NEPPA eNewsletter

NEPPA held its annual Engineering and Operations conference May 14th and 15th and by all accounts, it was a success.  More than 50 vendors, both indoor and outdoor, displayed their wares and connected with participants from all over New England.  

The day began with an early registration and pening keynote address by Lee Shelby, who spoke about the events that led to his occupational injury as a lineworker and the profound effect it had on his family, friends and co-workers.  He has presented to audiences nation-wide and did not disappoint; this is an issue that is especially personal to our attendees.  

Lee was followed by concurrent sessions on Cyber Security, presented by Scott Mossbrooks of N-Dimension Solutions, Inc. and Hoisting License Requirements, presented by Dan Kilburn of the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety.  The first, Cyber Security, discussed awareness, testing, plans, and implementation related to this emerging issue. The latter, Hoisting Licenses, brought attendees up to date on new regulations going into effect on September 1st of this year.

To round out the morning, there were two more sessions just before lunch: Transformer Rated Metering Testing and Revenue Protection, given by Eric Hubbard of PowerMetrix, and LED Lighting, by Bob Millard of Eaton.  The first highlighted the importance of testing meters at their site, providing examples of common problems and their potential costs to utilities.  The second focused on legislative updates from Congress, the Department of Energy and individual states.

Beginning directly after lunch, the Exhibit Hall was opened up and  participants were able to connect with the vendors for the afternoon.  Included were demonstrations by Yale Cordage and Fleet Electric and a viewing of the Storm Soldiers DVD.  

To wrap up the day, Lou Merloni, former Red Sox infielder, greeted the attendees by conducting the raffle, signing autographs, and posing for pictures.  (See story on raffle winners and sponsors!)

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Day two allowed attendees to focus on OSHA regulations with Carol Bates of OSHA and Mary Dozois of the Mass Dept. of Labor Standards leading the discussion.  For engineers, Steve Collier of Hometown Connections presented at a roundtable that discussed the reward of integrating metering, outage management, SCADA and other technologies in today’s public power market.  

Thanks to the committee and all who presented, attended, and exhibited at this year’s E & O Conference.

We look forward to hosting you all at next year’s event at the Doubletree Hotel in Danvers, Ma.!

 
Lee Shelby, Lee Shelby Enterprises, Inc.


Scott Mossbrooks, N-Dimension Solutions, Inc.


Dan Kilburn, Mass Department of Public Safety


Eric Hubbard, PowerMetrix


Bob Millard, Eaton


Outside Vendors


Exhibit Hall


Lou Merloni, Former Red Sox and radio show host


Carol Bates, OSHA


Mary Dozois, Mass Department of Labor Standards


Steve Collier, Hometown Connections

May and June often remind us of our relationships. We seem to be inundated with graduations, births, weddings and important anniversaries.  As an organization, we have the E&O, Apprentice Rodeo and Annual Conference, which serve as our family reunion activities. They are times when we reconvene with various groups, network and strengthen friendships. For 50 years, NEPPA has been used to create community and the strong bonds that communities provide.

NEPPA’s relations with our members’ crews and engineers were reinvigorated this past month by a great Engineering and Operations Conference. Dan Folding and his committee did an outstanding job and Mike Coppellotti facilitated the Engineering Roundtable. For those unable to attend, the event was a great success with educational sessions, demos and great vendors. Participants had plenty of time to network and it was a great demonstration of community.

Last week our community lost one of NEPPA’s great friends and outstanding legislative affairs resources. Phil Sweeney, Light Commission Chairman of Marblehead Electric, passed away on May 22nd. A regular figure at the Annual Conference and NEPPA’s annual congressional visits, Phil was no wallflower. He was well thought of and connected in the Democratic Party of Massachusetts. We would often find him having sidebars with a House Representative or Senator in DC. Having a great sense of humor he would banter with the best of them. While some can and did argue with his politics no one argued with his love of the industry or his genuine good nature. He will be missed. 

June will also see the retirement of Barbara Grimes of Burlington Electric. For the few of you who might not know Barb well, during her career she has:

• Served as Commissioner of the Department of Employment and Training for the State of Vermont. 
• Served as Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs in the Agency of Commerce. 
• Served five terms in the Vermont State House of Representatives. 
• Chaired the Vermont Interactive Television Council 
• Chaired the Housing Vermont Board
• Served on the Board of the United Way of Chittenden County 
• Served as a member of VELCO’s Board of Directors 

As the current President of NEPPA’s Board of Directors, Barb has been crucial to the development of NEPPA’s Training Center and my hiring. Don’t blame her for that last one, it was a group decision! As she worked her way through various NEPPA volunteer roles she also served as Vice Chair of the Legislative and Resolutions Committee for the American Public Power Association.  Her dedication and devotion has transformed public power both regionally and nationally. Working closely with her for almost three years has been a great asset. Her no nonsense business approach was beneficial to our decision making process. Barb has the rare ability to turn this business style on and off and relate to people on a personal level.

Barb retires from Burlington on June 30th. She will complete her term with NEPPA as President Emeritus at our Annual Conference. 

Perhaps for me and the rest of the staff, this is the most difficult part of our jobs. We get to know, work with and be friend all of these great folks and many times these relationships continue post-NEPPA, but sometimes outside circumstances they do not. So, on that note I would like to take a moment and say something we do not say enough, thank you all for sharing your time, thoughts and passions with us. You have made us the unique community known as NEPPA.
 

Finally, congratulations to  Savas Danos on his retirement from Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments. Savas was crucial to the future of NEPPA; in 2010, he stepped to the plate and guaranteed a home for NEPPA for 20 years!

Philip W. Sweeney, Jr., 75, passed away on May 22, 2014, at Kaplan House following a brief illness. He was the husband of Marcia (Callahan) Sweeney with whom he shared 52 years of marriage. Born in Lynn, the son of Philip W. Sweeney, Sr. and Cyrenne (Monahan) Sweeney, he had resided in Marblehead for 45 years.

He was a member of the Lynn English High School Class of 1957 and was a member of back-to-back State Hockey Championship teams in 1956 and 1957. He was also a member of the Class of 1962 at Norwich University.

He was the Chairman of The Abbot Public Library Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Marblehead Municipal Light Department Commission. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Mass. Municipal Wholesale Electricity Company and on the Policy Makers' Council of the American Public Power Association. Active in the local and State Democratic Party, he was a Life Member of the Marblehead Democratic Committee and had served as Chairman for many years. He was very involved in the APPA Legislative Rally in Washington D.C. and was a participant at our Annual Conference for many years.

He had several careers over his life, ranging from welding to teaching to technical writing. But, he found his true love in the hospitality business. A founder of The Black Rose in Boston, he built it into an internationally known place to celebrate Irish music. He then opened Sweeney's Retreat in Marblehead and prided himself on serving good food and good conversation.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Sweeney is survived by his three sons, Philip Sweeney, III; Marblehead Police Lt. Sean Sweeney, both of Marblehead and Scott Sweeney of California; five grandchildren, Conor Sweeney of Maine; Sean Sweeney, Jr. and Charles Sweeney both of Marblehead; Rebekah McCalmont and her husband, Mack and their son Booker John of Washington; and Samantha Sweeney and her daughter, Riley of California; two step-grandsons, Michael Meyers and his wife Tara and their daughter Emma; and Jordan Sweeney and his wife Kate and their children Jack, Faith, Oliver and Sally all of California.

He also leaves two sisters, Marilyn Waldrip of Newburyport; Sara O'Connor of Ipswich; two brothers, John Sweeney and his wife Gayle of Peabody and James Sweeney and his wife Barbara of Lynn; as well as many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Philip W. Sweeney, Jr. Scholarship Fund sponsored by the Marblehead Democratic Town Committee, Walter Horan, Treas., 17 Haley Road, Marblehead, MA 01945.

Over the years a number of my colleagues have asked me, "What do we get from the dues we pay to NEPPA and to APPA?  Okay, we know we get reduced costs for safety meetings, workshops, conferences or webinars, but is that all?  Sometimes when I cost it out I can attend what I want without being a member."

I always have what I consider to be solid answers identifying among other items: first and foremost, networking; statewide and nationwide lobbying efforts on public power’s behalf; access to "list serves"; access to safety and training issues and thus resolves; an army of support waiting in the wings to assist regionally and nationally; opportunities for staff to grow through educational opportunities; mutual aid in weather event recovery; and much more.  However, it is sometimes difficult to point to a specific act that supports the efforts I outline above.

I am extremely pleased to reach out with a big "thank you" to Sue Kelly, CEO and President of APPA.  Ms. Kelly opened her most recent blog by stating: "Electricity rates paid by customers in New England are already among the highest in the nation.  And those rates are in danger of climbing even more, owing to lack of transmission and pipeline infrastructure and the ineffective capacity markets (in which resources for future electricity markets are estimated and purchased ahead of need)."  The entire blog is devoted to the concerns we New Englanders have been raising for months, if not years, regarding the fact that we believe the "markets" just are not working and ISO-NE needs to be accountable to someone other than themselves to get corrections in place.  The blog is a step by step definition of how a wholesale electric market works focusing on current forward capacity issues.  Legislative committee members from NEPPA made a special trip to Washington, DC to explain to legislators or their staff the concerns we have regarding ISO-NE’s recent plan for capacity markets known as the Forward Capacity Market – Performance Incentive ("FCM-PI").  The group, with support from NEPPA members and Morgan Meguire were successful in having nine New England Senators send a letter to FERC requesting careful consideration of the NEPOOL Participants Committee alternative proposal on forward capacity markets.

If you haven’t read this blog – PLEASE DO SO – it is a strong representation of how our national association hears us and helps carry and support our message.  Share the blog with your Boards or Commissions, your state and local representatives as well as your federal delegation; it is a well written, explanatory statement of a very complicated issue and brings New England’s message to the forefront.  

Go to http://blog.publicpower.org/?=102

See first hand what the power of working together can do!

Sharon A. Staz

Chair, NEPPA Legislative Committee

NEPPA welcomes Lockheed Martin as a corporate member as of Tuesday, May 6, 2014! Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. The company is located at 16 Chestnut Street, Suite 300, Foxborough, MA 02035. The primary contact person is Brian Richwine who is the Sales Director for the Industrial Defender Solutions in the East. He can be reached at http://brichwine@industrialdefender.com or by phone at 508-718-6700.

Evans Line Construction Inc. became a corporate member of NEPPA on Tuesday, May 6, 2014! Evans Line Construction Inc. is an electrical utility contractor. The company is located at 7 Craneway, Hooksett, NH 03106. The primary contact person is Greg Evans, who is the President of the company. He can be reached at gregevansline@gmail.com or 603-644-3434 (phone). 

NEPPA also welcomes Northeast Power Delivery Group as a new associate member! Northeast Power Delivery Group matches the needs of utility customers with best-in-class products across a range of applications. The company is located at 14 Woodcrest Road, PO Box 1244, Westborough, MA 01581. The primary contact person is Patrick O’Connor. Patrick can be reached at Patrick@nepdg.com, or by phone at 508-330-0391. 

NEPPA, the quality leader for public power education in the Northeast, is seeking a new full-time instructor for its Littleton, Mass., Training Center and other remote training sessions.

NEPPA offers competitive compensation and presents a positive environment. Candidates must have crew experience and be proficient in operational/technical and safety areas of public utility operations and must be comfortable with public speaking and group management. NEPPA will train the right candidate in our programs. For information or to apply, please contact either Steve Socoby, ssocoby@neppa.org, or Larry Brownell, lbrownell@neppa.org, or call 978-540-2200.

On June 18th and 19th, NEPPA will hold its 16th annual Skills Assessment Rodeo at the training center in Littleton, Massachusetts. This event is an opportunity for the students enrolled in the apprentice school to put the new skills they are developing on display. The "Rodeo" is made up of 10 events in which each student competes against all the other students. Each event is timed but the fastest time is not the only criteria by which that they are judged. Each student also gains or loses points based upon the quality of their individual performance. This allows SAFETY and quality of work to remain the primary goal of each participant. 

Please make plans to attend and watch your apprentice or apprentices in action. Everyone is invited but please let us know you will be attending by calling Colleen at the NEPPA office or emailing her at cdelsignore@neppa.org.

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On May 2, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the creation of the nation’s first federal regional gasoline reserves near New York Harbor and in New England. The move comes in response to supply constraints during the response to Superstorm Sandy, and complements the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, a million-barrel supply of diesel. Each reserve will store 500,000 barrels to supply first responders and emergency generators.

To read the complete legislative update including the following topics, click the links below: