From the Desk of RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

RMEL Fall Convention Recap

Thank you to the nearly 900 attendees and to the speakers who helped us make the 2021 Virtual Fall Convention a success last month! The speakers presented their thought-provoking insights to help us all prepare for the future and Find Solutions to Tomorrow’s Challenges. We had hoped to all get together for an in-person Convention, but I was so glad we could still have a virtual forum to turn off all the noise and focus on critical content and excellent presenters. We will soon be starting the planning for the Spring Conference and Fall Convention with the thought of hosting these events as in-person conferences (and possibly hybrid) in 2022. The safety of our membership is paramount and we will continue to monitor the situation as we proceed. 

I truly believe the success of the Convention can be attributed to the timeliness of the topics and the quality of speakers we were able to assemble. I especially want to thank our CEO Panelists who took time from their hectic schedules to prepare and speak at our Convention. Thank you, Aram Benyamin (Colorado Springs Utilities), Gary Hoogeveen  (Rocky Mountain Power), Tracey LeBeau (Western Area Power Administration), and Barbara Sugg (Southwest Power Pool) for sharing your vision and insight of your organizations, and our industry.   

To all of you that registered for the Convention, I would encourage you all to schedule some “me” time to access those available presentations from the event - you have until November 12th to watch them on the platform. Please let us know if you need your login information for the Fall Convention Platform. Whether it is one you heard, or one you missed, I am confident you will gain a few nuggets of valued information.   

All of the following presentations are available to registered Fall Convention attendees until November 12th:

Fall Convention Keynote: Seeing Around the Corner – A View of What’s to Come
John Ellis, Technology and Futurist Keynote Speaker, Best-Selling Author, Software Expert, and Former Global Technologist with Ford Motor Company

CEO Panel
Panelist: Aram Benyamin, CEO, Colorado Springs Utilities 
Panelist: Gary Hoogeveen, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain Power
Panelist: Tracey LeBeau, Administrator and CEO, Western Area Power Administration
Panelist: Barbara Sugg, President & CEO, Southwest Power Pool
Moderator: Neal Walker, President, Texas New Mexico Power & RMEL 2022 President 
Sponsored by POWER Engineers, Inc. 

How Crypto Mining Operations and Utilities WIN Together
Dave Perrill, CEO, Compute North
Nicole Sedlacek, CEcD, Economic Development Manager, Nebraska Public Power District

What the Heck is Going On: A Guide to the Climate Debate in Washington
Phil Musser, VP Federal Government Affairs, NextEra Energy, Inc.

Cost-Effective Resiliency-As-A-Service: A Critical Facility Microgrid Case Study at Salt River Project
Dan Sowder, Co-Founder and Principal, Sound Grid Partners
Tess Williams, Co-Founder and Principal, Sound Grid Partners 

Grid Security: Key Questions and Answers with PacifiCorp
Daniel Marvin, Director, Cyber Security, Berkshire Hathaway Energy 

Renewable Policy and the Implication to Energy Markets
Eva Liu, Manager, Market Analysis, NextEra Energy Resources 

Anirban Basu and the Chamber of Data (Economic Update)
Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group, Inc. 

Powering Decarbonization: Strategies for Net-Zero CO2 Emissions
Geoffrey J. Blanford, Ph.D., Senior Technical Executive, EPRI 

Emergency Response – it is not “if”, it is “when” Roundtable Discussion
John Bowerfind, COO, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association
Ruth Marks, VP of Transmission Maintenance, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association
Art Wiese, VP Energy Delivery, Nebraska Public Power District
Moderator: Ken Wilmot, Sr. VP and Chief Operations Officer, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. 

A highlight of the Fall Convention is the opportunity to recognize key members for their contributions to our Association and Industry. This year, we honored six individuals with RMEL’s top service awards, and we had the chance to hear from Thomas J. Kent, President & Chief Executive Officer, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), who received RMEL’s highest honor, the 2021 Distinguished Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual that has demonstrated significant contributions to the electric energy industry, their respective organization, and an advocate for the RMEL Mission.

Doug Bennion, Retired, PacifiCorp, received RMEL’s Honorary Life Membership Award. Honorary Life Membership is conferred upon an individual “whose knowledge and accomplishments in the electric energy field entitle him/her to special recognition.” This award recognizes their years of service and dedication.  Doug retired this past Spring with a 40+ year career at PacifiCorp and served as an active RMEL Board Director for over 13 years. 

Four individuals received the Industry Leadership Award. The Industry Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose leadership has made an impact within their organizations. The 2021 recipients are: Keith Carman, Vice President of Transmission Operations, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association; Nicholas Peters, Manager, Operating Engineering Group, Colorado Springs Utilities; Angela Piner, Vice President, HDR, Inc.; and John Quintana, Supervisory Electrical Engineer, Western Area Power Administration. 

Congratulations again to these outstanding individuals!

The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application is Now Open!
Application Deadline is February 25, 2022

The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application is now open! Spread the word, and please let us know if you have college/trade school/university contacts who would like to receive the scholarship information. We are thankful for the solid year of scholarship fundraising our members provided the RMEL Foundation during this year. Thank you for the Corporate and Individual Cash Donations! The Virtual RMEL Foundation Auction Raised $25,000 and an additional $15,000 has been raised in cash donations. Learn more about 2022 Named Scholarship Sponsor opportunities for your company.

You can still become a Friend of RMEL – your donation of $100 or more will go directly to a 2022 Friends of RMEL scholarship!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to pause and reflect on the blessings we have been given. I thank all of you for your continued engagement in RMEL. You truly represent what our Association is all about. May you and your families have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!