Workiva FERC Reporting Solution

The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is seeking to purchase a cloud-based software solution to comply with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) new reporting requirements. WAPA's Balancing Authorities (BA) are required to submit data in the new format called eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) starting from June 1, 2022. FERC is no longer providing software for the old report or the new format, so WAPA needs to find a vendor that can provide this service. Workiva, a cloud-based software provider, offers a solution that meets WAPA's XBRL reporting requirements.

The rationale for limiting competition is that Workiva is Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certified for their cloud-based offerings. FedRAMP certification is mandatory for all cloud services holding federal data and ensures a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring. Building an in-house tool would require significant resources and cost WAPA hundreds of thousands of dollars in labor costs. Outsourcing to Workiva is a more cost-effective option that saves the government potential labor costs and man-hours.

WAPA IT, in collaboration with FERC 714 Report developers, observed two software demonstrations and found that Workiva's product was superior in many areas, including permissions, link properties, data integration, and usability. The purchase agency recommends Workiva as the source for this requirement.

Overall, WAPA is seeking to purchase a cloud-based software solution from Workiva to comply with FERC's new XBRL reporting requirements. This decision is based on the company's FedRAMP certification, cost-effectiveness compared to building an in-house tool, and superior performance demonstrated during software demonstrations. The acquisition timeframe is not specified in the summary.