NEPPA eNewsletter

The new mission statement of the Belmont Municipal Light Department is to sustain low-priced, high-quality electrical services for the community of Belmont by embracing new technology and providing superior customer service.

In order to reach these goals, the Belmont Municipal Light Department (BMLD) has hired James F. Palmer as its new general manager/CEO. Palmer comes to the position with more than twenty years of experience in the power industry, including management of private utilities delivery facilities. He was previously with NSTAR for 20 years, including four years on Martha’s Vineyard. He was formerly director of operations at BMLD and served as acting general manager/CEO since October 2010 before officially being appointed manager in February 2011.

Palmer says he is "looking forward to being able to make strategic decisions that need to be made to ensure value for the light department."

Among the challenges facing BMLD is the need to address an antiquated delivery structure as well as projected capacity shortfalls expected to occur within the next decade. He is also involved in restructuring his staff and building teamwork.

While in an ‘acting’ capacity, Palmer ordered an extensive internal review of accounting procedures, business operations, staffing and use of current technological tools.

"As a result of this review," Palmer said, "we have already announced that we will be able to cut electric rates for BMLD customers by two cents per kilowatt hour, which was approved by the Light Board. Next we need to address our looming capacity and delivery efficiency issues and I look forward to working with the community, the BMLD Board and other Town Departments to meet this challenge."

Palmer is quick to note the heavy workload ahead. "The most important thing I can bring to this position initially is to restore an atmosphere of transparency and in the process create a more efficient delivery system and a more appealing customer service experience," he said.

BMLD Advisory Board Chairman Ashley Brown praised his appointment. "Jim Palmer has demonstrated throughout his career a strong understanding of the details associated with the transmission and distribution of electric power," he said. "Additionally, the leadership and management skills Jim has demonstrated in his role as acting general manager/CEO have made the Board extremely comfortable that he is the right person to be leading BMLD as we address efficiency and sustainability issues into the future."

BMLD is a municipally owned utility provider operating since 1898 serving more than 11,000 customers in Belmont.

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As most utility officials know, there is a good battle going on in Congress these days over the Clean Air Act. The battle lines are drawn between those legislators who want the federal government to do something about carbon dioxide (a so-called "greenhouse gas") emitted by electric power plants, and those who do not. The Clean Air Act, which was originally passed by Congress in 1970, is in the middle of this fight because it is the only tool presently available to federal environmental regulators to impose new requirements on power plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Many electric utility officials, including many in the public power community, as well as our national association, the American Public Power Association, feel strongly that the Clean Air Act is the wrong tool to attack greenhouse gas emissions and that new federal legislation is required to deal with this important issue. They make a strong case that greenhouse gases are fundamentally different from the types of pollutants that the law was designed to reduce and that proven technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants is simply not available at this time. The result of such regulations, they argue, will simply be the shutdown of numerous coal plants around the country that will not be able to incur the costs of retrofitting their plants. Some studies, in fact, estimate that EPA regulations could reduce coal plant capacity in the United States by up to 20% over the next several years.

While this prognosis is bad enough, it has even more serious implications for regions of the country that have regional transmission organization (RTO)-operated power markets, such as New England. In these regions, the costs to consumers would be magnified by a considerable amount. This is due to the manner in which electricity is bought and sold in these markets.

All electricity that is sold through the wholesale market in New England receives the same price every hour, which is known as the single-clearing price. Under this model, the plant which makes the highest offer to sell power to meet the demand each hour sets the price for all sellers in that hour (the same single-clearing price is used in the capacity markets). So, as coal plants (with lower cost energy) are gradually phased out in response to expensive retrofit costs, less efficient plants with higher operating costs will set the clearing price in energy markets. Another beneficiary of coal plant closures in the northeast will be owners of nuclear power plants, who will realize significant increases in their profits as clearing prices continue to increase. These profits, it should be noted, are in return for doing absolutely nothing, just selling their power (with the lowest operating costs) into markets that pay them as if they had the highest operating costs.

Many Americans understand that the problem of climate change and global warming may require fundamental changes in the way that energy is produced and consumed in the United States and around the world. These changes in all likelihood will include higher-cost electricity. What is more difficult to understand and defend are markets in some areas of the country that reward some producers for no reason and generate windfall profits that are simply indefensible. If consumers have to pay more for their electricity due to greenhouse gas regulation, there needs to be a direct connection between the sacrifice and the solution to the problem. RTO markets don’t contribute to the solution.

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Primary Lines, Inc., representing ABB Inc. and Elster, LLC, is pleased to announce the addition of Ted Garille to our sales team. Ted brings more than 40 years of experience in Substations, Customer Service, Distribution Engineering and Hydro Generation. An active member of both NEPPA and APPA, he recently retired as general manager of the Pascoag (RI) Utility District. Ted will support customers in New England. "We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Ted," said PLI's John Young, "and are positive that his addition will provide our customers with the highest level of service."

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Effective May 31, 2011, John G. Tzimorangas will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of Energy New England (ENE), LLC, an energy cooperative based in Foxborough, Mass. He was selected to lead ENE from among a slate of regional candidates and will replace the retiring Leo F. Swift, who has been ENE's CEO for 11 years and has been with the company since operations commenced in 1998.

Tzimorangas has been the general manager of the Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant since February of 2004. During his tenure the system’s growth outpaced what other municipal light plants experienced. HMLP’s peak load grew by 54% in just over seven years. This growth spurt necessitated a major upgrade to the Light Plant’s substation that was completed in time so the community did not suffer any adverse impacts to its reliability. The Light Plant also added hydro, landfill gas and wind energy to its resource portfolio under Tzimorangas.

He most recently served as President of the Municipal Electric Association of Massachusetts from 2008 to 2010 and is on the Board of the Northeast Public Power Association.

Kevin J. Bulman, Hingham Light Board Chairman said, "During John’s tenure as general manager, he successfully guided the light plant through a period of rapid and intense growth bringing it from 35 MW in 2003 to its current level of 54 MW. He has also become a highly respected advocate of public power. Although we will miss his leadership, we understand the opportunity for personal and professional growth that has been presented to him. We wish him well in the future and look forward to working with him in his new role as CEO of Energy New England which continues to be one of the Light Plant’s most valuable resources."

Tzimorangas has almost 25 years of experience in the utility industry including director’s roles at NSTAR and Commonwealth Electric during his career. His previous experience included various Massachusetts utility management roles in the areas of transmission and distribution, where he managed substantial capital and operations budgets. "John’s strong utility background and his diverse leadership roles in the public power community make him uniquely positioned to lead ENE in this game-changing environment," said Leo Swift, outgoing CEO.

Joe Blain, ENE’s Board Chairman and former general manager of the Taunton Municipal Light Plant, added,  "ENE will also benefit from John’s personal relationships in the New England energy sector. Probably of most importance his personality and leadership style will be a terrific fit in the ENE office environment with staff, as well as with customers and directors. We are most pleased he has accepted this position."

Formed in 1998, ENE is a provider of both supply and demand side services to the public power community. The company works with more than 35 municipal systems on a dedicated basis in the provision of one or more supply or demand-side services. In addition, it manages more than 700 MW of load and 550 MW of generation throughout New England.

A life-long resident of Massachusetts, Tzimorangas resides in Sandwich with his wife and two sons. He received a BS from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Western New England College. He is active in a number of affiliated business, town and personal board organizations. He is an active coach for his sons’ baseball and basketball teams and is an avid golfer.

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NEPPA's Safety & Operations Conference & Expo will feature Craig Mustard and Larry Johnson from WEEI Sports Radio Network. They will be the after-dinner speakers at a reception and dinner following the Expo on Wednesday, June 8 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Fitchburg, Mass. The Mustard & Johnson Show has been a staple in WEEI's weekend programming for years featuring Craig and Larry debating the New England sports scene.

Craig Mustard fell in love with music radio as a young listener in Willimantic, Conn. (five miles from UConn) and was fortunate to turn that passion into a profession when he stumbled into a great station in college. From there he got his first professional gig as a rock jock working weekends at WAAF in 1979. Subsequently, Craig traveled to Montgomery, Ala., back to his hometown, then to Long Island, New York City and finally WEEI in 1990, where he was a full-timer for four years and a part-timer ever since. Somewhere in between, Craig went back to school, got his education masters from UMass-Boston and has been at Wellesley High School since 1997 teaching English, film, journalism and debate. On the home front, Craig and his wife, Pam, do their best to keep their two young sons out of too much mischief.

Larry Johnson has been an Editorial Cartoonist for the Boston Globe, the National Sports daily, ESPN.com's "Quickie" page and presently does work for WEEI.com.

Johnson is a fine art painter and commercial illustrator, illustrating more than 15 children's books. His work has been purchased by Oprah Winfrey, Vernon Jordan and others and can be found on zhibit.org/editorial and zhibit.org/illustrator. Some of his other crazy ideas (including animations) are his personal site: larryjohnsonart.com. A collection of his work will be available in an upcoming holiday book, Out of my Mind, and will include a foreword by Frank Deford and contributions from many national writers. As a youth minister, Johnson is passionate about his faith as a Christian and is often referred to as "The Preacher".

The S & O Conference and Expo will open with keynote speaker Safety Consultant and Trainer Rick Tobey, who has more than 45 years of experience in electric utility distribution construction and maintenance work. After his presentation, "Insulate and Isolate: Do it Right!", the Expo will be opened for utility vendors and suppliers, featuring the latest in electric utility tools, equipment and technology. In addition, NEPPA affiliate companies will stage hands-on demonstrations on the use of utility equipment and tools throughout the day. Vendor raffles will also be held during the Expo.

On the second day of the conference, a two-hour Safety Forum titled "Work Smart: Work Safe!" will be hosted by the NEPPA training staff and other invited speakers. The Forum will cover a variety of topics related to safe working procedures for utility lineworkers.

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America’s Electric Future:  
The Next Twenty-Five Years

Roger Gale, president & CEO of GF Energy, will be a speaker at  NEPPA's 2011 Annual Conference, Emerging Technologies and Public Power. He will provide an overview of the major trends, technologies and political realities which will shape America’s electric utility industry in the next quarter-century.

He has managed and participated in numerous senior executive planning and strategic business design processes in North America, Europe and Asia. He is well-known globally as a leading corporate strategist and publisher of Electricity Outlook. In addition, he has expertise in corporate governance for large enterprises.

He is widely quoted in leading business publications and appears on TV. He is a frequent public speaker at industry and in-house events. Much of his work focuses on the future of nuclear power and involves work for major vendors and electric power companies globally.

Roger began consulting in 1998 after working in senior positions for the US Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was an assistant to the secretary of energy and the EPA administrator and served as Director of External Affairs at FERC. Prior to working for the US government he lived in Japan where he covered energy issues for a number of publications. Since entering consulting in 1998, he has developed skills in successfully managing top-level corporate business development processes working with boards, shareholders and senior executives. He was CEO of PHB Hagler Bailly and headed PA Consulting's global energy practice before starting GF Energy in 2001.

Roger has a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on the Board of Directors of Adams Express, Petroleum and Resources Corp., Ormat and the US Energy Association.

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Thursday, April 7, 2011 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wholesale Power Markets 101 The Chocksett Inn Sterling, Mass. June 8 – 9, 2011 Operations Conference and Expo Courtyard by Marriott Fitchburg, Mass. August 21 – 24, 2011 Annual Conference Samoset Resort Rockland, Maine

September 15, October, 27, 2011 Power Systems Training 2011 The Chocksett Inn Sterling, Mass. October 5, 2011 Work Zone Safety The Chocksett Inn Sterlilng, Mass. November 16 – 18, 2011 Public Utility Management Program Cranwell Conference Center Lenox, Mass.

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NEPPA is offering an in-depth review of selected power systems components and operations for public power officials. This program is the second in a series of training classes on electric power systems. Each class is designed to provide an in-depth review of selected power systems components and operations covering both theoretical and practical approaches. Industry experts will cover up-to-date technical, practical and operational points in each topic. Participants will enhance their understanding of electric power systems and learn practical solutions to common power system problems.

The program consists of three separate classes to be held on September 15, October 6 and October 27. Each class will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will include a lunch. All classes will be held at the Chocksett Inn in Sterling, MA. Students may register for individual classes or all three.

The program is designed for public power officials with bachelor’s or associate’s degrees in engineering, or experienced electric utility technicians who are familiar with basic trigonometry and algebra. Watch your mail for details.

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NEPPA recently completed the first session of the Professional Skills for Office Personnel Program. On March 1, NEPPA Director of Education Services Rockie Blunt presented "Practicing Effective Interpersonal Skills" at the Littleton Electric Light and Water Department in Littleton, Mass. The session focused on interacting with supervisors, colleagues and subordinates using sensitivity and tactful communication.

The Professional Skills series consists of six sessions and participants may sign up for individual workshops or enroll in the entire series. Those who successfully complete all six sessions will be awarded a NEPPA Certificate in Professional Skills for Office Personnel. For more information, click here.

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To read articles on the following topics, click here.

FY 11 Funding Debate Continues
House and Senate Consider Bills to Halt EPA Action
Hill Focuses on Nuclear Safety, Queries Key Officials
Bingaman and Murkowski Release CES White Paper, Seek Consensus
House Begins Cyber Hearings
Members Urge Extension of Dodd-Frank Rules; Oversight Hearings Continue
Senate Energy Committee Hearing on Hydro Bills; Others Introduced
Public Power, Coops Meet with Joint Tax
LPPC and APPA Host Hill Briefing on Public Power Financing
Transmission Cost Allocation Battle Continues
FERC Issues Demand Response Rule

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