NEPPA eNewsletter

This month is literally the precipice for me. Since starting, I had March 1^st pegged as the day that begins what should be a challenging and fruitful roller coaster ride culminating in October. In two weeks we will be in DC attempting to secure support for NEPPA’s position on several key issues. The link for these issues can be found on the NEPPA website. Meanwhile back in Littleton our new building will be probably getting external walls. Scott Edwards and Savas Danos at Littleton have the construction crew humming. You can see a photo from two weeks ago below.

The NEPPA Board will be meeting in March and reviewing the progress on the building and some key initiatives that we have been undertaking in our training programs. The one I can mention at this time is that our two full-time trainers (Steve Socoby and David Fabrizius) have been standardizing the course descriptions for all of our offerings and mid-summer we will be releasing a permanent course catalogue of our offerings. We will have additional subjects from time to time, but it will make it easier for everyone to understand the full spectrum of training.

If you haven’t seen it yet we have released the spring brochure for ourPublic Utility Management Program. It will be at the Cranwell Conference Center from April 11-13^th. This year we have gone back to the core principles of what utility managers need to know. I believe that it captures the essence of the key issues facing today’s managers.

In May, we intend to add some important bells and whistles that will make our training facility the premier training facility in the US.

June will feature our rodeo in Pascoag. For years the good folks of Pascoag Utility have hosted this great competition and as this is the final year with them we plan to make it memorable.

We will officially move our training facility and set up the yard and other training areas in late July and early August at Littleton. We plan to run our first Apprentice class there at the end of August. In August and September, prior to our annual conference, we will host a General Foreman’s Roundtable at the new facility.

This year’s annual conference will be truly special. The committee has been working hard and secured a great feature speaker who we will be announcing shortly. We will conclude the wild ride by moving our offices to Littleton in October.

NEPPA will continue to deliver all of its regular services and functions during this chaotic period and I will continue to reach out to meet with members to better understand individual circumstances and needs. In the coming months, we will keep you apprised of our move and building process. I will be writing about the status and seeking assistance for some of our planned improvements. So stay tuned.

Paul Heanue was officially named general manager of the Hingham Municipal Light Plant on Feb. 22, 2012. He has been serving as acting manager since June of 2011, when John Tzimorangas vacated the position to become CEO of Energy New England.

Previously, Heanue had served as assistant general manager since 2007. Heanue entered the utility world with Comm/Gas in 1982 where he performed a variety of utility functions including labor relations. He also served as president of his union, Steelworkers 1204. He entered the electric field in 1994 at Cambridge Electric Light as director of operations.  Heanue earned his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University and an MBA at Nichols College. A native of Roslindale, Mass., he now lives in Walpole.

NEPPA is accepting nominations for the Carol A. Tracey Customer Service Award. This award is presented to employees of NEPPA member utilities who deliver outstanding service to their customers, either through sustained exceptional performance in serving their customers or the development of new and/or innovative programs to meet customer needs.  Written nominations must be signed by the utility General Manager and submitted to the NEPPA office by no later than March 30, 2012. Click here to print a form. Fax or mail to Northeast Public Power Association, 100 Medway Road, Milford, MA 01757 or 508 482 0932.

NEPPA’s Public Utility Management Program has been providing vision and education for public utility managers and leaders for 20 years. This year’s program will offer no less. The spring session will take place on April 12th & 13th at the Cranwell Conference Center and Resort in Lenox, Mass.

Topics will include Power in the Northeast, Managing Today’s Utility Technology, Legislative/Regulatory Issues and Communications with Board/Counsel. The PUMP program is structured to encourage peer-to-peer engagements and networking, so when participants leave, they have bonds that will stay with them. Networking activities such as meals, receptions and other activities are specifically designed to encourage these exchanges.

Click here for more information

At several times during our recent Education and Training Committee meeting, we were adamantly discussing some similar concerns we all have as to how to improve NEPPA’s training experiences. At one point Larry Brownell, NEPPA executive director said; "well, at this point we are preaching to the choir." So it made me think, who is outside the choir? As members of small publicly owned utilities, we are all called to participate in the process (and sometimes...gulp...sing) to make every training experience a great one.

One such discussion centered on how the instructors for each of the four Apprentice Linemen training programs can best communicate the progress of the student to the utility. The problem has been how to develop an evaluation that gives both the practical as well as the academic aspects of the training. Traditionally, NEPPA instructors have given the utility an evaluation of student’s academic progress but information pertaining to the practical application of the skills learned has not been done or has been relegated to anecdotal whispers (i.e. off the record).

The NEPPA instructor, while wanting to communicate all relevant information regarding the training of each person attending, is placed in the most uncomfortable position of being put in place as "decision maker" to determine if the utility should be investing in this person’s life-long desire to become a lineman. What if the person does extremely well academically but can’t do the physical work? The instructor can’t be put in the place of the employer to inherit the liability of telling someone that they are not cut out to do the work, especially if the subjective opinion of one person can be construed to be biased against the student.

How is this best resolved? The Committee made two recommendations: one is to develop a review checklist of the practical skills applied to the Apprentice Lineman Training Program. A second proposal is to develop and implement a three-tiered (informal) agreement between each of the three parties. While recognizing that each party has a valid interest in the training occurrence, each also has a responsibility to make the whole process successful.

Such an agreement will best communicate both the expectations and responsibilities of each party. For example:

Utility: expects a detailed and thorough training program for each student it sponsors. The utility expects and needs accurate and objective feedback from the training program as to the development of the student. In turn, the utility takes responsibility to continue the student’s training by implementing the skills learned at the apprentice training program. At all times, the utility is the decision maker to determine if student should continue the path of line apprenticeship.

Student:expects a comprehensive education that develops his/her apprentice lineman skills. Student expects a high quality education from trainers who instruct and listen to their questions. Student takes responsibility to be on time and fully participate in the training program.The student understands that he/she is responsible for both studying and applying the skills learned in the program.

NEPPA:expects each student to fully participate in all aspects of the training program and expects the utility to support the learning process by having the student perform the skills learned. NEPPA has a responsibility to give accurate and objective feedback to the utility of each student from the training program.

Over the next few months, Steve Socoby will be probing ideas from others to develop an objective standard of evaluating the practical application of the Apprentice Lineman program. NEPPA also will develop an informal but crucial agreement for all three interested parties to commit to so that responsibilities are understood and expectations are met.

So if you have any ideas regarding these issues, please feel free to communicate them to me or anyone on the Education and Training Committee. That way, all of us will be in the choir and we will begin making our association the best training resource anywhere.