In early July, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the "Green Communities Act" which he called "the best clean energy bill in America." It has been hailed by environmentalists as among the most innovative efforts in the nation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to encourage the use of clean technologies that don't contribute to global warming.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) took effect Jan. 1, 2008, but entities covered by the rule have until Nov. 1, 2008, to implement programs to comply with the rule. The rule requires creditors (which includes utilities) to establish identity theft prevention programs for covered accounts (which includes utility accounts.)

One of the most interesting and well-attended sessions at the annual conference of the American Public Power Association focused on the legal responsibilities of public power utility board directors. For those who could not attend the conference (or this session), here are some valuable highlights:

The Commonwealth's solar energy footprint will be expanding to communities served by Massachusetts municipal utilities under a new program announced on July 9 by the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC)

On June 25, The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) completed 1,000 days without a lost time accident, breaking the previous record of 998 days. WMLP employees were recognized for their accomplishment with a luncheon.

The Environmental Business Council (EBC) of New England recently acknowledged Braintree Electric Light Department (BELD) with its Nicholas Humber Environmental Award for Outstanding Collaboration, recognizing BELD's work on the Thomas A. Watson Generating Station as "an outstanding accomplishment in the promotion of a sustainable, clean environment."

Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC) has filed an application for a Certificate of Public Good with the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) to expand its generating facility at Vermont's largest landfill in Coventry.

At its 69th Annual Meeting of Members held in June at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) announced three new contracts to purchase nearly 12 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to be generated at wind farms and biomass plants across New England.

I hope that all our members are having a happy and healthy summer. As you read this, your thoughts might already be turning to the fall, but here in the Training and Education Department, we're still busy with our summer events.

Thought about your 2009 Training Needs?
Since you will get our updated list and description of courses in early September, now might be a good time to start thinking about which topics will be most helpful to you.

A commercial general liability policy provides coverage on behalf of an insured in response to its own legal obligation to pay damages. To that end, it is important to identify and therefore assure that the policy lists the correct organizational name as the Named Insured. The designated Named Insured, located in the Declarations, lists the primary person or organization that purchased the coverage.

NEPPA has recently produced a video to assist with the recruitment of future public power lineworkers, and copies have been sent to all NEPPA members.

Public power employees need to know about electrical safety, but they are not the only ones in any given community. Individuals from other municipal departments, too, should know the ABC's of electrical safety, and what to do - and what not to do - when responding to a serious electrical "incident" of any kind.

Now that the "Customer Skills Leadership" program has been developed and is scheduled to begin in September, we're putting together a second certificate program, this one for supervisory staff in our member utilities.

August 10-13, 2008
Annual Conference
Mt. Washington Resort
Bretton Woods, N.H.

August 21
GF/Crew Leadership Roundtable
Chocksett Inn
Sterling, Mass.

October 3
Annual Membership Meeting
Chocksett Inn
Sterling, Mass.

October 21-23
Customer Service Leadership Program
Session 2
Various locations

October 28-30
Crew Leadership
Stowe, Vt.

November 4-6
Customer Service Leadership Program
Session 3
Various locations

November 19-21
Public Utility
Management Program
New England Center
Durham, N.H.

Three NEPPA members were honored with awards at the 2008 annual conference of the American Public Power Association, held in New Orleans in late June. The three officials are William Gallagher, special projects chief and retired general manager of the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, Maurice Scully, CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, and Duncan Hastings, municipal administrator of Johnson, Vt.

Public power official praised for his leadership and vision.
It was 1972 when Jack Collins first moved into an old farmhouse in Ludlow, Vt. Alone, with his wife and young children still living in Wayne, N.J., he began to wonder if he had made the right decision...