January 14, 2013Facilitator: Dr. Jonathan Raab, Raab

Associates, Ltd

MA DPU Grid Modernization: Overview & Draft Groundrules

Goal of Working Group

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Develop recommendations for the DPU in moving forward with grid modernizationEducation and joint fact finding on grid-facing and

customer-facing electric grid modernization opportunities

Understanding stakeholders’ perspectives on opportunities, benefits, costs, challenges, and concerns

Identifying and evaluating strategy and regulatory options for Massachusetts

Make recommendations to DPU on strategy and regulatory options, noting the level of agreement

Scope of Working Group

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Working Group Structure

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Steering Committee—(Group that will ultimately make recommendations to the DPU)

Two Subcommittees—(Serving the Steering Committee by conducting research, framing options, and providing advice on select issues)Grid-FacingCustomer-Facing

Technical Advisory Panel—Decided not to have formal Panel but to solicit expertise (e.g., to make presentations, provide information, etc.) as needed; meetings open to non-Steering & Subcommittee members

Distribution of Scope

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Steering CommitteeCost-Effectiveness MethodologyGrid Modernization Policies (including cost-recovery)Integrating Work of Grid- and Customer-Facing

SubcommitteesOther Issues/Concerns: Health, Interoperability,

Cybersecurity, & Privacy • Grid-Facing SubcommitteeOpportunities, Benefits, and Costs Related to Grid-

Facing OptionsGrid Facing-TechnologiesPace of Grid-Facing Modernization Implementation

Note: All Subcommittee scope will be framed, vetted, and ultimately used to inform Steering Committee recommendations

Meeting Dates

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Steering Committee

Customer-Facing Subcommittee

Grid-Facing Subcommittee

December 17 January 9 January 14

February 5 February 26 February 28

March 12 April 4 April 10

April 23 May 14 May 22

June 5

Working Group Process Flow—Interplay Steering and Subcommittees

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Meeting # Steering CommitteeSubcommittee—Customer-Facing

Subcommittee—Grid-Facing

1 Education (12/17)

A Education (1/9) Education (1/14)

2 Education/Option Generation (2/5)

B

Option Generation/Evaluation

(2/26)

Option Generation/Evaluation

(2/28)

3Option Generation/Evaluation

(3/12)

CRecommendation

Development (4/4)Recommendation

Development (4/10)

4Recommendation Development

(4/23)

DRecommendation Refinement (5/14)

Recommendation Refinement (5/22)

5Finalizing Recommendations/

Report Development (6/5)

Website

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http://magrid.raabassociates.org/Dates/meeting locationsAll documents (NOI, agendas, meeting

summaries, ppt presentations, background documents)

Membership (Names and contact information for Steering Committee and Subcommittee members)

Groundrules

(Participation, Roles & Responsibilities, and Decisionmaking)

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Participation Each representative in the Steering Committee can designate

an alternate (drawn either from their own organization or from another related organization).

Only the representative or alternate (in the case of the representative’s absence or delegation), will have a seat at the inner table and participate in any formal deliberations (negotiation and recommendation decisions).

Steering Committee representatives can participate in all discussions and deliberations. Alternates will also be able to participate in discussions at times designated by the Facilitator, although only the representative at the table will participate in formal deliberations.

Other attendees who are not representatives or alternates, will also be given a chance to express their opinions and make suggestions at appropriate junctures, as time allows and as determined by the Facilitator.

Ex Officio representatives (and their alternates), DPU and EOEEA, can participate in all discussions but will refrain from participating in any deliberations.

Subcommittee participation will be similarly structured and managed10

Roles & Responsibilities: MembersSteering Committee and Subcommittee representatives and

alternates will make every attempt to attend all applicable meetings, to be on-time, and to review all documents disseminated prior to the meeting.

If a representative or his\her alternate cannot attend a meeting, the representative should let the Facilitator know prior to the meeting (by telephone or e-mail).

Representatives, alternates, and other participants are charged with participating in a constructive forum where diverse points of view are voiced and examined in a professional and balanced way. Personal attacks are not permitted.

All representatives and alternates agree to act in good faith in the discussions. ‘Good faith’ means that they will be forthright and communicative about the interests and preferences of their organization and will actively seek agreement wherever possible.

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Roles & Responsibilities: Members (continued)It is the responsibility of the representatives and

alternates to keep their organizations informed of developments in the working group process.

Members (representatives and alternates) may confer with each other during meeting breaks and in between meetings, and are encouraged to do so.

Members (representative and alternates) are not permitted to quote or otherwise represent other members of the working group process to the press or other outside entities (including in blogs), or to speak on behalf of the Steering Committee (or Subcommittees) unless so designated by the Steering Committee.

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Roles & Responsibilities: Facilitator & ConsultantThe Facilitator & Consultant Team’s primary function is to help

design and manage productive and well-informed meetings. The Team will also be responsible for recording points of agreement and disagreement.

 The Team will impartially, and in a non-partisan manner, (not favoring any representative, alternate, or organization over another), facilitate all meetings of the Steering Committee and Subcommittees.

The Team will prepare draft agendas and meeting summaries in a timely fashion for distribution to the members.

All documents will be posted on a web site maintained by the Team for the duration of the process, and the Team will provide email notice when new documents are posted on the website.

The Team will take the lead in assembling the Final Report to the DPU on the Steering Committee’s behalf, and with their review and sign-off.

Team members are free to talk with Members (representative and alternates) outside the regularly scheduled meeting as they deem appropriate, and Members (representatives and alternates) are free to discuss pertinent matters with the Team if and when the need arises.

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Report Recommendations Decision-making

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The goal of the process is to make substantive recommendations by agreement of the Steering Committee Members (organizations) where possible.

The Steering Committee’s Final Report to the DPU at the end of the process will identify all areas of agreement, and will provide a description of the alternative approaches preferred by members if and where the Committee is split on what to recommend.

Where multiple options are offered, Steering Committee Members supporting alternative approaches will ascribe their organizations’ names to their preferred alternative.

There will also be an opportunity for organizations participating in the Subcommittees (who are not Steering Committee Members) and possibly other interested stakeholder organizations to add their organization’s names to the report, and to note their preferences in any areas where multiple options are offered by the Steering Committee. (These other organizations will not, however, be able to introduce

other options into the Report that are not put forward by the Steering Committee.)

Ex Officio Members (DPU & EOEEA) will not participate directly in decision-making or add their organizational names to the Final Report.

Report Recommendations Additional Information & Comments

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Working Group Members (and any other organization that adds its name to the Final Report—i.e., a signatory organization) can provide supporting information and supplemental comments to the DPU, within the timeframe and format (e.g., page limit) specified by the DPU, as long as such information and comments are consistent with the positions taken by that Member (or any other signatory organization) within the Final Report.

Working Group can provide recommendations in its Final Report regarding the process (including next steps) that the DPU should take regarding its Grid Modernization NOI.