Pandemic response update: July in-person stakeholder meetings canceled
To all of SPP’s valued stakeholders,
In May, our leadership team announced we would allow in-person stakeholder meetings at SPP in August and announced an in-person option for our July Regional State Committee (RSC) and Board and Members Committee (BOD/MC) meetings. This decision was subject to change if COVID-19 numbers began to increase.
Our staff has performed well to help prevent the spread. We had excellent employee turnout at the vaccination clinic we hosted, and the processes and protocols of our initial two phases of staff return to our main campus have been working smoothly.
Arkansas has made recent national headlines for trending in the opposite direction. We have one of the lowest statewide vaccination rates, approximately 35%, and the highest per capita rate of new COVID-19 cases, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
The health and well-being of you and our employees are of utmost importance to us. For this reason, we are canceling the in-person option for the July 26-27 board/Members Committee/RSC meetings and postponing all in-person stakeholder meetings until further notice. We appreciate and value the importance of being able to meet face to face and will resume meeting in person when it is safe to do so.
The change in conditions means that I will not get to see you in-person as soon as I hoped, but I know our team will continue to facilitate virtual meetings with their usual standard of excellence. I look forward to engaging and substantive RSC and BOD/MC meetings July 26 and 27. Together we will learn and converse about:
- Comprehensive review of February 2021 winter storm.
- SPP’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
- The SCRIPT’s GI backlog recommendation.
- Western RTO terms and conditions.
Until then, keep the lines of communication open with me. We will continue to improve how we help you engage in virtual meetings now, and in-person and hybrid meetings in the future. If we can better support you during this time, please do not hesitate to share how.
Take good care,
Barbara Sugg
SPP President & CEO