NEPPA eNewsletter
July 2012
|
Customer Service awards were presented to two outstanding customer service professionals at the NEPPA Customer Service Conference held at Gillette Stadium and Conference Center in Foxboro, Mass. on June 6. Recognized for outstanding customer service was Julie Choquette, customer service representative for the Pascoag Utility District (PUD). Michael Kirkwood, PUD general manager, presented the award. "Julie, as a customer service representative for both our water and electric customers, was particularly instrumental to PUD during this past two year period in being the lead coordinator responsible for implementation of PUD’s water meter installation program," he said. "She did so well, the project was completed one year ahead of schedule and saved the district $15,000 in implementation costs." Also receiving the Carol A. Tracey Customer Service Award was Adeline (Addie) Osso of the Taunton Municipal Light Plant. "Addie does excellent customer service like nobody else. There are no standard molds that Addie fits in," said General Manager Michael Horrigan. "She has the ability to make everyone else around her ‘joy-filled’ with her friendly, outgoing and loving way, her loud and infectious laughter and her total self giving to others." The Carol A. Tracey Customer Service Award is presented to employees of NEPPA member utilities who deliver outstanding service to their customers, either through sustained, exceptional performance in serving their customers, or the development of new and/or innovative programs.
Michael Kirkwood, Julie Choquette and NEPPA Executive Director Larry Brownell.
Joe Sollecito from TMLP presented the award to Addie Osso. ##SHARELINKS##
|
|
This past month we said good-bye to a six-year tradition at NEPPA. The Pascoag Apprentice Rodeo began in 2006, after the good people at the Pascoag Utility District offered us a newly built training room and outdoor training area at no cost. This became an amazing home. First under Ted Garille and as of late Mike Kirkwood, the staff of PUD became an undocumented resource of NEPPA. During the year PUD assisted us with setting poles and any other needs we had. But in June they became the ultimate hosts. Their folks helped us set up, judge and even feed all of the participants and observers at the Rodeo. Many thanks to Bill Guertin who took great pride in the event every year and went above and beyond to make sure the event was successful. Bill, unfortunately, could not make it this year due to military service. For those of you who have attended or participated, you are aware of some of the new tradition’s started at Pascoag, such as Chris Piccardi’s Chili. You can’t have a barbeque without chili and Chris never disappoints. This year was a challenge as he was on a family vacation in Las Vegas and misplaced his driver’s license, so getting back was a Herculean feat. We were able to obtain a letter from Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island recognizing and thanking our friends at Pascoag for their outstanding support and I encourage members to reach out and thank our gracious hosts. A standard has been set and I look forward to seeing how Steve Socoby (who runs our New England apprentice program) and the crew of Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments respond. Our modern training center with all of the bells and whistles will gives us many new capabilities. But, it won’t be home until we have our first rodeo and the community comes together to celebrate our hard working apprentices. We begin our move over the next month. We will start erecting the pole yard at the end of the month and will host our first Littleton activity on August 8 by re-establishing our Foreman’s Roundtable. It has been over a year and this will be a good opportunity for foremen to discuss emerging issues, give feedback on last year’s storms and see the new facility. We will also be unveiling the new NEPPA Physical Performance Standards for Apprentices. We will take feedback at the meeting before formalizing the standards. The rest of the month will be preparing for the Apprentice Program to begin its first sessions at the end of the month. We are continuing to seek material donations for the facility. I began outreach last month to NEPPA’s vendor members and you can see an updated list of needs and donations received on NEPPA’s website. The NEPPA office space will begin construction in July and should be finished in time for our October office move. This continues to be a year of great change and I thank you all for your patience and understanding. ##SHARELINKS##
|
|
Three New England utilities received APPA's Reliable Public Power Provider Award. North Attleborough (Mass.) Electric Department and Westfield (Mass.) Gas & Electric, were given awards at the platinum level and, for the second time in two years, the Wakefield (Mass.) Municipal Gas & Light Department received the award at the gold level. The awards were announced at the annual APPA Engineering & Operations Technical Conference held recently in Cleveland, Ohio. The RP3 designation is valid for two years and is awarded to public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement. Utilities seeking this designation must complete an application documenting their practices in these four key areas. Utilities are awarded points for their practices in each area based on sound business practices and a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of service. ##SHARELINKS##
|
|
NEPPA is soliciting nominations for awards of recognition to be presented during the annual conference in September. Each year, the association seeks to recognize individuals who have made contributions to their utilities, communities, and to public power. To help identify these individuals, we need your assistance. The award categories are as follows:
We welcome written nominations for any of these awards, along with a brief description of the individual’s contributions or achievements. Please feel free to nominate more than one individual for Distinguished Service, NEPPA Service, or Commissioner Service, as multiple awards can be made in these categories. Please send nominations to the NEPPA office by no later than July 27 (FAX: 508-482-0932; Email: lbrownell@neppa.org). We look forward to receiving your nominations.
##SHARELINKS##
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aug. 8 Sept. 16-19 ##SHARELINKS##
|
|
The Sixth Annual NEPPA Apprentice Lineworkers Skills Assessment Rodeo was held in Pascoag, R.I. on June 20 and 21. The competition featured 10 events that tested the skills of the over 50 participants. The weather also became a challenge as temperatures rose to the mid 90s on both days of the competition. All of the competitors finished all of their events without incident due in part to the consumption of nearly 1,000 bottles of water during the two days.
Tim Gray from Sterling Municipal Light Department took first place in the Cross Arm Change Out event. Bruce Dubey from Groton (Mass.) Electric Light Department took first place in the Bucket Rescue competition. Bob Clancy from Belmont Municipal Light Department and Nathan Campanelli from Holden Municipal Light Department tied for first place in the Rope Toss event. Trevor Bissonette from Taunton Municipal Light Plant took first place in the most important event – the Hurt Man Rescue and also finished first in the Obstacle Course. Also from Taunton, Jeff Leconte took first place in the Fall Protected Climb and also in the Transformer Change Out event which is a two-man team event. It was a remarkable effort by all the participants under very difficult circumstances. We would like to thank representatives from Stuart Irby and Hydron, Inc. for supporting this event. This event marked the last NEPPA rodeo to be held in Pascoag, R.I., as NEPPA is moving both the school and eventually the NEPPA office to Littleton, Mass. It is with a little sadness that the Apprentice School bids farewell to some wonderful friends that make up the Pascoag staff. Their unbelievable support has been most appreciated and their friendship will endure a lifetime. It is with great anticipation that we look forward to a new friendship with the folks at Littleton Electric Light Department. To see photos of the rodeo, click here.##SHARELINKS##
|
The competition was very strong this year with many close scores. Tim Percy, a third year apprentice from the Village of Johnson, Vt., took first place in the Insulator Change Out, the Free Climb, and the Transformer Change Out events that also earned him the "Top Overall Performer" of the 2012 Rodeo.|
If anyone is interested in buying copies of the APPA Safety Manual, please contact NEPPA at 508-482-5906 or kristind@neppa.org before August 1. ##SHARELINKS##
|
|
On June 20, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed by voice vote two bipartisan measures, the "Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act" (H.R. 5892) and the "Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act" (H.R. 4273). The Energy and Power Subcommittee had previously approved the bills on June 7. H.R. 5892, sponsored by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO), would increase the small hydropower licensing exemption from 5 MW to 10 MW. It would also provide licensing exemptions for small conduit hydropower projects under certain conditions, and it would study how existing pumped storage facilities can support integration of renewables, provide grid reliability benefits, and how they might be upgraded. Full Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell commended Reps. McMorris Rogers and Dianna DeGette (D-CO), the bill’s lead Democratic cosponsor, for working together on the hydropower bill, saying "it’s a classy way to have done this." Regarding H.R. 4273, he said "utilities should not be fined by one agency for complying with another agency." In addition to Dingell, and the lead sponsors the bill included 5 new original co-sponsors: Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jim Matheson (D-UT), Lee Terry (R-NE), Bob Latta (R-OH) and Lamar Smith (R-TX), showcasing the support for this "common-sense" legislation from both sides of the aisle. The bill has also earned support from both environmentalists and representatives of the hydroelectric industry. During the 2012 APPA Rally, NEPPA members asked their delegation members to cosponsor H.R. 5892; Rep. Ed Markey cosponsored the bill on June 5. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers sent a May 29 letter to President Obama urging him to include hydropower in his "all of the above" energy approach. Citing DOE figures, the Congresswoman wrote that 7 percent of the nation’s total electricity and 75 percent of all renewable energy comes from hydro, and only 3 percent of 84,000 dams in the country produce power. "Hydropower could double without building a single new dam," she said. Paired with regulatory reforms, she said, the main beneficiaries would be "consumers with lower utility bills." The other bill, H.R. 4273, sponsored by Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX) and Mike Doyle (D-PA), would shield utilities operating under a Department of Energy (DOE)-declared reliability emergency from the threat of penalties from environmental laws that would be violated by operating a power plant. To gain Democratic support, the bill was amended to include a need for DOE to consult with relevant federal agencies regarding environmental laws or regulations. DOE, however, would remain the final authority. Since only a handful of utilities have ever been in the position of being forced to violate environmental statutes in an emergency, Democrats view the bill as a political "message piece" calling attention to the potential for conflict between numerous regulations impacting the electric sector. The concession to have DOE consult with agencies resolves the policy issue while neutralizing some of the politics. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), however, is working on companion legislation that is expected to address the broader, non-emergency reliability concerns raised by rapid retirement of coal plants in the wake of EPA rules. Several grid operators had put forth the idea of establishing "Reliability Critical Units" as a safety valve in their joint comments on the Utility MACT rule. Both House bills passed by the Committee are expected to be considered on the House floor after the July 4th recess. To read the complete legislative update including the following topics, click here.
##SHARELINKS##
|
