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Alltricity Network Report
From the Desk of Richard Putnicki, Executive Director, RMEL Thank you RMEL members for all of your participation with RMEL in 2018! We closed out the 2018 event calendar last Friday with RMEL’s November Safety Roundtable and the planning session for the 2019 Fall Executive Leadership and Management Convention. Both of these events thrived on member feedback and participation. As we start to say what we’re thankful for in the next few weeks, I am thankful for RMEL members! RMEL has been your tradition in American Power since 1903 and that’s our privilege. We are working to continue to be your association for the future. RMEL Market Research with WestGroup Research This past year has been a great one for talking to members, listening and, most importantly, putting your feedback to work. By now, you’ve probably heard about our work this past summer with WestGroup Research to complete a market research initiative. I am excited to take this opportunity to give you report of what we heard and our action plan to work that feedback. The RMEL Board of Directors and staff wanted to discover how can we best serve changing member needs in this evolving industry. By asking our diverse group of electric utilities and services and supplier companies, we knew we could learn more about the various needs of our membership and the industry. WestGroup completed a series of activities to gather information from a variety of data points. First, they hosted two focus groups at RMEL’s Spring Management, Engineering and Operations Conference. Then, they held in-depth, one-on-one phone interviews and sent out an online survey to all members. Thank you to all the members who were able to participate! What’s Working The RMEL experience is strong. Members place great value on the training and sharing of real best practices from the diverse member community:
“Only organization that successfully brings IOUs, MOUs, Coops, and industry together to address the challenges we are facing.” “Training, education and getting people in the business is a major strength of this organization. You do not see this type of focus in other organizations.” Areas Where RMEL Can Add Value Members see great opportunity for RMEL, including adding more new utilities and continuing to grow the association, working with today’s leaders (who are quickly retiring) to get emerging leaders engaged, and focusing on more targeted training in the areas of regulatory, renewable and new technology challenges and opportunities. "Expand footprint, engage with other utilities to join, network more." "Emphasis on new technology initiatives (such as wind and solar) would be beneficial since the industry is moving in this direction." "We are experiencing unprecedented changes in the generation industry due to renewables, lower energy demands and Federal regulations, such as the recently instituted tax law revisions. I would like to see even more attention paid to these events in the future." Thank you to everyone who participated and to all of you who have sent feedback to us through event evaluations and conversations with RMEL Board and staff. We are in a very strong position to act on your feedback, and that is exciting! Action!
The Board revised the RMEL mission statement and vision statement to better reflect what drives us and where we are going as an association and an industry: New RMEL Mission Statement: New RMEL Vision Statement: The Board also revised RMEL’s current strategies and initiatives, with emphasis on the industry's future workforce. There are seven strategies that Board and staff are focusing on over the next five years:
What These Enhancements Mean to You
And that’s just the beginning. The survey results, your continued feedback, RMEL’s Mission and the seven strategies, will direct all of our future activity. As the industry changes, your needs are changing and RMEL is evolving for you. Thank you again for your feedback. The association is as strong as ever thanks to you all. It’s a great time to be an RMEL member, and we’re excited about the future! The networking and co-operation traditions that built RMEL 115 years ago continue to be major values of our association today. This is your association. Please let me know of any new ways we can engage your organization. Thank you again for the great member participation in RMEL events this year. We’ve listed RMEL Section plans for 2019 below, and we look forward to seeing you soon. Please have a safe, blessed and happy Thanksgiving holiday with your families and friends!
Education and Upcoming Events
Don't Miss These Upcoming RMEL Events 
Alltricity Network Member Information
RMEL's trusted network is now accessible on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These are forums intended for RMEL members only. Working side-by-side in a co-operative manner, RMEL members band together for the common goal of bettering the industry and improving service for utility customers. For more than 100 years, these key principles have proven successful, and more importantly, are tried and true methods for building strong business relationships. Industry Information
Source: Energy Central Source: Renewable Energy World Source: U.S. Department of Energy Source: U.S. Department of Energy Source: Electric Light & Power/POWERGRID International 
Member Announcements
Black Hills Corp. announced it has received approval to combine two of its natural gas utility distribution companies in Colorado and to extend the recovery period of its system safety and integrity rider for one of its natural gas utilities in Nebraska.
The Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors has approved updated plans for decommissioning Fort Calhoun Station (FCS). Applications for electric vehicle charging station grants are now open. Up to $300,000 is available in this funding cycle for projects that help communities and businesses develop creative electric transportation infrastructure projects. The NextEra Energy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and its parent, NextEra Energy, Inc., is donating $200,000 to the American Red Cross to support fellow Floridians affected by Hurricane Michael. The company also is donating $100,000 to Gulf Power Transformers, a 501c3 public charity, and matching up to $50,000 of individual contributions. Residents and businesses in Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland are invited to help shape the future of energy in northern Colorado.
Electric co-operatives want the Environmental Protection Agency to recognize their efforts to protect their members’ wallets, assure grid reliability and reduce carbon dioxide emissions as the agency works to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan over the coming months. Liberty Utilities –Empire District linemen had a successful competition at the International Lineman’s Rodeo last weekend. Local apprentice, Ezra Piper, received first place in the apprentice Pole Climb competition against 290 competing apprentices.  TEP reached out to business customers in a new way by hosting a breakfast event at the company headquarters and a tour of the local power plant. October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and 2018 marks the 15th year that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is hosting this initiative. |
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“Excellent technical conferences where real utility issues and technical matters are introduced and discussed. Only such group where the round table discussions are just about as informative as the technical presentations. Also bring in industry leaders to present. Most bang for the buck of any power industry organization.”
WestGroup presented results directly to the RMEL Board of Directors at the close of the project and the Board of Directors used the market research study results to engage in an in-depth brainstorming session, also facilitated by WestGroup. Key highlights from the results-driven session were:
Here are some new improvements you’ll see right away:
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