EDTF Outreach Plan1

Background

WECC created the Environmental Data Task Force (EDTF) in 2010, as a subgroup of the Scenario Planning Steering Group (SPSG), to identify available sources of environmental and cultural data and to recommend ways that these data could be used in transmission planning. Since 2010, the EDTF, as the “face” of WECC’s environmental and cultural activities, has established many ongoing activities, and has created many tools and products to support transmission planning activities for WECC and its stakeholders. The EDTF has developed this outreach plan to expand the scope and effectiveness of WECC’s environmental/cultural planning activities.

Goals and Objectives for EDTF Outreach

Goals. The EDTF’s core goals for stakeholder outreach are to:

  1. Inform stakeholders and partner organizations aboutWECC’s environmental/cultural activities, tools and products;
  2. Advise stakeholders about how WECC’s tools and products can be used to support their planning activities; and
  3. Ensure that WECC’s environmental/cultural products reflect the interests and expertise of the diverse stakeholders in the Western Interconnection.

Objectives. To achieve these goals, the stakeholder outreach focuses on the following five objectives:

  1. Provide stakeholders with accessible, clear, and comprehensive information about the EDTF’s activities and opportunities for engagement.
  2. Identify and promote opportunities for information-sharing and collaboration with partners and complementary programs and organizations.
  3. Provide a process that includes meaningful and timely input regarding interests, information, and ideas from a diverse group of stakeholders into WECC’s environmental/cultural processes and products using a variety of engagement approaches.
  4. Document input gathered through the engagement process, acknowledge receipt of input to the extent practical, make it available where feasible, and explain to stakeholders how input has shaped EDTF processes and products.
  5. Revise and refine stakeholder outreach approaches based on those shown to be most effective.

Outreach Focus for 2015

The EDTF’s stakeholder outreach in 2015 will continue to build upon existing WECC outreach activities. The outreach process is designed to ensure that those interested in regional transmission planning in the Western Interconnection are aware of the environmental/cultural resources available through WECC and know how to participate in the ongoing refinement of WECC’s environmental/cultural products and processes. Broadly, these stakeholders include:

  1. Governments (including federal, state, provincial, tribal, and First Nation);
  2. Electric industry representatives;
  3. Non-governmental organizations;
  4. Federal, regional, and state planning bodies; and
  5. WECC members and those involved in existing WECC committees, task forces, and work groups.

Direct Outreach through Written Communications

Many of the stakeholders on the EDTF represent broad constituencies. EDTF members will continue to use direct outreach (through emails, blog posts, constituent-focused listservs, and other communication methods) to inform existing WECC and SPSG stakeholders and broader constituent groups about EDTF activities, processes, and opportunities for engagement.

Website

The WECC website is the hub for information about environmental and cultural considerations for WECC’s regional transmission planning process. The website includes current environmental planning documents,summaries for recent EDTF, SPSG, and other planning meetings, and a calendar of upcoming meetings, webinars, and teleconferences.Specific documents include:

  • Historical environmental reports and explanatory documents;
  • EDTF meeting summaries;
  • A Fact Sheet about the EDTF and its activities;
  • A downloadable set of PowerPoint slides describing current EDTF activities and upcoming actions; and
  • Announcementsof upcoming events.

Informational Webinars

WECC staff and EDTF members frequently use webinars to demonstrate environmental products and processes. Both WECC stakeholders and EDTF members will have available a standard set of PowerPoint slides, and additional resources as appropriate, to provide information about the EDTF’s activities and WECC’s environmental and cultural resource products to a wider set of regional transmission planningstakeholders.

Presentations and Speaking Engagements

As time permits, EDTF members will speak to organizations whose members seek to understand and potentially contribute to the EDTF’spurpose and activities. These may include the following and other organizations and forums:

  1. Meetings of partner/complementary efforts (e.g. State-Provincial Steering Committee (SPSC), Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation (CREPC), WECC Subregional Planning Groups (SPGs), Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC), Western Governors’ Association (WGA), Western States Water Council, Western Governors’ Wildlife Council, etc.).
  2. Utility and energy planning conferences.
  3. Land use planning and/or resource protection forums and conferences.
  4. State, provincial, tribal, and First Nation energy and/or environmental forums.

Activities and Timeline for 2014-2015 Outreach

WECC staff and EDTF members will undertake the following outreach activities in the 2014-2015 timeframe:

Activity / Timeframe / Method
Develop and post EDTF Fact Sheet / December 2014 / Kearns & West and WECC will develop a draft Fact Sheet for EDTF review, approval, and posting
Distribute EDTF Fact Sheet to stakeholders / January 2015 / WECC will coordinate with EDTF members to ensure distribution to appropriate constituents, including:
  1. State and provincial energy offices and public utilities commissions
  2. Resource communities
  3. Professional societies
  4. State Natural Heritage Programs
  5. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  6. Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (APLIC)
  7. State Game & Fish agency planning offices
  8. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Landscape Scale Energy Action Plan (LEAP) & Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS)
  9. Western Golden Eagle Conservation Team
  10. American Society of Foresters
  11. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service transmission committee
  12. UC Davis listserv
  13. Tribal and First Nation representatives

Develop and post EDTF Stock PowerPoint Presentation / December 2014 / Kearns & West and WECC will develop a draft PowerPoint presentation for EDTF review, approval, and posting
Conduct informational webinars and demonstrations / Ongoing, 2014-2015 / WECC, ICF, and Kearns & West will work with the EDTF Planning Team to determine appropriate opportunities for informational webinars and demonstrations.
Specifically, WECC and the EDTF will conduct the following demonstrations about the WECC Data Viewer and Data Layer:
  1. Northern Tier Transmission Group (coordinated via Jamie Austin, PacifiCorp)
  2. ColumbiaGrid (coordinated via Fred Heutte, Northwest Energy Coalition)
  3. WestConnect & Colorado Coordinated Planning Group (coordinated via Harliv Singh, Xcel Energy)

Conduct presentations at conferences and regional forums / Ongoing, 2014-2015 / Kearns & West and WECC will work with the EDTF to coordinate presentations at select workshops. Presentations may include some of the following conferences, where possible:
  1. Transmission Summit West
  2. Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation (CREPC)/State-Provincial Steering Committee (SPSC) meeting
  3. National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
  4. Wind Wildlife Research Meeting
  5. Utah Governor’s Energy Development Summit
  6. International Right of Way Association conference
  7. Right of Way Management conference
  8. ESRI Conference

Circulate information using WECC social media / TBD / As WECC expands outreach activities to include social media, staff will work with the EDTF to develop the most productive ways to advance WECC’s environmental and cultural resource activities.
Evaluate and modify outreach approaches / June 2015, December 2015 / WECC will work with the EDTF Planning Team to determine the effectiveness of outreach strategies conducted to date and select appropriate modifications for the subsequent six-month period.

Western Electricity Coordinating Council