEs

6 Guidelines for Working Groups & Task Forces

7 Where can I find these Guidelines? TAC webpage on ERCOT.com To access the Guidelines for Working Groups and Task Forces: – –Select Committees and Groups –Select Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) –Under Key Documents

8 Focus on 3 areas... Meeting Notices, Agendas, and Material Distribution (Communications) Room Accommodations, conference bridge (Logistics) Meeting Management (Leadership) Guidelines for Working Groups and Task Forces

9 Communications Meeting Notice, Agenda and Material Distribution Leadership needs to... Make sure meeting notices are sent to the subcommittee distribution list or working group distribution list, if there is one established, and posted on the ERCOT website at least one week prior to the meeting Ensure meeting notices include an agenda of topics to be discussed as well as any key documents to be reviewed Review prior meeting notes and/or contact key parties to gather agenda items

10 Communications Meeting Notice, Agenda and Material Distribution Leadership needs to... Review and know assignments from within the governance structure (i.e. from subcommittee to working group/task force) Identify agenda items that are expected to have materials for distribution. Background materials and presentations for agenda items should be made available in advance. Have meeting materials posted to the ERCOT website. If you do not have an assigned ERCOT representative, please send material to for posting. Identify and contact agenda item presenters with enough lead time for adequate preparation.

11 Logistics Room Accommodations/Conference Bridge It is the responsibility of the WG/TF Chair to contact the ERCOT Client Relations Specialist (Sheila Letkeman at or ) to arrange meeting accommodations. When making your request, please provide the following information to aid in fulfilling the request: Preferred date (may provide alternatives in case your requested date is not available) Start-time and duration of meeting Name of meeting Number of attendees anticipated

12 Logistics Room Accommodations/Conference Bridge When making your request, please provide the following information to aid in fulfilling the request: Number of telephone lines needed for a conference bridge Audio-visual needs, if any Any other special requirements For the first meeting of newly created Task Forces, please note which subcommittee you report to. This will aid in aligning you correctly on the ERCOT website.

13 Leadership Meeting Management Identify who will be responsible for taking meeting notes and capturing action items Call meeting to order If utilizing a conference line, verify that call is working and invite phone attendees to announce their participation Circulate a sign-in sheet to document attendance

14 Leadership Meeting Management Note the Anti-Trust Admonition Review agenda and announce any changes Proceed through agenda. All submitted written comments to pending issues should be addressed. Discussion and debate Review meeting outcome, action items and next steps

15 Effective Use of Resources: Communication between Leadership and ERCOT Coordinate working group/task force activities Understand each other’s roles and responsibilities Bottom Line

16 ERCOT Meeting Facilitation

17 Facilitate "facilitate." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 07 Apr To make easier or less difficult; help forward (an action, a process, etc.): Careful planning facilitates any kind of work. 2. To assist the progress of (a person).

18 ERCOT Meeting Facilitator Role: The purpose of the ERCOT Meeting Facilitator is to support an assigned working group or task force and its leadership. The depth and breadth of meeting facilitation supported by ERCOT is determined by mutual agreement between group leadership and ERCOT Staff. The ERCOT Meeting Facilitator role is flexible. Accountabilities: The ERCOT Meeting Facilitator is accountable to Chair / Vice Chair Core Team assigned to working group/task force Internal ERCOT teams that support the Working Group or Task Force

19 ERCOT Meeting Facilitator What does this mean to Working Group/Task Force Leadership? Communicate to ERCOT Meeting Facilitator what support services are needed and expected. Recommendation is to meet and define responsibilities upon change of leadership or ERCOT facilitator and upon formation of a new group

20 ERCOT Meeting Facilitator Responsibilities may include:  Coordination of agendas, meeting materials (internal and external), as well as scheduling review sessions (pre and post) in order to be able to lead market discussions about the agenda topics  Participation in Agenda Call  Meeting Preparation –Follow up with non-ERCOT on meeting presentations –Receive presentations and distribute to working group/task force members –Posting to the web

21 ERCOT Meeting Facilitator Responsibilities may include: Meeting Day Coordination –ERCOT input coordination - If it’s an issue related to ERCOT, but the right person isn’t in the room, try to get appropriate ERCOT resource on the phone or coordinate getting a response back to the working group/task force after the meeting –Take notes at the meeting Post-Meeting –Send external meeting summary to working group/task force chairs and request redlines to the notes –Post the final draft of the external meeting summary to the working group’s web page on ERCOT.com

22 ERCOT Subject Matter Expert (SME) Role: The purpose of an ERCOT Subject Matter Expert (SME) is to aid in market discussions about specific topics. Accountabilities: The ERCOT Subject Matter Expert (SME) is accountable to Chair / Vice Chair Core Team assigned to working group/task force Internal ERCOT teams who support the working group/task force

23 ERCOT Subject Matter Expert (SME) Responsibilities may include: Attendance at assigned market meetings Preparing materials and presenting it at meetings Review meeting agenda and prepare for agenda items to be discussed and presented During meeting, answer questions and provide input on issues on behalf of ERCOT

24 COPS Working Groups and Task Forces

25 Summary We talked about... Market Working Group and Task Force support project Recommended general guidelines for Working Groups and Task Forces Draft responsibilities of ERCOT Working Group/Task Force Meeting Facilitator and ERCOT Meeting SME

26 Questions