Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) articles from September 2003

Bulletin (Northwest Public Power Association) archives from September 2003

A look back at public power.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... 50 Years Ago Two NWPPA members had cut rates to customers, as Umatilla Electric Cooperative Association had dropped its rates between 12 and 15 percent, and Prairie Power Cooperative of Fairfield, Idaho, reduced its rates $1.40 per month...

Utility Pole Structures Conference expected to draw variety of utility & telecommunications workers.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... November 5-6, 2003 Silver Legacy Resort Reno, Nev. If you work with utility poles--in any way, shape, or form--and you still haven't registered for the Utility Pole Structures Conference & Trade Show, you should. Time is running short...

Customer service pros should check out "Three C's" Workshop.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... Customer Service professionals will join their Credit & Collection counterparts at the Utility 3 C's Workshop, coming up October 22-24 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. This event, which is the successor to NWPPA's popular Credit & Collections...

NWPPA members could lose 40 percent of their workforce by 2010: long-term planning should begin now.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... "Companies throughout the industrialized world are facing an inescapable dilemma--the rise in the average age of the workforce. Companies that figure out how to manage this phenomenon will have a clear competitive advantage over those that let...

Labor relations trends to be hot topics at NWWH Annual Meeting.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... Significant changes in the region's labor relations trends will be a popular focus at the Northwest Wage & Hour Annual Meeting October 8-10 at the Sun River Resort. It is vital that electric utility general managers, human resources...

First administrative professional credential class graduates.(Association News)
September 1, 2003... Look out world, all of the first five graduates of NWPPA's new Administrative Professional Credential Program have returned to their respective utilities. The five completed four required courses in four days of intensive training, ending...

Hotel Captain Cook is venue for Alaska's Electric Utility Conference.(Educating Your Utility for the Future)
September 1, 2003... November 20-21 is the time, and Hotel Captain Cook is the place for the 2003 Alaska's Electric Utility Conference. The conference is chock-full of good information for Alaska utilities in the areas of engineering, generation, operations,...

Changing business environment prompts fall workshops.(Sign up today!)
September 1, 2003... It is an understatement to say that the business environment is changing rapidly around us. It doesn't matter if yours is an urban utility or a remote village in Alaska... or somewhere in between. The Sarbanes-Oxley law will impact all...

Training opportunities 2003.
September 1, 2003... FINANCIAL ISSUES AFFECTING UTILITIES Who Should Attend: This course is specifically designed for board members, senior managers, accounting and finance personnel and supervisory employees who would like an overview of financial issues...

Forgotten by time: credit & A/R management.(Accounting & Finance)
September 1, 2003... Critical to sales, customer service, quality, cash flow and to a company's very survival; credit and accounts receivable management are caught in a 1950 time warp. Lots of things have changed since the 1950s, but one thing that has...

More fun under the sun.(Conservation & Renewables)
September 1, 2003... About three and a half days of hard work in the hot sun, that's what it took to install a 2.5 kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system on my 12-year old home in the town of Windsor "The Heart of the Wine Country" Sonoma County, Calif. It would have...

Is customer service the North Start of your public power utility.(Customer Service)
September 1, 2003... What comes to mind when you hear the words "the North Star"? Bright and shining... steadfast... a guiding light... the brightest star? Would your customers say that the service your public power utility delivers is like the North Star...

Regularly scheduled maintenance increases wood pole lifespan.(Engineering & Operations)
September 1, 2003... What's the service life expectancy of a wood utility pole? Thirty to 40 years? Not according to a study conducted and released by the Canadian Institute of Treated Wood, most utility companies in the United States assumed a life...

Communication ethics coming to the forefront.(Marketing & Communication)
September 1, 2003... Thank goodness for the world we communicators live in, "Yellow Journalism" is gone. Or is it? The American Heritage Dictionary defines yellow journalism as "journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create...

Lakeview Light & Power announces board changes.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... Lakeview Light & Power (Lakeview, Wash.) has named new board members and officers. Paul Russell was elected President after George Van Arsdall passed away, and was re-elected to the board at the utility's annual meeting. Others re-elected to...

Calendar of upcoming public power meetings.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... October 2003 2--PPC Executive Committee Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport 3--PNUCC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport 4--Big Flat Electric Cooperative Annual Meeting, Malta, Mont. 6-9--Montana Electric Cooperatives Association...

Energy Northwest executive board elects new officers.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... The Energy Northwest executive board recently elected its new officers. The new officers are as follows: Edward E. (Ted) Coates, chairman; Dan Gunkel, vice chairman; Darrel Bunch, secretary; and Amy Solomon, assistant secretary. All will serve...

Alcoa launches major investment in community solar power.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... Alcoa's Wenatchee Works has announced a major new program to fund the installation of solar panels at schools and nonprofit agencies in cooperation with Chelan County PUD (Wenatchee, Wash.). The aluminum maker's endowment will provide...

Alaska electric industry praises senators on Energy Bill passage.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... The statewide members of ARECA, Alaska's Electric Association are encouraged that the Senate recently passed the Energy Bill and it is on its way to a House conference committee. "We realize the Energy Bill is going to conference in a...

Franklin PUD hosts special needs area.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... The biggest event of the year in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state is the unlimited hydroplane races, and this year, Franklin PUD (Pasco, Wash.) was again an important player. Thanks to the PUD, handicapped hydroplane racing fans had...

Elias named McMinnville Water & Light manager.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... McMinnville Water & Light's governing commission voted unanimously to tap Paul Elias, for the general manager's job. Elias, who has been serving as principal consultant with Organizational Dynamics Inc, succeeds John Harshman, who...

We remember.(Member News)
September 1, 2003... Joe Mudd, Tillamook (Ore.) PUD engineering field representative, died at age 46 on August 20 in an auto-mobile accident on his way to work. He is survived by three sons. Joe worked in the utility industry throughout the Northwest,...

Good Impressions.(Associate Member Profiles)
September 1, 2003... Good Impressions Terry Richard 13023 NE Highway 99, #7, PMB 160 Vancouver, WA 98686-2767 Phone: (360) 576-1312 Fax: (360) 574-0285 E-mail goodimp@pacifier.com Good Impressions provides customized "On Hold...

First Strike Environmental.(Associate Member Profiles)
September 1, 2003... First Strike Environmental Robert Krueger 204 Quarry Road Roseburg, OR 97470 Phone: (800) 447-3558 Fax: (541) 673-1739 www.firststrikeenvironmental.com First Strike Environmental (FSE) is a multifaceted firm...

FCI-Burndy introduces the new Hyreducer Splice.(Technology Marketplace)
September 1, 2003... FCI-BURNDY, a leading manufacturer and provider of connector solutions to the industrial, energy, application tooling and automotive industries, presents the HYREDUCER Splice, designed for use in underground systems. This new product is ideal...

Associate members: catch a utility's eye with direct mail.(Technology Marketplace)
September 1, 2003... It happens almost every time you check the mail: there's some sort of promotion in the pile. Bulk mailings are among the most effective tools for promoting your products and services, and NWPPA makes it easy for associate members to do...

Power blackout gives political surge to efforts to enact energy bill.(Washington D.C. Report)
September 1, 2003... In a surprise maneuver, the Republican-controlled Senate on July 31 passed the energy legislation (S. 517) crafted last year by the Democrats and then quickly adjourned for the month-long August recess. Shortly thereafter, the United States'...

Austin Energy finds strength, satisfaction in steel distribution poles.(Feature)
September 1, 2003... Editor's Note: This feature story originally was printed as a case study for the American Iron and Steel Institute. It was converted to this article and printed with permission. Austin Energy is a municipally owned utility serving 364,000...

Job mart.
September 1, 2003... The Job Mart is a service provided free to NWPPA member systems and associate members. Job Mart ads are also accepted from non-members, Ads are $35.00 per column inch. For estimating purposes, use approximately 7 lines to an inch, 5 words...