NEPPA eNewsletter

Please keep an eye out for an article in the December Newsline about all who contributed to the new building in Littleton, Mass.

It’s Monday, October 29, and I’m sitting in the office after just seeing the list and map of outages on the burger shop’s television. Looks like all non-municipals! Of course, we are supposed to get the brunt of the storm in the next 10 hours, so I am hoping the storm was over-hyped and that predicted outages are far more than actual.

This past Thursday, I went to upstate New York for the fourth-year apprentice class graduation. While they were recognizing this great group of linemen, in the back of my mind was the question: "How will this storm play out?" This thought was spurred on by Bill Hesson’s (our instructor's) stories. With wives and girlfriends in attendance, Bill really drove home what the profession is all about and what a lineman’s life is like.

He spoke of the dangers and that the primary duty is to make it home to your loved ones. You could see this concept register for the first time with some of the significant others. The fact is that this isn’t an accountant who will be home at the end of the day and the worst that could happen is carpal tunnel syndrome or a paper cut.

Then Bill introduced his lovely wife, Kathy, and spoke about how over the decades of their marriage, events such as holidays were not like others'. He told stories of his numerous Christmas Eves and the ways that they were impacted by storms and outages. From an audience perspective, the calamities were funny and Kathy seemed to be amused now. But, I am imagining that they were quite stressful at the time. The significant others understood that the person they were there for wasn’t a truck driver either, where they had a schedule that they could rely on.

Then everyone recognized the concept of service/commitment, and the demands it could take registered on the faces of the guests. The graduates knew these impacts, and they didn’t flinch or show any sign of amazement, only amusement. Between their current job duties, the apprentice curriculum and Bill’s four years of sharing life experiences, they knew what the job was and what they had signed up for. In the back of their minds, they were probably thinking of the pending storm and what the next week or weeks might be like.

As the night evolved, two other very important things became readily apparent: Bill had done an outstanding job of teaching and preparing these individuals, and a unique bond had developed between mentor/teacher and professional/student. There was good-natured ribbing from both sides and a great deal of mutual respect and gratitude. Steve Socoby had said to me right after I started, "Being a lineman is in your blood and never leaves." It is great to see that post career, people like Bill, Steve and our other instructors can continue to be part of this outstanding profession and share their knowledge with the future of the profession.

Congratulations to both our New York and New England fourth-year graduates. You have entered a great profession made up of good, hard-working people. Thank you to the New York volunteers who showed up to recognize the graduates and thank you to Bill and Kathy, who accepts his commitment to us and the profession!

Fujitsu Network Communications (FNC)is a solution-focused partner with proven excellence in communications network applications that brings essential capabilities to the table during every phase of network modernization. Fujitsu has the right credentials to help utilities meet the challenge of building truly effective, unified communications networks that support the smart grid. The Regional Sales Manager is John Scanlon, and he can be reached at 508-320-7771 or by e-mail at john.scanlon@us.fujitsu.com. FNC is located at 36 Kanes Crossing, Worcester, MA 01609.

Electroswitch Corp.: Manufacturers of high-quality manually and remotely operated protective and control switches and relays for the utility and commercial markets, including switches and relays with serial DNP 3.0 and MODBUS communications. Also manufacturer of digital and analog instrumentation and portable and panel-mounted battery monitoring systems. The Regional Sales Manager is David R. Brecken, and he can be reached by phone at 781-607-3325, by fax at 781-335-4253 and by e-mail at dbrecken@electroswitch.com. Electroswitch Corp. is located at 180 King Ave., Weymouth, MA 02188.

First Wind Energy, LLCis a development, build and operation grid-scale wind farm. The Vice President, Matthew Kearns, can be reach by phone at 207-228-6867, by fax at 207-221-1605 and by e-mail at mkearns@firstwind.com. First Wind Energy, LLC is located at 129 Middle St., 3rd Floor, Portland, ME 01401.

Orion Utilities, LLC is a new Associate member of NEPPA. The CEO of Orion is Evan Hagberg, and he may be contacted by phone at 937-313-4321 or by fax at 937-719-4418. Orion is located at 115 Brookside Drive, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Corrie Van Ausdal is the billing contact for the company, and she may also be reached at the above phone numbers. Orion Utilities provides meter, house bracket and pole reconnections, disconnections, outage restoration and collections for the Dayton Power and Light Company and AES in Ohio.

We are pleased to announce that NEPPA is officially a resident of Littleton, Mass! Our first official day in our new office was October 17. We are still settling in and enjoying our brand new building. The transition from Milford to Littleton would not have gone as smoothly as it did if it wasn’t for all the help we received from Littleton Electric Light and Water departments.

We hope many of you are joining us and will come check out the new training center at our Annual Membership Meeting coming up next week, Friday, November 9, 2012. If you cannot attend, please keep an eye out in the December Newsline with highlights of the event and pictures of NEPPA’s new home.

by Steve Socoby, NEPPA Technical Trainer

NEPPA’s Apprentice Lineworker School has officially relocated to the new NEPPA Training Center located in Littleton, Mass. A new pole yard is presently under construction by the students. A new metal-clad switchgear substation has been relocated from Bozrah, Conn., and will provide new training opportunities not only to the school but also to the Substation Training Program in the future. An underground vault is also under construction that will enhance the training experience with the expanded training that it will bring to the school as well. Some underground feeds to several pad-mounted transformers will be coming in the spring. It is NEPPA’s goal to replicate, as much as practical, the many utility installations to provide training in most areas of utility construction.

Also beginning in 2013, the NEPPA Apprentice Lineworker School will be implementing a new evaluation process for the practical portion of the apprentices attending the school.

In the past, each apprentice was evaluated by the instructor solely based upon a subjective criteria and observation for the practical portion of his training. Each student was graded based on how the instructor "felt" that that particular individual was progressing as a lineworker in general, his climbing abilities as observed, and his overall attitude and aptitude for the job displayed during each pole yard session. Tasks were assigned and completed in either a satisfactory or unsatisfactory manner with only a subjective gauge used to evaluate the apprentice. No real record of performance was produced.

Going foward, NEPPA is developing a set of "practical standards" for each class. For example, first-year apprentices will have a set time (standard), for instance, to complete a task, such as pole-top rescue. His time will be recorded and a document will be available for review. He can then assess for himself if he needs to work on any particular task or work skill to improve his lineworker skill level. The evaluation will consist of his actual performance in a specified task compared to the NEPPA standard and also compared to the average of his classmates. I believe that this process brings a greater level of competency to the evaluation process of each student. Based upon the fact that an objective score or grade for each student will now be available, NEPPA will gain the ability to issue a certificate for each student who meets or exceeds the established standard at graduation.

The classroom portion of the training will remain as before. Each apprentice will study 10 books annually covering a wide range of technical information for electric lineworkers. They will be graded on each subject presented with a score of 70 percent needed to pass each exam. Northwest Lineman College will issue a certificate covering the classroom part of the apprentices training for each student that successfully passes all of his exams.

NEPPA sincerely believes that these changes will be major improvements in the quality of the Apprentice Lineworker training that we offer. May I offer my sincere "Thank You" to all who have been so generous with donations and support.

By Elizabeth K. Nevitt and Lori Pickford

Congress remains in recess for the remainder of the campaign season and will return on Nov. 13 for a "lame duck" session. Before departing, Congress passed a continuing resolution, providing funding for the government through March 27, 2013.

Following the Nov. 6 election, Congress will need to address the impending "fiscal cliff" of expiring tax provisions and $1.4 trillion in automatic spending cuts from both defense and non-defense programs, the co-called "sequestration" put in place by last year’s Budget Control Act. While there is rampant speculation on how this may play out, it is completely dependent on who wins the White House and what party controls the House and Senate.

During the lame duck session, the issues of interest to NEPPA members that could potentially be addressed include cyber security legislation (see story below), a coal ash agreement, minor energy efficiency provisions, energy tax extenders, such as the production tax credit, and any potential guidance for members of Congress to address tax reform that would put proposals negatively affecting municipal bonds. However, most inside the Beltway speculate that Congress’ actions will be limited and most major issues will be "punted" for three to six months to allow the 113th Congress to organize and hopefully tackle the larger issues early in the next session.  

FERC Proposes to Guard against Geomagnetic Disturbances

Senate to Revisit Cyber Legislation Post-Election; Issue Remains Hot

APPA, others, Seek Sequestration Exclusion for Bonds

FERC Reaffirms Order 1000 on Transmission

Battle Over Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension Heats Up 

Chamber Report: U.S. Seventh Most "Energy Secure" Nation

CFTC "No-Action" Letters Provide Some Relief for Sub-Threshold, 201(f), RTO/ISO Swaps

FERC Says CFTC Swaps Test Creates Uncertainty

Judge Strikes Down CFTC Position Limits Rule

SEC Extends Temporary Rule on Municipal Advisors

by Bob "Henny" Henriksen

You will find that most linemens' personalities are made up from an old saying, "The Three B’s": bold, brash, and boastful. Linemen tend to be "bold" (courageous and daring), most are usually "brash" (hasty, rash and impetuous), and have you ever heard of a lineman who does not like to "boast" (to speak with exaggeration and pride)? This fits the mold for most linemen who work in the electric utility field in all types of weather, to keep the lights on. What a fraternity.  

Every one of these linemen comes with their own attitude. Because the work is so dangerous, the wrong attitude’s can promote an avenue for accidents. Can you control everyone’s attitudes? More than likely not, but you can try to foster a positive work environment and safety-minded attitudes. How is that done? Start by treating the linemen on your crew the way you would like to be treated. Respectful, considerate, understanding, and not asking anyone to do something that you would not do. Does this change their attitudes? Maybe not right away, but it points them in the right direction. When you give respect, you usually get respect back. 

Trying to keep bad attitudes from spreading throughout your work force is not easy. Management and union relationships can sometimes cause many of these attitude problems. Both parties should be working daily towards a goal of doing the work in a timely fashion and in the safest manner possible. Getting the job done on time, correctly and with no accidents promotes respect from both sides. It also gives the linemen a sense of pride and accomplishment. Granted, there are some people on both sides who will never change their attitudes. They are born complainers and find fault with everything and everyone. If they would just put as much effort into doing the job as they do trying not to do it, the job could be finished with time to spare. These individuals always are blaming others for their problems. It is up to management and the union to bring these people in line, which is sometimes difficult. 

Linemen are a unique breed. Every day when they go out to work on high voltage lines and equipment for six to seven hours a day, they are looking down the barrel of a gun, where the gun is loaded and the trigger cocked – just one screw up and out the chamber comes the bullet. With line work, you might get only that one mistake. Maybe this is why most linemen are of the "3 B’s" variety. It might also be why some attitudes are stronger or a tad strange. But you also will notice that when the lights are out and the storm is blowing, they all seem to pull together to put the lights back on. It is a great profession with lots of rewards over the years, and that is why these bold, brash and boastful linemen love it so much. They are the high voltage "heroes" who want to be the one to close those cutouts and turn on that neighborhood. Remember even police and firemen need heroes to look up to.