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Alltricity Network Report
From the Desk of Executive Director Richard Putnicki Happy New Year, everyone! I can’t believe it’s 2020, and on top of that we are starting a new decade! It is the milestones like this that make one take note of the blessings along the way. It has been an honor to have served at the helm of RMEL for the past nine years. It is even more exciting to think about broaching the new decade with new opportunities to serve the member community. I hope to share with you more information about new initiatives and offerings we are exploring to help move the association forward very soon. Emerging Leader Award Nominations Nominate a next-generation leader for an RMEL Emerging Leader Award by February 6th. The nominee must have a minimum of 5 years of experience, and no more than 10 years of experience within the industry. Click here for the nomination form and complete eligibility requirements. Recipients are provided development opportunities through a variety of interactions with past and current Emerging Leader Award recipients, the RMEL Board and exclusive workforce strategy sessions with Spring Keynote Speakers, all to hone their leadership skills and experiences. RMEL Spring Conference I hope you can join us for the 2020 Spring Management, Engineering and Operations Conference, May 11–13, in Austin, Texas at the Hyatt Regency Austin. This event will include 25 timely and relevant education sessions. RMEL’s 2020 Spring Conference features three tracks for Generation, T&D, and Management. I am very excited to tell you that we will be announcing the keynote for the 2020 Spring Conference soon! Preliminary topics for the event include: Roadmap for Future Generation Panel, Wildfire Mitigation Panel, Pressure for 100% Renewables Panel, Cycling, Battery Storage Implementation, Training/Education, Decommissioning, Electrification/EVs, Politics and Policies, Powering, Data Management, Public Outreach, Grid-Scale Battery Storage, Life Cycle Planning of T&D Assets, Customer Education, Water Conservation (Environmental), Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR), Cyber Security vs. Sourcing Suppliers, Energy Markets (Utility Perspective), Distribution Energy Resources (DER) - Battery Storage Integration, Recycling of Materials, Energy Markets (Operator Perspective), Shift in Spending to Distribution and more. Don’t forget to mark you calendars now! Promote the 2020 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Opportunities Please share the RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application with your industry colleagues and university contacts to help deserving students through financial support, and assist in drawing young talent to your company. The RMEL Foundation is currently accepting applications for baccalaureate degree, associate degree, or certificated programs that serve our utility industry. Applicants must be a high school senior or college/university undergraduate with the intent to enter the electric energy industry. Access the application and download the flyer. Don’t miss the opportunity to promote your company through the sponsorship of an RMEL Foundation Named Scholarship. Contact the RMEL office at (303) 865-5544 or info@rmel.org for more information. Upcoming RMEL Events Our foundation of educational programming starts with RMEL’s packed calendar of 2020 events. The RMEL Education Section Committees have listened to the electric energy community to uncover their training needs and continue to create timely conferences, workshops and roundtables with the best speakers from electric utilities and services and supplier companies. I really believe they’ve once again raised the bar this year. Get more details about the first 2020 RMEL events below. Introduction to the Electric Utility Workshop This course is designed to acquaint non-technical utility employees with the basics of their industry from the generation to the distribution of electricity. The workshop will focus on five areas: an overview to electricity and electrical power systems, information on conventional production methods, alternative technologies, transmission and distribution systems and customer service. In the overview, you will learn about the basic theory of electricity, how it is produced and delivered to your home. In the conventional production methods section you will learn the role of primary energy sources: water, gas, oil, coal and nuclear. You will also hear about power conversion processes, system application, capital and operating costs and grid connection considerations. Safety Roundtable – February 2020 Tom Severino, National Account Executive, Tyndale, will kick off the February Safety Roundtable with a discussion on AR/FR Clothing. Roundtables offer a unique forum for peer-to-peer sharing of experiences, critical issues and expertise. The roundtable is a discussion group, open only to RMEL members. Discussion is based on topics brought by attendees. Typically one or two presentations are given, followed by attendee discussion and sharing. Roundtables are focused on the open discussion period and provide each attendee the opportunity for participation and dialogue on their particular issue. Roundtables are held in conjunction with a conference and many topics presented at the conference are discussed further in the roundtable setting. The roundtable is a good opportunity to share experiences, troubleshoot problems and network with peers in a smaller, informal setting. Each participant is offered a chance to pose questions and share information. All attendees are encouraged to bring issues for discussion and materials for sharing. Power Supply for Modern Energy Solutions Conference Evolving RTO markets, renewables, distributed resources and calls for increased grid resiliency present power supply planners with significant challenges to ensure flexibility and reliability while remaining cost competitive. This conference will explore current trends, relevant projects and market perspectives to gain insight to this changing industry. A roundtable discussion will provide an invaluable opportunity for open dialogue regarding challenges and best practices in meeting these challenges. Transmission Planning and Operations Conference The grid is a lot less predictable due to changing markets, microgrids, energy storage dynamics, renewable integration and aging infrastructure. The entire planning process of the electric energy industry has shifted. Electric utilities are the power innovators, integrating new technologies and renewables onto the system while prioritizing reliability and regulatory compliance. You won't want to miss this opportunity to work together with RMEL's diverse membership (representing all different types of electric utilities) to collectively address the power industry's biggest transmission challenges. The conference is structured with presentations and also two roundtable sessions that give attendees time to discuss what's keeping you up at night and put everything from the conference together in a unique and tangible way. This isn't just a set of topics, but an interactive forum that allows you to benchmark your organization and continue to drive your company and the industry forward. Distribution Technologies for Engineering and Operations Workshop Engineers and designers involved in distribution will find this course helpful. In addition, supervisory or management personnel who desire a review of distribution practices and standards, or who are new to power distribution, will benefit from this course. Preliminary topics include fire mitigation, emergency operations, drone technology, processing data analytics of inspections, mobilization of workforce, renewable integration standards, customer behavior case study and 5G best practices. Safety Conference One of the most critical areas of focus for every utility, safety concerns and challenges are a focus for every area of the business. The increase of additional threats to the industry, its people, assets and infrastructure has expanded safety concerns to those focused on health. The conference will include broad safety and health initiatives and programs and take that focus throughout the organization to include discussions about personal efforts to stay safe. Topics will include health issues and industrial hygiene. Also will cover regulatory and policy issues. RMEL Employment Opportunity This past week, we lost a long time employee. After nine years with RMEL, Ashleigh has elected to pursue a career change. We greatly appreciate her long service with our association and wish her the very best in her future endeavors. With that departure, we are looking to add staff. If you all have any potential candidates with a desire to serve the industry and support the RMEL mission, please contact me. Let’s start off the decade together! I look forward to seeing you in 2020!
Education and Upcoming Events
Introduction To the Electric Utility Workshop --- February 4, 2020 (Denver, CO) 
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 cooperative 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. RMEL Champions is a prestigious group of RMEL supporters with access to useful and beneficial promotional opportunities. Get more details, and see a list of 2019 RMEL Champions!
Industry Information
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has announced up to $20 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Extreme Environment Materials for Power Generation.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) acted to protect the competitive capacity market administered by PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) by directing PJM to expand its current Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to address state-subsidized electric generation resources, with certain exemptions.
 In its newly released International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019) Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that world energy consumption will grow by nearly 50% between 2018 and 2050. Most of this growth comes from countries that are not in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and this growth is focused in regions where strong economic growth is driving demand, particularly in Asia.
Member Announcements
With load growth forecasted in Basin Electric’s service territory, teams have been established to explore new generation. The project teams for Bakken Generation and Lonesome Creek Station Unit 6 were set up to develop the construction projects, according to Gavin McCollam, Vice President of Engineering and Construction.
El Paso Electric (EPE) (NYSE: EE) continues to take steps to make its power generation portfolio cleaner and more sustainable by enacting a long-term energy supply resource plan that includes expanding solar energy, introducing utility-scale battery storage, and constructing a new state-of-the-art-natural gas-fired generation unit.
Three promotions were announced regarding the senior management team at Nebraska Public Power District by President and CEO Pat Pope, Tom Kent was promoted to the position of Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Tim Arlt was named Vice-President and General Manager of Retail, and Robyn Tweedy was appointed Vice-President and Chief Information Officer.
Four Colorado utilities announced today that they plan to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), operated by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), to save customers money while allowing them to use more energy from wind and solar. Xcel Energy, Black Hills Colorado Electric, Colorado Springs Utilities and Platte River Power Authority have different business models, customers and geography, but all share a commitment to leading the clean energy transition and believe the WEIM will provide the most benefit to their collective Colorado customers.
Sunflower Electric Power Corporation announces its merger with Mid-Kansas Electric Company Inc. effective Jan.1, 2020. The merger of the two cooperatively operated, wholesale electric utilities incorporates Mid-Kansas into Sunflower.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced that it will donate $60,000 in funds, which will be matched anonymously, to the Yampa River Fund over the next three years. The cooperative is also a member of the Fund, which was established in September. The Yampa River Fund is a community-driven water fund dedicated to identifying and funding activities that protect the water supply, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities provided by the Yampa River.
WAPA successfully completed its transition to new reliability coordinators for its balancing authorities and transmission operators in the Western Interconnection after more than a year of preparation and testing.
Southwest Power Pool began providing RC services to WAPA’s Western Area Upper Great Plains - West, Western Area Colorado Missouri and Western Area Lower Colorado BAs and the associated transmission operators Dec. 3. The BAs encompass the transmission operations for Upper Great Plains in the Western Interconnection, the Colorado River Storage Project and the Rocky Mountain and Desert Southwest regions.
White Paper
A new chemical process described in the journal Nature Communications does in the lab what trees do in nature -- it converts carbon dioxide into usable chemicals or fuels. This new, carbon-neutral process, created by researchers at Wake Forest University, uses silver diphosphide (AgP2) as a novel catalyst that takes carbon dioxide pollution from manufacturing plants and converts it to a material called syngas, from which the liquid fuel used in manufacturing is made.
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