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RMEL Report
From the Desk of RMEL Executive Director Rick Putnicki RMEL Fall Convention Recap Thank you to the nearly 900 attendees and to the speakers who helped us make the 2021 Virtual Fall Convention a success last month! The speakers presented their thought-provoking insights to help us all prepare for the future and Find Solutions to Tomorrow’s Challenges. We had hoped to all get together for an in-person Convention, but I was so glad we could still have a virtual forum to turn off all the noise and focus on critical content and excellent presenters. We will soon be starting the planning for the Spring Conference and Fall Convention with the thought of hosting these events as in-person conferences (and possibly hybrid) in 2022. The safety of our membership is paramount and we will continue to monitor the situation as we proceed. I truly believe the success of the Convention can be attributed to the timeliness of the topics and the quality of speakers we were able to assemble. I especially want to thank our CEO Panelists who took time from their hectic schedules to prepare and speak at our Convention. Thank you, Aram Benyamin (Colorado Springs Utilities), Gary Hoogeveen (Rocky Mountain Power), Tracey LeBeau (Western Area Power Administration), and Barbara Sugg (Southwest Power Pool) for sharing your vision and insight of your organizations, and our industry. To all of you that registered for the Convention, I would encourage you all to schedule some “me” time to access those available presentations from the event - you have until November 12th to watch them on the platform. Please let us know if you need your login information for the Fall Convention Platform. Whether it is one you heard, or one you missed, I am confident you will gain a few nuggets of valued information. All of the following presentations are available to registered Fall Convention attendees until November 12th: Fall Convention Keynote: Seeing Around the Corner – A View of What’s to Come CEO Panel How Crypto Mining Operations and Utilities WIN Together What the Heck is Going On: A Guide to the Climate Debate in Washington Cost-Effective Resiliency-As-A-Service: A Critical Facility Microgrid Case Study at Salt River Project Grid Security: Key Questions and Answers with PacifiCorp Renewable Policy and the Implication to Energy Markets Anirban Basu and the Chamber of Data (Economic Update) Powering Decarbonization: Strategies for Net-Zero CO2 Emissions Emergency Response – it is not “if”, it is “when” Roundtable Discussion A highlight of the Fall Convention is the opportunity to recognize key members for their contributions to our Association and Industry. This year, we honored six individuals with RMEL’s top service awards, and we had the chance to hear from Thomas J. Kent, President & Chief Executive Officer, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), who received RMEL’s highest honor, the 2021 Distinguished Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual that has demonstrated significant contributions to the electric energy industry, their respective organization, and an advocate for the RMEL Mission. Doug Bennion, Retired, PacifiCorp, received RMEL’s Honorary Life Membership Award. Honorary Life Membership is conferred upon an individual “whose knowledge and accomplishments in the electric energy field entitle him/her to special recognition.” This award recognizes their years of service and dedication. Doug retired this past Spring with a 40+ year career at PacifiCorp and served as an active RMEL Board Director for over 13 years. Four individuals received the Industry Leadership Award. The Industry Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose leadership has made an impact within their organizations. The 2021 recipients are: Keith Carman, Vice President of Transmission Operations, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association; Nicholas Peters, Manager, Operating Engineering Group, Colorado Springs Utilities; Angela Piner, Vice President, HDR, Inc.; and John Quintana, Supervisory Electrical Engineer, Western Area Power Administration. Congratulations again to these outstanding individuals! The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application is Now Open! The 2022 RMEL Foundation Scholarship Application is now open! Spread the word, and please let us know if you have college/trade school/university contacts who would like to receive the scholarship information. We are thankful for the solid year of scholarship fundraising our members provided the RMEL Foundation during this year. Thank you for the Corporate and Individual Cash Donations! The Virtual RMEL Foundation Auction Raised $25,000 and an additional $15,000 has been raised in cash donations. Learn more about 2022 Named Scholarship Sponsor opportunities for your company. You can still become a Friend of RMEL – your donation of $100 or more will go directly to a 2022 Friends of RMEL scholarship! Happy Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a great time to pause and reflect on the blessings we have been given. I thank all of you for your continued engagement in RMEL. You truly represent what our Association is all about. May you and your families have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!
Education and Upcoming Events
RMEL Member Information
RMEL's trusted network is now accessible on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These are forums intended for RMEL members only. Working side-by-side in a cooperative manner, RMEL members band together for the common goal of bettering the industry and improving service for utility customers. For more than 100 years, these key principles have proven successful, and more importantly, are tried and true methods for building strong business relationships.
RMEL Champions is a prestigious group of RMEL supporters with access to useful and beneficial promotional opportunities. Thank you 2021 RMEL Champions!
Industry Information
Electric Vehicle Adoption Poised to Surge, Say Experts, if Congress OKs $100B in Purchase Incentives
There are potentially more than $200 billion in electric transportation investments contained in President Joe Biden's jobs and infrastructure plans, including purchase incentives that could immediately accelerate the United States' electrification plans, according to electrification advocates watching negotiations in Congress.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new goal to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and durably store it for less than $100/ton of net CO2-equivalent.
UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm at the UN COP26 summit in Glasgow, where they discussed strengthening cooperation to accelerate the global transition to clean energy and build back better ambitions.
 In our International Energy Outlook (IEO2021) Reference case, we project that residential buildings outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will consume more electricity than all residential and commercial buildings combined in OECD countries by 2050.
Despite all of the bad press and attacks from the climate alarm lobby they receive, “fossil fuels” have powered a rapid expansion of the global economy and enabled vast improvements in the standard of living across the globe for well more than a century.
Member Announcements
After extensive, multi-year negotiations with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), Austin Energy has been unable to reach mutually agreeable terms that would allow the utility to affordably retire its share of Fayette Power Project (FPP) coal plant as originally envisioned.
Basin Electric is ranked among the nation’s top cooperatives by the National Cooperative Bank in its annual NCB Co-op 100® list, which names the nation’s top 100 revenue-earning cooperative businesses.
Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. (Mitsubishi Power) and El Paso Electric (EPE) have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) creating a collaboration framework to jointly develop projects that will enable EPE to achieve its clean energy goals.
Evergy issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for wind energy to supply the needs of its customers. The RFP solicits bids for Evergy’s purchase of wind resources of up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) that will be in service by 2026. Projects that achieve commercial operation by mid-2024 and year-end 2025 will be given preference.
This summer, LES Peak Rewards participants helped LES reduce peak summer demand by approximately 4 megawatts.
A Time-of-Use (TOU) program has been on the minds of Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) for several years and is now a reality for NPPD retail customers. NPPD retail customers are those who receive an electric bill and pay NPPD directly.
SRP continues to experience significant increases in customer electricity demand as Phoenix and Maricopa County lead the nation in population growth and economic development.
Unified Greeley County completed the site certification process for a light industrial property in Tribune, Kan. Unified Greeley County, in conjunction with Greeley County Community Development, submitted the necessary information to qualify it for certification through Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s Certified Sites Program.
At the turn of the past century (1900, not 2000) there were as many electric vehicles as gas powered cars. The EVs of the day were more expensive, but quieter, cleaner and easier to start and drive.
 Tucson Electric Power is a powerhouse when it comes to leveraging the strength and skills of veterans.
In August, the Power Marketing Administration Human Resources Shared Service Center launched the HR Strategic Partnership Award, an annual award for leaders who demonstrate outstanding skill in partnering with HR. The group also announced the award’s inaugural recipient, Administrative Officer Kellie Petty.
White Paper
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Colorado School of Mines are applying a new technique to identify defects in silicon solar cells that cause a drop in efficiency. The lessons learned at the atomic level could lead to improvements in the way manufacturers strengthen their products against what is known as light-induced degradation.
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