Greetings, Municipal and Rural Electric Utilities, Corporate and Affiliate Members:

I would be remiss if I did not apologize for my absence from the e-newsletter for the past two issues. As the Interim Director, I have been attempting to ramp up on the issues important to our members and our industry in general, and have missed the opportunity to share my thoughts with you -- for that I am sorry.

As NEPPA continues through our 50th Anniversary Celebration, I wish to update you on recent developments within the organization and the greater community that we serve.

It is time for us to return to our core competence of Safety and Training Education; Mutual Aid Coordination; Government Relations; and Communication/Dissemination of Information. To this end, initiatives that we have begun and will continue into 2016 include, but are not limited to:

OSHA Certified Outreach Trainer Status for all NEPPA Trainers;
Front-Line Supervisor Training Program;
Engineers and IT Roundtables and Initiatives from these Groups;
Satellite Training Programs for Vermont and Maine;
Use of Affiliate Members to assist with Advanced Training Programs;
Continued Advocacy for Initiatives Related to FERC and ISO Accountability;
Return to Self-Supply Rights for Public Power;
Elimination of Performance Incentives;
Ability to Create and Manage Micro-Grids;
Control of Escalating Costs associated with RTO Mandatory Capacity Market Programs;
Any and all legislation that reduces/impacts our rights to choice and local decision-making opportunities.

The NEPPA community is flourishing. Our corporate and affiliate membership continues to grow and offer our utility members products and innovations to meet the challenges of the 21st century. I thank you all for your support, knowledge and volunteering in helping us achieve the goals of our organization and its members.

In addition to our growing affiliate membership, we continue to focus our attention on soliciting membership from those few municipal and rural utilities that have not joined our fraternity. It is our goal to achieve full utility membership in New England by the end of 2016. Only through membership is one able to help mold the future direction of our various committees and initiatives and goals for Public Power in New England.

Through the efforts of our Executive Committee and the Executive Search firm, Dacri and Associates, we are diligently and thoughtfully interviewing candidates for the vacant Executive Director’s position. We believe we will have a new Director in place by the end of the third quarter of 2015, helping guide our Association for the next 50 years.

Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will be in full view at our Annual Conference, August 23-26, at the Mt. Washington Resort, N.H. Please join us in sharing your reflections and thoughts on both the past and future 50 years of public power in New England and enjoy the festivities, programs and camaraderie that this special conference will afford all.

I thank you all for the privilege and honor of serving as your Interim Executive Director for these past few months and look forward to meeting with you at the Annual Conference and/or interacting with you on issues of mutual interest.