NEPPA eNewsletter
October 2013
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This year’s Customer Service Conference was held on September 12 at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. We had 52 attendees representing utilities and affiliates from all over New England.
The day started off with Larry Brownell, NEPPA’s Executive Director, welcoming all the guests. After, Joe Sollecito, Chair of the Customer Service Committee, introduced everyone to what the customer service conference is all about. He then went on to thank our two sponsors who helped make the event possible: Cogsdale Cooperation located in Canada and Century Bank located in Medford, MA.
The first speaker was Paul Bagdan, Ph.D., who is a professor of The Hospitality College at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. Paul provided an overview of best-practices in serving guests across all sectors of the hospitality industry.
The second speaker was Bob Ryan of Ryan and Wood Distilleries. He presented the art of craft distilling, then discussed the path he and his team have taken to make the consumer aware of their products and sales philosophy.
After Bob spoke, the winners of the Carol Tracy Customer Service Award were given. Click here to see the list of who received the award.
After lunch, Paul spoke again and conducted an interactive roundtable that utilized short case studies involving customer service. He also introduced hospitality-related service techniques.
The day ended with the option to take a tour of Old Sturbridge Village.
 Joseph Sollecito, Chair of Customer Service Committee, welcoming everyone   Casey Dowd, Cogsdale Brian Feeney, Century Bank  Professor Paul Bagdan from The Hospitality College, Johnson & Wales  Bob Ryan from Ryan and Wood Distilleries  Professor Paul Bagdan from The Hospitality College, Johnson & Wales ##SHARELINKS##
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The Carol A. Tracey Customer Service Award is for 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 to meet customer needs.
This year’s winners were announced at the Customer Service Conference held at Old Sturbridge Village on September 12.
 Nancy Forgione, Christine Arsenault, Meggin Hendley, and Sean Hamilton, General Manager, from Sterling Municipal Light Department  Lisa Sheehy and Judy Gove from New Hampshire Electric Cooperative  Gene Duhamel and Michael Hale, General Manager, from Shrewsbury Electric & Cable Operations ##SHARELINKS##
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NEPPA is interested in seeking speaking topics for the 2014 Engineering and Operations Conference & Expo. The presentations must be relevant to current topics in the electrical distribution industry. They must appeal to a broad audience of operations and engineering employees of Municipal companies. The speakers are limited to 45 minutes per topic. Please send a one-page description of your topic and a speaker bio to Kris DiGirolamo at kristind@neppa.org. ##SHARELINKS##
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
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Almost every profession has its moments in the sun. In the accounting profession, the first two weeks of April are when they get media attention because of tax season; media has their award show season or summer release period; and the car industry has its annual release of their new models. These are great spotlights of positive moments for those industries.
However, some industries like ours, seem to get their moments only in a time of crisis. Public power has shown brightly during the past several years, when storms and other events have threatened our customers. We have responded quickly and professionally. This has been a great source of pride and deserved praise. Public power reliability is unparalleled.
While it is great to have people come out and thank you when you have restored their power, we need to find more opportunities to promote ourselves along with the the great things we do and what fantastic community members we are.
For years, APPA has coordinated a national Public Power Week. NEPPA is returning to its roots and wants to help coordinate and promote the heralding of our industry in New England. Public Power Week is always the first full week in October. I know this is a late reminder of the week and we will do better going forward. Nonetheless, if you are interested, here are some resources for you (provided by APPA):
Like any good organizer, APPA has provided a tool kit for you: Public Power Week Tool Kit. Included are logos, web resources and samples (proclamation, news release, letter to business customer, employee recognition and letters to public officials). For those of you who have already begun, many of these resources may not be needed, but they will give you a good reference for your efforts.
There is also a Public Power Week brochure which can be found here: Public Power Week Brochure. These can be duplicated and disseminated or just put out on your counter. Courtney Crouse, our Communications Manager and Newsline Editor, will be visiting utilities this week to record and report on the various efforts. If you have an event, please let Courtney know (ccrouse@neppa.org).
While our industry doesn’t have the promotional budget of some of the industries mentioned, we do have a great distribution of members, which is the core of a strong grassroots campaign. We all love what we do, so in essence, what we are doing is organizing a week where we shout it out. With enough of us shouting at the same time, we can make a roar that is heard.
Photos and information will be used for the November Newsline to highlight all of your promotions. Content will also be used for us to get an earlier jump on next year.
Let’s see if we can build Public Power Week into the same level of promotional event as the annual auto shows or promotional periods organized to highlight other industries. We have one advantage that other industries don’t: We are community-owned, and so we are asking our customers to be proud of themselves. That should be an easy sell.
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AROUND NEW ENGLAND
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Peabody, MA – Peabody Municipal Light Plant (PMLP) proudly announces the hiring of Jennifer Santoro as PMLP’s new Community Relations Manager. Santoro, formerly the Communications Coordinator at the Belmont Municipal Light Department, comes to this position with over six years’ experience and a strong background in the municipal power industry. As Manager of the Community Relations Division, Ms. Santoro’s main responsibilities will include directing and supervising PMLP’s Community Outreach and Energy Services Programs to the customers of Peabody and South Lynnfield by collaborating with the community at large, City Officials, and community coalitions to further increase the public presence of PMLP, as well as promote the awareness of the services PMLP provides to its customers. In this role, she will focus on researching, creating, and administering programs and initiatives for educating the public on Community Improvement Projects and assist with establishing and developing policies and procedures for PMLP.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and a Master’s Degree in Management from Lasell College in Auburndale, MA. She resides in Belmont with her daughter, Ava Carmela. She will continue to be an active member of the Municipal Electric Association of Massachusetts (MEAM) as the Treasurer, as well as a member of the Peabody Rotary Club and the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce.
In announcing Ms. Santoro’s hire, PMLP Manager, Glenn Trueira praised Jennifer as an experienced and knowledgeable addition to PMLP Management. "The hiring of an experienced professional in this field who is dedicated to community involvement and to the establishment of policies and procedures for the betterment of the community is just one example of our commitment to the customers of Peabody and South Lynnfield. Jennifer brings great industry experiences and work ethic to this position and we are thrilled she has become part of PMLP."
"I’m truly proud and honored to become part of PMLP and the community of Peabody and South Lynnfield. One of my goals is to reach out to the community in expanding its community relationships and public presence," states Santoro.
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ASSOCIATION HAPPENINGS
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NEPPA welcomes Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. as a new Associate Member. Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. is a company that handles civil engineering, design build delivery, energy services, environmental services, facilities engineering, land development, landscape architecture, manufacturing solutions, structural engineering, transportation planning, utilities engineering, water resources, and water and wastewater. The company is located at 78 Interstate Drive West Springfield, MA 01089. The primary contact person is Timothy F. Keane, PE, LSP. He may be contacted by phone at 413.452.0445, by fax at 413.846.0497, and/or by e-mail at tkeane@fando.com. InSightAtlast, LLC is one of NEPPA’s new Corporate Members! The company is located at 12 Middle Street Amherst, NH 03031. InsightAtlast, LLC has a suite of software products called SOSMobile -- a robust, cost-effective workforce management system. With intelligent scheduling, mobile dispatch and real-time updates, SOSMobile connects customer service with field operations using existing infrastructure and devices. Whether your service territories are large and remote, urban or in-between, SOSMobile’s flexible modules can be tailored perfectly to streamline each unique mobile workforce. If you have any questions, please contact their main contact person, Sarah Glover, at 603.672.4660 or by e-mail at sglover@insightatlast.com. NEPPA would like to welcome CRC, Inc. as a new Associate Member! CRC is a nationwide, cooperatively owned and operated, 24/7 contact center and central station. Founded in 1992, CRC has steadily increased the size and scope of its operation with offices currently in Austin, MN, Dunlap, TN, and Abilene, TX. CRC serves more than 300 members and associate members in 41 states, representing more than 4.7 million consumers. The company is located at 2000 8th Street NW Austin, MN 55912. Dan Otteson, the Senior Regional Business Manager, can be contacted by phone at 507.437.2400, by fax at 507.437.2031, and/or by e-mail at danotteson@crc.coop. You may also contact Leah Ferch leahferch@crc.coop at and Chris Holt at chrisholt@crc.coop. ##SHARELINKS##
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Yes folks, it’s that time again! Back in September, NEPPA mailed out the 2014 Education & Training Catalog and the 2014 Safety & Training registration forms. The sooner you send in your registration forms, the sooner next year’s calendar will be completed and you will be notified of your yearly schedule. If you have certain days or times of the month that you require classes be held, please make a note of this somewhere on the registration form, so we can take this into consideration before beginning the scheduling process. NEPPA provides on-site training to about 84 utilities and municipalities in the Northeast region, as well as parts of New York; therefore it is very important that we receive your registration forms in a timely manner. If you have any questions or concerns, please email NEPPA at membership@neppa.org. You may also contact Steve Socoby, the Director of Training, at ssocoby@neppa.org. The deadline to register is October 21, 2013! ##SHARELINKS##
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In the April edition of our e-newsline, we began doing a feature on the utilities and affiliate Members that have generously donated to the NEPPA Training Center or have had a part in NEPPA’s move. This month we will recognize TCI of NY, LLC.
Lisa Leone-Beers, who is the Customer Relations Manager of TCI of NY, LLC, goes on to say:
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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In This Issue:
NEPPA Members Lobby Capitol Hill
A delegation of eight NEPPA General Managers/CEOs traveled to Washington, DC, for Sept. 17-18 meetings with the New England Congressional delegation and senior House and Senate energy committee staff. The NEPPA delegation raised concerns about the ISO-NE markets and their lack of transparency and coordination as they strive to "fix" a variety of ISO-created markets including energy, ancillary services, demand response and forward capacity markets.
The group spoke about the lack of natural gas pipeline capacity in New England, its impact on consumers and the need for better coordination between the gas suppliers and the needs of electric generators. In addition, they informed the delegation about the negative impacts of the current limits on trading with "special entities" resulting from regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act. Overall their message was well received and the meetings were very productive.
To read the complete legislative update including the following topics, click the links below:
Congressional Focus ##SHARELINKS##
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