From the Desk of RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

Who is Ready to MEET IN-PERSON at the 2022 RMEL Spring Conference? 
Register and Book Your Discounted Hotel Room in RMEL’s Block (Hotel Booking Deadline is April 15, 2022)

If you are READY, join us in-person for RMEL’s 2022 Spring Management, Engineering and Operations Conference, set for Monday-Wednesday, May 9-11th, at the Hyatt Regency Austin in Austin, Texas. If you remember, we were all set to enjoy some Texas BBQ and great Tex-Mex food in Austin for the 2020 Spring Conference, and then COVID happened! After two years of navigating through this pandemic, we are glad to have that opportunity to finally get back together and see our industry peers and leaders! We are ecstatic about the opportunity to see members from past events (in-person and virtual attendees). For those of you who haven’t attended an RMEL Spring Conference, I encourage you to register and experience this reunion! Attending is not just reconnecting with our industry peers, it is also taking advantage of timely and relevant content in the 25+ technical sessions that tie together trends, technology, operations, engineering, leadership and culture to build toward the electric energy future. We will share more details about the program soon! If you are managing people or projects, engineering, planning or operating systems in the electric utility industry, this conference is for you. The Spring Management, Engineering and Operations Conference has been a tradition since RMEL’s early beginnings. Known for providing outstanding continuing education and networking opportunities, this conference covers generation, transmission, distribution and management topics. The timely topics and breakout structure of the conference allow attendees to customize their education experience to focus on presentations and resources that align with their needs. Ample time is also provided to network with industry peers.

A special room rate of $235 is available. The best way to book your room is online, but you can call (512) 477-1234 and mention “RMEL.” The reservation deadline to receive this rate is April 15, 2022. You must mention you are making your reservation as part of the RMEL room block when calling the hotel. By not doing so, you may be incorrectly told that the hotel is full or quoted a different room rate. If the contracted room block is not met, RMEL is financially liable for penalties. Government Employees: If you make your reservation at the federal government rate, please be sure to mention you are part of RMEL so you will be counted towards the room block.

We hope to see you in Austin, and we will continue to offer additional virtual, hybrid and in-person events in the months leading up to the Spring Conference!

Recap: FAC-008 Compliance and Best Practices Webinar/Panel

A special thanks to Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association and Western Area Power Administration for delivering our first webinar of the year this week. The panel addressed FAC-008 requirements, the process for rating facilities, lessons learned from a NERC audit, as well as best practices for compliance with the FAC-008 Standard. One of the main topics raised in the panel discussion where the challenges achieving a successful audit and verifying that the data used in a FAC-008 study is up-to-date and accurate. Thank you, John Quintana and Lisa Sullivan from WAPA, and Curt Feinberg and Ryan Hubbard of Tri-State for your panel presentation. Special thanks goes out to Rick Hillis, from Tri-State, for moderating the event.

This is Just the Beginning!

We’ll announce many more 2022 opportunities to connect in-person and virtually soon! We hope you all have had a healthy and safe start to your year. Stay safe, and we’ll see you soon! 

The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application Closes at the End of This Month!
Application Deadline is February 25, 2022

The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application is open for one more week! 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.

Nominate an Emerging Leader at Your Organization for an RMEL Award
Submit Your Nomination by March 18th

RMEL's Emerging Leader Award recognizes and honors individual members who have made significant contributions within their organization, and have demonstrated the potential for leadership and outstanding service for the electric utility industry. The nominee must have no less than 5 years of experience and no more than 10 years of experience within the industry. Emerging Leader Award Winners are part of a dynamic group of future leaders who are introduced to the RMEL membership and recognized during the Spring Conference. Those recipients are now part of a strong professional network of industry peers. In addition, these award winners are presented unique development opportunities. Each year, past and current Award Recipients participate in an exclusive development session with Keynote Speakers who facilitate an open conversation with our Emerging Leader group. Nominate an outstanding individual at your company today!

Join the RMEL Team!

RMEL is looking to expand their TEAM! If you know of anyone interested in being a part of this great Association team, please send me a note!