From RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

As we approach the final quarter of 2023, we have a number of important projects we are continuing to move forward. It has been an extremely busy time for us. A quick recap of where we have been and what is to come. First, thank you, APS and SRP, as our host city utilities, for the hospitality and engagement at the 2023 RMEL Fall Convention! Another successful event that members can still take advantage of the quality speakers and relevant topics on timely content. We are continuing to move forward with our two critical initiatives that will align our great association for future and longstanding success. Not to mention a series of educational programs we offered this quarter with many held in the various member regions! It has been a busy but extremely productive time for the association. 

RMEL INITIATIVES UPDATE

RMEL Rebranding Initiative

These are extremely exciting times for our association! The RMEL Rebranding Initiative is moving forward at a fast but methodical pace. The board, with help from a variety of members, have identified opportunities for our Association to change its brand without losing the values of what we have built around…providing education and networking for the electric energy industry. We have selected a name, are in the process of identifying the logo along with the determining a launch plan to roll out with our membership. We will continue to move this forward. Stay tuned! 

RMEL Dues Restructuring Initiative

As you make plans for your 2024 budget, I did want to share with you that we will be rolling out a new dues structure this fall. As we all have experienced the soaring inflation rates and rising cost of services in the hospitality industry, we have found ourselves needing to reevaluate our dues structure, which we can proudly state has not changed since 1995 (our last dues increase). The adjustment will reflect a way that best aligns with our changing industry and will include new package options that will make planning and budgetary processes easier for all members. The top service supplier category dues rate will be $4,250 (previously $3,250). The Champions and Named Scholarship Programs will remain at the current pricing. The Utility Segment dues rate is currently determined by the megawatt hour sales will use the multiplier.003, with a cap not to exceed $22,500 annually. In addition, package pricing will be made available for education programing that can be tied into the dues payment. We will be rolling this out later this month! 

2023 RMEL FALL CONVENTION RECAP

Thank you to all 250 participants who braved the desert heat (“but it’s a dry heat”) and joined us in Tempe, AZ for the 2023 RMEL Fall Convention, celebrating as an association with “120 Years of Building the Network: Finding the Solutions to Tomorrow’s Challenges!” As always, the event proved to be an excellent time for connecting with friends and colleagues to discuss and learn about today and tomorrow’s top concerns in the electric energy industry! It is always enlightening to see how special it is when our members work together to tackle the challenges our great industry faces. Certainly, a foundational element that makes RMEL special!

Our Fall Convention works because our members help us drive the content! We are calling on you once again! Please mark the calendar for December 7th in Denver, Colorado, to help us plan for the 2024 Fall Convention. You can start by identifying potential trends, topics and possible speakers for consideration. Detailed venue information will be shared soon. Mark your calendar!

Review Your Favorite Presentation

To all that registered for the convention, I encourage you to scan your list of speakers/topics from the event and revisit those speaker presentations. I am confident you will grasp additional content you may have missed originally. ALL presentation recordings and PDFs (that we have permission to share, which is most) from the 2023 Fall Convention are now available on the Fall Convention app! You can access the app from your browser here or via the App Store here or Google Play Store here. Login using the email address you registered for the conference with. Please let us know if you need any assistance logging in. Whether it is one you heard or one you missed, I am confident you will gain new insights and valuable information.

For those interested in reviewing any of the presentation topics that were not registered for the convention, please contact the RMEL office for access requirements.

All the following presentations are available to registered 2023 Fall Convention attendees:

DAY 1 Keynote Address: A Peek Past the End of the World
Peter Zeihan, Geopolitical Strategist & Global Affairs Expert

DAY 2 Keynote Address: Driving Cultural Transformation
Vibhas Ratanjee, Subject Matter Expert & Global Practice Leader for Leadership Development, Gallup

CEO PANEL
Barry Clegg, President, Black & Veatch Operations
Susan Gray, President & CEO, Tucson Electric Power/UNS Energy Corporation
Jeff Guldner, President & CEO, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation • President, Arizona Public Service
Jim Pratt, General Manager & CEO, Salt River Project

PANEL: Physical & Cyber Security of Energy Infrastructure
Kevin Ludwig, Vice President - Grid Portfolio Leader, Black & Veatch
Brian Nowak, Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Audie Whipple, Security Systems Manager, Salt River Project

PANEL: RTO/ISO Renewable Integration & Grid Management
Kenan Ogelman, Vice President - Commercial Operations, ERCOT
Bruce Rew, Senior Vice President of Operations, SPP
Dede Subakti, Vice President - Systems Operations, California ISO

PANEL: Leadership Development
Ken Curry, Special Assistant to the President & CEO • Past Vice President of Customer Service & Chief Customer Officer, Nebraska Public Power District
Tina Drews, Director of Talent Development, Salt River Project
Tammy Mallaisé, Senior Vice President - People & Culture, Zachry Group

PANEL: Hydrogen Hubs
Hank Courtright, Executive Consultant, Salt River Project • Chair - Governing Board of the Center for an Arizona Carbon Neutral Economy, Arizona State University
Jonathan Cristiani, Bioenergy & Hydrogen Technology Manager, Black & Veatch
Katie Pogue, Manager of Corporate Strategy & Green Fuels, Apex Clean Energy

Government Energy Policy
Rob Talley, President, Talley & Associates

EPRI’s Climate READi Project
Brandon Delis, Director - Research & Development, EPRI

ADDITIONAL 2023 RMEL FALL CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

RMEL Service Awards

Awarded at the Fall Convention, RMEL service awards provide the opportunity to recognize key members for their contributions to our association and industry. This year, we honored 11 individuals with RMEL’s top service awards.

• 2023 RMEL Distinguished Leadership Award - Susan Gray, President & CEO, Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy Services, and UNS Energy Corporation; received RMEL’s highest honor. 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.
• RMEL’s Industry Leadership Award - Given to "individuals whose leadership has made an impact within their organizations,” the 2023 recipients are Dylan Bearce, Senior Director – Energy Resources, UNS Energy Corporation; Jeff Bradford, Director of Electric System Field Operations North, Austin Energy; Bill Galloway, Engineering Supervisor for Electric & Gas Distribution Standards, Colorado Springs Utilities; Jenifer Grimes, Operations & Management Manager, Salt River Project; Chad Stickler, Safety Director, Delta-Montrose Electric Association; Lisa Tiffin, Vice President of Planning & Analytics, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association; and Michael Whiddon, Manager of Accounting, Holy Cross Energy.
• 2023 RMEL Honorary Life Member Award - RMEL also conferred this award for those "whose knowledge and accomplishments in the electric energy field entitle him/her to special recognition,” to Bruce Akin, retired, Evergy; Ken Curry, retired, Nebraska Public Power District; and Mike Hummel, retired, Salt River Project.

Congratulations to all 2023 RMEL Award Winners, and thank you for your dedication to the electric energy industry!

Passing of the Gavel

We were thrilled to announce that the leadership at for RMEL will continue to be in quality hands. Lisa Barbato, Chief Systems Planning & Projects Officer at Colorado Springs Utilities, is the incoming RMEL Board President for the 2023-2024 term. As we embark on this exciting journey under Lisa’s guidance, the RMEL membership can anticipate another productive year. Congratulations, Lisa!

I wish to express my deepest appreciation for the outgoing 2022-2023 RMEL Board President, Mike Kotara, President of Zachry Sustainability Group. Mike led RMEL through a very transformative year, championing two valuable initiatives: RMEL rebranding and RMEL dues restructuring. You can read more about these respective initiatives near the end of this message from the executive director. Mike’s successful leadership as RMEL Board President demonstrates his steadfast dedication to achieving excellence in the electric energy industry. Thank you again, Mike!

Scholarship Fundraising & Auction

The golfers started the generous donations through the purchase mulligans in support of the RMEL Foundation scholarship fund. The next evening, the attendees joined in on an evening of live music, food and friendly competitive bidding at the RMEL Foundation silent and live auction. I am pleased to share we raised over $32,000 in support of scholarships for the next generation of electric industry professionals! A sincere thank-you to all those individuals and organizations who donated items and bid on items leading up to and during the auction evening.

Post Convention Survey

Please take a few moments to complete the Fall Convention Survey if you haven’t already. Your feedback is extremely important to us and will directly impact planning for the 2024 Fall Convention and all future RMEL events. 

2024 RMEL SPRING CONFERENCE & RMEL'S UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

Mark your calendars! We are pleased to share that the dates and location have been finalized for the 2024 RMEL Spring Conference. Taking place May 20th-22nd, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center in Denver, CO. We are starting to plan for a robust slate of sessions across the three educational tracks: Management, Generation, and Transmission & Distribution. Stay tuned for more information and registration details in the coming months.

Also, please visit the RMEL Events and Education Calendar webpage for the most up-to-date list of offerings, and reference the below Upcoming Event List in this newsletter to learn more and register. Our education committees, made up of RMEL members, strives to organize timely, important and thoughtful educational and networking events, and we are looking forward to a full year of these opportunities curated by our members, for our members. We hope to see you soon at an upcoming event!

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

As many of you are aware, I will be retiring from the RMEL as the executive director, transitioning the position over the next few months to come. The board is currently actively seeking my replacement, and I have committed to assist them in any way to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. After serving this great association for 12-plus years, Susie and I have decided it is time to turn the page and start our next chapter and try out that thing called retirement. I want to thank Mike Kotara for the recognition he shared at the convention and the RMEL Board for the unwavering support and commitment to this great association. I have enjoyed the many great relationships with so many of you. Thank you, all! I will share more as the exit day approaches. Until then, we still have some unfinished business to take care of!      

RMEL AS YOUR RESOURCE

As always, please consider RMEL a resource to you and your organization. Please share those development opportunities with your peers, workgroups and your professional network! Also, do not hesitate to reach out to us with topics or workshops you would deem beneficial to our industry.