Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) articles from August 2008

Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) archives from August 2008

Safety and security headline 2008 3 Cs Workshop.(Association News)
August 1, 2008... 3 Cs WORKSHOP & RED FLAG RULES This timely session will be held just days before the federally mandated Red Flag Rules take effect, which will happen on November 1. Following its most successful year ever, the NWPPA Utility 3 Cs...

Have you met NlCki yet?(Association News)(Conference notes)
August 1, 2008... The upcoming NWPPA Northwest Innovations Conference (NIC), scheduled for September 21-24, 2008, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., is the first NWPPA program to be planned using wiki technology. A wiki is a Web page that can be updated by anyone,...

SOS Intl and NWPPA join forces to provide added edge for members.(Association News)
August 1, 2008... SOS Intl has formed a strategic relationship with NWPPA in order to offer NWPPA members special discounted rates on the cutting-edge SOS Intl NERC Compliance and Reliability Training and Consulting Services. This strategic relationship is a...

Northwest public power milestones (1980-1985).
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * 1980--President Jimmy Carter signs the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, creating the Northwest Power Planning Council. * 1981--BPA signs 20-year contracts with its DSI, IOU, and...

Who are those charged with governance anyways?(Accounting & Finance)
August 1, 2008... It is well known that the auditing world has had a significant amount of changes over the past several years. To round off the suite of risk assessment standards (discussed in the February 2008 Bulletin, pp 11-12), the American Institute of...

Diffusing challenging customer situations.(Customer Service)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whether we are working with internal or external customers, we are working for people, and with people. As service providers, we are expected to solve customer problems and meet customer needs in a way that reflects...

GHG reporting among key topics at April Environmental Task Force meeting.(Environmental Task Force)(Conference news)
August 1, 2008... The April 7, 2008, meeting of the NWPPA Environmental Task Force (ETF) was held in Reno, Nev., in conjunction with the 2008 Engineering & Operations Conference. Task Force Chair Marie Becker from Alaska Village Electric Cooperative was...

EWEB receives high bond ratings.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Oregon's Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) received an AA rating for its water utility and a AA-for its electric utility from Standard & Poor's (S&P). The water utility rating represents an upgrade from AA-. "Both ratings reaffirm...

Management promotions at Benton PUD.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Benton PUD (Kennewick, Wash.) has been keeping busy with, among many other things, promotions! John Gottschalk was promoted to manager of engineering for Benton PUD. Gottschalk, a registered professional engineer, has been with Benton PUD...

Congress supports Snohomish PUD research.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Snohomish County PUD (Everett, Wash.) gained critical support on June 25 for geothermal energy research as the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that would provide $500,000 in funding for the utility's research of...

Nelson joins Tacoma Board.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... The Tacoma City Council (Wash.) has appointed David S. Nelson, a local certified public accountant, as the newest member of the Public Utility Board. He replaces David Curry, who resigned from his post in June. "I think we have a great...

KEC hires two new employees.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Kootenai Electric Cooperative (KEC) in Hayden, Idaho, is pleased to announce the addition of Melissa Blyton to the staff as a business development representative. Blyton graduated from Washington State University this year with a bachelor's...

Fall River seeks new manager, re-elects trustees.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Chief among concerns for the coming year at Fall River Electric will be securing new power and recruiting a new general manager, Board President Boyd Bowles told members at the 70th annual meeting of the co-op in Ashton, Idaho, on June 21....

Fergus Electric holds annual meeting.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... During their recent annual meeting, Fergus Electric (Lewistown, Mont.) members elected Mike Vlastelic to the Board of Directors. Vlastelic fills the vacancy of retiring director, Leo Solf, who served the cooperative for 27 years. At the...

Re-elections at Tongue River.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... At Tongue River Electric Cooperative's 59th annual meeting on July 12 in Ashland, Mont., Darwin Strobel, Diane Rapos, and Dee Mobley were all re-elected.

GVEA awarded $212K in grants.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Golden Valley Electric Association (Fairbanks, Alaska) is slated to receive $212,000 in renewable energy grants from the Denali Commission and the Alaska Energy Authority. The co-op received four of 33 awards for renewable energy projects...

Turkey farm becomes SMUD solar farm.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... For customers of California's Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) who want solar power but cannot site or afford owning solar panels, SMUD unveiled a huge solar panel array that will provide electricity for a new program called...

AVEC works toward independence.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... While many of us celebrated Independence Day with friends and family,, two Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (Anchorage, Alaska) crews worked towards another type of independence day--to reduce future dependence on diesel fuel--to generate...

State DOE honors Klickitat PUD.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Klickitat PUD (Goldendale, Wash.) has received two Outstanding Performance Awards from the state Department of Ecology for its operation of wastewater treatment plants serving the communities of Wishram and Lyle. The Department of Ecology...

Klein named to APPA Board.(Member News)(Conference notes)
August 1, 2008... Snohomish County PUD (Everett, Wash.) General Manager Steve Klein has joined the American Public Power Association (APPA) Board of Directors to serve a three-year term. APPA board members are chosen to represent 10 regions across the country....

Governor adds Valley Electric CEO to RETACC.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... On July 16, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons announced that he's added Thomas Husted, chief executive officer of the Valley Electric Association (Pahrump, Nev.), to his Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee (RETAAC) to represent...

J.D. Power and Associates honors Clark.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... In a report issued on July 17, 2008, by J.D. Power and Associates, Clark Public Utilities (Vancouver, Wash.) ranked highest in customer satisfaction for residential electric service among midsize electricity providers in the Western United...

State DOE honors Klickitat PUD.(Member News)
August 1, 2008... Klickitat PUD (Goldendale, Wash.) has received two Outstanding Performance Awards from the state Department of Ecology for its operation of wastewater treatment plants serving the communities of Wishram and Lyle. The Department of Ecology...

Elster chosen for smart grid demonstration.(Association Member News)
August 1, 2008... Dominion Virginia Power, one of the nation's largest electricity utilities, has selected Elster's EnergyAxis[R] System Smart Grid Solution for use in the utility's recently announced energy conservation plans. In 2009, Dominion plans to...

SEPA phone seminar schedule announced.(Association Member News)
August 1, 2008... The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), a unique joint partnership of solar companies, electric utilities, and other stakeholders which fosters collaboration to push solar forward more tangibly, is pleased to announce the phone seminar...

TEA announces two promotions.(Association Member News)
August 1, 2008... As part of The Energy Authority's (TEA) ongoing effort to improve economies of scale in its operations, and to continue improving the level of service provided to its members and partners nationwide, TEA is pleased to announce the promotion of...

WGA annual observations.(Washington D.C. Report)
August 1, 2008... (Editor's note: Opinions in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of NWPPA or the membership as a whole.) From June 29 to July 1, I attended the Western Governors' Association (WGA) Annual Meeting at Teton...

Like it or not, labor shortages are already here! Workforce challenges of electric sector employers in Washington and Oregon.(Cover Story)
August 1, 2008... Editor's note: Earlier this year, Alan Hardcastle completed a lengthy study about Washington and Oregon workforces in the utility industry, concentrating on what utilities will need to do in order to keep themselves fully staffed during and...