A method for operating a user equipment (UE) includes receiving at least one of a configuration of a first group of one or more downlink (DL) signals, a configuration of a second group of one or more open-loop power control (PC) parameters, a configuration of a third group of one or more closed-loop PC parameters, or a configuration of a fourth group of one or more loop states, receiving a configuration of a PC setting, wherein the PC setting is associated with at least one of a subset of the first group, a subset of the second group, a subset of the third group, or a subset of the fourth group, selecting a transmit power level in accordance with the PC setting and a pathloss, wherein the pathloss is determined in accordance with a DL reference signal (SS) and a synchronization signal (SS).