May is National Electrical Safety Month. To commemorate, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is launching its annual campaign to educate the public about how to reduce electrically-related fires, death, and property loss. ESFI’s 2016 campaign features the launch of the third edition of its National Electrical Safety Month publication, Electrical Safety Illustrated. The issue, titled "At Home and at Work: Make Electrical Safety Everyone’s Responsibility," shines the spotlight on electrical hazards that are all too common both at home and on the job.

Picture this: you start your computer and wait. And wait. And wait some more. When your desktop finally shows its face, things don’t get any better. Your Internet is sluggish, your programs are taking forever to load, and your cursor is dragging 20 seconds behind your mouse. You might have tried to open too many programs at once. Or... You might be infected. Sometimes a malware infection is plain as day. Other times it’s a silent killer. If you want to know whether or not your machine is sick, you first need to understand the symptoms. So let’s take a look at the telltale signs.

The Affordable Care ACT, or ACA, was signed into law March 23, 2010. The law itself is approximately 1,000 pages, but with these pages come endless amounts of regulations, guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions documents published by enforcing federal agencies. Often times all this information leaves employers in the dust asking, "Does this apply to me?"

Hometown Connections, the utility services subsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA), and Clevest announced a partnership to provide mobile workforce automation and smart grid operation solutions to public power electric, gas and water utilities. Clevest specializes in enabling utilities to transform their field operations by rapidly automating and optimizing any field work activity or process to improve response time and effectiveness.

Note: This is the first of a two-part series on practical ways a utility can consistently keep their website looking professional, staying on message and helping their customers. Every utility communicator has a different reaction when you ask them what they think about their website. Some are itching to enter it into national competitions; some will quickly change the subject or just shake their head in sadness. Most are in-between: Their website is serviceable, but they’d sure like some changes. How do you go about improving a website? Do you need to recreate your website from the ground up every time the look becomes dated?

Is there any place in the good old USA more beautiful in spring than Charleston, South Carolina? Recently, your humble correspondent made the trip to the South’s colonial seaport as a class representative for the Citadel Foundation for a fund raising luncheon. While there, I enjoyed the company of longtime friends and classmates. The Memories beginning flooding my mind.

Last month the legislature adjourned for the year. Representatives and senators passed the state budget in relatively easy fashion, but debate and discussion over several other issues prolonged the legislative session several days beyond the hoped for adjournment day. No matter when it comes, the legislature adjourning for the year is always a welcome time. During the year legislators dealt with the budget, broadband and bathrooms among many issues, and they are now able to turn their attention to reelection. Like the rest of Tennessee, municipal electric systems can also now turn to seeing the full effect of what the legislative process has wrought. Below are many of the bills and issues we followed for the year.

We're at 2 months and counting for the 50th Anniversary/Annual Meeting of TMEPA! It's really exciting preparing for this exceptional meeting. Your Annual Meeting Committee has completed the agenda and, as usual, it's full of exceptional speakers, outstanding topics and a special round table of TMEPA Distinguished Retired System Managers talking about the origins of TMEPA. It's the best opportunity available for networking and interaction with other municipal systems and managers from across the state. Information has been sent to our System Members but we'll be sending reminders and additional information out so keep your eyes on the "inbox". Information is also on our website at www.tmepa.org. Look in the left column...Click on Learn More for a special representation of our coming meeting.

We get asked often how we put on such a great meeting. It takes a lot of hard work by the commitee and staff, of course, but it wouldn't happen without a very special group of our friends across the industry who unite with us to bring an outstanding meeting to Tennessee Municipal Electric Systems. Quite frankly, we couldn't bring in the speakers addressing topics important to each of you, have the many opportunities for special events, provide all the outstanding food and drink and give you the opportunity to learn and network without their help. We encourage you to give these folks the opportunity to meet your system needs. They'll be represented at the annual meeting and most will have an exhibit.

This year was another roller coaster for legislation that would allow for municipal electric broadband to expand beyond its electric service footprint. The session looked to potentially be a quiet one due some legislators wanting to wait until two ongoing studies were completed, one by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and the other by TACIR. However, the need for more broadband, particularly in rural areas, motivated other legislators to continue the push for more access. Additionally, TACIR agreed no legislation should be affected due to its study.

Nestled between two TVA lakes and the hills of East Tennessee lies the City of Morristown, which along with its beauty, also provides critical manufacturing jobs for multiple counties. In 1886, just some 20 years after the close of the Civil War, power and water began to be produced in Morristown to support the railroad. In 1901 the Morristown Utilities Commission (MUC) was officially chartered by the State of Tennessee, called the Board of Electric Light and Waterworks, doing business today as Morristown Utility Systems (MUS).

Have an important meeting or event coming to your town? Let us know and we'll put it on the TMEPA Calendar. Stay up to date with all the TMEPA meetings and other events around the state and even nationally for TMEPA Member Systems.

For the first time Member System Board Members can participate in both the Annual Meeting and complete the TMEPA Board Member Training Program as a break out session. The normal cost is part of the registration fee to attend the 50th Annual Meeting at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Nashville. Usually TMEPA’s board training is held as a one-day stand-alone session, bringing TMEPA managers and system board members to Nashville for the training. This requires many system board members to take an additional trip or day off off in service of their utility. The special 50th Annual Meeting presents a unique opportunity for board members to attend the Annual Meeting while getting the information they need to serve as a municipal electric system board member. We already have board members signing up so hurry before the class is filled.