RMEL eNews
Alltricity Network Report
  

From RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki

THANK YOU & FAREWELL FROM RICK PUTNICKI

Hello, and happy new year! As many of you are aware, I am retiring from RMEL as the Executive Director and transitioning the position in the coming weeks. The past 12-plus years have been an incredible journey filled with growth, challenges and, most importantly, the privilege of working with outstanding individuals like you.

As I reflect on this chapter of my life, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the industry and the remarkable professionals who make up our association. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the dedicated Board of Directors, the Education Committee members, and all those who have served selflessly to propel RMEL forward. Your passion and commitment have been the driving force behind our many achievements, and I am confident that you will continue to guide the association to even greater heights in the years to come.

To each member of the association, I am grateful for the privilege of serving you as the Executive Director. Your enthusiasm, expertise and collaborative spirit have made this role a true joy. I am confident that the future holds boundless opportunities for our industry, and I eagerly anticipate witnessing your continued success – both individually and within your respective organizations.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize those very special people that accompanied me on this journey. I was once told, "If you surround yourself with good people, great things will happen." Without a doubt, I truly believe that to be fact! So many of our successes were due in part to a staff that provided an unwavering commitment and dedication to their role, recognized their purpose and, most important, placed serving the membership as the top priority. Thank you, Kathryn Hail, Ciara Cole, and James Sakamoto for bringing our vision to fruition. 

Lastly, I must express my deepest appreciation to two extraordinary individuals who have been the bedrock of my support throughout these fulfilling years: my wife, Susie, and our daughter, Caitlin. Their encouragement and steadfast support have been my guiding lights. As I embark on this new chapter in life, I am profoundly grateful for the love they have showered upon me.

As I step into retirement, I will carry with me cherished memories of those people whose paths I crossed and will be forever grateful with the knowledge of knowing that our industry is in capable hands. Thank you for allowing me the honor of being part of this incredible community. I look forward to staying connected and witnessing the bright future that lies ahead for the electric energy industry.

Growing up in the Putnicki household, there were some non-negotiables. One emphatic requirement, “Whenever you get something, you leave it better than when you got it.” I hope you can review your time with RMEL, and nod your head, “Yes!” Thank you!

Wishing you all continued success and prosperity! Please stay in touch! 

-Rick

 

In the coming weeks, we will be announcing an open house hosted at the RMEL office to celebrate Rick's career, retirement, and wish him well on this next chapter. Please stay tuned for additional details coming soon! 

UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2024

We are pleased to have already added several new events to look forward to in 2024! As we regularly add programs to our calendar of events, please be sure to 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

FEBRUARY SAFETY ROUNDTABLE - February 28th, 2024 (Westminster, CO)

TRANSMISSION & SUBSTATION RENEWABLES CONFERENCE - March 5th-6th, 2024 (Westminster, CO)

DISTRIBUTION ENGINEERING & RESILIENCY WORKSHOP - March 27th-28th, 2024 (Salt Lake City, UT)

2024 SAFETY CONFERENCE - April 2nd-4th, 2024 (Tempe, AZ)

2024 RMEL SPRING CONFERENCE - May 20th-22nd, 2024 (Denver, CO)

TRANSMISSION, SUBSTATION, POWER DELIVERY PROJECTS CONFERENCE - June 26th-27th, 2024 (Westminster, CO)

2024 RMEL FALL CONVENTION - September 16th-18th, 2024 (Austin, 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.
 
RMEL Champions is a prestigious group of RMEL supporters with access to useful and beneficial promotional opportunities. Thank you, 2023 RMEL Champions!
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Industry Information
  
Utility credit downgrades “directly related to physical risks have significantly increased” in the past six years, S&P said. And “the credit quality of utilities with physical risk exposure could come under even more pressure if comprehensive risk-reduction strategies are not effectively implemented.”
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that coal-fired power plants will generate less electricity in 2024 (599 billion kwh) than the combined generation from solar and wind (688 billion kWh) for the first time on record.
  
While most regions should have sufficient electricity supply in normal weather, both the Northeast and Western half of the U.S. face an elevated risk of blackouts in extreme conditions. And parts of the Midwest and central South areas could see power supply shortfalls during normal peak operations.
Per the report, the main drivers of this increase are investments in new manufacturing, industrial, and data center facilities. Since 2021, commitments for industrial and manufacturing facilities have totaled about $481 billion, and more than 200 manufacturing facilities have been announced this past year. Data center growth is forecasted to exceed $150 billion through 2028.
  
While rooftop solar is struggling with new customer acquisition, offshore wind has taken a hit due to a crowded marketplace and a lack of differentiation. Hydrogen, meanwhile, has its own problems with cost effectiveness, according to the report.
The electric power and natural gas sectors should collaborate on a “blackstart system restoration plan” to bring the grid back online in the event of a widespread blackout, a joint report released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corp. recommended.
  
Clean energy is often now the least expensive, explaining some of the growth. Nations also adopted policies that support renewables, some citing energy security concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. These factors countered high interest rates and persistent challenges in getting materials and components in many places.
  
Inverters with “grid-forming” capabilities, or GFM, are needed to support the growing penetration of inverter-based resources, or IBRs, like wind and solar, according to engineers with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, and engineers with the Energy Systems Integration Group, or ESIG, which advocates for integrating and managing higher levels of renewables.
Rising concerns over climate change, trillions of dollars in government programs designed to force markets in competing directions and looming elections in the US, Great Britain and other countries promise to render 2024 one of the least predictable years in history where energy is concerned.
   
Futura Systems, Inc
   
Member Announcements
Rural electricity consumers across four western states will benefit from reliable power and lower costs, with clean energy investment and greenhouse gas emissions reductions accelerated by federal funding, in a long-term strategy announced today by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. 
  
The Western Area Power Administration approved a single set of formula rates for four major transmission projects located in WAPA’s Desert Southwest region. The new formula rates are designed to combine the revenue requirement of each project and calculate a single rate for transmission service each year.
  
Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC have officially commissioned a 100-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system to store the energy produced by the operating Saint Solar Energy Center in Coolidge, Arizona. The Saint Solar facility has been serving SRP commercial customers since the end of 2020 and is one of nine SRP-contracted solar resources delivering more than 650 MW of clean energy to SRP customers.
The episode featured interviews with Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources Executive Director Dr. Holly Krutka. During his interview, Gov. Gordon said he set a goal of making Wyoming not just carbon neutral when it comes to CO2 emissions, but eventually carbon negative. 
  
PacifiCorp and its research partners are moving forward with a highly anticipated and ambitious study to evaluate the effects of painting a single wind turbine blade in black on 36 different turbines to reduce collision risks to birds flying near the wind turbines.
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A research team has concluded that China will be the first country worldwide to become independent of the need to mine the raw materials which are essential for batteries. They have also established that this development could be accelerated in all the regions they looked at -- including the USA and Europe.
Solar and wind power may be free, renewable fuels, but they also depend on natural processes that humans cannot control. It's one thing to acknowledge the risks that come with renewable energy: the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, but what happens when the grid loses both of these energy sources at the same time?
What would be the most effective use of a certain plot of land in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, which is a natural means of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or erecting fields of solar panels, which reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? This dilemma has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, for the first time -- based on findings from arid areas and on comprehensive measurements of the energy flow exchanged between the ground and the atmosphere -- we may have an answer to this question.