Role of Account Management at ERCOT

1. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Nodal Training Project Debrief for TPTF September 12, 2006

2. Agenda • Readiness Discussion • Course Availability and Schedule • Nodal Training Communications • Standard Course Development Process • Project Planning and Budgeting Assumptions • Suggestions for Restructuring the Course Curriculum • LMS Update • Nodal 101 Course Update • LMP 201 Update • Work in Progress

3. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Readiness Discussion

4. Discussion • Materials have all been distributed • Summarized TAC comments • Market Readiness Requirements • Validate comments and discuss

5. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Course Availability and Schedule

6. TPTF Curriculum – Proposed Availability Schedule Available dates are based on current information, staffing and plan assumptions.

7. ERCOT Requested Supported Courses and Capabilities

8. Scheduling Assumptions • The available dates are based on the current EDS delivery schedule and phasing (prior to Sept, 2006) and the Curriculum descriptions regarding Training Readiness. • ERCOT Team refers to ERCOT staff and contractors who are developing an application. • Vendor assumes that the vendor developing the software is contracted to create and deliver the courses (including tests) in approved format. • Individual course delivery schedules are not currently scheduled other than for 101 The Basics (Typically delivery schedules are finalized 30 days before date available, rooms are preliminarily assigned at the beginning of course development). • WebEx productions are currently not scheduled. • All courses (other than LMP 201 which replaced LMP 101) will be hosted on LMS.

9. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Nodal Training Communication

10. Proposed Nodal Training Site • http://nodal.ercot.com/training/index.html

11. Proposed Course Pages

12. Communication Plan • For course updates and other nodal training information there are several ways is which information will be communicated. • Nodal training website • Nodal project news letter • Word of mouth • E-mail exploder lists – actual lists to be determined • During course delivery • TPTF presentations

13. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Course Development Process

14. 8 Hour Course Development Cycle – One Day Course Develop Preliminary Module Structure F.A.Q. Document Develop Quick Guides Compose WebEx Materials Schedule Course Design Course Migrate Materials to Web-Based Training Develop Course 5 Days 12 Days Deliver Courses 12 Days 54 Days 4 Days 12 Days 12 Days TPTF subgroup review of abstract and outline TPTF subgroup review of preliminary module Interactive Visual Training Map TPTF workshop Beta Publish Course 24 Days

15. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Current Nodal Training Budget and Plan Assumptions

16. Nodal Training Planning and Budgeting Assumptions • The training plan does not include the current ERCOT payments for WebEx sessions. ERCOT departments are allowed to use WebEx sessions without specifying the actual charge in budgets. WebEx sessions will not exceed 125 students per class session. • The training plan assumes the use of the current LMS with the purchase of Lectora to provide a testing platform. • Any required self-study presenters are provided from resources already allocated to the project. • For budgeting purposes we have used the lowest estimated cost ($6 per booklet) for production of the course booklets. This is not the current preferred ERCOT vendor for printing - Document Engine – which has estimated three times this much. Printing is black & white only. • Based on the Curriculum seven courses need to be transcribed for narration for web-based. • The number of students trained per active course per month by face to face is estimated at 50. • There are no charges included for ERCOT provided facility, software & supplies or for internally printed material.

17. Nodal Training Planning and Budgeting Assumptions • The level of effort is based on market-focused courses identified by the Market Participants in the “Curriculum" document, and those identified by the IRT group as required for ERCOT Readiness. Any additional training at ERCOT would be the responsibility of the particular department, though it is suggested that the standard formats and process being used by the Nodal Training Project may be of value. The market-focused course schedule and scope is to support the requirements dictated by the TPTF as documented in the Curriculum documents. Scaling of development effort is based on the course creation section of the process.

18. Nodal Training Planning and Budgeting Assumptions • PJM training is not being purchased. • Contractor travel expenses are included in vendor rates. • Other than LMP 201, all courses are presented by ERCOT staff or Training contractors. • The LMS contract is good for two years there is no guarantee of the same price from the vendor – OnLine Training – for the 3rd year. The cost of software licenses includes est. 10% sales tax. • All scenario based training is one day. • Nodal Program Office will provide a mechanism to monitor budget & time. • Training external to Texas can be provided at time and material reimbursement. • The cost of course delivery through 2009 is included in the Nodal Training budget with the assumption of using internal ERCOT resources. No assumption is made as to the provision of these resources. Approximately 14,000 hours have been budgeted using these internal resources at $65 hour. Should these resources not be available cost of contractors for training delivery could be as high as $165 an hour (including expenses). The current assumption is that each course, once available, will be presented once a month through market opening.

19. Nodal Training Planning and Budgeting Assumptions • The Annual ERCOT Operations Training Seminar will include at least 2 Hours of nodal material in the 2007 Seminar. The Seminar Working Group is expected to include more in the Seminar to be held in the fall of 2008; how much is yet to be determined. Since the 2009 Seminar is to be held in the fall of 2009, post Nodal implementation, operational implementation issues will be considered by the Seminar Working Group. Nodal Training will provide support and material to the Seminar as required. The current Early Delivery System (EDS) development timelines must consider all available options to prepare target populations for Nodal implementation. • The Extended Training – System Dynamics course is budgeted for development but not delivery as delivery (according to the Curriculum) occurs after 1/1/09. • The Nodal Training Budget does not include any activity or expenses after 1/1/09.

20. Training Travel Discussion • Training external to Texas can be provided at time and material reimbursement. • Training has currently budgeted for in-Texas training at four separate locations (North, South, East and West) at an ERCOT approved facility. • Market Participant support & travel is not included. • Budget assumes course travel for three people per month in Texas, with two nights out (three days) at one of the four locations. • Out-of-Austin facilities are assumed free and include projection and sound capability supporting an audience from 25-50 people. • Laptop is purchased for training use in out-of-Austin facilities, includes tax, support, and warranty.

21. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Suggestions for Reorganization of Nodal Training Curriculum for Budget Reduction

22. Nodal Training Budgeting • Background • Can the scope be reduced • Can we simplify the process • Can the scale be reduced • Can we reorganize the schedule • Must maintain the quality and content • Perspective • Nodal 101 Training in production • Development of five day Basic Training Course outline/abstract for QSEs • Familiarity with other components of the Nodal Project

23. Courses with no suggestions for curriculum changes • NOIE QSE Operations • Basic Training Program • Extended Training System Operations • ERCOT LMP 201 • Market Settlements 301 • CRRs, PCRRs etc • Support for Annual System Operations Seminar

24. Reduction of Face to Face Course Delivery • Rationale: The provision of Web-Based Training with electronic testing capability could provide the necessary coverage. Nodal Training will host a once-a-month question and answer conference-call for questions. In addition several of the course durations could be reduced. • Courses ImpactedSavings • ERCOT Nodal 101 After 2006 $ 75,000 • Transition to Nodal Markets $250,000 • Reduce to 4 hours (from 16 hours) as content is largely project information that might be provided in updates to TPTF and circulated on a regular basis. Course content still includes a description of the plans, major components and anticipated interaction points of the Market. • Transmission 101 $300,000 • Reduce to 10 hours (from 20 hours) as content is very specific to TSPs and DSPs and they are already required to attend the Basic Training QSE course per the Readiness discussions.

25. Consolidation of Generation Courses • Rationale: There are currently four courses that are generation focused for a total duration of 48 hours of classroom time. Based on the fact that this material will build on the Basic Training QSE course generation specific material could be provided over 16 hours of training (vastly reducing development and delivery time) with one possible format as follows: • Day 1, Morning Generation 101 • Day 1, Afternoon Generation 101, test 101 • Day 1, Afternoon Generation 201 • Day 2, Morning Generation 201, test 201 • Day 2, Afternoon Generation 301, test 301 • Day 2, Afternoon Wind Generation, test wind generation • Courses ImpactedSavings • Generation 101,201,301 $910,000 • Wind Generation 101 $290,000

26. Reduction of Course Duration • Rationale: Based on the current anticipated depth of material being created for the 5 Day Basic Training Program, the following courses could have their duration reduced. • Courses ImpactedSavings • Load Service Entity 201 $142,000 • (Reduce from 20 to 16 hours) • Network Model Management $ 76,000 • (Reduce from 16 to 8 hours)

27. Removal of courses from Nodal Training Plan and Budget • Rationale: This course can be scheduled for production and delivery after the 1/1/2009 date used for the Texas Nodal Training budget and plan. • Course ImpactedSavings • Scenario-Based Training $737,000 • Rationale: This course will be provided by the ERCOT Software Development Team in the form of presentations. • Course ImpactedSavings • MIS 101 $292,000

28. Additional Potential Savings • Item ImpactedSavings • Remove WebEx $ 78,000 • Remove Off-site Texas Training $ 90,000 • Remove support for vendor supplied training $100,000 • Drop Interactive Visual Training (Quality Impact) $100,000 • Drop Process Maps (Quality Impact) $429,000 • Drop Quick Guides (Quality Impact) $273,000 • Drop FAQ (Quality Impact) $ 55,000

29. ItemsSavings Curriculum Restructuring $3,072,000 No off-site Texas training $ 90,000 Drop WebEx $ 78,000 Drop Vendor Training Support $ 100,000 Reduce Training Quality $ 857,000 Budget Saving Summary

30. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education LMS Update

31. Business Drivers • Tracking and reporting on Nodal Market Readiness • Automation of as many processes as possible • Support for distance learning • MPs need to be able to manage their own students • Mapping Market Protocols to learning objectives • Support for NERC Certification and CEH • Flexible and secure system

32. Technology • Functional Requirement Categories • User Accounts • Publishing & Scheduling • Student Enrollment • Attendance & Tracking • Reporting • Certification • Protocol Mapping • Prospective software • WBT Manager (LMS), hosted by external vendor • Lectora courseware and exam creation tools, hosted by external vendor • Requisite Pro for protocol mapping

33. LMS Readiness Schedule 9/15 – Complete Requirements / UI Design 9/22 – Licensing & Software Procurement (dependency) 10/20 – Requirements, UI, & Template Design Approval (dependency) 10/20 – LMS Configuration Completed 11/10 – UI & Templates Completed 11/22 – System Testing & Data Migration Completed 12/22 –Flight Testing Completed 12/26 – Go Live

34. Proposed Features • Reporting: • Reporting access provided at the overall system and business domain (MP) levels. • Report generation on student performance: • By student • By Market Participant and Market Participant Division • By Market Segment (QSE, LSE, etc.) • For the market at large with a wide range of additional reports • Publishing & Scheduling: • Organization of content by course and module • Class schedule, instructor, and facility management tools • Support for launching self-directed, electronic deliverables (courseware, exams, and other course aids) • Publicly accessible via the Internet

35. Proposed Features • User Account: • MP-centric student hierarchy • Local MP administrator support at both the company and division level • Mandatory student account creation • Self-service, managed, and bulk creation of accounts • Self-service and managed account maintenance • Self-service support for transition between Market Participants • Certification: • Tracking of certification programs to facilitate NERC requirements • Support for organizing curricula to meet certification program needs • Application of training time towards student Continuing Educational Hours (CEH)

36. Proposed Features • Student Enrollment: • Access to all course curricula via a global course catalog • Self-service and managed student class enrollment • Alerts to facilitate communication between Training and students • Attendance and Tracking Features: • Manual attendance management for class sessions • Automatic attendance management for self-service, distance learning • Tracking of all AICC- or SCORM-compliant electronic courseware • Exam data gathering, by question and learning objective • Optional support for pre-requisite constraints on certain curricula • Optional support for “testing out” of certain curricula

37. Proposed Features • Protocol Mapping: • Mapping of Market Protocols and derived Nodal system application features to applicable learning objectives

38. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education Nodal 101 Update

39. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Evaluation Results Four MP classes held (150 attendees, 90 surveys completed – 60%) • July 26 – 37 attendees, 20 surveys completed • July 27 – 33 attendees, 21 surveys completed • Aug 8 – 35 attendees, 26 surveys completed • Aug 23 – 45 attendees, 23 surveys completed Survey asked attendees: • Name (optional) • Participant Type • QSE, LSE/REP, TDSP, Generation, PUCT, Other • Role • Accounting/Settlements, Power Operations, Engineering, Management, Consultant, Other • Nodal Market Knowledge • Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

40. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Surveys by Type

41. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Surveys by Role

42. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Prior Nodal Knowledge

43. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Topic Importance Topics • Market Overview • LMP • Adjustment Period and Real-Time Operations • Day-Ahead Operations • Congestion Revenue Rights • Settlements Participants asked to rate each topic using the following scale: • No Opinion (0 – Not Counted) • Very Unimportant (1) • Unimportant (2) • Important (3) • Very Important (4) All topics received ratings between 3.02 and 3.44

44. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Content/Presentation Ratings Participants asked to rate each item using the following scale: Adapted to reflect generic NERC survey • Met learning objectives • Prerequisites were appropriate • Materials were accurate and relevant • Instructional method was appropriate • Time allotted was appropriate • Instructor(s) were effective • Facilities and/or tech equipment were appropriate • Materials issued before/during training were appropriate • A/V used were effective • Recommend course to others • No Opinion (0 – Not Counted) • Strongly Disagree (1) • Disagree (2) • Agree (3) • Strongly Agree (4) All categories received ratings between 3.16 and 3.48 except Time Allotted - 2.86 (Large amount of new material)

45. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Test Procedures • Attendees were told that they need to take the test, this is now documented on the web site and in the course materials. • 150 attendees • 87 took test (58% of those who attended) • 69 passed (79% of those who took the test) • ERCOT Attendees • 26 attendees • 10 (38%) took test and all passed • Test was open book/notes • Multiple choice questions • Some questions removed as a result of 7/26 and 7/27 classes • Passing score = 70% • “Test out” option to be in place Q4 2006 when LMS is operational

46. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Intro Slide on Testing • Market Participant – An Entity that engages in any activity that is in whole or in part the subject of the Nodal Protocols, regardless of whether that Entity has signed an Agreement with ERCOT. • Market Participants are required as part of the Nodal Transition Plan to demonstrate Market Readiness.   • Training is considered one component of Market Readiness.  • As such each Market Participant, as defined above, will be expected to take the test for a given course.   • ERCOT will maintain such information and report to the Market as required on the status of Training Readiness.

47. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – Test Performance, all Attendees

48. ERCOT Nodal 101: The Basics – 2006 Face to Face Schedule • September 21, 2006 in Austin • October 11, 2006 in Taylor • October 25, 2006 in Austin • November 7, 2006 in Austin • November 29, 2006 in Taylor

49. Role of Account Management at ERCOT Market Education LMP 201 Update

50. Summary of comments • Very strong content that was broader than LMP, include a lot of basic supply and demand theory. • Had some material that was commentary on other markets that could be removed. • Material delivered as if in a university – Professor Baldick presents the information without facilitating the learning of the information. • Professor Baldick is highly knowledgeable about the subject matter. • Professor Baldick has certain opinions that are not necessarily those of ERCOT and is not afraid to voice them. • Audience did not perceive this as a 200 level course. • Material was in Professor Baldick’s own format. • Recommendation from an audience member was that the course should be mandatory.