Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) articles from April 2003

Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) archives from April 2003

A look back at public power.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... 50 Years Ago Five public power leaders were shaking their heads when they returned from hurried conferences in Washington, D.C., March 27-31, 1953, where they discussed the BPA budget. Congressman Ben Jensen, then chairman of the House...

Remember, beautiful Coeur d'Alene beckons.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... The 63rd NWPPA Annual Conference & Membership Meeting, Building on a Legacy of Leadership, is just around the corner, and the scenic area of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho beckons policymakers, managers and senior staff of member utilities and associate...

CHART Conference rocks the Rose City.
April 1, 2003... We all know that public power "rocks." And the attendees of the Third Annual C.H.A.R.T. Conference proved they can rock even at 8:30 on a Monday morning. That's when Al Lucia of Jukebox Learning took attendees on a musical journey,...

NWPPA staff grows by four.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... Four new staff members have joined Northwest Public Power Association--two at the Association's headquarters, and two at the National Utility Training Services facility in Richland, Wash. Barry Fuchs and Ruth Manning have joined the NWPPA...

No excuse: hands-on training can come to you.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... Now there's very little reason to not use National Utility Training Services as your provider of hands-on, performance-based training. National Utility Training Services can come to you. Following the model of training set up by NWPPA,...

NWPPA annual management surveys available.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... Annual surveys for general managers and directors at NWPPA member utilities are now available to be completed online or in paper form. These surveys provide vital data to utility members who have a need for comparison of such information....

We want you ... to enter excellence in communication now.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... At this time of patriotism in the United States, it's appropriate that Uncle Sam's famous message calls all NWPPA members--utilities, associate members and associations alike--to submit their best pieces of communication from the year 2002 for...

NWPPA: a voice for utilities throughout the west since 1940.(Association News)
April 1, 2003... Whether you know it or not, as a member of Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA), you have a collective voice when it comes to issues facing the industry on the regional and federal level. NWPPA is an international Association that...

Training opportunities 2003: May, June and July.
April 1, 2003... WORKING WITH CHALLENGING CUSTOMERS Who Should Attend: Office and field personnel who have customer contact as part of their job duties. Overview: Ninety-eight percent of you, customers are great people to work with. The other two...

Final HIPAA privacy rules.(Human Resources)
April 1, 2003... The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published final rules governing the privacy requirements of the Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The rules require that "covered entities" establish...

Business critical portals, with a customer service focus.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2003... With the economic downturn, slowdown in deregulation, the West's energy crisis and the Enron mess, utilities are cautiously re-evaluating their strategies. Less eager to assume the risks of retail diversification, many are going back to what...

PSSST! wanna buy an investor-owned utility?(Legal Column)
April 1, 2003... So, what about the City of Portland, Ore., trying to buy Portland General Electric from the bankrupt Enron? For those who are not Oregon newshounds, I thought it might be interesting to summarize the story so far. Perhaps by the time this goes...

Snohomish reaches favorable AEP settlement, utility to save $13 million.(Policy Making & Management)
April 1, 2003... As part of ongoing efforts to control wholesale energy costs, Snohomish County Public Utility District (Everett, Wash.) has reached a legal settlement over its long-term power contract with American Electric Power (AEP). The settlement is...

Potential impact of federal legislation and regulation on public power in the Pacific Northwest.(Pricing, Rates & Economics)
April 1, 2003... "With many new and onerous proposals being contemplated at the federal level, how will future decisions impact public power? More specifically, how will they impact the way public power utilities operate in the Pacific Northwest?" The...

Do public power organizations need a trading control environment?(Power Supply & Risk Management)
April 1, 2003... One of the scariest statements I've heard recently from an unnamed, public power company's head of power supply was, "we don't speculate in the markets, so we don't need a trading control environment. My staff knows what they can and can't do,...

Helping employees deal with stress.(Safety)
April 1, 2003... For every employee who is physically injured on the job, 10 more are experiencing workplace stress--a problem with much more physically serious and costly expenses. Northwestern National Life Company reports that 40 percent of workers...

Oregon rural statewide elects its 2003 officers.(Member News)
April 1, 2003... At its 2003 Annual Meeting, the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association (ORECA) elected its 2003 slate of officers. This year's officers are: President Bryan Wolfe (Umatilla Electric Association), Vice President Cliff Stewart (Oregon...

Calendar of upcoming public power meetings.(Member News)
April 1, 2003... May 2003 2--PNUCC Meeting, Portland, Ore. 4--NRECA Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C. 10--Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative Annual Meeting, LaGrande, Ore. 13--Salem Electric Annual Meeting, Salem, Ore. ...

Zarker steps down following city council vote.(Member News)
April 1, 2003... Seattle City Light Superintendent Gary Zarker resigned from his position March 7, one day after the Seattle City Council signaled its intention not to reconfirm him as head of the municipal utility. Zarker and City Light had been under...

Over one-tenth of Tree Line utilities across U.S. are NWPPA members.(Member News)
April 1, 2003... Recently, 97 utilities across the United States--large and small, public and investor owned--were recognized by Tree Line USA as the best in the nation when it comes to trimming trees in a manner that keeps them healthy. More than one-tenth of...

And the Inland Power employee of the year is ...(Member News)
April 1, 2003... Nick Nicholls has been named the Inland Power and Light Company's employee of the year for 2002. He was presented with the award during a recent Inland Power employee appreciation party. Nicholls started as a grounds man for Lincoln...

Grant County PUD bond issue well-received.(Member News)
April 1, 2003... An $88.5 million January bond issue by the Grant County PUD (Ephrata, Wash.) received strong interest and favorable ratings. Local brokers may now acquire the bonds for buyers in $5,000 blocks. Interest rates range from 2 percent on maturity...

SATEC, Inc.(Associate Member Profiles)
April 1, 2003... SATEC, Inc. Juan Diaz 1 Springfield Ave. Summit, NJ 07901 Phone: (908) 608-0500 Fax: (908) 608-0535 E-mail: jdiaz@oksatec.com Web site: www.oksatec.com SATEC manufactures powerful, simple meters and metering...

National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC).(Associate Member Profiles)
April 1, 2003... National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) Jennifer Buckley 2121 Cooperative Way Herndon, VA 20171 Phone: (887) 506-6400 Fax: (703) 464-5392 E-mail: jbuckley@nrtc.org Web site: www.nrtc.org...

Welcome new associate members.(Associate Member News)
April 1, 2003... Please contact these new Associate Members by e-mail or Web site addresses listed under their company name. These companies are also listed in the "Product and Service Guide" on our Web site at: www.nwppa.org/members. ARC TECHNOLOGY...

D. Hittle awarded engineering, feasibility contract.(Associate Member News)
April 1, 2003... The Southeast Conference (Juneau, Alaska) recently awarded the Feasibility Study Contract for the Southeast Alaska Intertie Project to D. Hittle & Associates. The Southeast Alaska Intertie Project is a proposed multi-million dollar high voltage...

Energy bill rears its head again in Congress.(Washington D.C. Report)
April 1, 2003... In his drive to send a comprehensive energy bill to the House floor by mid-April, House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) has held three bearings and the "Energy Policy Act of 2003" is one step closer to being...

Walnut Energy Center--good inve$tment, good value!(Feature)
April 1, 2003... OK, so it's not a done deal just yet, but Turlock (Calif.) Irrigation District has a proposal on the table to build a state-of-the-art power generation facility in an industrial area within the city. The proposed Walnut Energy Center...