BCPA First 2026 Event - GRID EX - lessons from a huge exercise

BCPA 1st 2026 Event

Event: In-Person Meeting

Location: Crave at 1603 West End Blvd, St Louis Park, MN 55416

Date/Time: February 12, 2026, 1:30pm-3:30pm

GUESTS $25/each

Please join BCPA for our first 2026 meeting!  

Taylor Cox will present on the planning and lessons learned from the huge exercise of GRID EX VIII with thousands of participants over 3 days.

Afterwards we will break into small groups for exercise activities.

Appetizers included.

GridEx is the largest grid security exercise in North America and is conducted every other year.  Over 10,000 participants from over 370 organizations conducted a two-day distributed functional exercise followed by a one-day executive table-top (TTX) in Washington, D.C. 

The invitation-only TTX was the culminating event of a long series of planning and exercise events that started in October of 2024.  Taylor served on the NERC/E-ISAC national planning team and was the Exercise Director for Xcel Energy's participation.  He led over 400 planners, players, controllers, and evaluators from twenty-five Xcel Energy internal departments and thirty-five external organizations who helped to plan or participate in the two-day distributed functional exercise on the 18th and 19th of November.  

Overall, the exercise was highly effective in meeting both E-ISAC and Xcel Energy objectives.  Several opportunities for improvement were noted but did not detract from the overall positive impact of the exercise.  Taylor and the NERC/E-ISAC planning team are looking forward to GridEx IX in 2027!

Speaker:  

Taylor Cox

Taylor Cox has been a Senior Business Continuity Consultant at Xcel Energy since retiring from the military in 2017.  He is recognized as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), is a DHS/FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) and Level II Master Continuity Practitioner, as well as a DRII Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP).  He holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) from the Indiana Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Seattle University.  Taylor has been a member of the BCPA for the past eight years. 

PARKING:

Visit the Shops at West End website for information on their free parking including underground parking across the street.

Guest Cost $25