About inpowerd

Earl Shockley is President and Founder of INPOWERD LLC. He is a decisive, action-oriented, senior executive with a unique blend of business, regulatory, leadership and technical expertise. His experience spans 49 years in the electric utility industry including 8+ years as a regulator where he launched and directed numerous programs while helping maintain operational sustainability at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). His leadership played key role in the development and successful deployment of numerous NERC and Regional Entity programs.

Eleven years ago, Earl founded INPOWERD with the goal of simplifying complexity around NERC regulation and helping his clients focus on the strategic objectives that truly matter. His mission is to help organizations translate regulatory requirements into actionable business practices that reduce reliability risk and improve operational performance.

In addition to his consulting work, Earl serves as a leadership and strategy coach for CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CIOs, executive teams, and frontline leaders in the energy sector. He is a sought-after strategic consultant, solution architect, public speaker, and expert witness on complex issues like regulatory compliance, risk management, organizational culture change, power grid operations, cybersecurity and reliability governance.

Earl is the author of many formal reports, white papers, and publications including The INPOWERD Perspective, a technical thought leadership series focused on reliability, compliance, governance, and emerging industry challenges; INPOWERD Leadership Briefings, an executive thought leadership series focused on leadership, culture, and organizational effectiveness; and Perspective of an Ex-Regulator, a series of articles on organizational culture and regulatory compliance that has appeared in publications such as Electric Light & Power Magazine.

Time at NERC

Earl is a highly experienced ex-regulator who:

• Led or participated in 100+ Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) compliance and enforcement-related engagements.
• Led Multiple NERC analytical and investigative efforts, including the FERC/NERC Inquiry & Investigation of the September 8, 2011, Arizona-California Blackout, the joint FERC/NERC Compliance Investigation of the February 2008 Florida Blackout, and the FERC/NERC inquiries of the February 2011 Southwest Cold Snap event and October 2011 Northeast Snowstorm event.
• Was instrumental in the shift from the “zero-defect” compliance and enforcement approach to one that focuses on a company’s inherent risk and ability to manage reliability risk with associated internal risk control programs.
  

Education

Earl holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration & Organizational Management. Earl also completed numerous advanced technical power system apprenticeships and certification courses while in the U.S. Navy and the electric industry; he holds or has held certifications in the following areas:

• Certified NERC Auditor
• Certified Level 3 Investigator - Accident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis
• Certified Technical Instructor / Facilitator
• NERC Certified System Operator – Reliability (1998 – 2012)
• WSCC Certified System Operator (1998 – 2000)
  

Major Publications

• Author, The INPOWERD Perspective – A technical thought leadership series addressing electric reliability, NERC compliance, internal controls, cybersecurity, risk management, operational excellence, and emerging industry challenges.
• Author, INPOWERD Leadership Briefing – An executive leadership series exploring governance, organizational culture, human performance, leadership accountability, strategic decision-making, and organizational effectiveness. See the Blog link above.‍
• Author, INPOWERD Operations and Planning Boot Camp Manual – Understanding the basics of compliance and regulatory standards to ensure reliability of the Bulk Electric System. 200 page student manual for the INPOWERD NERC 693 O&P Boot Camp. Copyright 2023.

• Author, INPOWERD Perspective of an Ex-Regulator - A series of short articles on cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and organizational culture. Earl’s articles have been published internationally in Electric Power and Light Magazine. See the Blog link above.‍
• Author, INPOWERD - White paper "Hitting a Moving Regulatory Target - CIP Case Study". See the Blog link above.

• Author, INPOWERD - White paper “Overcoming Cybersecurity Challenges in Industrial Control Systems”. See the Blog link above.

NERC Regulatory Reports

• Feb 2011 Southwest Cold Snap Event Report
• Sept 2011, Arizona-California Blackout Report
• Oct 2011, Northeast Snowstorm Event Report
• Oct 2012, Hurricane Sandy Analysis Report
• Jan 2014, Polar Vortex Review

Current and previously held certifications

• Certified NERC Auditor (2007 - present)
• Certified Level 3 Investigator – Accident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis (2005 – present)
• Certified Technical Instructor / Facilitator (2005 – present)
• NERC Certified System Operator, Reliability (1998 – 2012)
• WSCC Certified System Operator – (1998 – 2001)