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2/8/2016 eBulletin Online | Northwest Public Power Association
https://www.nwppa.org/ebulletin/online/ 1/4
Northwest Public Power Association eBulletin
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twitter.com/NWPPAssoc
www.nwppa.orgView
Online
Past
IssuesAdvertise
Monday, February 1, 2016
Legislative Announcements
Call to Action: Oppose KingReid Amendment #3120 to the Senate Energy
Bill; Senate starts debate, votes on energy bill and amendments; Supreme
Court upholds FERC’s authority to compensate demand response;
Challengers petition Supreme Court to stay Clean Power Plan, NERC study
released; and Nick Schlanz joins Morgan Meguire as intern.
Read more…
Public Power Industry Announcements
Promotions, new hire announced at Salem Electric; Oregon PUD offers
summer internship in engineering; MEA seeks scholarship applications; BPA
and 700 students to celebrate 25th anniversary of largest regional science
bowl in nation; Scoping period extended for CoSu Line environmental impact
2/8/2016 eBulletin Online | Northwest Public Power Association
https://www.nwppa.org/ebulletin/online/ 2/4
statement; Response to letters alleging website violates ADA; and Clean
Energy Fund grant solicitations now open.
Read more…
Associate Member Announcements
Toth and Associates partners with Futura Systems; Evluma introduces Type
III AreaMax for LED
residential street lighting; and Electric Cities of Georgia names Tantalus as
preferred AMI solutions provider.
Read more…
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
Looking to plan your training for 2016 or view a catalog of training events?
Click on the button
below.
2016 eCatalog PDF
Check out these upcoming training events:
Basics of Budgeting & Financial Forecasting
March 8 — 9, 2016
High-Bill Inquiries: Building Your HBI Toolkit
March 9 — 10, 2016
Nuts and Bolts of Work Orders
March 10 — 11, 2016
Operations Manager & Line Superintendent Bootcamp – Session 3
March 16 — 17, 2016
2/8/2016 eBulletin Online | Northwest Public Power Association
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Increasing Collection Effectiveness
March 16 — 17, 2016
Revenue Metering: Introduction and Application
March 22 — 23, 2016
Distribution Engineering Series: Session 2 – Overcurrent Protection
March 30 — 31, 2016
Read more…
Industry Calendar of Events
Mark your calendars for these upcoming public power meetings.
Read more…
RFP/RFQs
Utilities: NWPPA offers its utility members the opportunity (at no cost)
to post RFPs and RFQs on our website at no charge. Reach out to NWPPA’s
almost 4,000 associate member contacts that supply goods and services to
the utility industry and might be interested
in responding to your utility RFP/RFQ. For more information, contact Debbie
K. at [email protected].
Associate Members: Make sure to check out NWPPA’s RFP/RFQ Web page
to view
utility RFP listings. Listings are posted as they are received by NWPPA.
New RFP posted January 15, 2016!
Read more…
2/8/2016 eBulletin Online | Northwest Public Power Association
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Recent Industry Job Openings
View the job opportunities posted to NWPPA’s website in the past week.
Read more…
On This Day in History
Texas secedes; Oxford Dictionary debuts; Nixon announces his candidacy for
president; and Columbia mission ends in disaster.
Read more…
Copyright ©2016 Northwest Public Power Association.All rights reserved.9817 N.E. 54th Street, Ste. 200, Vancouver, WA 98662(360) 2540109 – [email protected]
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2/8/2016 Legislative Announcements | Northwest Public Power Association
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Legislative Announcements
Call to Action: Oppose King-Reid Amendment #3120 to
the Senate Energy Bill
As you know, the Senate is considering the energy bill and in that
process, an amendment is being offered that would:
1. dictate how state net metering programs should work and wouldimpede states’ abilities to make their own policy decisions; and
2. promote subsidies that benefit customers with residential rooftopsolar systems or other distributed energy resources (DER) at theexpense of electricity customers who do not have these systemsand who will pay higher electricity prices to cover the cost of thesubsidies.
NWPPA has consistently opposed legislative efforts to amend the
Federal Power Act and/or the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to
promote DER. Such legislation would preempt state and local
decision making regarding interconnection policies and rates. It is
also inconsistent with NWPPA’s strong preference for local and
regional solutions over "top down" federal directives.
NWPPA urges you to call your Senators and urge a no vote on
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the KingReid Amendment #3120 as it would preempt states,
rural elec. coops, and certain localities from managing their
net metering programs without jumping through federally
mandated hoops.
Here is more information prepared by APPA, NRECA and EEI on the
amendment:
King-Reid amendment 3120 (1).pdf
FINAL King-Reid PURPA 111(d) Amendment #3120 1302016.pdf>
Senate starts debate, votes on energy bill and
amendments
Update provided by Morgan Meguire
On February 27, the Senate began consideration of S. 2012, the
Energy Policy Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) Chair Lisa
Murkowski (RAlaska) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (DWash.)
that addresses energy efficiency, infrastructure, supply,
accountability, and land conservation.
S. 2012 marks the first major energy bill considered by the Senate in
eight years. Although both Murkowski and Cantwell admitted the bill
is not what they each would have drafted individually, they spoke
about the bipartisan support and judicious legislative process they
undertook to allow “everyone to have a say.”
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Murkowski and Cantwell agreed with Senate leaders to have an open
amendment process, but plan to manage the expectations of their
colleagues, by encouraging senators on both sides of the aisle not to
torpedo the bill. Republican and Democratic leaders spoke in favor of
the bill and urged their fellow senators to refrain from offering “poison
pills” that could ruin the bipartisan effort.
Nevertheless, some stakeholder groups have weighed in against the
bill, including the rightleaning Heritage Action, calling the bill
“excessive federal overreach” and the leftleaning Sierra Club saying
it represents “a missed opportunity.”
Shortly after the bill was brought up, the White House issued a
Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) expressing appreciation for
the bipartisan nature of the bill and citing positive provisions such as
energy efficiency, weatherization assistance, state energy programs,
geothermal energy development, and advance energy job training.
The White House also expressed support for the permanent
reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, including
the reforms to address the maintenance backlog at our National
Parks.
Of interest to NWPPA, the Administration expressed appreciation for
“the role that carbonfree hydropower plays in meeting the nation’s
energy needs” and noted that the hydropower relicensing provisions
included in S. 2012 “were an improvement over the provisions
included in H.R. 8, the Housepassed energy bill, but the
Administration has concerns about its implementability.”
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The White House SAP expressed concern over the repeal of existing
Department of Energy (DOE) programs that aim to improve efficiency
at manufacturing facilities, provisions to eliminate independent
certification requirements for certain ENERGY STAR products, and
new processes and governance structures for certain energy
infrastructure projects. Notably, however, the White House did not
issue a veto threat as they did when the House considered its bill in
December 2015.
On January 28, the Senate debated and considered 6 of 89
amendments filed so far. Among those, and an important issue for
NWPPA members, was Sen. Mike Crapo’s (RIdaho) S. 2461, the
Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act. The amendment supports
research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies
through publicprivate partnerships. Other amendments approved
included measures to increase funding to DOE’s energy research arm
– ARPAE – over the next five years, and a Government
Accountability Office (GAO) study on the impacts of crude oil exports
to consumers.
Anticipated amendments of interest to NWPPA include Sen. Cory
Gardner’s (RColo.) narrow vegetation management provision, which
would allow utilities to engage in voluntary vegetation management
activities outside of their rightsofway on federal lands under a
“gross negligence” standard, if agreed to by the utility and relevant
exact language of the amendment is still being decided, and Gardner
is working to resolve a number of issues with the latest changes
requested by an as yet unknown Democratic cosponsor.
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NWPPA continues to seek a sponsor for a Zinke/Schrader Senate
companion bill and is working to provide members and staff with
concrete examples of the vegetation management problems its
members are facing.
Potential amendments of concern include language from Sen. Angus
King (IMaine) on distributed generation, and/ or on electromagnetic
pulse threats to the grid. NWPPA would oppose both.
Debate on the bill will resume today, February 1, when the Senate is
back in session. Until this time, senators still had the opportunity to
file amendments. In order to get through many of the amendments,
Murkowski and Cantwell are working together to find amendments
that can be compiled into a “substitute amendment.” Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (RKy.) said he intends to finish consideration of the
energy bill next week, a reversal from initial reports that the bill could
be on the floor for the better part of a month.
Supreme Court upholds FERC’s authority to
compensate demand response
Update provided by Morgan Meguire
On January 25, the Supreme Court handed the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) a victory by overturning a lower court
ruling that the Agency lacked authority to regulate demand response
(DR) at the wholesale level in Electric Power Supply Association
(EPSA) v. FERC. FERC issued Order 745, the rule in question that
2/8/2016 Legislative Announcements | Northwest Public Power Association
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required market operators to pay DR aggregators the same price as
generators, under a theory that DR affects wholesale rates and may
therefore be regulated under the Federal Power Act.
Challengers, including APPA and NRECA, asserted that DR is a retail
function, and therefore the Federal Power Act leaves its regulation to
the states. The court rejected that argument, saying, “A FERC
regulation does not run afoul of [the Act’s delegation of retail
regulation to states] just because it affects the quantity or terms of
retail sales. Transactions occurring on the wholesale market have
natural consequences at the retail level, and so too, of necessity, will
FERC’s regulation of those wholesale matters. That is of no legal
consequence.”
Generators had also questioned the payment level to DR aggregators,
given that they, unlike generators, do not need to pay for fuel and
steel in the ground. In Order 745, FERC had considered subtracting
the energy savings DR participants see (from foregoing the power
they would have consumed) from the payment they receive for the
same action, but declined to reduce the payments. Although the lower
court called that decision arbitrary and capricious, the Supreme Court
roundly rejected challengers’ arguments on that issue, deferring to
FERC’s assessment that both generation and DR benefit the wholesale
market equivalently and should be paid equal amounts.
The Court remanded the case to the D.C. Circuit to determine the fate
of DR in capacity markets, but given the ruling on FERC’s jurisdiction
under the Federal Power Act, the lower court is likely to maintain
FERC control there as well.
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Challengers petition Supreme Court to stay Clean
Power Plan, NERC study released
Update provided by Morgan Meguire
As previously reported, petitioners who were recently rebuffed by the
D.C. Circuit after requesting a stay of the Clean Power Plan have
appealed the ruling to the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The
move is extremely unusual, since the lower court has not yet ruled on
the merits of the case. The petitioners say that the rule itself is so
extraordinary in its overreach that such an appeal is warranted.
It is not clear how soon the high court could act on the petition, but
the rule’s challengers may be hoping that a ruling could address the
merits of the case, since one component of considering a stay of a
regulation is the probability of the case’s success on the merits.
However, petitioners must also show that irreparable harm will befall
them if the rule stands – a higher bar, considering the compliance
period for the rule does not begin until 2022.
In a related development, the reliability study approved at the North
American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Board of Directors
meeting is now available. The report urges states to consider several
areas prior to submitting plans, including reserve margins and the
timing of new generation resources and transmission projects.
In general, the report takes a more positive tone regarding the
potential reliability impacts of the Clean Power Plan than previous
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studies based on the proposed rule, which did not feature an
emissions trading component or a reliability “safety valve,” both
pieces that likely contributed to NERC’s more favorable assessment.
Nick Schlanz joins Morgan Meguire as intern
Update provided by Morgan Meguire
On January 19, Nick Schlanz joined Morgan Meguire’s team as an
intern. Schlanz is a junior at Wittenberg University in Ohio and is
spending 14 weeks interning and taking classes as part of the
Lutheran College Washington Semester program in D.C.
Schlanz is a political science major with a focus on prelaw and the
eventual goal of going to law school to study criminal law. He has a
strong background in research, writing, and debate.
His previous internships include working for Senator Rob Portman (R
Ohio) with a focus on networking and voter outreach. He also holds
several leadership positions in campus organizations at Wittenberg,
including the positions of Philanthropy and Alumni Relations chairs for
his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi.
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Public Power Announcements
Promotions, new hire announced at Salem Electric
Salem Electric (Ore.) is pleased to announce that Jason Bruce has
advanced to 4th step apprentice; Courtney Charnetzki was promoted
to member services coordinator; Evan Thompson moved from
temporary summer utility helper to locator/groundman; and Jared
Van Cleave was promoted to groundman.
Bruce was hired at Salem Electric in 2008 as a locator. In 2011 he
was promoted to groundman and entered the Lineman Apprenticeship
Program in 2014.
Charnetzki was hired in December 2014 as a customer service
representative and was recently selected as member services
coordinator after the retirement of Debbie Addison.
Thompson was hired in June 2015 as a temporary utility helper and
hired to the permanent groundman/locator position on December 1,
2015, after Van Cleave, who started as a locator in January 2012,
was promoted to groundman.
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Jason Bruce Courtney Charnetzki Evan Thompson
Jared Van Cleave
Oregon PUD offers summer internship
in engineering
Columbia River People’s Utility District (St.
Helens, Ore.) is now accepting applications for a
utility engineering summer internship.
The PUD’s internship program offers local students a chance to learn
about utility careers through direct work experience. This year, the
PUD is offering a summer internship for a local high school or college
student who is interested in becoming an electrical engineer or field
engineering technician. Applications will be accepted from high school
seniors and college students who reside within the PUD’s service area
and can demonstrate their interest in the pursuit of utility engineering
careers.
“Many years ago I participated in the PUD Internship Program,” said
Engineering Supervisor Branden Staehely. “It provided me with real
world experience that allowed me to excel in both my engineering
education and my career choices.”
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Applications are available online or at the PUD office. The application
deadline is March 4, 2016.
MEA seeks scholarship applications
2016 Matanuska Electric Association (Palmer, Alaska) Scholarship
Applications are now available online at http://www.mea.coop/mea-in-
the-community/scholarships/. The electric cooperative will award a total
of $15,000 to students within its service territory.
“Assisting students in our service area meet their higher education
goals is important to MEA and our employees. These scholarships
allow MEA to invest in our students and help them on their path to
become valuable members of their community, whether back here as
future MEA members or elsewhere,” said Director of Public Relations
Julie Estey.
Completed applications and letters of reference must be postmarked
by March 16, 2016, to be considered. Scholarship winners will be
announced at MEA’s Annual Membership Meeting on April 26, 2016.
BPA and 700 students to celebrate 25th anniversary of
largest regional science bowl in nation
The brainpower and competitive energy of more than 700 students is
lighting up the 25th anniversary of the nation’s largest regional
science bowl at the University of Portland. This year’s silver
anniversary event will draw 130 teams from across western
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Washington and Oregon.
“The Bonneville Power Administration is extremely proud to sponsor
such a vibrant regional science bowl, and we’ve been committed to its
success every year for a quarter of a century,” BPA Administrator
Elliot Mainzer said. “This exciting event not only celebrates academic
skill and endeavor, but it also helps seed the development of the next
generation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and technologists
for the Northwest and the nation.”
This year’s middle school competition is set for Saturday, January 30,
with the high school students taking to the buzzer on Saturday,
February 6, at the University of Portland. The top team in each
division will take an allexpenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to
compete in the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl from
April 28 to May 2.
Beyond the prestige of winning and the prospect of the national
competition, BPA and science bowl volunteers have worked to
establish partnerships with universities and colleges in the region to
offer scholarships for the top three teams in the high school division.
In all, 17 colleges and universities in the Northwest are offering
members of the top teams a chance at more than $300,000 in
scholarships.
In addition to the competition, demonstrations and handson
activities will take place throughout the day. In the afternoon, a
separate engineering competition allows teams that have not
advanced to the doubleelimination round to test their engineering
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and design skills. This year’s challenge will be constructing a
transmission tower with the structural integrity to defy the forces of
an earthquake.
The more than 700 students in the competition come from public and
private schools in Washington and Oregon – from as far north as the
Seattle metro area and as far south as Ashland, Ore. Many practice
for months, in groups and individually, for the competition, which is
as intense as any sporting event, particularly at the highschool level.
BPA sponsors the science bowl to showcase students’ talents in
science, technology, engineering and math, as well as to encourage
them to consider careers in these fields. This helps to build the future
labor pool of scientists and innovators so critical to the energy
industry. The BPA Regional Science Bowl is sponsored by the
University of Portland and Vernier Software & Technology.
The middle school competition took place this past Saturday; the high
school competition will take place on February 6 from 8 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. at Franz Hall, University of Portland, Portland, Ore. The event is
free and open to the public. Championship rounds begin at
approximately 4 p.m. in Buckley Auditorium. For more information,
visit www.bpa.gov/goto/ScienceBowl.
Scoping period extended for CoSu Line environmental
impact statement
Western Area Power Administration is extending its public scoping
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period for collecting comments on the environmental review of the
proposed Colusa-Sutter Transmission Line, or CoSu Line.
Western initiated a 60day public scoping process in Colusa and
Sutter Counties, California, December 18, 2015, by publishing a
notice of intent in the Federal Register (80 FR 79037). The 60day
extension provides additional opportunities for the public to comment
and identify issues, opportunities and concerns that should be
considered in the draft environmental impact statement/review.
Comments received by April 18, will be considered in defining the
scope of the EIS/EIR. Additional opportunities for public participation
will be provided once the draft EIS/EIR is published.
The CoSu Line would enhance the reliability of the electrical grid in
Northern California by providing a new connection to the existing
CaliforniaOregon Transmission Project line in Colusa County,
California, and increase Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s
(SMUD) ability to deliver clean power to the Sacramento area from
the Pacific Northwest and other energy markets. The proposed project
would link to a new substation near the existing O’Banion Substation
in neighboring Sutter County.
Four of six public meetings have already been held about this project
in Colusa and Sutter counties, two meetings in each county
respectively. The final two public meetings focused on scoping are
planned for February 2 and 4, 2016. There, the public, agencies, and
other stakeholders can learn about the proposed project and provide
comments to inform Western and SMUD of their issues and concerns
at this earliest stage of the environmental review process.
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Information about the public meetings, including locations and how to
provide comments, is available on the project website at
www.cosuline.com. No action will be taken on the project proposal
until after the environmental review is completed.
Visit www.cosuline.com for more information on the project. You can
also learn more about NEPA’s environmental processes on the
Department of Energy’s website.
Response to letters alleging website violates ADA
Many public power utilities have recently received a letter alleging
their website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar
acts. To assist its members and their attorneys in analyzing and
addressing the letter, NRECA retained outside legal counsel
experienced with these issues and prepared the attached
memorandum.
Clean Energy Fund grant solicitations now open
Application materials are available for two new competitive grant
programs of the Washington State Clean Energy Fund. The grants are
managed by the State Energy Office at the Washington Department
of Commerce:
$12.6 million available to electric utilities for grid modernization.These are matching grants open only to public and privateelectric utilities in Washington state. The purpose of this programis advancing clean and renewable energy technologies andtransmission and distribution control system improvements to
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increase reliability and resiliency and enable integration ofdistributed and renewable energy resources and technology.Commerce will accept grant applications via an online portalthrough February 12, 2016.$9.7 million available for research, development, anddemonstration matching grants. This funding is designed tomatch federal and other nonstate funds for the purpose ofresearching, developing, and demonstrating new clean energytechnologies. Commerce will accept grant applications via anonline portal through February 29, 2016.
Questions? Email [email protected], call Peter Tassoni at
(360) 7253125, or visit
http://www.commerce.wa.gov/Programs/Energy/Office/Pages/Clean-Energy-
Funds-2.aspx.
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Associate Member Announcements
Toth and Associates partners with Futura Systems
Toth and Associates, Inc. recently partnered with Futura Systems,
Inc. to offer their customers a premium level of GIS services. As a
multidisciplined engineering firm, more than half of Toth’s employees
and resources are devoted to electrical services for utilities. By
partnering with Futura Systems, Inc., Toth will be able to use Futura’s
software to maintain data on customer systems in the most efficient
way possible. In addition to their shared goal of efficiency through
GIS, the two companies also have similar views on customer
relationships. Both companies see themselves as extensions of the
utility and align themselves with the various goals of the utility, while
delivering the expertise and knowledge to take the utility’s GIS
services to the highest level.
Futura Systems provides enterprise utility GIS solutions to hundreds
of electric, water, and gas distribution utilities across the United
States. As an Esri Gold Business Partner, Futura Systems excels at
employing the ArcGIS foundation to develop mapping, staking, and
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outage management tools that deliver powerful, userfriendly
functionality. Learn more at www.futuragis.com.
Evluma introduces Type III AreaMax for LED residential
street lighting
Last month, Evluma announced the release of a Type III AreaMaxTM,
adding to the technologically innovative and awardwinning AreaMax
product line of outdoor LED luminaires for street and area lighting.
The 70W LED Type III luminaire is recommended to replace 100
200W HID polemounted lights. The Type III AreaMax is currently
undergoing field trials with a release date of March 2016.
Evluma’s propriety Class II driver and Photocontrol FailsafeTM are
standard to every AreaMax, ensuring years of sustainable, low
maintenance lighting. “The AreaMax has the lowest cost of ownership
of any LED area light,” saids David Tanonis, VP of Sales and
Marketing at Evluma. Wirelessly connect/disconnect, dim, and query
all AreaMax LED lights with ConnectLEDTM a Bluetooth application for
Android tablet and Windows laptops. With the latest in highefficiency
LEDs and cuttingedge thermal management, the AreaMax is also UL
Listed.
Until now, the AreaMax has only been offered in a Type V light
distribution. “The Type III distribution is aimed to work with the
existing Type V distribution as utilities implement rural and residential
roadway LED lighting solutions on a neighborhood by neighborhood
basis,” said Tanonis. Type III is a lighting distribution type
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recommended for mediumwidth roadways, or areas where a large
light pattern on the ground is preferred.
Formed in 2008, Evluma is committed to developing affordable, long
lasting, and environmentally lowimpact LED lighting solutions that
fundamentally change the landscape of the outdoor utility lighting
market. Evluma’s high standard of customer service and background
in innovative lighting technologies, automation, and software design
creatively ideate and inform its Made in Washington products.
AreaMax is a recognized winner of the 2013 NGL Outdoor SolidState
Lighting Design Competition in the Local Residential Roadway
Category. For more information, visit www.evluma.com.
Electric Cities of Georgia names Tantalus as preferred
AMI solutions provider
Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG), a joint action professional services
organization representing the interests of 52 public power systems in
Georgia, and Tantalus Systems have jointly announced the formation of
a partnership in support of expanding electric and multicommodity
AMI and smart grid application solutions throughout the state of
Georgia. The partnership names Tantalus as the preferred advanced
metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions provider for ECG member
utilities.
Tantalus and ECG will collaborate to offer member utilities a variety of
options to deploy AMI and smart grid solutions, including the ability to
efficiently migrate existing automatic meter reading (AMR) technology
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to a robust twoway AMI platform by remotely collecting readings
from legacy electric, water, and gas encoder receiver transmitter
(ERT) devices. The offering will also provide members with an option
to utilize a hosted service to offset the upfront capital investments in
IT infrastructure typically required to support AMI deployments.
Tantalus will enable ECG utilities to access a wide range of integrated
applications such as prepay, remote disconnect/reconnect, outage
management, water leak detection, and metering data analytics on a
single network.
“ECG’s role is to serve as an advocate on behalf of our member
utilities,” said ECG President and CEO John Giles. “After conducting a
comprehensive technology review process, ECG is confident in its
recommendation of the Tantalus solution for our members. Tantalus’
unique ability to read existing ERT technology with a twoway AMI
network provides utilities with an economical path to automate the
collection of consumption and billing data from electric, water, and
gas meters. By incorporating a hosted solution in the model, we can
expand the range of services that ECG offers while mitigating
‘resources constraints’ as a barrier to broader smart grid adoption.
We are pleased to have identified Tantalus as a trusted partner that
will work closely with us to strengthen the performance and reliability
of member distribution networks across the state.”
“Tantalus is honored to work alongside the team at ECG to provide a
scalable path to full smart grid automation which is easily attainable
by all utilities, regardless of size,” said Tantalus President and CEO
Peter Londa. “Partnering with joint action agencies to deliver
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technology solutions which are in alignment with the shared goals and
objectives of those agencies and their members provides Tantalus
with a unique opportunity to expand our presence in the municipal
and cooperative utility sector. We are excited to build new longterm
partnerships in Georgia as we continue to deliver quantifiable value to
all utility stakeholders and consumers.”
TUNet® – the Tantalus Utility Network – is designed to
simultaneously support multiple datadriven applications such as AMI,
distribution automation (DA), streetlight control, and load
management on a single, softwaredefinable platform. Each TUNet
endpoint utilizes an embedded multicore distributed computing
processor with a Linuxbased operating system, enabling end point
devices to form an interconnected control environment at the edge of
the network. This intelligent architecture is coupled with abundant
RAM and flash memory in each device to support additional
applications, ensuring flexibility and future scalability for the utility
while immediately reducing operating costs, improving response time
to events, and improving customer service. Tantalus is also fully
integrated with a broad ecosystem of leading utility solution partners
for seamless interoperability in diverse operating environments.
Additionally, TUNet is capable of enhancing existing AMR investments,
such as ERT infrastructure, with bidirectional communications. This
strategic approach drives down capital and operational expenses
while increasing the ROI of existing investments. With this method,
utilities can extend the useful life of existing undepreciated
infrastructure while immediately capturing the benefits of smart grid.
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Since the introduction of the ERTreading solution last year, more
than 20 municipal and cooperative utilities, including ECG members
Marietta Power and Water and the City of Blakely, are now automated
with TUNet and have gained access to a full suite of ROIbuilding
advanced applications.
Tantalus provides a twoway, multipurpose platform that enables
access to data to power advanced smart grid applications for
monitoring and control of electric, water, and gas municipal and
cooperative utilities. For more information, please visit
www.tantalus.com.
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2/8/2016 Calendar of Events | Northwest Public Power Association
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Calendar of Events
2016 Upcoming Industry Meetings
Send your 2016 meeting dates and locations to Debbie at [email protected].
February 2016
4 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
9 – WRECA Legislative Reception & Board Meeting, Olympia, Portland, WA
14-17 – NRECA Annual Meeting & EXPO, New Orleans, LA
24-25 – APA Legislative Conference, Juneau, AK
March 2016
3 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
7-9 – APPA Legislative Rally, Washington, D.C.
April 2016
7 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
May 2016
1-4 – NRECA Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.
5 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
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June 2016
2 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
7-9 – APA Federal Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.
10-15 – APPA National Conference & Public Power EXPO, Phoenix, AZ
14-15 – WRECA Annual Meeting, Red Lion Hotel Richland Hanford House, Richland, WA
July 2016
7 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
12-14 – ORECA Mid-Year Meeting, Seven Feathers Casino Resort, OR
August 2016
4 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
September 2016
1 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
19-20 – National Hydropower Association Alaska Meeting, Cordova, AK
21-23 – APA Annual Membership Meeting, Cordova, AK
October 2016
4-6 – Regions 7 & 9 Meeting, Reno, NV
6 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
November 2016
3 – PPC Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR
29-Dec. 1 – ORECA Annual Meeting, Location TBA, OR
December 2016
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8 – PPC Annual Meeting, Sheraton Portland Airport, Portland, OR – 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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2/8/2016 Submit an RFP or RFQ | Northwest Public Power Association
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Submit an RFP or RFQ
NWPPA offers its members the opportunity to post RFPs and RFQs on our website at no charge. For
more information or questions, contact Debbie K. at [email protected] or complete the form below.
CURRENT RFPs/RFQs
RFP for Construction of the Haakenson Substation Project
Offered by: Elmhurst Mutual Power & Light Company
Response deadline: March 8, 2016
2:00 p.m.
Posted on: February 3, 2016
Elmhurst Mutual Power & Light Company (Elmhurst) is issuing an "Invitation to Bid" for the purpose
of soliciting sealed proposals for the construction of the Haakenson Substation Project. Sealed
proposals will be received by Elmhurst on or before Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at 2:00 P.M., at the
offices of Elmhurst at 120 132nd Street South, Tacoma, WA 98444.
The Project consists of the labor material and equipment to re-construct the 115 -13.2 kV,
16.8/22.4/28 MVA, Haakenson Substation. The Plans, Specifications and Construction Drawings,
together with all necessary forms may be obtained via email from Elmhurst.
Parties interested in bidding shall contact Elmhurst at the above address or by e-mail at
[email protected]. A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held Thursday, February 18,
2016, at 10:00 a.m. at Elmhurst’s office located at 120 132nd Street South, Tacoma, WA 98444. Only
bids from those attending the pre-bid meeting will be considered.
Submit an RFP/RFQ for publication on NWPPA.ORG
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Skamania PUD No. 1 RSQ for Engineering Services
Offered by: Skamania PUD No. 1
Response deadline: March 31, 2016
Posted on: February 3, 2016
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SOLICITATION
Request For Statement of Qualification (RSQ)
Skamania PUD No. 1 RSQ for Engineering Services
Skamania PUD No. 1 is inviting statements of qualifications and performance information from firms
interested in providing professional engineering services for calendar years 2016 and 2017 in
conjunction with PUD sponsored projects for the electric system and two water systems.
For the electric system engineering services are needed for substation and distribution system
design, distribution system model development and engineering studies, project management and
commissioning of substation construction, and analysis and design for interconnection of small
(<5MW) generation.
For the Carson and Underwood water systems engineering services for water reservoir site
acquisition, design and construction project management, water resource development, water
system infrastructure condition assessment studies, water system development feasibility studies
and miscellaneous water distribution and transmission equipment replacement and upgrade design
and construction project management.
Qualification and performance statements will be reviewed and placed on file for the 2016-2017
calendar years; they will be used as the source from which to select one or more qualified firms from
whom a detailed proposal will be requested for any specific project.
Please direct responses to Brent Bischoff, General Manager, Skamania PUD No. 1, PO Box 500,
Carson WA 98610 or by email [email protected]. Questions regarding the solicitation can
be asked by email or telephone at (509) 427-5126. Response of interested firms is requested no later
than March 31, 2016.
Contract No. 16039 Swan Lake Reservoir Expansion Construction Project
Offered by: Southeast Alaska Power Agency
Response deadline: February 30, 2016
2/8/2016 Submit an RFP or RFQ | Northwest Public Power Association
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Must be received by 4:00 pm AKST
Posted on: February 3, 2016
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) is seeking bids from qualified firms for its Swan Lake
Reservoir Expansion Construction Project to:
Obtain and place structural steel components
Form and place reinforced concrete
Perform both demolition and re-construction of spillway concrete
Install Owner furnished flash-boards and vertical gate
Perform modifications to Intake Building concrete
Remove existing intake components
Replace both existing and new Owner furnished equipment in the Intake Gate Building
This project is located at SEAPA's Swan Lake Hydro-electric Project located near Ketchikan, Alaska. The
successful bidder must comply with Alaska's Little Davis-Bacon Act, Employment Preference Act, and
Alaska Products Preferences.
A mandatory site visit at Bidder's expense is required.
Bids must be received by March 1, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. AKST.
A copy of the proposal documents may be downloaded from SEAPA’s website at:
http://www.seapahydro.org/rfp.php or call Sharon Thompson at 907.228.2281 for a copy of the bid
documents.
Real Estate Broker Sullivan Creek Powerhouse
Offered by: Pend Oreille PUD
Response deadline: February 18, 2016
Must be received by 2:30 p.m.
Posted on: January 8, 2016
Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille County (the District) is seeking the services of a licensed
commercial Real Estate Broker (Broker) to provide services for marketing one (1) surplus property
owned by the District.
The property to be sold is the Sullivan Creek Powerhouse, located in Metaline Falls, WA. The
powerhouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Respondents must be a licensed commercial and/or multifamily Real Estate Broker in good standing
in the State of Washington. Respondents will not be debarred or prohibited from performing work on
public works projects. Respondents must have a minimum of five (5) years experience in listing and
leasing commercial and/or multifamily properties.
Interested parties may obtain a complete Request for Proposals packet by contacting the District’s
Contracts Administrator at (509) 447-9345. Statements of Qualifications must be received no later
than 2:30 p.m., (Pacific Standard Time) February 18, 2016. Submittals may be sent to:
Pend Oreille County Public Utility District
Contracts Administrator
P.O. Box 190
N. 130 Washington
Newport, WA 99156
Minority- and women-owned firms are encouraged to submit proposals. The District is an equal
opportunity employer. The successful candidate will enter into a Consultant Services Agreement with
the District.
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Jobs
Recent job openings within the industry in the last week:
Engineering Manager – Tillamook Peoples Utility District Engineering Field Representative – Tillamook Peoples Utility District Full Time Instructor – NW Line JATC
Operations Scheduler – Tillamook Peoples Utility District Journeyman Lineman – Copper Valley Electric Association
Dispatcher – Specialist VI (R15636) – Portland General Electric
Journeyman Lineman – Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. Groundman/Apprentice Lineman – Consumers Power, Inc. Power Dispatcher/Transmission Operator #63634 – Puget Sound Energy
Engineering Technician II – City of Tacoma
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2/8/2016 This Day In History | Northwest Public Power Association
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This Day In History
Texas secedes
February 1, 1861
On this day in 1861, Texas becomes the seventh state to secede from
the Union when a state convention votes 166 to 8 in favor of the
measure. The Texans who voted to leave the Union did so over the
objections of their governor, Sam Houston. A staunch Unionist,
Houston’s election in 1859 as governor seemed to indicate that Texas
did not share the rising secessionist sentiments of the other Southern
states.
However, events swayed many Texans to the secessionist cause. John
Brown’s raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now
West Virginia), in October 1859 had raised the specter of a major
slave insurrection, and the ascendant Republican Party made many
Texans uneasy about continuing in the Union. After Abraham Lincoln’s
election to the presidency in November 1860, pressure mounted on
Houston to call a convention so that Texas could consider secession.
He did so reluctantly in January 1861, and sat in silence on February
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1 as the convention voted overwhelmingly in favor of secession.
Houston grumbled that Texans were “stilling the voice of reason,” and
he predicted an “ignoble defeat” for the South. Houston refused to
take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy and was replaced in
March 1861 by his lieutenant governor.
Texas’ move completed the first round of secession. Seven states
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and
Texasleft the Union before Lincoln took office. Four more states
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas waited until the
formal start of the Civil War, with the April 1861 firing on Fort Sumter
at Charleston, South Carolina, before deciding to leave the Union. The
remaining slave statesDelaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri
never mustered the necessary majority for secession.
Oxford Dictionary debuts
February 1, 1884
On this day in 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford
English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and
accurate dictionary of the English language, is published. Today, the
OED is the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation and
history of over half a million words, past and present.
Plans for the dictionary began in 1857 when members of London’s
Philological Society, who believed there were no uptodate, error
free English dictionaries available, decided to produce one that would
cover all vocabulary from the AngloSaxon period (1150 A.D.) to the
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present. Conceived of as a fourvolume, 6,400page work, it was
estimated the project would take 10 years to finish. In fact, it took
over 40 years until the 125th and final fascicle was published in April
1928 and the full dictionary was completeat over 400,000 words and
phrases in 10 volumesand published under the title A New English
Dictionary on Historical Principles.
Unlike most English dictionaries, which only list presentday common
meanings, the OED provides a detailed chronological history for every
word and phrase, citing quotations from a wide range of sources,
including classic literature and cookbooks. The OED is famous for its
lengthy crossreferences and etymologies. The verb “set” merits the
OED’s longest entry, at approximately 60,000 words and detailing
over 430 uses. No sooner was the OED finished than editors began
updating it. A supplement, containing new entries and revisions, was
published in 1933 and the original dictionary was reprinted in 12
volumes and officially renamed the Oxford English Dictionary.
Between 1972 and 1986, an updated 4volume supplement was
published, with new terms from the continually evolving English
language plus more words and phrases from North America,
Australia, the Caribbean, New Zealand, South Africa and South Asia.
In 1984, Oxford University Press embarked on a fiveyear, multi
milliondollar project to create an electronic version of the dictionary.
The effort required 120 people just to type the pages from the print
edition and 50 proofreaders to check their work. In 1992, a CDROM
version of the dictionary was released, making it much easier to
search and retrieve information. Today, the dictionary’s second
edition is available online to subscribers and is updated quarterly with
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over 1,000 new entries and revisions. At a whopping 20 volumes
weighing over 137 pounds, it would reportedly take one person 120
years to type all 59 million words in the OED.
Nixon announces his candidacy for president
February 1, 1968
Richard M. Nixon announces his candidacy for the presidency. Most
observers had written off Nixon’s political career eight years earlier,
when he had lost to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election.
Two years after losing to Kennedy, Nixon ran for governor of
California and lost in a bitter campaign against Edmund G. (“Pat”)
Brown, but by 1968 he had sufficiently recovered his political standing
in the Republican Party to announce his candidacy for president.
Taking a stance between the more conservative elements of his party,
led by Ronald Reagan, and the liberal northeastern wing, led by
Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Nixon won the nomination on the first
ballot at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach.
Nixon chose Spiro T. Agnew, the governor of Maryland, as his running
mate. Nixon’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Hubert
Humphrey, was weakened by internal divisions within his own party
and the growing dissatisfaction with the Johnson administration’s
handling of the war in Vietnam. Alabama governor George C. Wallace,
running on a third party ticket, further complicated the election.
Although Nixon and Humphrey each garnered about 43 percent of the
popular vote, the distribution of Nixon’s nearly 32 million votes gave
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him a clear majority in the Electoral College, and he won the election.
Columbia mission ends in disaster
February 1, 2003
On this day in 2003, the space shuttle Columbia breaks up while
entering the atmosphere over Texas, killing all seven crew members
on board.
The Columbia’s 28th space mission, designated STS107, was
originally scheduled to launch on January 11, 2001, but was delayed
numerous times for a variety of reasons over nearly two years.
Columbia finally launched on January 16, 2003, with a crew of seven.
Eighty seconds into the launch, a piece of foam insulation broke off
from the shuttle’s propellant tank and hit the edge of the shuttle’s left
wing.
Cameras focused on the launch sequence revealed the foam collision
but engineers could not pinpoint the location and extent of the
damage. Although similar incidents had occurred on three prior
shuttle launches without causing critical damage, some engineers at
the space agency believed that the damage to the wing could cause a
catastrophic failure. Their concerns were not addressed in the two
weeks that Columbia spent in orbit because NASA management
believed that even if major damage had been caused, there was little
that could be done to remedy the situation.
Columbia reentered the earth’s atmosphere on the morning of
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February 1. It wasn’t until 10 minutes later, at 8:53 a.m.as the
shuttle was 231,000 feet above the California coastline traveling at 23
times the speed of soundthat the first indications of trouble began.
Because the heatresistant tiles covering the left wing’s leading edge
had been damaged or were missing, wind and heat entered the wing
and blew it apart.
The first debris began falling to the ground in west Texas near
Lubbock at 8:58 a.m. One minute later, the last communication from
the crew was heard, and at 9 a.m. the shuttle disintegrated over
southeast Texas, near Dallas. Residents in the area heard a loud
boom and saw streaks of smoke in the sky. Debris and the remains of
the crew were found in more than 2,000 locations across East Texas,
Arkansas and Louisiana. Making the tragedy even worse, two pilots
aboard a search helicopter were killed in a crash while looking for
debris. Strangely, worms that the crew had used in a study that were
stored in a canister aboard the Columbia did survive.
In August 2003, an investigation board issued a report that revealed
that it in fact would have been possible either for the Columbia crew
to repair the damage to the wing or for the crew to be rescued from
the shuttle. The Columbia could have stayed in orbit until February 15
and the already planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis could have
been moved up as early as February 10, leaving a short window for
repairing the wing or getting the crew off of the Columbia.
In the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, the space shuttle program
was grounded until July 16, 2005, when the space shuttle Discovery
was put into orbit.
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