RMEL eNews
Alltricity Network Report
  

From RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

It’s that time of the year when we start to reflect on all that 2023 has brought us, and we can’t help but feel fortunate to have been able to join together with so many of you throughout the year for workshops, conferences and training opportunities. We are also so appreciative of those organizations that welcomed us into their offices and spaces to host events. We are looking forward to collaborating even more in the next year to bring education and networking right to you and your colleagues!

And although the year is winding down, we still have some exciting projects and initiatives ahead as we prepare for a successful end of 2023 and look forward to a very exciting 2024! Please learn more about our most recent initiatives, and in the meantime, we are thankful for you and send our best wishes to you and your friends and families as we approach the holiday season. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving ahead!

RMEL IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION

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 actively seeking my replacement, and I have committed to assist them in any way to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

I am pleased to share, the RMEL Executive Director position listing is now live. Please view the position description to learn more about this wonderful role and its associated opportunities. We highly encourage you to share with colleagues who would make an excellent candidate for this role and are dedicated to RMEL’s mission: Preparing the electric energy for the future through education and networking.

Please also find the timeline of important dates below:

  • Resume Submittal Deadline – Preferred by November 24th, 2023
  • Semi-Finalist Interviews – By December 22nd, 2023
  • Finalist Interviews On-Site – By January 19th, 2024
  • Candidate Begins Employment – February to early-March Start Date

How to Apply: Candidates must review the position listing and submit their resume to Patrick Prouse, Senior Recruiter at Mycoff Fry Partners, LLC by Friday, November 24th, 2023. Please find Patrick’s contact information in the position listing.

THE 2024 RMEL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION IS NOW OPEN!

We encourage you to spread the word and share within your respective organizations and professional network. The deadline for students to apply is Friday, February 9th, 2024. Access the scholarship application to learn more! Please let us know if you have college/trade school/university contacts who would like to receive the scholarship information. Thank you for the corporate and individual cash donations! The RMEL Foundation Auction raised over $32,000. Learn more about 2023 Named Scholarship Sponsor opportunities for your company.

RMEL INITIATIVES UPDATE

RMEL Rebranding Initiative

The RMEL Rebranding Initiative continues to move 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. The board has selected a name and logo, and we are now in the process of determining a launch plan to roll out with our membership. Stay tuned for updates! 

RMEL Dues Restructuring Initiative

We are now in the thick of dues renewal, and as you make plans for your 2024 budget, I did want to share with you that we have rolled out a new dues structure for 2024. 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! 

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

Mark your calendars! The 2024 RMEL Fall Convention PLANNING SESSION is scheduled for Thursday, December 7th, 2023, in Denver, CO. Members are invited to attend the planning session and support this vital process for developing the Fall Convention agenda. Presentation topics should be senior management focused. The topics can range from a CEO’s vision of the future to project case studies. Bring your topic and/or speaker suggestions, appropriate for the Fall Convention venue, to this meeting. Senior executive and C-level speakers preferred. The exact location and RSVP details will be announced shortly.

We are also 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! 

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. 

 
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Education and Upcoming Events

NOVEMBER SAFETY ROUNDTABLE — November 8, 2023 (Fort Collins, CO).

SEASONAL READINESS WORKSHOP — November 16, 2023 (San Antonio, TX).

   
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Alltricity Network Member Information
RMEL's trusted network is now accessible on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly 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.
 
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Industry Information
  
ICF, a global consulting and technology services provider, released a new report that leverages proprietary climate modeling to project how to put the U.S. on a path toward achieving its goal of a net-zero economy by 2050.
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates is backing a solar cell maker that can produce more energy than conventional solar cells. Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures has money on Massachusetts-based CubicPV, which makes photovoltaic cells using perovskite — a composite that produces at least 20% more energy than the prevailing silicon technology.
  
Increases in energy consumption by 2050 are likely to outpace efficiency improvements, according to the latest projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA is projecting global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to increase through 2050 in all forecasted cases except its Low Economic Growth case.
The U.S. government is making an unprecedented push to invest in clean hydrogen as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas pollution. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the government believes fuel will be crucial in decarbonizing heavy industrial processes, particularly steel and ammonia production.
   
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A new report from analytics solutions firm ONYX Insight reveals supply chain issues, OEM pressures and turbine reliability are the greatest challenges facing the wind industry and recommends systematic adoption of automation and digital technologies to mitigate these threats.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed the North American Electric Reliability Corp. to develop reliability standards for inverter-based resources, or IBRs, such as wind, solar and battery systems.
  
AI’s energy use cases include load and weather forecasting, predictive maintenance, grid management, enhancing the output of wind and solar resources, faster storm recovery, wildfire risk assessment and methane leak detection, witnesses told lawmakers.
ERCOT’s board of directors unanimously approved the new rule, known as NPRR 1186, requiring batteries to maintain a certain state of charge, or SOC, depending on which ancillary services they are providing. The Public Utility Commission of Texas must still finalize the rule.
  
Xcel Energy’s 1,067-MW coal-fired Tolk Generating Station will shut down by 2028 — and until then will limit its operations — under an agreement approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, or PRC.
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Member Announcements
  
Omaha Public Power District is proud to share it earned an honorable distinction for their commitment to proper urban forest management, including tree planting and care in their service territory. The Arbor Day Foundation has named OPPD a Tree Line USA Utility for the 23rd year.
Austin City Council approved a powerful new tool to aid Austin Energy in wildfire detection and response as climate change fuels hotter, drier summers in Texas. The city’s public electric utility will implement Pano AI technology to provide Austin Energy crews and emergency first responders with up-to-the-minute information to quickly respond to wildfire threats while protecting lives, property and the environment.
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the Heartland Hydrogen Hub, including multiple clean hydrogen projects from Xcel Energy, for award negotiations to receive up to $925 million. The award will serve as a catalyst for a future hydrogen ecosystem in the Upper Midwest.
  
JCOAL (Japan Carbon Frontier Organization) and its partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), along with representatives from University of Wyoming, Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC), and Basin Electric, held a ceremony to mark the construction completion of their solid sorbent capture technology at the ITC adjacent to Basin Electric’s Dry Fork Station near Gillette.
The U.S. Department of Energy today selected Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to receive $26.8 million to enhance the U.S. power grid’s ability to deliver reliable, affordable and cleaner energy in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. The funds will advance the Cooperative Energy Ecosystem, a project for distributed energy resource management collaboration between the not-for-profit wholesale power supply cooperative and its member distribution cooperatives and public power districts.
  
PacifiCorp is pleased to announce it has been selected for award negotiations on two major, competitive infrastructure grants by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office. These Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships grants, funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, support wildfire mitigation projects that will greatly benefit our customers and communities.
Emeka Anyanwu, Energy Innovation & Resources officer at Seattle City Light, was confirmed Oct. 20, 2023, as the next CEO of Lincoln Electric System. The Lincoln City Council and Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird also must approve his appointment. If he is approved by both, Anyanwu’s start date is Jan. 2, 2024.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected CPS Energy to receive approximately $30.2 million to enhance the utility’s ongoing efforts to maintain grid reliability and resiliency. The DOE funds will advance CPS Energy’s Community Energy Resiliency Program, focused on grid innovation such as installing microgrids to sustain the evolving needs of customers and businesses in the south and southwest portions of San Antonio. 
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The world may have crossed a "tipping point" that will inevitably make solar power our main source of energy, new research suggests. The study, based on a data-driven model of technology and economics, finds that solar PV (photovoltaics) is likely to become the dominant power source before 2050 -- even without support from more ambitious climate policies.
Researchers tested a molecular energy harvesting device that captures the energy from the natural motion of molecules in a liquid. Their work showed molecular motion can be used to generate a stable electric current.
Next-generation solar materials are cheaper and more sustainable to produce than traditional silicon solar cells, but hurdles remain in making the devices durable enough to withstand real-world conditions. A new technique could simplify the development of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells, named for their unique crystalline structure that excels at absorbing visible light.