CASE STUDY
How Dominion Energy Guarantees FERC Compliance with Systrends
CASE STUDY
Dominion Energy
EMPLOYEES
21,000
TYPE
Power & Energy Company
SOLUTION
eFileEQR
LOCATION
Richmond, VA
JOINED SYSTRENDS
2013
Guarantee Compliance
Integrated validation rules automatically audit transaction data to avoid errors, ensuring Dominion’s compliance with FERC’s requirements.
Streamline Workflows
eFileEQR’s Copy Forward function and Staging area eliminate redundant work and simplify the filing process for multiple entities, saving Dominion significant time.
Customer Obsession
Dominion has enjoyed reliably responsive customer support from Systrends' team of subject matter experts that “don’t seem to sleep.”
“The customer service is top-notch. Systrends is a vital part of our regulatory reporting procedure, and I cannot express how appreciative I am to have their team in Dominion’s corner!”
MEGAN FARNIN
Senior Risk Compliance Analyst
THE COMPANY
Regulated utility at the intersection of renewable and reliable
Dominion Energy’s roots trace back to 1909 in which the predecessor Virginia Railway & Power Company operated canal and river barging, street lighting, railways, and electric trolleys. Following a merger with Virginia Public Service Company and divestiture of all transit operations, the Company evolved into a pure play utility in the early 20th century. Though Dominion has transformed dramatically since, it remains focused on delivering safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy to its customers and communities.
Today, Dominion supplies electricity and natural gas to over seven million customers across 16 states. The Company’s asset portfolio includes 27,000 megawatts of power generation, 22 percent of which derives from nuclear power stations; 6,000 miles of electric transmission lines; 54,000 miles of distribution lines; 14,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering, and storage pipeline; and 1.2 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas and oil reserves, operating the nation’s largest natural gas storage facility. Dominion ranks 242nd on the Fortune 500 with $17.2 billion in revenue in 2023.
Dominion’s Trading Controls team manages the company’s Electric Quarterly Reports (EQRs), which are due at the end of the month following the fiscal quarter. The team prepares and submits 15 filings per quarter, one of which often contains over 1.5 million transactions.
THE CHALLENGE
Automate FERC reporting workflows and reduce human error
In the early 2000s, FERC mandated utilities to electronically file EQRs including the contractual terms and conditions in their agreements for all FERC-jurisdictional services. At the time, Dominion transitioned to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that the legal department managed and filed directly with the Commission. Though the team responsible had employed the Six Sigma methodology to reduce process variation and enhance control, the reporting process took weeks to complete and human error continued to cause interruptions.
In Q3 2013, FERC further refined the EQR filing process, increasing the range and depth of data utilities are required to report. In parallel, FERC adopted a web-based submission platform that accommodated XML files, which provided greater flexibility for data review and validation. Due to Dominion’s scale and the growing complexity of the compliance process, the company needed a software solution to prepare and submit XML-based EQRs.
THE SOLUTION
Efficient software with robust validations and responsive support
Dominion partnered with Systrends to fulfill their EQR reporting requirements in advance of the Q3 2013 deadline. The solution features robust integrated validation rules that automatically audit transaction data to guarantee compliance with FERC, which promised significant time savings to Dominion’s team. Moreover, the application’s strong backend database is able to manage large transaction volumes commensurate with the power company’s large scale.
Relieved from the manual, spreadsheet-based approach that took weeks, Dominion’s FERC compliance team files EQRs within a matter of minutes using Systrends’ eFileEQR solution. While the Copy Forward feature eliminates redundant workflows from one quarter to the next, the Staging area enables multiple users from their Trading Controls team to load and validate the data for which they are responsible, saving significant time and meaningfully simplifying the filing process. The team has further enjoyed Systrends’ focus on providing responsive and knowledgeable customer support. Now, Dominion operates with the assurance they’re meeting regulatory requirements in an efficient manner.