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Nebraska’s North Central Public Power District Focuses On Reliability, Keeps Eye On Supply Chain

March 24, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 24, 2022

In a recent Q&A with Public Power Current, Doyle Hazen, General Manager and CEO of Nebraska public power utility North Central Public Power District (NCPPD) detailed how the utility’s aggressive approach to vegetation management has bolstered reliability, outlined how NCPPD benefits from its relationship with the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and described how NCPPD has taken a proactive approach when it comes to addressing supply chain issues.

Hazen formerly served as the Manager of Finance and Administration at NCPPD for 24 years and has been the CEO and General Manager since July 2019. 

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Doyle Hazen (Photo courtesy of NCPPD)

“All of the functions that I have work towards the first sentence in my job description, ‘Responsible for ensuring that all consumers within service area desiring electric service are provided a safe, ample and reliable supply of electricity at the lowest cost consistent with the highest standards of service and sound business practices,’” he noted.

NCPPD serves over 6,670 customers in parts of Knox, Antelope, Pierce and Holt Counties. It also maintains 1,635 miles of overhead distribution lines and 49 miles of underground lines.

Tree Maintenance And Reliability

The November-December 2021 issue of NCPPD’s newsletter noted that the utility has been focusing on tree maintenance for reliability purposes. 

Hazen noted that in the early 2000s, NCPPD decided to take an aggressive approach to vegetation management.  Right of Ways over the whole district were clear cut as much as possible and trimmed with customer approval. 

“Once that was completed, we have actively used a vegetation management program that includes spraying right of ways and cutting and trimming trees as needed,” he said.

“Although this program sounds relatively simple it has a large impact on the reliability of the system.  Of course, we continue to improve the system to enhance reliability and resilience but the vegetation management of the system is a very important aspect of our reliability.”

Relationship With Nebraska Public Power District

NPPD is NCPPD’s wholesale supplier of electricity.

“We work with NPPD in coordinating the service to our system through NPPD owned transmission.  NPPD also has economic development services that we can access as a NPPD customer,” Hazen said.

“NCPPD benefits from our NPPD relationship by accessing the generation and transmission assets that our ratepayers and all of the other ratepayers in Nebraska have paid for over life of those assets,” he noted.

Also, NPPD provides energy efficiency incentives through the EnergyWise program. “These incentives are derived from our wholesale rates and provided back to NPPD’s wholesale partners,” Hazen said.

EnergyWise is an energy efficiency program that provides incentives to improve energy efficiency in support of homeowners, businesses and ag producers. 

“For example, incentives are provided for Smart Thermostats, Air source and ground source heat pumps, mini-split heat pumps, variable frequency drive irrigation motors and induction cooktops. These are only a sampling of the incentives available,” Hazen said.

Changes to the program for 2022 are the addition of the incentive for inductive cooktops, the increase from 10% to 20% incentive for electric lawnmowers and the splitting of incentives for electric vehicles and their chargers, he noted.

Supply Chain

Hazen was also asked to discuss how NCPPD’s operations department is responding to nationwide supply chain disruptions — specifically, for electric utility equipment.

“NCPPD has been monitoring the supply chain and the material markets through our relationships with our vendors,” he said. 

“We started ordering additional material and special equipment (transformers and reclosures) in late 2021. Proactively, we have been ordering into 2023 to stay ahead of our normal maintenance requirements, our work plan projects and expected growth of our system,” Hazen noted.

“The relationships we have with our vendors and other service providers are key in NCPPD’s ability to provide services and build projects on time. By knowing early where the market was going with our purchases both in price and availability, NCPPD was able to meet its customers’ needs. Although there is no guarantee of continued supply in any number of items, NCPPD monitors supply on a monthly, weekly and daily basis,” he said.

Rate Reduction

Meanwhile, in late 2021, NCPPD’s board approved new rates that will provide for a seven percent reduction in overall rates. This reduction may vary three percent between rate classes, but as a whole, the rates will be reduced by seven percent.

NCPPD notes on its website that it continues to evaluate and adjust its operations to provide the best reliability while maintaining an excellent level of value for its customers.

For the second year in a row, the Board of Directors also passed through a .006196/kWh Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) credit. The PCA is a credit NCPPD receives from NPPD.

Florida Public Power Utility Breaks Ground On Net-Zero Emissions Campus

March 20, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 20, 2022

Representatives with Florida public power utility Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) and the City of St. Cloud, Fla., led a recent groundbreaking ceremony for OUC’s state-of-the-art St. Cloud Operations & Maintenance Center, the first net-zero campus for a Florida utility.

The $63.6 million, 24-acre campus will reach net-zero emissions through conservation and efficiency practices and its use of renewable energy.

Designed by OUC and Jacobs, a design firm, the project aligns with OUC’s and the City of St. Cloud’s commitment to sustainability and renewable energy.

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Rendering of the St. Cloud Operations & Maintenance Center

Construction includes building a 55,000-square-foot warehouse and a 22,000-square-foot fleet maintenance facility with service bays, parts stores, electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging and fueling stations, and a vehicle wash area. Approximately 260 people will work on this portion of the project.

When completed in December 2023, about 54 OUC employees will call the campus home. Future phases are expected to include an administrative facility and a substation.

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Rendering of the St. Cloud Operations & Maintenance Center

The project includes several sustainable features, including rooftop solar panels, floating solar, high-efficiency water fixtures, rainwater harvesting tanks, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, walking and biking trails, and EV charging stations. Human-focused design strategies were added to promote well-being, safety and encourage healthy choices. Buildings on campus were designed to meet the stringent requirements of LEED, Fitwel and WELL Health Safety Standard.  

The project marks a milestone in OUC’s partnership with St. Cloud. In May 1997, the two entered a long-term agreement for OUC to operate and maintain the city’s electric system.

North Carolina Public Power Utility Fayetteville PWC Recognized By United Way

March 20, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 20, 2022

United Way of Cumberland County, N.C., announced on March 1 that North Carolina public power utility Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) received the 2021 Spirit of North Carolina Award for Investment in long-term sustainable impact.

“Moving from response to recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Fayetteville PWC has led the way in meeting community needs through their fundraising, volunteer, and advocacy efforts,” United Way of Cumberland County said.

United Way of North Carolina’s annual Spirit of North Carolina award celebrates organizations for their campaign excellence achieved through impactful events, engaged leadership, and volunteer engagement. Organizations championing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion values and post-pandemic rebuilding efforts are also celebrated. 

United Way of North Carolina recognized 75 winners representing 22 local United Ways across the state.

Fayetteville PWC was not only recognized for raising over $150,000 through their workplace campaign but for its continuous support to the community. 

The utility has been involved in neighborhood cleanups, fan donations for local senior citizens, 3,500 pounds of food donations to a local food bank, among other things.

Every year the utility goes above and beyond to help those in the community and the award represents the 16th time PWC has been honored by the United Way of North Carolina, United Way of Cumberland County said.

For more information about the Spirit of North Carolina Award and a complete list of winners, visit unitedwaync.org/spirit-north-carolina-award-winners.

North Carolina Utility Launches App To Report Streetlights In Need Of Repair

March 18, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 18, 2022

The city of High Point, North Carolina, has begun using an app to track burned out streetlights.

“In the past, citizens had to call in lights to a customer service center, then an operator manually entered a work order, which was then dispatched to a service crew,” Tyler Berrier, electric utilities assistant director for High Point, said via email. “We have eliminated the need for all of those manual processes.”

The app allows anyone to see a map of the streetlights and report a problem with a specific light for the city to repair. High Point maintains nearly 27,000 streetlights.

High Point began developing the app in early 2021, and it launched this month. The public power utility developed the app with integration help from DataVoice, its outage management software provider.

So far, the response has been “great,” Berrier said. “We’re receiving notices via the app regularly now, so folks seem to be embracing it.”

In the first week, the utility received 27 notices of streetlights in need of repair. On average, the city sees around 1,750 work orders per year for streetlight and outdoor light repairs.

The utility advertises that requests received from the app will be fixed in three to five business days, but on average the repairs are happening more quickly, usually in one or two days, Berrier said.

In all, the app cost about $13,000 to develop and deploy, but a large portion of that cost was an already scheduled system update that was integrated into the deployment of the update, Berrier said.

With the streetlight app only about two weeks old, it is still too early to assess cost savings from the program, but “we hope to continue to automate processes going forward to streamline operations in this area and in others,” Berrier said.

Berrier said that the utility’s next focus will likely be implementing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) “so we can give customers real time usage data and more option.”

“Process improvement is not a one-time thing,” Berrier said. “it’s a continual adaptation that we’ll look at with all aspects of our operations going forward.”

TVA Unveils $3 Million In Pilot Projects To Advance Connectivity, Carbon-Free Future

March 18, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 18, 2022

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently announced an initiative to partner with communities in portions of the seven-state region and help provide equitable access to technology.

TVA said its Connected Communities will fund several proposed pilot projects that leverage cutting-edge technologies to address select challenges, including broadband access, environmental risk monitoring, digital literacy training and next-generation career options. Community-driven data will be used to identify the gaps and populations without equitable access.

The selected projects — chosen by local governments, power companies and community-based organizations — will share more than $3 million in grant funding from TVA in 2022 and 2023.

TVA said that the Connected Communities initiative aligns with TVA’s “Energy System of the Future” and plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

In February, the TVA Board of Directors approved exploration of advanced nuclear technology as part of its development of technologies to support its aspirational goal of a net-zero carbon energy future.

Other technologies TVA is exploring include next-generation energy storage, carbon capture, new hydroelectric pumped storage, and hydrogen.

TVA also continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio, including the targeted addition of up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2035.

More than 40 organizations applied for funding during the initial call for pilot projects, with each selected project supporting at least one of the three focus areas of the TVA Connected Communities initiative:

The nine pilot projects currently under review by the TVA Connected Communities initiative are:

TVA is working with these communities on the pilot projects, contributing 70 percent of the project’s total costs. The pilot teams are funding 30 percent.

The pilot projects will be awarded funding after successful completion of required reviews and work on the projects is expected to begin this summer.

To learn more about TVA’s Connected Communities initiative, including resources and tools for communities to implement their own Connected Communities initiatives, visit tva.com/connectedcommunities.

Wisconsin Public Power Utility Details Contributions To Local Organizations

March 17, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 17, 2022

Black River Falls Municipal Utilities (BRFMU) finished up 2021 by giving back to the local community, the Black River Falls, Wisconsin-based public power utility recently reported.

BRFMU provided a donation to the Jackson County Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers new building fund. This was matched by the Lunda Charitable Fund, which will match all donations until $800,000 is reached.

BRFMU also contributed to the Interfaith Caregivers’ Groceries to Go fund, a program that delivers groceries to homebound seniors and others in need.

Black River Falls High School has several classes that teach students about electricity. However, supplies such as pliers, outlets, switches, wire, and others are needed to provide this hands-on experience.

BRFMU partnered with the school in order to provide the equipment and supplies needed for the classes.

American Legion Post 200, an organization serving veterans and their families, is currently remodeling its kitchen and installing more energy efficient equipment.

As a supporter of energy efficiency projects, BRFMU made a contribution towards the project and is encouraging other organizations to reach out if they will also be doing projects that will result in electrical energy savings.

BRFMU is a locally owned, not-for-profit electric, water, and wastewater utility, serving more than 2,700 customers.

BRFMU is one of 51 public power utilities that are member-owners of wholesale power provider and joint action agency WPPI Energy.

City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., Raises Funds For United Way Through Unique Raffle Event

March 8, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 8, 2022

City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., raised just under $10,000 for United Way of the Ozarks through a raffle event with the winner detonating the implosion of power plant stacks.

After providing electricity to Springfield for over 60 years, the five generators inside the utility’s James River Power Station have been retired.

Over the past few months, demolition crews have been removing exterior components of the partially retired power generation station with one of the final steps being to collapse the four stacks on the south side of the main building.

Jamie Dopp, Manager of Communication at the utility, said that through the “Blasting for the Better” fundraiser for the United Way of the Ozarks, City Utilities of Springfield raised $9,705.

A woman from California won the raffle and traveled to Springfield to tell her brother, a 43-year CU James River Power Station employee, that she was giving him the opportunity to detonate the implosion of the stacks. 

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Dopp noted that the raffle was communicated through the utility’s social media channels and through press releases and local news outlets.

“City Utilities is committed to making our community better,” Dopp said.  “With the ‘Blasting for the Better’ fundraiser, we saw the opportunity to turn the implosion into an opportunity to give back to our neighbors.  If future opportunities present itself, City Utilities would explore opportunities to use its resources for the benefit of our community.”

 “The stacks were part of the skyline for the past 65 years and helped City Utilities provide reliable power to the community and keep our homes warm. It was bittersweet to see them come down,” said Gary Gibson, City Utilities President and CEO. “But the real story is the men and women who worked here to keep the lights on, solve problems, and were mechanical wizards who kept this plan running for many years. To each of them, we say thank you.”

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Gary Gibson, City Utilities President and CEO (photo courtesy of City Utilities

Gibson said that this was “that once in a lifetime opportunity that a lucky winner, and our community, will remember for many years. The employees of City Utilities have been leaders in supporting United Way of the Ozarks and this unique opportunity, helped to raise additional funds and bring attention to the work done by the local United Way.”

Public Power Women in History: Carolyn McNeil

February 28, 2022

by APPA News
February 28, 2022

Congress initially designated March 1987 as Women’s History Month to honor the women who made historical contributions to the nation’s growth and strength. The resolution also acknowledged that women had been “consistently overlooked and undervalued in the body of American history.”

Looking back through public power’s history, there are many examples of women who have helped shape community ownership of electric utilities in their cities, states, and regions. Last year, the American Public Power Association recognized Women’s History Month in part by highlighting some of today’s women in leadership positions. This year we looked backwards. An examination of our archive indicates that Carolyn S. McNeil (July 19, 1938 – March 15, 2001) from Sandy, Utah, was one of the first women to lead a public power organization.

McNeil was named general manager of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, or UAMPS, on June 15, 1983. The joint action agency was founded in 1980 and today represents 50 community-owned power systems operating in seven Western states. She previously served as controller for both UAMPS and the Intermountain Consumer Power Association, which she would also lead as general manager.

In a 1984 interview for Public Power magazine, McNeil said that her non-utility background prepared her for these roles. She began her higher education with a major in music, but left college to raise two children. She later returned to major in accounting. She said she made the switch after reading in the Wall Street Journal that accounting majors were getting the best job offers after graduation. She had also volunteered for various community projects, which helped finely tune her organizational and interpersonal skills — skills that were beneficial later in navigating political issues and at the negotiating table. “I had to acquire an understanding of the water and power laws peculiar to our state and to our corner of the world. But I spend most of my time trying to get people together to work out problems,” she said.

McNeil also shared in that interview that, upon becoming general manager, she had been asked, “Are you going to be the general manager until they can find a real one?” In an industry that was dominated by men, she said, in a wholly disarming manner, “Perhaps because they are so unaccustomed to women in this type of position, they actually give me more credit than I probably deserve.”

UAMPS credited McNeil with being the driving force through an era of fierce competition and extraordinary growth. While with UAMPS, she was elected president of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association, participated on the board of the Consumer Federation of America, served on Utah Governor Norman Bangerter’s Task Force on Utility Regulation, and was a member of APPA’s Board of Directors, its Executive Committee, and chaired its Advisory Committee.

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Carolyn McNeil

In the mid-1980s, McNeil also chaired APPA’s national campaign to preserve preference and cost-based federal hydropower rates. It was public power’s swift response to a Reagan administration proposal that would upend 80 years of national policy granting consumer-owned electric utilities first purchase rights to federal hydropower. The Reagan administration instead proposed to auction off the power. The $1 million effort – funded wholly by voluntary contributions – sought to explain to the public and congress why the country should maintain federal policies giving consumer-owned utilities first right to purchase federal hydropower at cost-based prices.

Carolyn McNeil, APPA, and other public power leaders at the time also recognized that public power had a big problem: local and national public opinion polls showed that a significant portion of the population – including those served by public power – did not know what public power was. McNeil oversaw the campaign to fix that. The multi-year campaign evolved into both protecting the federal hydropower preference construct and generating greater consumer awareness about public power and its benefits for local elected officials and the public. The campaign sought to tap public power’s latent strength: its identity as a fundamental local institution.

Concurrently, McNeil successfully navigated Utah court cases ensuring that UAMPS members could engage in power exchange transactions with other utilities. UAMPS had sought to increase access to transmission lines and to build its own to maximize the cost efficiency of its members’ power supply for the benefit of public power customers. She also worked to maintain harmony between municipal and cooperative utilities in Utah despite divisive issues at the national level. Her work boosted Utah’s public power utilities into a high national profile and established her reputation as a prominent public power industry leader.

During her tenure with UAMPS she received the APPA Kramer-Preston Personal Service Award. Upon her retirement, she was also awarded APPA’s highest honor – the 1995 Alex Radin Distinguished Service Award – for her exceptional leadership and dedication to public power. 

“Carolyn McNeil was a truly remarkable leader and trailblazer,” said Doug Hunter, UAMPS CEO and General Manager. “She understood the great value of public power and had a vision for its potential. She elevated the status of public power not just in her home state of Utah, but across the nation through her APPA leadership positions. For me, personally, she was a great mentor and example. She built a strong foundation at UAMPS on which we have been able to ascend to greater heights. She is truly deserving of recognition as one of the first and most effective women leaders in public power.”

Carolyn McNeil passed away in 2001. We here at APPA honor her and the women in public power — past, present, and future — for their contributions to advancing public power’s mission. McNeil and the other women who were among the first to hold leadership and other key roles at public power entities have helped demonstrate the variety of career paths for women in the workforce for the past four decades. Today, six of the 25 largest public power utilities are led by women, and three of the 57 joint action agencies are.

Rochelle, Illinois, Shop Local Credit Program With Public Power Utility Well Received By Customers

February 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 14, 2022

A credit program aimed at supporting small businesses in Rochelle, Ill., through a credit on Rochelle Municipal Utilities (RMU) bills has been quite successful, said Michelle Pease, Community Development Director for the City of Rochelle.

“The Shop Local RMU credit program is an economic tool adopted by the City of Rochelle to encourage our residents and businesses to patronize small local businesses who were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted Pease.

Participating in the Shop Local RMU credit program provides a $60 reimbursement in the form of a credit on a future Rochelle Municipal Utility (RMU) bill for qualifying purchases at retail/service shop and restaurant establishments located within the RMU service territory. 

Each residential household, commercial/retail and industrial brick and mortar business within RMU’s service territory qualifies.

The program started in spring 2020 and was designed to be an economic tool adopted by the City of Rochelle to encourage residents to patronize local businesses who were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We wanted to help our local businesses make it through the forced closings due to the pandemic,” said Pease.

 She said that the program was very successful and well received by residents and business owners. The program started out allowing three credits ($180) per household, then went to unlimited credits, then back to only three credits between August 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. The program ended December 31, 2021.

“I would recommend programs like this during times of crisis and certainly 2020-2022 has been a time of crisis,” said Jeffrey Fiegenschuh, City Manager for the City of Rochelle.

“Our utility is uniquely positioned to be able to afford such a program. Our finances are stable, and our load continues to grow,” he said.

Although there was a significant cost associated with funding the program, “the goal of our Mayor and City Council was to assist our local businesses affected by state mandated closures. This program and others funded by the city (direct aid grants) helped make this city council priority a reality. Of all the programs I was able to be a part of in my career, this program is one that I am most proud of.” he said.

City Utilities Of Springfield, Mo., Partners With United Way For Plant Demolition Raffle Event

February 13, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 13, 2022

City Utilities Of Springfield, Mo., is partnering with United Way of the Ozarks for a raffle event with the winner detonating the implosion of power plant stacks.

After providing electricity to Springfield for over 60 years, the five generators inside James River Power Station have been retired and the stacks are coming down.

All proceeds from the raffle event, “Blasting for the Better,” will support United Way of the Ozarks.

Over the past few months, demolition crews have been removing exterior components of the partially retired power generation station with one of the final steps being to collapse the four stacks on the south side of the main building.

Details on the demolition, history of James River Power Station, and a schedule of the implosion, including safety requirements, will soon be available, the public power utility reported on Feb. 9.