It’s 3:25 p.m. on any given business day. The afternoon slump weighs heavy. The Outlook inbox notification dings and the temptation to take a break from this spreadsheet is strong. It’s an email from a close coworker, "Fwd: tips for losing weight easy." Or at least, it appears to be from a close coworker, but it includes a link to an unknown site. To click or not to click? We’ve all been there. From the November-December 2015 issue (Vol. 74, No. 1) of Public Power

The U.S. Supreme Court in January affirmed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s rules for demand response compensation in wholesale energy markets run by regional transmission organizations and independent system operators. The high court in a 6-2 decision reversed and remanded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judgment that set aside FERC’s Order No. 745.

As reported in the daily news clips, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 vote granted an emergency stay of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act on February 9, 2016. The stay means EPA and/or the states cannot enforce any of the deadlines or requirements in the final Section 111(d) rule, nor will the states be penalized for missing a deadline or requirement. In the meantime you may want to read FERC's "guiding principles" for Clean Power Plan Compliance. APPA will be keeping its members updated on this issue. Click on "learn more" below.

Join us for our 2016 Legislative Rally & Reception in honor of the members of the 109th General Assembly, 2nd Session. Our "Day on the Hill" will begin Tuesday morning, February 23, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. with a buffet luncheon in the Grand Ballroom at the Hermitage Hotel. The Rally Meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m., also in the Grand Ballroom. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey will be our speaker. Click on the "Learn More" link below for the complete registration packet including the agenda of the meeting, Reception information and the Invitation to be sent to all legislators. See you in Nashville on February 23.

Currently, over 56 million people living in the United States have some form of disability. That’s roughly one out of every five people who may be accessing your utility’s website. Over 12 percent have what is labeled "a severe disability." As an electric provider, you serve everyone who lives on your lines. Your CSRs don’t make a distinction between one home to the next. However, your website, your 24/7 CSR, very well might.

Is it just me, or does the month of February have more noteworthy days than the other eleven? And it’s the shortest month! You got Groundhog Day, Super Bowl Sunday, National Wear Red Day, National Pizza Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Chinese New Year, Ash Wednesday, and a personal favorite, National Margarita Day. And there’s only 29 days total.

While the Tennessee General Assembly is in session, we’ll be updating how things are going around Legislative Plaza, including the bills of most importance and concern to Tennessee’s municipal electric systems. With the Senate beginning a new schedule and the earliest bill filing deadline in memory, this year’s legislative session started fast out of the gate. This year legislators have one of those rarest of things in government: a huge surplus to the tune of $750 million. As one legislator said, it’s already been spent about five times over.

We're getting closer to the 50th Anniversary/Annual Meeting of TMEPA, and it's really exciting preparing for this exceptional meeting. Your Annual Meeting Committee has almost completed the agenda and, as usual, it's full of exceptional speakers, outstanding topics and a special round table of TMEPA Distinguished Retired System Managers talking about the origins of TMEPA. It's the best opportunity available for networking and interaction with other municipal systems and managers from across the state. We hope to send the initial information out soon so keep your eyes on the "inbox." Click on Learn More for a special representation of our coming meeting.

At every Annual Meeting a very special group of our friends across the industry unite with us to bring an outstanding meeting to Tennessee Municipal Electric Systems. Quite frankly, we couldn't bring in the speakers addressing topics important to each of you, have the many opportunities for special events, provide all the outstanding food and drink and give you the opportunity to learn and network without their help. We encourage you to give these folks the opportunity to meet your system needs. They'll be represented at the annual meeting and most will have an exhibit.

Winchester Utilities, established in 1939, is the municipal provider of power, water and collection services to the greater Winchester, TN area. Located near the Cumberland Plateau in Franklin County, Winchester boasts a wide range of geographical features including mountains, caves, rolling foothills, and our favorite lake, Tims Ford. It's also home to the very first hydro-electric plan in Tennessee.

Have an important meeting or event coming to your town? Let us know and we'll put it on the TMEPA Calendar. Stay up to date with all the TMEPA meetings and other events around the state and even nationally for TMEPA Member Systems.

The TMEPA Spring E & O Conference will be in Knoxville at the Crowne Plaza on April 7 and 8. The program is excellent, and for the first time for the Spring Conference we will have Sponsor Exhibitors. Some highlights of the event include "Current R & D Activities in Distribution," "Wireless Internet: A Solution with No Strings Attached" and "Violence in the Workplace." We are also proud to provide an afternoon tour of the Buffalo Mountain Wind Farm -- a special thank you to Mark Meigs and Cristian Cagle-Brooks for giving us this opportunity. The registration materials are included. We hope you will all make plans to attend.

As the TMEPA Staff and Annual Meeting Committee are finalizing preparations for the big 50th Annual Meeting at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Nashville, plans are also being made to hold another annual TMEPA event along with it. Board member training will be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting to increase the value and attendance of system board members at the meeting. Usually TMEPA’s board training is held as a one-day stand-alone session, bringing TMEPA managers and system board members to Nashville for the training. This requires many system board members to take an additional trip or day off off in service of their utility. The special 50th Annual Meeting presents a unique opportunity for board members to attend the Annual Meeting while getting the information they need to run a municipal electric system.