A FCC decision released this month relaxes some stringent restrictions regarding when utilities can call or text customers, giving utilities new leeway to relay important information to customers. Below is a summary of current FCC regulations, followed by a detailed outline of the most important parts of the law so utilities can stay out of trouble.

The 2017 NESC includes some major updates, as highlighted in this article. One of the oldest and most ubiquitous safety codes, the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) is a rich source of safety practices associated with electric supply and communication systems. Every 5 years, NESC users come together and go through a rigorous review to ensure the code stays up-to-date and relevant for the protection of the public, utility workers, and utility facilities.

As long as you provide people with reliable power, that’s good enough, right? Not anymore. A new study finds millennials want much more from their power utility. And if you don’t provide it, you could end up losing their business.

There were two major pieces of news in July involving the American Public Power Association and the Department of Energy. The DOE said it will provide APPA with funding for member utility physical and cyber security efforts. Separately, the association and the DOE signed a memorandum of understanding related to electric vehicle adoption and charging infrastructure construction.

When I was in high school, drivers’ education was a required course. The course included an Ohio State Police video showing the impact of crashes, to frighten adolescent drivers. I still remember what I learned from it — the most important part of a car is the driver. A critical component of finding the right drivers for your utility is proper compensation....Utilities that take a logical, measured approach to hiring and pay experience better performance.

It was the Summer of ‘69. No, not the Bryan Adams classic that sings of young love while playing that old 6-string in a rock band and working at the drive-in. This summer event would forever change the world.

As a utility content marketing company, we are often called on to create marketing plans for electric distributors looking to increase participation in their programs, increase their customer satisfaction, or handle a crisis among other reasons. One of our first questions is always "How are you communicating today?"

As you may have heard by now, the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Members was a resounding success. During the meeting, Naylor Communications sent out daily updates and then a wrap up of the meeting. We thought it would be great to give that again in this newsletter, just in case you missed it. Click on "Learn More" below...

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.

In conjunction with the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center, we are offering the following class to TMEPA Membership. This is a two-day (16-hour) class. The course fee is $50.00, and that includes refreshments, breaks and lunch both days. This class will be limited to 30 attendees, so register as soon as you can. Should we exceed the 30 registrations, we’ll further limit the class to one person per system. Click on the link below for a fill-able form file that includes registration, course description and local hotel information. Should you have any questions please give us a call. You may return the completed registration form to either Mike Vinson at mvinson@tmepa.org or Susan Sherrill at susans@tmepa.org. Have a great day.

TMEPA will be hosting a training session on a new state requirement that local governmental entities must institute internal controls. The session will be conducted by Jerry Durham of the Division of Local Government Audit in the Comptroller's Office, on September 9 at 10:00 am at TMEPA's Brentwood office. The two hour session will be a quick way to get up to speed with a question and answer session with the folks enforcing the new requirements. Registration is $20 and includes lunch. Contact the TMEPA office if you're interested. Below is a link to the Internal Control and Compliance Manual compiled by the Comptroller.