Public Board Policies

 

Following are MPE Board Policies that have been made public:

POLICY B-14: WORK FLOW PROCEDURES - WORK ORDERS

To establish a work orders workflow procedure.

A.        Any work that involves a continuing property record, either installed or removed, shall require a work order number.

 

B.        The Engineering Department shall issue the work order number.

 

C.        The Engineering Department will receive all requests for line extensions, new         services, service upgrades, or service retirements.

 

D.        The Engineering Department will site visit all new line extensions and services to determine the best way for Mountain Parks Electric, Inc. to extend electric service to the applicant.

 

E.         The Engineering Department shall design all line extensions and services under the guidelines of the most recent version of Mountain Parks Electric’s Electric Service Construction Standards.

 

F.         The Engineering Department shall size the line extension based on the load sheet or subdivision plat provided by the applicant for service and the anticipated capacity required for the future.

 

G.        The Engineering Department shall determine the phasing and sectionalizing for    the line extension.

 

H.        The Engineering Department shall estimate the construction cost of each work order and contract with the applicant for any construction charges and capacity charges due from the applicant, bearing in mind any extraordinary construction conditions, including, but not limited to stream crossings, road crossings, right of way clearance, line clearance, hot work, etc.

            1.   The Engineering Department shall notify the Operations Department of special equipment, materials required, and coordinate metering.

            2.   Construction changes requested by the applicant outside the scope of the original contract shall be documented with a change order. Major changes will require a new contract.

 

I.          The Engineering Department shall confirm all utility easements and any special permits are obtained for the performance of extending electric service.

 

J.          The Engineering Department shall physically stake the job prior to any work being performed. For subdivisions, the developer shall physically stake the job.

 

K.          The Engineering Department shall issue to the Operations Department a detailed staking sheet for the performance of the work to be done. Attached to the Staking Sheet shall be, if applicable:

              1.   A vicinity map of the location.

              2.   Any special use permits (USFS, BLM, CDOT, etc.)

 

L.           The Operations Department shall schedule the work to be performed; including,

               1.   Right-of-Way clearing.

               2.  All road crossing permits (except CDOT permits and railroad permits).

               3.  UG utility notifications.

               4.  Notification to the Engineering Department if job requires re-staking.

               5.  Assign the crew or contractor to perform the work.

               6.   Right-of-Way restoration.

 

M.        The Operations Department shall inform the Engineering Department prior to any changes being made in routing, sizing of conductor, or alterations in the staking sheet design with the reasons for the change. 

 

N.        Upon completion of all work orders, the Operations Department will verify the project has been completed by signing off on the final staking sheet.

 

O.        The finalized staking sheet will be forwarded to the Purchasing Agent/Warehouseman to verify inventory and all materials have been properly charged to the work order.

 

P.         The Operations Department will verify that all work order invoices from contractors have been received, charged to the proper work order, and paid by Accounting.

 

Q.        The Operations Department will forward a finalized staking sheet to the Engineering Department with any changes redlined.  If the redlined changes or cost differences are significant after the completion of the project the Manager of Engineering and Manager of Operations will jointly review the project.

 

R.        The Engineering Department will update the mapping system from the completed as-built staking sheet.

 

S.         The Accounting and Finance Department will complete the Work Order closing.

             1.   A work order inventory, Form 219, will be scheduled to close monthly.

              2.   The inspection of work order inventories will be scheduled quarterly if practical.

 

T.         As a final review to each department, the Work Order Accountant will tabulate the final cost of each work order to compare the actual cost to the original cost estimate.

The General Manager will be responsible for the administration and compliance of this policy.

 

POLICY B-17: INFORMATION & CYBER SECURITY POLICY

Mountain Parks Electric, Inc. ("MPE") Directors recognize the need to protect MPE, our members, and both cooperative and member data, and systems, from growing information and cybersecurity threats. This policy establishes an Information & Cyber Security Program within MPE to ensure adequate measures are taken and controls are in place to mitigate threats and protect those company resources.

This policy is intended for establishment of an overall Information Security Program at the Board level with Policy and Procedure management handled at the executive staff/IT Management level. It should be understood that Information Security is not solely an Information Technology concern but touches all departments, all employees, and all types of informational transactions.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure that MPE technology assets are protected against all internal, external, deliberate and accidental threats. Information, in all its forms, written, spoken, recorded electronically or printed, will be protected from accidental or intentional unauthorized modification, or destruction throughout its life cycle. Policies and Procedures are established and shall be administered to protect cooperative technology systems and data, member financial and protected information, and cooperative data acquisition and control systems across the enterprise.

Scope

All employees, contractors, consultants, temporary and other workers at MPE and its subsidiaries must adhere to all policies and procedures authorized and approved under this program. This applies to cooperative data sets and technology equipment that is owned, operated, or leased by MPE. The Information & Cyber Security Policies and Procedures describe the technology and information assets that must be protected and identifies many of the threats to those assets. The equipment, software, and storage medium used to process, store, and transmit information will be protected by appropriate controls.

A. The Information & Cyber Security Policies and Procedures will ensure that:

  1. Sensitive, protected and/or privileged information and technology systems will be safeguarded against any unauthorized access;
  2. Confidentiality of sensitive, protected and/or privileged information will be assured;
  3. Integrity of information will be maintained;
  4. Availability of information for business purposes will be maintained;
  5. Legislative and regulatory requirements will be met;
  6. Business continuity and disaster recovery plans will be developed, maintained and tested annually
  7. All MPE employees will be provided information security and awareness training on a regular basis;
  8. Any actual or suspected information security breaches will be reported to the designated management at MPE.  All breaches will be investigated thoroughly and logged

B. Policies and Procedures have been established to support this program, including appropriate controls and continuity plans.

C. Business requirements for availability of information systems will be met.

Because modern technology is subject to rapid change, and because social, cultural, and legal standards and expectations regarding technology are ever evolving, it is not possible for these policies to address every possible situation which might develop. Nonetheless, the philosophy, principles and procedures of these policies shall be used whenever possible to guide the development of, the compliance with, and the administration and enforcement of all matters relating to the effective acquisition and utilization of technology.

The term Technology is intended to be defined broadly and includes all:

A.  Electronic hardware, software and services

Electronic hardware, software, and services, including but not limited to desktops, laptops, rugged computers, tablets, workstations, monitors, printers, plotters, faxes, scanners, multifunction print devices, PDAs, smartphones, Blackberry devices, cellular phones, satellite phones, wireless broadband cards, pagers, servers, PBX equipment, telecommunications equipment, circuits, switches, routers, storage devices, recording devices, digital cameras, email, text messaging, instant messaging, Internet, firmware, operation systems, software, business applications, Software as a Service ("SaaS") applications, peripherals used in conjunction with the devices and software listed above, and all other electronic devices or software used to run software or create, record, store, transmit and/or received video, voice or data.

B.  Electronic information

Electronic information, including but not limited to email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, email messages, text messages, instant messages, word processor documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, images, photos, videos, music, voice, databases, application data, and all other electronic data; and personally identifiable information.

C.  Electronic communications

Electronic communications, including but not limited to voice, email, text messages, instant messages, voice messages, internet postings, facsimiles, and all other forms of electronic communications

A.  Responsibilities for this Cyber and Information Security Program Policy are delineated as follows:

  1. The Board of Directors of MPE is responsible for the content of this policy and its implementation.
     
  2. The General Manager of the Association shall be responsible for the overall administration of this policy.
     
  3. The Manager of IT shall direct and monitor the implementation of appropriate practices/procedures in accordance with this policy.
     
  4. All MPE personnel are responsible for following the guidelines and procedures laid out in the Cyber and Information Security Program Policy as well as for reporting known violations of the policy.

POLICY C-1: COMMUNICATIONS/COMMUNITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

To reaffirm the Cooperative’s obligation to continually communicate with its member-customers about the plans, operation, activities and progress of their Cooperative and to set forth the Board of Director’s support and expectations in all aspects of Cooperative communications.

It shall be the policy of this Cooperative to foster extensive communications programs, activities, publications, and reports that will inform and educate member-customers about the Cooperative’s plans, operations, programs, financial condition and activities in an ongoing commitment to attain the memberships’ understanding, acceptance, support and involvement in the Cooperative’s business.  The Cooperative’s Board of Directors shall commit appropriate resources and support for a broad Cooperative communication’s plan that ensures:

A.  Quality and timely communications programs that are responsive to member-customer needs and concerns.

B.  Member-customer understanding and support of the Cooperative and industry-related issues.

C.  Cooperative employees that are appropriately trained to ensure that each of them respect the value of the member-customer to the Cooperative and to assure that they are equipped to respond to every member’s-customer’s concern in a professional, consumer-focused and friendly manner.

D.  Public understanding, acceptance and support for the Cooperative’s mission, goals, plans and programs and ensures that the media is kept informed about the Cooperative’s goals, objectives plans, programs and issues. 

E.  Leadership for and support for projects and activities dedicated to the betterment of the community and state with particular emphasis on youth programs and rural and community development, and to secure favorable public opinion and understanding of such activities and programs.

F.  Cooperative needs and issues are communicated effectively to local, state and national officials in a concerted effort to secure their support of the Cooperative and the member/customers and communities they serve.

G.  Support for effective communication programs developed by cooperative statewide, regional and national organizations and cooperative power suppliers and other affiliates in an effort to coordinate communications programs and avoid duplication of services and costs and ensures a united message on electric cooperatives issues.

H.  Development of a crisis communication management plan for communicating openly and consistently to employees, consumers, media and the public about any Cooperative crisis or emergency.

I.  A designated qualified spokesperson, and in his/her absence, an alternate, to respond to all issues on behalf of the Cooperative before member/customers, the public, and media.

A.  The Board of Directors will be responsible for the administration and compliance of this policy.

B.  The General Manager shall be responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, staffing and evaluation of the Cooperative’s communications plan to ensure its effectiveness.

C.  It shall be the responsibility of the General Manager or the Assistant General Manager in his absence to be the spokesperson or to designate a spokesperson to respond to all issues and inquiries on behalf of the Cooperative before the media, public officials and the general public.