BY GEORGE! Crawford DSA to Kitchens€¦ · BY GEORGE! Crawford DSA to Kitchens. Let’s face...

WWW.TVPPA.COM | MAY/JUN 2017

BY GEORGE!Crawford DSAto Kitchens

Let’s face it...sometimes your software systems put up more of a fight than Mike Tyson on a bad day. They’re not functionally robust enough for your needs, they can’t integrate with your other programs, they can’t scale with company growth, you can’t customize anything and you need a Ph.D. to figure out how to use them. From the opening bell of your work day, you know you’re in for a battle trying to meet the needs of your utility.

Since 1938, utilities have relied on Central Service Association to take care of many of the tasks that eat up utility resources and beat up on utility staffs. With CSA, information technology is our business, leaving you the time to concentrate on your business. With ORBITTM, utility personnel take command of their workload, rather than having the workload in control.

CSA’s ORBITTM family is our line of easy-to-use, integrated, expandable and reliable software solutions. Each piece is designed for the way utilities work today - efficiently and effectively. Products in the ORBITTM solution include: Customer Management and Billing Dynamic Financial Management Work Management Meter Data Management and Analysis Business Portal with Mobile Service Orders Customer Portal Cashier Solutions

Combined with CSA’s other products and services, like UtiliSuite - our GIS suite, Internet services, employee benefits, professional services, disaster recovery, backup services, hardware sales and more, Central Service Association is THE choice for IT needs among utilities today. It’s time to knock out the stress and strain of information management. Unlike many of the challengers in the IT business, we know the fight. We’ve been in your corner for over 75 years providing service that is second to none. At CSA, we provide what it takes to win.

Central Service AssociationP.O. Box 3480Tupelo, MS 38803-3480Toll free 877-842-5962

Tired of fighting your IT?

www.csa1.com

We’re in your corner.

May/June 2017 Volume 68 · No. 3www.tvppa.com

71ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE14 Staying Relevant

Given their shared history, it might have seemed odd to spend an Annual Conference talking about how TVPPA and TVA stay relevant; but as TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons put it, “The world’s a different place now.”

23 Kitchens Joins ‘Giants’ On DSA Recipient List As far as George Kitchens was concerned, TVPPA’s highest honor was something other people won—until he was the one holding the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished Service Award at the 71st Annual Conference.

25 Not Just Yet: Williams, Kemp Still Leading TVPPA BoardTVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons may be leaving, but Chairman Greg Williams and Vice Chairman Terry Kemp are going to stick around for just a bit—and for a very good reason.

FEATURES30 Dahlstrom Opts To ‘Do More’ At Trenton, TN, L&W

Having put in nearly 25 years at Jackson, TN, EA doing jobs he truly enjoyed, Scott Dahlstrom could have stayed “safe and secure” right there. He felt he could do more, though, so he left to become general manager at Trenton, TN, L&W.

TVPPA News is published bi-monthly by the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, Inc. Member of the Society of National Association Publications. Advertising rates and data are available by contacting Tim Daugherty, TVPPA News, PO Box 6189, Chattanooga, TN 37401-6189; phone: 423.490.7930; or e-mail: [email protected]. Listed in SRDS, Sect. 39—Electrical. ISSN: 1547-5158. Opinions expressed in single articles do not necessarily reflect those of the association. For permission to reprint articles, write or call TVPPA.

Receiving extra issues? Please call and let us know: 423.756.6511 or email to [email protected].

about the cover:Former TVPPA Chairman George Kitchens of Joe Wheeler EMC, Trinity, AL, and his wife, Joyce, were the toasts of the 71st Annual Conference following his receipt of the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished Service Award.

30

25

14

Let’s face it...sometimes your software systems put up more of a fight than Mike Tyson on a bad day. They’re not functionally robust enough for your needs, they can’t integrate with your other programs, they can’t scale with company growth, you can’t customize anything and you need a Ph.D. to figure out how to use them. From the opening bell of your work day, you know you’re in for a battle trying to meet the needs of your utility.

Since 1938, utilities have relied on Central Service Association to take care of many of the tasks that eat up utility resources and beat up on utility staffs. With CSA, information technology is our business, leaving you the time to concentrate on your business. With ORBITTM, utility personnel take command of their workload, rather than having the workload in control.

CSA’s ORBITTM family is our line of easy-to-use, integrated, expandable and reliable software solutions. Each piece is designed for the way utilities work today - efficiently and effectively. Products in the ORBITTM solution include: Customer Management and Billing Dynamic Financial Management Work Management Meter Data Management and Analysis Business Portal with Mobile Service Orders Customer Portal Cashier Solutions

Combined with CSA’s other products and services, like UtiliSuite - our GIS suite, Internet services, employee benefits, professional services, disaster recovery, backup services, hardware sales and more, Central Service Association is THE choice for IT needs among utilities today. It’s time to knock out the stress and strain of information management. Unlike many of the challengers in the IT business, we know the fight. We’ve been in your corner for over 75 years providing service that is second to none. At CSA, we provide what it takes to win.

Central Service AssociationP.O. Box 3480Tupelo, MS 38803-3480Toll free 877-842-5962

Tired of fighting your IT?

www.csa1.com

We’re in your corner.

e-mail/ēmāl/nounElectronic mail, correspondence, communication, message(s), mail, memo(s), letter(s)

DID YOU NOTICE THE ADDRESS LABEL on the cover of this edition of TVPPA News magazine? We imprinted your email address!

That is, IF we have one. With the importance of email, it’s imperative that we have your email address.

If you didn’t see your email on the cover, scan the QR code or visit www.tvppa.com, click “Communications” and follow the link from there. It’s easy and only takes a moment to make sure you’re receiving all the information we are trying to send you.

3TVPPA NEWS MAY/JUNE 2017

publications

Work Safe!Work Smart!

www.alexanderpublications.com1048 Irvine Ave. #484, Newport Beach, CA 92660

1-800-992-3031

Alexander PublicationsAlexander Publications is theleading provider of Training Books,Online Videos, DVDs and more, forthe Electric Utility Industry. Your one-stop shop for lineman training materials.“This is a cool book”

The Lineman’s Pocket Reference• Quick look-up tables• Conductor sizes, capacities• Electrical, math formulas• Safe working clearancesThis friendly compact reference is packed with exactly the information linemen need most, when out in the field. Conductor sizes and ampacities, NESC clearances, safe working loads for rope, wire rope, chain, and web slings, weights of wood poles, conversion tables, math formulas. It’s all here.

3-3/4” x 6” 56 pages $14.95Only

“ASK TVPPA” is a regular feature TVPPA News magazine. Got a question for TVPPA’s Chattanooga, TN-based staff? Just e-mail TVPPA NEWS Editor Bob Gary Jr. at [email protected]

QUESTION: What’s the story on the ‘Cableman’ train-ing TVPPA’s offering?

Hall

ANSWER: More and more electric utilities are getting into telephone and cable television—look at Tennessee, where Gov. Bill Haslam just recently signed into law a bill that allows elec-tric cooperatives to get into broadband.

That means additional attach-ments in the ‘power space’ of a given pole and telecom personnel working in that ‘power space.’ Theirs is cer-tainly lower-voltage work than electric linemen do, but they’re nose-to-nose up there with your high-voltage hardware. So it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure they know precisely what they’re doing.

The Cableman Training set for July 10-14 at Jack-son, TN, EA isn’t technically the first offering of that

course; we’ve conducted a couple of on-site classes for TVPPA-member utilities that made specific requests and are very pleased now to put it out there as an all-comers class.

The scheduled instructor is Larry Webster, who’s retired from Jackson EA. The course is about train-ing telecom workers how to work safely in a pole’s power space as they build and maintain communica-tion cables.

The “inside” portion of the course will cover basic electric safety, including OHMS Law; a review of the APPA Safety Manual, knot-tying, work-zone flagging, power-space training, voltage recognition and ladder safety.

The course’s “outside” component will cover climb-ing, dead ends, framing, hands-on construction of ADSS fiber, bucket-truck rescue and pole-top rescue.

For more information, just contact me at [email protected].

— CALEB HALL/TVPPA TRAINING COORDINATOR

TVPPA Magazine

THE CLEARWATER DIFFERENCE

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Officers chairmanGregory D. WilliamsAppalachian EC, New Market, TN

vice chairmanTerry N. KempStarkville, MS, ES

secretary-treasurer

Mark O. IversonBowling Green, KY, MU

Directors Mike AllmandRipley, TN, Power & Light Kenny BairdLaFollette, TN, UtilitiesElden ChumleyAlbertville, AL, MUB James B. CoodeCumberland EMC, Clarksville, TN Marty IvyMayfield, KY, E&WSChris JonesMiddle Tennessee EMCMurfreesboro, TN Wes KelleyColumbia, TN, P&WS Larry KerneaMurphy, NC, PB George KitchensJoe Wheeler EMC, Trinity, ALJeff NewmanForked Deer EC, Halls, TN Ronny RowlandPrentiss Co. EPA, Booneville, MS Brian SkeltonTullahoma, TN, UADavid SmartWest Kentucky RECC, Mayfield, KY Joseph Thacker IIIMountain EC, Mountain City, TN David WadeEPB of Chattanooga, TNKathryn D. WestNorth Georgia EMC, Dalton, GA

PublisherJack [email protected]

Communications DirectorPhillip [email protected]

Publications/Marketing ManagerTim [email protected]

EditorBob Gary [email protected]

Communications SpecialistCourtney [email protected]

EDITOR’S NOTEThere’s going to be a lot about Jack Simmons, TVPPA’s retiring president/CEO, in the July/August issue of TVPPA News, but I wanted to pause here to attempt to relate a nice Jack-based moment from the just-concluded Annual Conference.

The staff sought to surprise him with a video based on a bit of skullduggery we undertook at February’s All-Member meeting in Nashville. We somehow got 16 veteran member managers/CEOs in a room—one at a time, without Jack knowing—to answer this question: If you had to choose one word to describe Jack’s impact on TVPPA particularly, and the Valley generally, what word would you choose, and why?

Here are the words our co-conspirators chose:

» Wes Kelley: Tenacious» George Kitchens: Innovative» Dan Rodamaker: Consensus-builder» Decosta Jenkins: Relevant» Greg Fay: Faith» Jody Wigington: Focused» Mark Kimbell: Thoughtful» Ronny Rowland: Dependable» Richard Morrissey: Enthusiastic» Terry Kemp: Integrity» Bill Carroll: Gargantuan and Octopus (you’ll

have to ask Bill)» Mike Browder: Caring» Jack Suggs: Moderating» Greg Williams: Influence» Johnny Fortune: Informative, “Because I

always thought you had to go to work before you could retire.”

TVA’s Bill Johnson (Partner) and Van Wardlaw (Real) were kind enough to add their remarks later on. And none of it would have happened without the consummate pro-fessionals in TVA’s Video Services operation, to whom our hats are off.

And here’s the cool part—all those guys, and none of them repeated a word. Not once did we have to tell some-one that the word he’d chosen had already been used.

Former TVPPA Chairman Wayne Henson added a few in-person thoughts after the video. Jack was joined on stage by Susan, his wife of more than 40 years, where-upon Williams gave them a vacation package from the TVPPA Board of Directors.

The good wishes of the TVPPA staff are certainly among those Jack and Susan carry with them into Jack’s retirement. The best of everything to you both . . . .

BoB Gary, Jr. | Editor

Departments4 Ask TVPPA

6 Bacon, Eggs And Perspective At A Special Breakfast

Comments&Observations

8 Trump Budget Spares TVA, But Not PMA Transmission

Washington Report

10 Tennessee Cooperatives Get Green Light For Broadband

Legal

12 DIC Lauds 11 TVPPA Members For Exceptional Safety

Risk Management

28 Graduation At Greeneville: 42 Earn CCS Designation

Second Reference

33 1997 – TVPPA Rejects Crowell Proposal

TVPPA Timeline

34 Williams, Kemp Continue At Head Of TVPPA Board

Names&News

38 Advertiser Index

#tvppanews

www.tvppa.com

In the next issue . . .

TVPPA News bids farewell to retiring President/CEO Jack Simmons, shown here with his wife, Susan, at the 71st Annual Conference.


At this year’s TVPPA Annual Conference, the staff had a great idea for a new event.

Very early on Tuesday morning, I had the pleasure of welcoming and host-ing a breakfast for a special group of folks. About 15 retired system managers, and a few of their wives who were loyal enough to get up early, met in a private room for coffee, a hearty breakfast, and conversation.

There was no program, no script, and no pressure to perform. We had a lot of fun reminiscing and reinventing the truth. At times, we recalled things that we couldn’t remember exactly how they’d happened or if, in fact, they’d even hap-pened at all.

These former colleagues, the ones I still call true statesmen, reminded me of the reason the last 14 years have been such a special part of my career. They were always ready to step up when the challenges were difficult. They recog-nized that the work we were collectively doing on behalf of all our members was

just as important for each of their systems as well.

They never let me forget that the TVPPA Board of Direc-tors, and its committees, can have significant impacts on the outcome of discussions with TVA—discussions on matters that affect wholesale power costs, the power contract, and TVA’s regulatory oversight of every local power company’s governance.

And I can’t count the times they reminded me that, in very real ways, those matters affect 80 to 85 percent of what it costs them to provide reliable, low-cost power to their retail customers and members.

‘I Love Those Guys’So in the past, whenever I thanked them or apologized to them for taking them away from their “day jobs” to attend back-to-back committee meetings and board meetings, they invariably reminded me that those meetings were a part of those day jobs!

I love those guys, and I love the memories that we all shared that early morning. I appreciate that they still care about the heritage of public power in the Valley, and that they still show up and support TVPPA in its long-standing mis-sion of service to its members.

As a sidebar, I traveled to Savannah for this year’s meeting feeling a little overwhelmed with the execution of my upcoming duties for the week. Though I only play a relatively minor role in this event, I still worry over details of board and executive committee meetings, reports for the business meeting, scripts for luncheons, dinners, and awards ceremonies, and remembering to pack

golf shoes I only wear twice a year. In a moment of introspection, I found my glass a little more half empty that half full.

But I think some of those seasoned retirees picked up on that as we talked that morning. Perhaps the reason they did was because they, too, had felt the stress of their own duties in the past, and a dose of retirement had given them some balance. By the time the coffee was gone, my attitude had improved. Much of the stress and worry over the activities of the week lost significance.

Thanks again to that special group of leaders, and to all the others, too many to name, who have always propped me up with positive perspectives. I look forward to seeing many of them again at next year’s breakfast, as I join their ranks. P

by Jack simmons | President & CEOCOMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

TENNESSEE VALLEY PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION, INC.The Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, a nonprofit regional service organization with headquarters at 1206 Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402, represents the consumer-owned utilities in the Tennessee Valley Authority service area. These 105 municipal and 49 rural electric cooperatives distribute electricity to 9 million residents in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Bacon, Eggs And PerspectiveAt A Special Breakfast

Retired-managers event great add to Annual Conference

Retiring TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons addresses the 71st Annual Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

TVPPA NEWS MAY/JUNE 2017

6

WASHINGTON REPORT

TVA and local power companies have faced a number of shared challenges in the past several

years, from preparing for the Clean Power Plan to meeting the growing demand for distributed energy.

But perhaps the most unifying problem was the existential threat of TVA divestiture, proposed in President Obama’s annual budgets in fiscal years (FY) 2014 and 2015.

TVA and local power companies worked together to educate the Obama administration about the value of the public-power business model in the Valley, with TVPPA members actively lobbying the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conclude its “strategic review” of TVA and move on. Ultimately, the Obama administration walked back from its proposal in its FY16 Budget and dropped it completely in FY17.

That success came just months before the election of a new President, however,

necessitating a new round of education for the Trump administration. In his first Budget, the FY18 proposal released May 23, President Trump does not take direct aim at TVA, as his predecessor did. How-ever, he does hit very close to home—by proposing to sell off the transmission assets of the federal Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs).

High AnxietyIn a new president’s first year in office, it is common to release a preliminary budget document (known as a “skinny budget”) to outline basic priorities in advance of the fully fleshed-out and vetted Budget that initiates the congressional budget and appropria-tions process. President Trump’s skinny budget, at less than 60 pages, called for dramatic cuts to domestic spending, but made no mention of TVA or the PMAs.

Nevertheless, TVPPA and other orga-nizations representing PMA preference customers were concerned by reports that the skinny budget followed the priorities and rationale of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., that had provided the Trump administration with a set of budget principles and had previously called for charging market-based rates for PMA power. Tensions mounted when the Heritage Foundation released a full FY18 budget recommendation that called for

“auctioning off” TVA and the PMAs.Not wanting to give credence to the

organization’s proposal, national groups withheld comment, hoping to keep their powder dry for a potential fight over the President’s FY18 Budget itself. TVPPA hoped to replicate its success by meeting directly with OMB officials responsible for developing the energy and natural resources components of the Budget before it was released, but a lack of con-firmed personnel and tight window to

schedule made such a meeting impos-sible this time around.

A few days before the full FY18 Budget was released, rumors began to circulate among preference customers that the PMAs’ transmission assets were targeted for divestiture (SEPA, the South-eastern Power Administration, owns no transmission). Customer groups began to organize for response.

Relief, But A Troubling RationaleWhen the Budget was finally released, calling for the sale of transmission assets from the Bonneville Power Administration, Western Area Power Administration, and Southwestern Power Administration, few were surprised. For local power companies in the Valley, the absence of language relating to TVA or SEPA was a welcome relief after the TVA divestiture exercise of the previous years.

Yet, targeting the western PMAs feels a bit like divide and conquer—and it is not difficult to see how implementing the FY18 proposal could lead to calls for fur-ther divestiture. If transmission assets are successfully auctioned, generation assets may be next.

The Budget includes only a few lines on each proposal or program, meaning a full-scale divestiture of assets would need to be significantly fleshed out (it would also require an act of Congress). The FY18 Budget included the following:

“The vast majority of the Nation’s electricity infrastructure is owned and operated by for-profit investor-owned utilities. Ownership of transmission assets is best carried out by the private sector where there are appropriate market and regulatory incentives.

“The Budget proposal to eliminate or reduce the PMA’s role in electricity transmission and increase the private sector’s role would encourage a more efficient allocation of economic resources

Trump Budget Spares TVA,But Not PMA Transmissions

Budget also spares SEPA, but strikes ominous tone

TVPPA Washington Representative Elizabeth K. Whitney is managing principal at Meguire Whitney, LLC.

by elizaBeth k. Whitney | Washington Representative


WASHINGTON REPORT

and mitigate risk to taxpayers.”The Budget rationale seems to dismiss

the value of public power generally and harken back to the rationale for selling TVA assets—risk to taxpayers. That logic was ultimately rejected by the Obama administration when it learned that rate-payers, not taxpayers, bear the cost of constructing, maintaining, and operating federal power assets.

Most concerning is that the misun-derstandings in the rationale could be applied in the future to TVA and SEPA—even if this year’s Budget doesn’t target them.

Why Was TVA Spared?Some thought President Obama’s interest in TVA divestiture was politically convenient, considering that the Valley covers only one state that voted for him in 2008 and 2012.

President Trump’s motivation for avoiding TVA isn’t necessarily the reverse—Valley states broke for Trump in the election, but so did most of the Western states that would be hit by the transmission divestiture proposal.

More likely is a combination of fac-tors—first, the administration may have hoped to avoid antagonizing Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, who chairs the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. His panel has budget-ary jurisdiction over the PMAs and would have a large say in any divestiture proposal.

Second, career officials at OMB may have shared information they learned from prior years with their new colleagues. At least one official TVPPA met with in 2014-2015 to push back on TVA divestiture is credited with working on the FY18 Budget proposal.

Looking AheadLike other proposals before it, the Trump administration’s plan faces an uphill battle in Congress, where PMAs enjoy strong support from the delegations representing their customers. However, with significant turnover in Congress since the last national battle over PMAs, a swift and decisive response is necessary.

PMA customers sprang into action after the Budget was released, with

APPA and NRECA releasing statements denouncing the divestiture proposal. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-WA, whose home state is crisscrossed by Bonneville Power Administration transmission lines, is leading a letter to the administration pushing back on the idea.

More activity is sure to follow, and TVPPA members will need to weigh opportunities to participate in customer activities regarding the proposal. With

SEPA and TVA out of the crosshairs, it may not make sense to react with the same intensity and vigor as those that would see direct impacts.

Nevertheless, the slippery slope is steep—and in this environment, TVA’s footing is far from sure. PFLASH POINT

» In his first Budget proposal, President Trump doesn’t suggest that the federal government should act to divest itself of TVA or SEPA.

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Tennessee Cooperatives GetGreen Light For Broadband

Law positions cooperatives to help close broadband gap

On April 24, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law the Tennessee Broadband

Accessibility Act (the “Act”). It was the latest development in a long-running legislative debate in Tennessee concerning the best ways to increase broadband availability and broadband adoption in that state.

For many years, the Tennessee Gen-eral Assembly has evaluated the extent to which local power companies could play a greater role in meeting this clear and important need for the communities that they serve. Electric systems across the Valley continue to develop sophisticated, state-of-the-art broadband networks for their core electric-system purposes, and these systems are natural allies in the effort to expand broadband services.

Since 1999, electric cooperatives in Tennessee have had authorization to provide certain telecommunications and broadband services. This year’s legisla-tion will greatly expand the role that Tennessee’s electric cooperatives can play in addressing the state’s broadband

needs.During this same period of time, Ten-

nessee’s municipal electric systems have also had authorization to provide broad-band services. Several municipal electric systems have successfully provided broadband services in the state, includ-ing some of the nation’s fastest Internet services and several wide-scale deploy-ments of fiber to the home and fiber-optic networks.

With the passage of this legislation, Tennessee electric systems are better positioned to work together to help solve this very important infrastructure challenge.

ECD, TACIR Weigh InThis year’s legislation is the product of multiple legislative hearings and various studies. Most recently, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) and the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) each undertook extensive broadband studies.

ECD and TACIR each released detailed reports documenting a very significant need for greater broadband access in Tennessee. These reports

identified the greatest broadband needs in the more rural parts of the state. Both reports also identified ways to increase broadband adoption.

In response to these studies, Gov. Haslam’s team developed and advo-cated passage of legislation that would help address this issue. State Sens. Mark Norris and Mike Bell, and state Rep. David Hawk, led the efforts to pass this legislation.

The legislation has three main components:

■ Authorization for the state’s electric cooperatives to provide additional broadband services

■ A series of state-funded grants to facilitate broadband deployment

■ A series of state tax credits for com-panies that deploy eligible broadband infrastructure.

The Act’s centerpiece is its authoriza-tion for Tennessee electric cooperatives to provide retail broadband internet and video services to their electric-system members. Tennessee’s electric coopera-tives have had authorization for nearly 20 years to provide certain telecommu-nications and

LEGALby mark smith

(Continued on page 37)

Mark Smith is assistant general counsel for TVPPA and a member of Miller & Martin PLLC.


DIC Lauds 11 TVPPA MembersFor Exceptional Safety

Six had a year with no worker comp claims; five had two

RISK MANAGEMENT

For a lot of TVPPA-member utilities, $2,000 would represent no more than a cup holder on a deck chair

on a cruise ship.Not so at Louisville, MS, Utilities,

though, which was one of 11 TVPPA members honored at the 71st Annual Con-ference for exceptional workplace safety. Manager Wilson Webb’s shop, which has but 3,400 customers, won a $2,000 award from Distributors Insurance Co. for having no injuries in calendar 2016 that resulted in workers compensation claims.

Five other TVPPA members won $2,000 each from DIC for safety equip-ment—Mt. Pleasant, TN, PS; Mayfield, KY, E&W; Brownsville, TN, EA; Union City, TN, ES and McMinnville, TN, ES.

Five TVPPA members won $3,000 each from DIC for having gone two years with no workers comp claims—Benton, KY, EPB; Bolivar, TN, EA; Covington, TN, ES; Oxford, MS, ED and Ripley, TN, P&L.

Webb said the DIC award has far more than material value for his staff.

“With our budget being as small as it is, $2,000 goes a long way toward getting our employees the equipment they need to ensure that they can continue to work safety,” he said.

“But at least as much as that, this award is a source of pride and evidence of our employees’ dedication to safety,” said Webb, whose util-ity won a similar DIC award in 2015.

Ripley P&L’s two-year award brought its DIC safety tally to $5,000 for no workers comp claims in 2015 or 2016. Mike Allmand, the utility’s CEO, tipped his hat to DIC for stepping up.

“DIC plays a huge role,” Allmand said. “We commit the necessary dollars to safety no matter what, but any help a system our size [6,600 cus-tomers] can get makes a huge difference.”

Doug Peters, DIC’s vice president and TVPPA’s Tech-nical Services coordinator, noted that the safety awards presented at the Annual Con-ference comprise just part of DIC’s Safe Power Provider (SP2) program.

“Going a year, let alone two, with no workers comp claims is remarkable,” said Peters, who emphasized the difference between the no-claim standard and a no-accident standard.

“DIC is happy to make these contributions, to recog-nize and help foster that kind of ‘safety-first’ performance and attitude,” Peters said. P

Anthony J. Salvatore, area senior vice

president for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., is program manager for TVPPA's Distributors Insurance Co. Visit DIC on the Web at www. distributors-insurance.com.

QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? Please contact:Tony Salvatore | [email protected] Zimmerman | [email protected]

Not represented/pictured: McMinnville, TN, ES and Benton, KY, EPB.

From left: Albert Kerstiens of Mt. Pleasant, TN, PS; Marty Ivy of Mayfield, KY, E&W; Regie Castellaw of Brownsville, TN, EA and Jerry Bailey of Union City, TN ES (one-year).

Wilson Webb (left) of Louisville, MS, Utilities; Mike Allmand of Ripley, TN, P&L.

From left: Tim Sallee of Covington, TN, ES; Rob Neely of Oxford, MS, ED and Johnny Fortune of Bolivar, TN, EA.


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ROUNDUP | 71st ANNUAL CONFERENCE

by Bob Gary, Jr. | Editor

GIVEN THAT the employees of what are now TVPPA-member utilities and TVA first electrified the Valley more than 80 years ago, it might seem absurd to talk about what those utilities need to do to stay relevant.

And yet, ‘Staying Relevant’ was the idea behind much of the content of TVPPA’s 71st Annual Conference.

The reason?“These are not the times in

which our forebears lived,” TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons said in his formal welcome. “For decades, we’ve been the sole providers of power to our friends and neighbors, but the world’s a different place now.

“It changes almost daily, and there are new ways—better ways, some would say—for our friends and neighbors to get their power. And there are new people out there

willing to make that happen,” Simmons said.So the task at hand is for institutions more than 80 years old

to remake themselves well and quickly enough to meet the chal-lenges of today, not the least of which are third-party providers and customers who are more demanding and perfectly willing to go behind the meter.

Opening-day keynoter Ross Shafer led with this rather direct assessment: “If you don’t like change,” he said, “you’re going to hate extinction.”

‘FOR DECADES, WE’VE BEEN THE SOLE PROVIDERS OF POWER TO OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, BUT THE WORLD’S A DIFFERENT PLACE NOW.’


SHAFER: ‘FOLLOW THE HERD’Ross Shafer’s story is one of pure entrepreneurship—a serial flipper, he’s flipped cars, homes and businesses, one of which was a combination sound shop and pet store called Woofers and Tweeters.

So he had more than enough standing to survey his Annual Conference audience and make this pronouncement:

“We can no longer dictate to people how they should spend their money or make decisions,” he said. “They now dictate to us.

“Your customers are going to have choices. To stay relevant is to take action so that you continue to matter. If you don’t matter, your customers will leave you behind and not think twice about it,” he said.

But Shafer chased that ominous assessment with a remedy that could hardly be more straightforward.

“If you want to continue to matter,” he said, “pay attention to the tracks of the herd. And what happens when you follow those tracks? You find the herd, but you must run with the herd.

“If you try to run against the herd,” he said, “it will tram-ple you. Every time.”

Shafer cited the role played by the herd in the story of his son, Ryan, who’s the product owner of the Starbucks® Coffee

mobile app for iPhone®, Android®, and Windows® devices.“Ryan has a team of 11 engineers are responsible for $15

billion in Starbucks revenue,” Shafer said. “The app was far from perfect when it launched—Ryan and his team updated it every 10 days.

“Why so often? Because they depended on the herd to tell them what was wrong with the app,” said Shafer, who offered up several touchstones:

■ BORROW INNOVATION FROM UNLIKELY SOURCES: “You don’t have to think of everything yourself,” said Shafer, who chal-lenged the members of his audience to crash meetings in which they don’t belong.

“In going to the wrong meetings, you’ll pick up things from other industries—things you’d never, ever get in just going to power-industry meetings. If you only go to your own meetings, you’ll miss 99 percent of the rest of the world,” he said.

■ ELIMINATE CUSTOMER FRICTION: The good news here, Shafer said, is that a business doesn’t have to delight its customers with wonderful experiences.

“All you have to do is not make mistakes,” he said. “You don’t have to ‘WOW’ the customer. What you have to do is eliminate the ‘POW’ that disappoints or angers the customer—telling the customer, ‘That’s against our policy,’ or ‘There’s nothing I can do.’

“All you have to do is eliminate complaints,” he said, “and empower your people to fix things.”

■ ATTRACTING/SELLING TO MILLENNIALS: Shafer said Millennials grew up with video games, in which players typically master a level then advance to the next. That feeling of success and achievement is real to them, he said, and should be replicated in the workplace.

“They expect the same kind of rush,” he said, “and we don’t say ‘nice job, you’re doing a great job there.’ And it’s got to be daily or, at least, weekly. It’s more important to them than money.

“Do not mentor Millennials. They don’t want me to tell them how to be me. They want to be told how they can be themselves, how they can succeed and how they’re going to have fun doing it,” he said.

■ CREATE INSTANT RAPPORT: As technologically advanced as we’ve become, Shafer said, we still need a human element.

“We need for conversation to come back,” he said, “but do not talk about yourself. If you make it about you, you won’t succeed. It’s all about the other person.

“When you show extreme interest in other people, it’s like a drug. They can’t get enough of it. Think about the herd—if you make it about the herd, the herd will participate,” he said.

■ STRIVE TO BE A SPECIALIST: “Specialists are world-class,” Shafer said. “We all have a science to our jobs. World-class people know what that science is, and they repeat it over and

SHAFER


over. Teach what the job requires, repeat it over and over, and don’t stop when you find success.

“If you’re the smartest people in the room,” Shafer said, “you win.”

RASMUSSEN

RASMUSSEN: FOCUS ON THE RIGHT STUFFIn launching his Annual Conference closing-day keynote, Scott Rasmussen presented the 1881 assassination of U.S. President James Garfield as a case study of sorts.

Shot in a Washington, D.C., train station, Garfield was moved to the New Jersey shore to recuperate. His medical team,

Rasmussen said, was singularly focused on removing the bullet.

“Keep in mind,” Rasmussen said, “that this is 15 years or so after the Civil War. There are tens of thousands of veterans walking around with bullets in them, and functioning per-fectly well.”

But Garfield’s doctors decided to operate in an effort to find the bullet. The incision became septic and, fully three months after being shot, the President died—of the infection.

“And the doctors never found the bullet,” Rasmussen said.

“Getting focus on the right things is the hardest part of any kind of analysis. Garfield’s doctors were focused on the wrong solution,” he said.

When it comes to analysis, especially in the context of polling, Rasmussen knows of what he speaks. He spent two decades as one of the world’s leading public-opinion pollsters, launching Ras-mussen Reports 14 years ago.

Today, Rasmussen focuses more on analysis. He serves as a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at The King’s College in New York City and is editor-at-large for Ballotpedia—none of which puts him anywhere near the electric-utility industry, but that was no hindrance in Savannah.

“I’m not going to pretend to know or understand your issues,” he said, “but I do know that, as you’re dealing with new technology, you’re focused on all kinds of data.

“Every one of us has blinders, and somewhere along the way you get so

wrapped up in your own world that you’re not looking at things the way your customers are. It’s hard sometimes to figure out what you should be looking at,” he said.

Rasmussen cited the 2016 Presidential election, which his namesake firm came closer to calling than just about all of its competitors.

“Most analysts were looking at the wrong topics,” he said. “[Hillary] Clinton was leading most national polls, and the pundit class was saying, ‘Look at her—she’s so accomplished and reassuring,’ and there was excitement about this country electing its first woman president.

“I didn’t predict [Donald] Trump would be elected,” he said, “but I thought it was a realistic possibility and that he had a path to victory.”

Trump’s win made no sense to most analysts, Rasmus-sen said, because those analysts were focused on “identity politics.” For instance, he said, they couldn’t believe that 87 percent of evangelical Christians voted for Trump.

“Those analysts looked at evangelical Christians and thought, ‘Trump’s no role model for them,’” Rasmussen said. “But most of the voters I spoke to thought that [President Barack] Obama had been trying to chip away at their religious freedom and that Clinton would follow suit.

TVPPA WAS PLEASED to honor retired managers at a Tuesday-morning breakfast, just ahead of the call to order. Here’s who gathered to renew friendships, eat some eggs and swap stories (a few of which might even have been true):FRONT ROW (L-R): Lee Baker (Newport, TN, UB), Danny Wheeler (Jackson, TN, EA), David Scarbrough (Milan, TN, DPU) Carl Brandt (Upper Cumberland EMC, Carthage, TN).SECOND ROW (L-R): Lynn Robbins (Oxford, MS, ED), Jim Nanney (Alcorn Co. EPA, Corinth, MS), John Etheridge (Paris, TN, BPU), Wayne Henson (East Mississippi EPA, Meridian, MS).THIRD ROW (L-R): Austin Carroll (Hopkinsville, KY, ES), TVPPA President/CEO Jack Sim-mons, Rick Harrell (Sevier Co., TN, ES), TVPPA Chairman Greg Williams.BACK ROW (L-R): Jack Fox (Southwest Tennessee EMC, Brownsville, TN), Bob Matheny (Sequachee Valley EC, South Pittsburg, TN), Frank Jennings (Middle Tennessee EMC, Mur-freesboro, TN).


“They didn’t know that Trump would be any better, but he’d already released a list of names of [right-leaning] judges he’d consider for the Supreme Court—so it turned out to be rational.

“If you focus on the wrong data,” Rasmussen said, “you come to the wrong conclusion.”

Rasmussen said that technology-driven cultural changes are difficult for Baby Boomers to deal with simply because Boomers grew up in a different world. Whereas Boomers couldn’t wait to get their driver’s licenses, he said, Millennials prefer not to drive.

“The reason is that if they’re riding shotgun, they don’t have to go offline,” he said. “They can still text their friends and do everything normal to their existence.

“That sort of cultural change is going to have huge impli-cations for you, because those are your future customers,” he said. “They expect to have lots and lots of choices; they don’t want to be limited to one electric provider—or one anything,” he said.

CURRENT EVENTS COLOR CYBER/PHYSICAL SECURITY PRESENTATIONSReal-world events elbowed their way into the 71st Annual Conference when Sarah Stevens and Matt Fagiana took the stage for presentations on cyber security and physical security, respectively.

Stevens’ cyber security talk took place barely a week after the WannaCry ransomware attack of May 15. And Fagiana held aloft a copy of that morning’s newspaper, which included

details of the grotesque act of terror just hours earlier in Manchester, England.

Stevens said details on the May 15 ransomware assault were still bubbling up, but she cited a 2016 WannaCry attack that forced a large Michigan util-ity to shut down. She said the utility refused to pay the ransom, but repara-tions cost about $2 million.

“For a small to mid-sized utility, that’s pretty significant,” she said. “It’s money you’d rather not pay.”

Stevens, who handles cyber security for the North American Trans-mission Forum, offered some simple steps utilities can take to bolster their cyber security.

“Definitely, stay up to date with patching programs,” she said, “and make sure you’re updating your virus-definition files on a regular basis.

“We all have responsibility for secu-rity, as well as safety, so don’t ignore those notices when you see them on your computers. And train your employees on what not to respond to, especially phishing attacks,” she said.

Fagiana told the TVPPA-member executives in his

audience point-blank that they have the power and resources to keep something like what happened in Manchester from happening at their utilities.

“It’s starts at the top,” he said, “and you’re the top. Those threats are there. We can’t have an ostrich mentality, with our heads in the sand. We can’t ignore it.”

Fagiana, a veteran of 16 years in law enforcement who oversees security, safety and training at Lenoir City, TN, UB, offered some suggestions regarding what utilities of any size can do to better protect human and other assets:

■ IDENTIFICATION: “Larger utilities might have staff dedicated to security, whereas smaller utilities might not be able to afford that manpower. That’s okay. Identify someone with an interest in security and get that person trained.”

■ PREVENTION: “You have to have effective assessments. What’s the action someone is most likely to take against us? Do we have a customer-service center in a high-crime area? And we should, all of us, be doing background checks.”

■ PROTECTION: These are things like buffer zones, entry and access control and employee awareness . . . think about this—if I walked into your utility with no ID whatsoever, how far can I get before I’m challenged?”

■ RECOVERY: “If you haven’t already built a relationship with your first responders, do so. They offer a lot of resources, including training exercises.”

■ RESPONSE: “You have to sit down with your team and deal with some hard questions. If you have a shooting incident in your workplace on Tuesday, Wednesday is not going to be business as usual.

“Once law enforcement leaves, and it’s back in your hands, who cleans up? Who patches bullet holes? Who sees to the emotional needs of your employees? Part of business continu-ity is being able to answer those questions,” Fagiana said.

BREAKING OUTOnce again this year, TVPPA’s Conferences staff sought to make as much as possible of every available minute at the Annual Conference. There’s no better way to do that than with solid breakout sessions, and this year’s offerings included

‘GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR INDUSTRY, IT’S NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE AS GOOD AS WE CAN BE.’ — TVPPA Conferences/Communications/Govern-ment Relations Director Phillip Burgess, who opened and moderated the 71st Annual ConferenceBURGESS

STEVENS

FAGIANA


TVPPA Pricing Manager Jim Sheffield, TVA Director of Busi-ness Development/Renewables Tammy Bramlett, Alabama Rural Electric Association Director of Training/Risk Manage-ment Mike Temple, Tim Culpepper, vice president and general counsel at Cullman EC, Cullman, AL; and TVPPA Technical Services Director Doug Peters.

BRAMLETT CULPEPPER

PETERS TEMPLE

POLL POSITIONSThe Annual Conference’s panel discussion on pricing would hardly have been groundbreaking, save for the twist applied in its development.

The discussion’s audience was invited to answer prepared, multiple-choice questions via cell-phone messaging. As the responses were recorded and projected instantly, the panelists were able to respond specifically, rather than simply discuss in the abstract.

“Pretty cool,” observed moderator and TVPPA Pricing Manager Jim Sheffield. The panel was comprised of Keith Hay-ward, CEO/general manager at North East Mississippi EPA, Oxford, MS; Murphy, NC, PB General Manager/CEO Larry Kernea; Mike Simpson, manager/CEO at Sand Mountain EC, Rainsville, AL and Kate Miller, operations/technical consul-tant at Chattanooga, TN, EPB.

Here’s a sample:QUESTION: OF THESE FIVE SALIENT POINTS, WHICH DO YOU FEEL IS MOST IMPORTANT?38 PERCENT: Our industry needs to respond to a changing marketplace.27 PERCENT: Some price changes may be needed to meet competitive challenges.21 PERCENT: Impacts to our customers, our customer relation-ships and our brand need to be considered.7 PERCENT: Communication/marketing/branding, along with pricing, are essential elements in competing effectively.7 PERCENT: We support solar for our customers who want it, if pricing is set appropriately.MILLER: “It’s obvious that our industry’s changing, and it’s something we haven’t faced before. We have to make changes to our pricing structures, but we need to be very careful about how we do that.

“If we change pricing structures in a way that makes it harder for people to save money by changing behavior, I think we’ll keep them for a little while, short-term, until they have an option to go completely off the grid when it becomes eco-nomical and feasible.”

QUESTION: HOW MUCH SOLAR PENETRATION DO YOU EXPECT IN THE VALLEY IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?60 PERCENT: Some, but not a great deal.30 PERCENT: A significant amount.8 PERCENT: Very little.2 PERCENT: Quite a bitSIMPSON: “It depends on how much technology changes, how much the price goes down, and how we work out pricing. It’s not overly attractive [now], but if it’s the best deal for our customers, we need to support it. Keep it on the radar. Don’t ignore it.”

QUESTION: HOW IMPORTANT ARE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS, COMMUNICATION AND BRANDING IN MANAGING COMPETITION RELATIVE TO PRICING?44 PERCENT: Very important31 PERCENT: Critical15 PERCENT: Important9 PERCENT: Somewhat important1 PERCENT: Not important

HAYWARD: “In a competitive marketplace, customer rela-tionship is the most critical thing we do; getting out in the community, making sure members understand and take pride in the fact that you have their backs. And Millennials want to be involved in something for the good. They like that.”KERNEA: At the end of the day, the strongest communica-tion and branding any of us do is through reliability, power quality and pricing. I think our folks would rather pay another penny for [power] to be on most of the time instead of paying a cheaper price for power they can’t rely on. At our company, it’s communicating clearly, every day about who we are and what we do—and doing our job every day, trying to serve our customers.”

From left: Sheffield, Simpson, Miller, Kernea, Hayward.


MANNING

EPRI’S MANNING: IT’S A CUSTOMER-CENTERED WORLDAlready familiar to many Annual Conference attendees after a run of seven-plus years at TVA, EPRI Vice President/Transmission Rob Manning didn’t bury the lead when he took the stage in Savannah.

“Only public power has the right mission,” he said. “We’re not in it for our own betterment, but for the people

we serve. Our mission is to use energy to make society better.”Public power providers are uniquely well-positioned to

do that, he said, especially in what he called the “customer-centered world” of today.

“You have an advantage in this space—you’re still main-taining relationships with customers,” he said, as opposed to many investor-owned utilities that are distancing themselves from ratepayers.

Manning said today’s generation wants not only the com-fort and convenience valued by their forebears, but control as well.

“And they want it ‘green,’” he said, adding that, eventually, transportation will have to be electrified.

“And that,” he said, “would be an opportunity for you to grow your business.”

NEIL PLACER ON ‘UTILITY 2.0’

PLACER

We are currently witnessing a major paradigm shift in the energy industry that some would classify as one of the most important industry transitions of the 21st century.

The electric utility of the future, or Utility 2.0, will be characterized by a focus on multi-direction power flow at the distribution level. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) will become common, and there will be an emphasis on technical complexity, enhanced customer engagement and flexibility in financial investments.

In an age of much information, changing customer expec-tations, and various technology options, confusion exists in terms of defining clear strategic pathways forward. This is especially relevant for a business sector as long-standing and dependable as the electric utility industry.

A systematic methodology was presented that helps elec-tric utilities develop “no regrets” Utility 2.0 strategies that are holistic, can be customized, and can be applied in incremental steps. The goal of this process is to encourage the electric-util-ity industry to take proactive and incremental steps in attempt to mitigate future financial risk.

This growing financial risk is primarily due to changing

competitive markets and growing customer demands, which requires greater awareness and preparedness in the Tennessee Valley. This is a topic of interconnected utility concern that can no longer be isolated to specific geographic regions. The key takeaway—the longer utilities decide to wait to respond, the further they will find themselves immersed within a growing tide of market competition.

— Neil Placer, managing member, Placer Consulting Services

BOWEN

BOWEN: CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ‘NOT ROCKET SCIENCE’Brian Bowen, regulatory affairs manager at FirstFuel, said that for all the buzz these days about how to better engage customers, it’s really pretty straightforward.

“We do it every single day in myriad ways,” he said. “It’s not rocket science.

“You talk to customers—about the things they want to talk about, when they want to talk about them. You’re offering solutions; you’re letting them know that their electric-power provider is there to serve them,” Bowen said.

The mode of customer communication that’s changing the game, he said, is digital.

“Your website is the face of your utility,” Bowen said. “Mil-lennials, especially, are going to see that, and if your site looks like it was built in the 1980s, that’s going to turn them off.

“They want to contact their utilities on Facebook and

“THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT I CAN PAY IS TO CALL SOMEONE A GOOD MAN, A GOOD WOMAN, OR JUST A GOOD PERSON. JACK SIMMONS IS A GOOD MAN.”— TVA PRESIDENT/CEO BILL JOHNSONTVA President/CEO Bill Johnson, right, presents retiring TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons a framed print of a photo taken inside Norris Dam.


Twitter, so having the ability to adapt to digital communica-tion channels is really important,” he said.

WHITNEY

VIEW FROM THE HILL: POLITICAL WHIPLASHTo hear Elizabeth Whitney tell it, TVPPA and its members are in the throes of nothing less than political whiplash.

“We’ve gone from eight years under one President [Barack Obama] who had a laser-like focus on increasing renewables in order to resolve climate change—and was indifferent to the

cost to consumers or clean energy like hydro and nuclear—to another President [Donald Trump] who talks about walking back regulatory burdens and creating a more business-friendly climate.”

Regarding the question of whom Trump might nominate to the TVA Board of Directors, Whitney said there might be clues in his FERC and NRC nominees.

“These were people very well known in Washington, with moderate-to-conservative backgrounds and recommended by Congress,” she said, adding that senators tend to defer to Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander when it comes to TVA board candidates.

Whitney also noted the “huge sea change” at the Envi-ronmental Protection Administration, where the new man in charge, Scott Pruitt, made his name by suing EPA when he was Oklahoma’s attorney general. Whitney said Pruitt may well break new ground in his new job.

“He says one of his missions will be to bolster the nation’s energy independence,” she said, “so we’d have an EPA admin-istrator actually thinking about energy production. That’d be very different from what we’ve had before.”

The General Session room featured ‘hybrid’ seating, with sofas near the stage and high-top tables in the back, in addition to more traditional round tables. Among those who took advantage of the down-front seating were, from left, Kathy Welch of the North Georgia EMC Board of Directors, her husband, Jim; and North Georgia EMC President/CEO Kathryn West.

AS ALWAYS, TVPPA Conferences staff sought to glean reaction to the Annual Conference by surveying attendees; here’s what more than 100 of you said:

IN GENERAL: 90-percent satisfaction rating with the Annual Conference

HOW’D YOU LIKE . . .OVERALL VALUE: 95 percent liked the value in attendingTHE CITY: 91 percent ‘Satisfied’ with Savannah; 79 percent would like to returnHELPING OUT: 68 percent said a sponsor helped with a solution or informationPOSTERIZED: 93 percent noticed posters on display; 7 percent followed up with a sponsor for more information (another 25 percent intended to follow up, but were unable to do so)

WHERE TO?Where you’d like to see future Annual Conferences:

14 PERCENT: Orange Beach, AL (scheduled for 2020)13 PERCENT: Asheville, NC (scheduled for 2019);

Nashville, TN; Charleston, SC12 PERCENT: Hilton Head Island, SC8 PERCENT: Knoxville, TN7 PERCENT: Biloxi, MS; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN6 PERCENT: Lexington, KY

OUT OF THE BOXWhile there’s virtually no chance that the TVPPA Annual Conference will ever be held in any of these places, it’s impossible not to appreciate the creative thinking:

ARIZONA (PHOENIX)

FLORIDA (NAPLES, MIAMI, PONTE VEDRA BEACH)

MICHIGAN (TRAVERSE CITY)

WYOMING/MONTANA/IDAHO

(YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK)

NEW YORK CITY


Whitney concluded her presentation by telling attendees that TVPPA has a “lot of inherent power” when it comes to influencing policy in Washington.

“That power is you,” she said. “With the proliferation of communications tools—Facebook, Twitter, town halls—what studies say influences members of Congress and their staffs is face-to-face contact with familiar people.

“When you visit them,” she said, “that’s powerful.”

JOHNSON

TVA’S JOHNSON: OUR SIMPLE PLAN IS WORKINGAt the outset of his remarks at the TVPPA’s 2017 Annual Conference, TVA President/CEO Bill Johnson asked his audience to recall 2013.

“O&M spending was through the roof, we were trying to raise the debt [ceiling], we were raising your rates—significantly—every year and the [Obama] administration put us up for

sale because we couldn’t manage our debt.“Something had to change,” he said.The result, Johnson said, was a plan calling for slashing

O&M spending, reducing and optimizing TVA’s fleet, reduc-ing head count and, over time, paying down debt.

“Run it like a business,” he said, adding that the plan also called for annual rate increases of 1.5 percent—provided TVA remained rate-competitive. He then offered a summary of the plan’s effect so far.

“We’ve reduced O&M by $800 million and fuel expense by $1 billion,” he said. “We’ve finished Watts Bar 2, retired half the coal fleet, built one gas plant, are about to finish another—and have improved relations with our customers.

“So the plan,” he said, “is working.”With regard to rates, Johnson said a straight cost-divided-

by-units-sold calculation shows that TVA’s effective rate today is 6.6 cents, compared to 6.9 cents in 2012. And the role played by paying down debt, he said, can’t be underestimated.

“Fuel [costs] will be volatile and vary,” he said. “O&M is subject to inflationary pressure, but debt and interest savings are permanent.

“Stopping the plan now and declaring victory would be way too soon,” he said. “If we can do over the next five to 10 years to debt what we’ve done to fuel and O&M, that’s low rates forever.” P

Virginia-based visualist Erin Nicole Gordon added a unique touch to the 71st

Annual Conference with her artistic interpretations of four presentations.

SAVE THE DATETVPPA 72nd Annual ConferenceMay 21-23, 2018Grand Hotel Marriott ResortPoint Clear, Alabama


As far as George Kitchens was concerned, TVPPA’s highest honor was something other

people won.So he reached well past the word

‘surprised’ in attempting to describe how he felt to receive the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished Service Award in Savannah, GA, at TVPPA’s 71st Annual Conference.

“I was just shocked, blown away,” said Kitchens, the general manager at Joe Wheeler EMC, Trinity, AL, since Septem-ber 2001. “I never had any inkling that I might be considered for something like this, having just come to the Valley 15 years ago.

“You go back and look at the list [of DSA winners] and you see the names of giants in our industry. I’ve had the plea-sure of working with many of them; I have a high regard for them, and it’s neat to be among them,” he said.

It’s a touch more than two hours by car from Caledonia, MS, where Kitchens grew up, to his office in Trinity. But the route he took from his boyhood to seeing his name on the DSA took thousands of miles and an eclectic array of stops, the

first of which was Starkville, MS.“All accounting graduates think

they have to work for a CPA firm,” said Kitchens, who earned his undergrad accounting degree at Mississippi State University in 1975. “I didn’t get hired at a CPA firm, but I was recruited by Exxon—the largest corporation in the world at the time, so I thought that’d be okay.”

North To AlaskaAfter two years at Exxon, Kitchens put in another few years at a couple of small, independent gas/oil companies until 1982, when he moved to West Virginia for a job at Cabot Corp. He became

manager of a Cabot natural gas utility in 1986, then president of West Virginia Power in 1990.

Government relations was a big part of Kitchens’ job at West Virginia Power. He left there in 1997 to return to Hous-ton—where he’d started, with Exxon—to join ill-fated Enron as its southeastern director of government affairs.

Returning to Houston afforded Kitch-ens a moment of clarity that would define the rest of his career.

“[Enron] was way different than what I’d come to enjoy—I really liked the interaction with utility workers and customers. It took me a year-and-a-half to realize that—and the fact that I really don’t like major metropolitan cities.

“So I started a job search, focused on municipals and rural electric coopera-tives,” Kitchens said.

What he found, in 1999, was Golden Valley Electric Association—in Fair-banks, AK.

“I’ve always found it interesting to live in different places and experience life in different ways,” Kitchens said, “but here’s the thing about Alaska—a lot of people vacation there, but they never see winter.

“I’m here to tell you that, even with extra layers, 50-below-zero is uncomfort-able,” he added.

Kitchens Joins ‘Giants’On DSA Recipient List

Veteran Joe Wheeler EMC general manager honored

FEATUREby BOB GARY JR. | Editor

‘I never had any inkling that I might be considered for something like this . . .’

Former TVPPA Chairman and 2002 DSA winner Bill Carroll, right, presents the 2017 Crawford DSA to another former TVPPA Chairman, George Kitchens.


‘Completely Comfortable’Kitchens said that when his relationship with Golden Valley EA’s board became similarly uncomfortable, he looked for a new opportunity—and found a chance to just about come home.

“I was happy when this opportu-nity came up [at Joe Wheeler EMC],” he said. “First, it got me back to a part of the country with which I’m completely comfortable, and we kind of needed each other, too.”

Kitchens said the cooperative was entangled in litigation when he arrived. It took some time to work through all that, he said, but that effort was made easier by something else he found in Trinity.

“I got to know the people I’d be work-ing with,” he said. “I realized early on that there was a good team of people here, and it’s the region I grew up in—I wished I’d found my way back sooner.”

By 2009, what Kitchens called a “nice sense of normal” prevailed at Joe Wheeler EMC; most of what he called the coopera-tive’s “hairy problems” had been resolved and the staff was doing what good coop-erative staffs do. Kitchens himself was elected TVPPA’s chairman in May of 2009, at the 63rd Annual Conference.

CancerBut just two months later, Joyce Kitchens, George’s wife of some 35 years, was diagnosed with what he called a “very aggressive” form of breast cancer. The next year, 2010, she had to get a special dispensation from her doctors to attend the Annual Conference.

His wife’s diagnosis having come so early in his term, Kitchens could hardly

have been blamed for stepping aside—but he didn’t.

“Joyce’s diagnosis was a pretty important, all-consuming part of our lives,” he said, “but the board sets tone and offers guidance on big things. It really falls on a staff to make it go, and I had complete confidence in the a very competent, very profes-sional staff in place at TVPPA.

“Plus, my staff [at Joe Wheeler EMC] had been together long enough to pretty much know what I would want done in a given situation, so they were able to work pretty autonomously,” he said.

Not long after he stood down as TVPPA chairman in 2011, Kitchens took on the chairman-ship of what is now known as the Regulatory Advisory Group. The group’s charge was to work with TVA on how to improve its relationship with the TVPPA-member utilities it regulates.

“I was very interested in regulatory issues at the time, because TVA was under the gun from [its] inspector general to take a more active role in regulating us,” Kitchens recalled.

“Our relationship with TVA is prob-ably one of the most complex that any two organizations can have. We should always have a healthy skepticism about their actions, but we developed a decent working relationship with TVA on regu-lation, one that will continue to bear fruit in terms of [TVPPA members] having a voice.”

‘In A Great Place’After an unexpectedly long run as chairman of the regulatory group, Kitchens was returned to the TVPPA Board of Directors this past April—just a month before the Annual Conference at which he accepted the Crawford DSA.

And even better—Joyce is in her eighth year of remission.

“The type of breast cancer she had has a very high rate of recurrence in the first three years,” Kitchens said. “The doctors didn’t tell us that until after her third year.

“We’ve been so blessed. She only needs checkups once a year now. We’re in a great place right now,” he said.

With his wife in good health and his place in TVPPA history firmly estab-lished, it might seem a good time for Kitchens to call it a day and go to the house—except it’s not.

“Everyone says you know when it’s time [to retire],” he said, “but I don’t yet.

“People need to understand that being a general manager at any of these [TVPPA-member] utilities is among the best jobs available anywhere. It’s still fun for me; I really enjoy the fact that no two days are quite the same,” he said. P

FEATURE

GEORGE KITCHENS AT A GLANCE■ TVPPA’s new chairman grew up near Caledonia, MS and earned an undergradu-ate degree in accounting from Mississippi State University in 1975.■ Kitchens spent more than 25 years working for organizations ranging from Exxon and Enron to Golden Valley EC in Fairbanks, AK.■ He returned to the South in 2001, when he took over as general manager at Joe Wheeler EMC, Trinity, AL.■ Kitchens served as TVPPA chairman

from mid-2009 to mid-2011, then served as the first chairman of what’s now known as the Regulatory Advisory Group.■ Kitchens and his wife of nearly 43 years, Joyce, have three adult children—Brian, a Certified Public Accountant and U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom; Beverly, an art director at a Washington, D.C.-area advertising agency and Carl, who holds a doctorate degree in economics and teaches at Florida State University.


TVPPA Chairman Greg Williams was almost there, a clean getaway in sight following two one-year

terms that had not been uneventful.Then TVPPA President/CEO Jack

Simmons announced in December 2016 that he planned to retire in six months. A committee would have to be formed and a national search conducted—with Wil-liams scheduled to stand down smack in the middle of all that, at the 71st Annual Conference.

Faced with that most unusual circum-stance, the TVPPA Board of Directors responded in kind. In an executive ses-sion during their regularly scheduled March meeting, TVPPA’s directors asked Williams and Vice Chairman Terry Kemp to stay on.

They agreed, but there remained the inconvenient fact that they were coming to the end of two straight one-year terms. The way was cleared at the 71st Annual Conference, when the TVPPA board voted to defer nominations for the

offices of chairman and vice chairman until its December 2017 meeting.

The reason, accord-ing to TVPPA Secretary/Treasurer Jerry Collins, who chaired the board’s Officer Nominating Committee, was to

assure stability while TVPPA identifies and seats a successor to retiring Presi-dent/CEO Jack Simmons. Williams and Kemp are scheduled to serve through 2017.

“Thank you for allowing me and Terry to continue to serve,” Williams told his colleagues after the vote. “This is good for consistency and continuity during this [CEO] transition.”

Williams talked with TVPPA News about the extraordinary events of recent months, and the road ahead as well:

TVPPA NEWS: You were in position to wind down—you had already done something of an exit interview with this magazine, in fact—when Jack’s announcement started all this in motion. Any semblance of bad feeling regarding an obli-gation to stay on for a while?GREG WILLIAMS: Not at all. I feel a sense of responsibility and commitment to TVPPA to see this [CEO search] through. I have a very strong sense of ‘Let’s do this right . . . finish the job, make the transition and set ourselves up for next person.’

I work for a board [at Appalachian EC, New Market, TN], of course, so I had to tell my board that my term of office with TVPPA might be extended. They understand that these are unusual circumstances, it’s for a very good reason, and it’s not forever.TVPPA NEWS: How did all of this actually come about?WILLIAMS: After Jack informed the board of his decision to retire, we talked about [my staying on] in terms of whether it made sense. Was it practical?

I left the meeting so that [TVPPA Vice Chairman] Terry [Kemp] could discuss it with the board. The board was support-ive of the idea of having that consistency and continuity in leadership during the CEO transition.

Then Jack and I sat down with [TVPPA General Counsel] Carlos [Smith] and [TVPPA Vice President] Danette [Scudder]. Carlos, who knows the bylaws so well, talked about the circumstances under which it would be possible for the current chairman to continue. He said the bylaws provide that a sitting chair may continue to serve until his or her

successor is nominated and elected.So, because there was no such

nomination or election at the Annual Conference, I’m able to continue to serve. This was not a circumvention of the bylaws, but an action taken under provi-sions set forth in the bylaws.

I really want to make clear at this point that this was not something I was seeking or wanted to do. There’s been nothing secret about this. I want to be fully transparent. We’re looking to keep consistency and continuity through this transition because it’s the right thing to do.TVPPA NEWS: So what happens now?WILLIAMS: My goal is to get new CEO seated by the September board meeting. I’m glad to serve as chair through the end of 2017, when the board is scheduled to take action on a new chair.TVPPA NEWS: It’s certainly not hard to imagine that the CEO search will con-sume the lion’s share of your extended term of office, but are there some areas where it looked like the clock had run out

Not Just Yet: Williams, KempStill Leading TVPPA Board

Maintaining short-term continuity ‘right thing to do’

FEATUREby BOB GARY JR. | Editor

Kemp

WILLIAMS: ‘I FEEL A SENSE OF RESPON-SIBILITY AND COM-MITMENT TO TVPPA TO SEE THIS CEO SEARCH THROUGH.’


FEATURE

but now get to revisit?WILLIAMS: Well, the CEO search is at the top of the list, of course, but we’ve launched the DER [Distributed Energy Resources] Council, in which we’ve invested a great deal of time with TVA. Part of me appreciates the opportunity to help stand that up.

I’m also very happy to continue to do whatever I can to help push forward the Strategic Pricing Plan. It’s a crucial time now, these summer months, with dead-lines in terms of notices to local power companies for the October 2018 rate change, but we’re not sure yet what that’s going to look like.

Staying in this role allows me to guide that process, and there are a couple of other things I’d like to continue to have a voice in—we’re still talking with TVA about the all-requirements contract, debt and building equity. This has been an interesting time with TVA, and I appre-ciate the opportunity to still be in that conversation.TVPPA NEWS: Staying involved in those and other matters means you’ll have to continue to rely a while longer on your staff at Appalachian EC.WILLIAMS: I obviously couldn’t do what I’m doing at TVPPA without my staff here, which I often refer to as the ‘best staff ever.’ I have two vice presidents, Joe McCarter and Conard Frye, who are my right and left hands, and Marie May, who takes care of our HR issues … I’m just indebted to them for their leadership, in managing our cooperative in my absence. You can’t do without quality, professional people of integrity taking care of the day-to-day business. PFLASH POINTS

» TVPPA Chairman Greg Williams and Vice Chairman Terry Kemp began new terms of office at the 71st Annual Conference.

» With the search for a successor to TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons well under way, the TVPPA Board of Directors deter-mined that having Williams and Kemp stay on would provide necessary continu-ity and consistency.

» Williams: ‘I really want to make clear . . . that this was not something I was seeking … there’s been nothing secret about this. We’re looking to keep consistency and continuity through this transition because it’s the right thing to do.’


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on staff, budgeting, and regulatory requirements.

TVPPA Training Coordinator Caleb Hall probably shook enough hands in mid-March

at Greeneville, TN, to qualify as a politician.

Hall congratulated 41 TVPPA-member utility staffers, and one from TVA, who earned TVPPA Certificates of Customer Service. Those individuals completed four courses in six months, all at Greeneville L&P.

The Greeneville course was the first TVPPA Education & Training conducted and completed at a member location that was available to staff at nearby TVPPA-member utilities.

“It couldn’t have gone better,” Hall said. “A host utility has a lot of

responsibility—logistics, setup, food and beverage, coordination – and everyone at Greeneville Light and Power was just great. We really enjoyed their hospitality.”

‘Downhearted’ To ‘Happy’Hall said running an E&T course at a TVPPA-member location helps members save big on travel costs.

“It’s a chance for nearby members to get their people training without having to spend for things like hotels and car rentals,” he said. “And our two-day structure gives members a chance to send more people—at Greeneville, for instance, Newport [TN UB] sent five folks the first day and five more the second day.”

Joy Dotson, Greeneville L & P’s customer service manager, said hosting TVPPA’s CCS course allowed her staff of eight to get certified in six months – something that might otherwise might have taken three or four years.

“If I’d had to send them to Nashville for training, they’d had to have gone one at a time to be sure we could keep up with our normal work load,” Dotson said. “We were a little downhearted about that, so I got on the phone with Caleb one day and asked if there was another way.

“From there, the wheels really started turning—my boss, Patricia Kirk, got involved and so did Bill [Carroll, the utility’s GM]. Now my staff’s happy, Patricia’s happy and Bill’s happy.”

Graduation At Greeneville:42 Earn CCS Designation

TVPPA’s Hall: Training at member sites helps cut costs

SECOND REFERENCEphotos by caleB hall/TVPPA

Appalachian EC, New Market, TN (from left): Karen Jones, Kim McGhee, Kayla England, Brittany Hybarger.

Bristol, TN, ES: Lara Hull (left) and Anna Dowell.

Bristol, TN, ES: Stacey Crowe (left, with TVA’s Megan Nolen). Elizabethton, TN, ED: Nikki Nideffer (left) and Norah Culbreth.


Erwin, TN Utilities (from left): Jessica Duncan, Tammy Peterson, Regina Tilson, Marsha Crain.

Erwin, TN, Utilities (from left): Debbie Nielsen, Hollie Bernard, Jenny Morefield, Ashley Davis.

Greeneville, TN, L & P (from left): Leonna Bowers, Jill Shelton, Angela Ebbert, Jessica York.

Greeneville, TN, L & P (from left): Mary Sexton, Angel Yokley, Page Gregg, Priscilla Murray.

Johnson City, TN, PB: Elmer Rodriguez. Morristown, TN, US (from left): Rosalinda Oviedo, Rachel Vazquez.

Morristown, TN, US (from left): Summer Collins, Becky Hite, Casee Mullins.

Newport, TN, UB (from left): Mandy Bell, Susan Allen, Nikki Norris, Diane Bryant, Bobbi Marion.

Newport, TN, UB (from left): Ronda Kolar, Debbie Williams, Glenda Smith, Megan Willis, Karen Giles.


MEMBERSHIP PROFILE

So much did Scott Dahlstrom love working at Jackson, TN, EA that, after two stretches totaling nearly 25

years, he felt he had to leave.“I could have stayed at JEA and been

safe and secure,” he said, “but I felt I could do more.”

So when Trenton, TN, L&W advertised for a general manager in 2013, Dahlstrom applied. When he won the job, the realiza-tion gradually set in that merely doing “more” wouldn’t cut it.

“It took a while before I realized all the challenges here,” he said, “but I have this overwhelming need to look back when I retire and know I did something really good with my career.

“Sink or swim, this is on me,” he said. “Lord willing, I’ll swim.”

‘Nothing Left To Cut’Dahlstrom knows the territory—he grew up seven miles from Trenton, in Dyer, TN. He earned an engineering degree and MBA at the University of Tennessee at Martin and his in-laws live less than a mile from his office.

“Trenton had been a vibrant little town, but the economy started going south in 1999 and 2000,” he said. “When the factories started leaving, [the utility] had to cut.

“When I saw what we were up against, I told the mayor that spending—and rates—had to go up because there was just nothing left to cut,” he said.

Dahlstrom inherited an electric system he called “good and reliable … but needing some TLC.” There was a little money in the bank, he said, but those funds would be needed to deploy an automated metering infrastructure system.

Fortunately, the utility’s new boss found help at just about every turn—TVA let Trenton L&W pay its bills weekly for a while, he said, and the utility’s employees stepped up their game. So did the Trenton City Council, which Dahlstrom said has had the fortitude to make some tough decisions.

“Our customers have been very understanding,” said Dahl-strom, who’s also in the midst of working through wastewater issues that will take years to resolve.

“One good thing about our industry is that people help each other. If I had to pick one thing I’m really pleased about, it would be how all those resources have come together to solve problems,” he said.

Dahlstrom Opts To ‘Do More’At Trenton, TN, L&W

AMI in play, GM eyes future including prepay, dark fiber

by BOB GARY JR. | Editor

MEMBERSHIP PROFILE: Trenton, TN, L&W

Trenton, TN, L&W journeyman lineman Josh Lawler (seated) runs the Digger Derrick while journeyman Cedric Poynor (right) and line apprentice Taylor Stovall prepare to set a new pole.


A View of the Valley from . . .

MEMBERSHIP PROFILE: Trenton, TN, L&W

MEMBERSHIP PROFILE

FOUR QUESTIONS Scott Dahlstrom, General Manager

at Trenton, TN, L&W:1. Not that you were all that far away to begin with at Jackson (TN) EA, but you’re pretty close to home here, yes?I grew up in Dyer, Tennessee, seven miles north of here. My in-laws live less than a mile from this office. I worked for Gibson [EMC] in high school and college . . . mowed yards, did whatever needed doing.2.Andwhenyou’reawayfromtheoffice?I like to go shoot things . . . turkey, deer, ducks, doves. I went to Texas a few years ago and shot a nice hog. 3. But you’re into competitive shooting as well, yes?I competed in a 600-yard match down in Memphis a little over a year ago. Out of a possible 600, I got [scores in the] 580s. I didn’t finish first, but I didn’t finish last, either . . . what was fun about it was that everybody had

custom-made guns. Mine wasn’t that good. It was commer-cial grade—high-end, but commercial, not custom.4. And reloading ammunition is a key component in the shooting you do?Shooting and hunting are my hobbies, and reloading is quickly becoming another one. Whether you are a hunter or competitive shooter, reloading your own ammo can improve your shooting a lot. I’m don’t compete much, but reloading my own ammo will improve my shooting.

Time To ReinvestTrenton L&W has not only refinanced debt, but managed to rebuild cash reserves, add three bucket trucks, upgrade troublesome relays at two substations and develop plans for more system improvements. That might not be a lot for some utilities, but it’s solid progress for Dahlstrom’s.

“The system’s been well-maintained,” he said, “but it’s just getting old. It’s time to start replacing stuff, to reinvest. What I’m trying to do is reinvest in the system.”

Burr

Michael Burr, the utility’s operating super-intendent, said his small band takes pride in the care it’s able to take of the Trenton L&W system, despite the scarcity of resources. That job is a great deal easier, he said, since the deployment of that AMI system Dahlstrom inherited.

“Best thing that’s happened since I’ve been here,” said Burr, who’s closing in on his 37th

anniversary at Trenton L&W.“We keep an eye on things very well, and get to outages

very quickly, but now we don’t have to go on property [to read meters or execute cutoffs]. Locked gates aren’t an issue and we don’t have to fool with dogs—or people, for that matter,” Burr said with a chuckle.

‘Distressed Rural Community’Dahlstrom is also trying to help piece together something Trenton desperately needs—a coordinated,

focused economic-development effort.“When I was growing up, these little towns were self-suffi-

cient, with car dealers, theaters, grocery stores … everything,” he said. “As things have grown, people have moved to the cities. We’re that distressed rural community you hear about on the news.

“We’re trying to get anyone with the words ‘economic development’ in his or her job title around a table. We’re trying to revitalize business districts, and we’re starting to get some traction.

“It’s a quality-of-life thing,” he said. “You might not win, but you can’t not fight.”

Foundation v. CurtainsThat’s much the same attitude Dahlstrom has with regard to raising the standard for his system’s upkeep.

“You can work on curtains, or you can work on the founda-tion,” he said. “We’ve been working on the foundation, so we’re holding off on the curtains.

“We’ve got AMI now. That’s foundational. We want to get to prepay, because that will help customers pay bills more easily, but that’s a curtain. We’d like to get into broadband. We’ve got to figure out solar.

“Today is yesterday’s future. As leaders, it’s our job to be looking 10 years down the road, preparing for the future so that we’re not in trouble when it gets here,” he said. P

Scott Dahlstrom


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1997 — TVPPA Rejects Crowell Proposal50 YEARS AGO – 1967APPA Elects MoyersMemphis, TN, LG&W General Manager W. R. Moyers was elected president of the American Public Power Association in Denver, CO, at APPA’s Annual Conference.

Check, PleaseTVA took very special care with a very large payment to the U.S. Treasury. On June 29, TVA Chairman A. J. Wagner was joined by two TVA board members, Frank Smith and Don McBride, in hand-delivering a check for $38,562,486 to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Fowler—TVA’s former general counsel.

40 YEARS AGO – 1977Personnel Section Hears Fleschute Jesse Fleschute, director of personnel for the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities, addressed TVPPA’s annual Personnel Section meeting in Gatlinburg, TN.

30 YEARS AGO – 1987Exum Takes ChargeJoe Exum, general manager at Jackson, TN, UD (now Jackson EA), was elected president of the American Public Power

Association in San Antonio, TX, at APPA’s Annual Conference. Exum took APPA’s top job having served five years on its board of directors.

20 YEARS AGO – 1997 TVPPA Rejects Crowell ProposalTVPPA Power Supply Planning Committee Chairman Sam Head told the U.S. House of Representatives Transpor-tation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources/Environment that TVPPA was opposed to TVA Chairman Craven Crowell’s proposal to abolish federal funding for TVA’s non-power programs after fiscal 1988. Head was then the general manager at Columbus, MS, L&W.

Baker’s Gentle ReminderJames Baker, president of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, told hundreds of his constituents assembled in Washington, D.C., for NRECA’s annual Legislative Rally that the event was their “opportunity to remind your elected officials that you represent more than 30 million rural electric consumers.” Baker was president of Middle Tennessee EMC, Murfrees-boro, TN.

Sax Elected, Austin HonoredSteve Sax, general manager at Fort Payne, AL, IA, was elected TVPPA president (now chairman) at the 51st Annual Conference, conducted at Jekyll Island, GA. Ron Hutchins of North Georgia EMC, Dalton, GA, was elected vice president and Tom Wheeler of Cleveland, TN, Utilities was elected secretary/treasurer. TVPPA’s highest individual honor, the Distinguished Service Award, went to Franklin, KY, EPB Superintendent Bill Austin.

10 YEARS AGO – 2007Crawford DSA To HutchinsTVPPA’s highest individual honor, the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished

Service Award, went to Ron Hutchins, president/CEO at North Georgia EMC, Dalton, GA. Hutchins, a two-time TVPPA chairman, received the award at TVPPA’s 61st Annual Conference, conducted in Louisville, KY.

Inaugural GENCO OfficersRon Hutchins of North Georgia EMC, Dalton, GA, was elected to serve as the first chairman of TVPPA’s brand-new GENCO (to be known later as Seven States Power Corp.). Once and future TVPPA Chairman Harold DePriest of Chattanooga, TN, EPB was elected vice chairman and Carol Wilson of Cumberland EMC, Clarksville, TN, was elected secretary/treasurer. The elections took place at TVPPA’s 61st Annual Conference, conducted in Louisville, KY. P

www.tvppa.com

TVPPA TIMELINEby BOB GARY JR. | Editor


Williams, Kemp Continue At Head Of TVPPA BoardTVPPA Chairman Greg Williams and Vice Chairman Terry Kemp will remain in place through the end of 2017.

Meeting in Savan-nah, GA, during the 71st Annual Conference, the TVPPA Board of Directors voted to defer nominations for the offices of chairman and vice chairman until its December 2017 meeting. The reason, according to TVPPA Secretary/Treasurer Jerry Collins, who chaired the board’s Officer Nominating Committee, was to assure a degree of con-tinuity and consistency as TVPPA identifies and seats a successor to retiring President/CEO Jack Simmons.

Collins himself was replaced, though, after three consecu-tive two-year terms on the board. The Memphis, TN, LG&W president/CEO, who served as the TVPPA board’s vice chair from 2013-2015, was succeeded as secretary/treasurer by Mark Iverson of Bowling Green, KY, MU.

Wade

Kernea

New Blood On BoardIn addition to MLGW’s Jerry Collins (see related item), the TVPPA Board of Directors recognized three other outgoing members—Mike Browder of Bristol, TN, ES (Appalachian District); Mike Simpson of Sand Mountain EC, Rainsville, AL (Alabama District) and Kevin Murphy of Southwest Tennessee EMC, Brownsville, TN (Western District), who

stepped down at the end of 2016.The board also welcomed:

■ Larry Kernea of Murphy, NC, PB, elected by the Southeastern District to succeed the late Lynn Mills of Loudon, TN, Utilities in representing its munici-pal members;

■ George Kitchens of Joe Wheeler EMC, elected by the Alabama District to succeed Simpson in representing that district’s cooperatives.

■ Kenny Baird of Lafollette, TN, Utilities, elected by the Appalachian District to succeed Browder in representing that district’s municipals.

■ Jeff Newman of Forked Deer EC, Halls, TN, had been elected to the board earlier this year, to succeed Murphy (Western District cooperatives).

At the annual TVPPA business meet-ing, TVPPA Chairman Greg Williams of Appalachian EC, New Market, TN, was re-elected to the non-Big 8/at-large coop-erative seat on the board. Chattanooga, TN, EPB President/CEO David Wade was elected to the board’s Big 8 municipal seat, succeeding Collins.

Honorary MembersDuring its meeting at the 71st Annual Conference, the TVPPA Board of Directors voted to confer Honorary Memberships on 18 member managers/CEOs who’d either retired or passed away since the 2016 Annual Conference:

■ Danny Brisendine (Ft. Payne, AL, IA) ■ Austin Carroll (Hopkinsville, KY, ES) ■ Harold DePriest (Chattanooga, TN, EPB)

■ John Etheridge (Paris, TN, BPU) ■ Robert Grisham (Tishomingo Co. EPA, Iuka, MS)

■ Rick Harrell (Sevier Co., TN, ES) ■ Wayne Henson (East Mississippi EPA, Meridian, MS)

■ Michael Meek (PES Energize, Pulaski, TN)

■ Jim Nanney (Alcorn Co. EPA, Corinth, MS)

■ Steve Sax (Murfreesboro, TN, ED) ■ David Scarbrough (Milan, TN, DPU) ■ David Thornton (Tuscumbia, AL, Utilities)

■ Eddie Tramel (Alcoa, TN, ED) ■ Ken Webb (Cleveland, TN, Utilities) ■ Robert Bettis (Sweetwater, TN, UB), John Carringer (Murphy, NC, PB) and

Lynn Mills (Loudon, TN, Utilities) were honored posthumously.

According to TVPPA’s bylaws, Honorary Members “have rendered dis-tinguished service” to TVPPA. The 2017 honorees were selected by the same com-mittee charged with selecting the 2017 recipient of the Richard C. Crawford Distinguished Service Award.

Howard

Committee AppointmentsDuring its meeting at the 71st Annual Conference, the TVPPA Board of Directors ratified two committee nominations:

■ Eddie Howard of Alcorn Co., EPA,

Corinth, MS, to serve as Mississippi District cooperative representative to the Energy Services Committee. He succeeds Ronny Rowland of Prentiss Co. EPA, Booneville, MS.

■ Joey Lawson on Pickwick EC, Selmer, TN, to serve as Western District

NAMES & NEWS

Collins

Kemp

Iverson

TVPPA Remembers Sam HeadFormer TVPPA Chairman Sam Head, 90, passed away May 7, 2017, in Memphis, TN.

During his 55-year public-power career, Head served as chief executive of two TVPPA-member utilities – Cullman EC, Cullman, AL and Columbus, MS, L & W. Head was working in Columbus when he was elected TVPPA president (now chairman) in 1995-96.

Head received TVPPA’s high-est honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1993 and was named an Honorary Member in 2002. He spent most of his career at Memphis LG & W, from which he retired as director of the Elec-tric Division. He also served as general manager at Coosa Valley EC, Talladega, AL. ■


NAMES & NEWS

cooperative representative to the Research&Development Commit-tee. He succeeds Charles Phillips of Gibson EMC, Trenton, TN.

Stewart

Marshall-DeKalb EC’s Stewart RetiresJim Stewart, general manager at Marshall DeKalb EC, Boaz, AL, retired May 16, closing the book on a 43-year career in the electric-utility industry.

Stewart, who’d been the cooperative’s chief executive since 1988, was succeeded by Scott Bobo, himself a veteran of 18 years at Marshall-DeKalb EC.

Stewart’s father, Everett Stewart, was the cooperative’s operations superinten-dent for nearly 40 years. After graduating from Auburn University in 1965 and serving six years in the U.S. Air Force, the younger Stewart started at Marshall-Dekalb EC in 1973.

After a decade at Marshall-DeKalb EC, Stewart left to become general manager at Albertville, AL, MUB. Five years later, he returned to the cooperative as general manager.

Stewart is a past chairman of the Ala-bama Rural Electric Association and the North Alabama Public Power Association, a former member of the TVPPA Board of Directors and a retired colonel in the Air National Guard.

A graduate of the University of West Alabama, Bobo signed on in 1999 as Mar-shall DeKalb EC’s manager of loss control and communications. The Crossville, AL, native had served as Stewart’s assistant general manager for the past four years.

McCall

Columbia P&W Names McCallKelley McCall has been named interim executive director at Columbia, TN, P&WS, succeeding Wes Kelly.

McCall is the utility’s director of

Finance&Administration, and will continue to oversee its daily fiscal opera-tions. She was promoted to the F&A job in 2010, having served previously as the utility’s assistant (Continued on page 32)

Nine earn CPE, AdvCPENine TVPPA/member-utility staffers were center-stage at the 71st Annual Conference, where they were feted for having completed Certified Power Executive (CPE) and Advanced CPE courses of study. Receiving Advanced CPE certificates before a crowd of 400-plus in Savannah, GA, were:

(L-R) Dale Vowell of Russellville, KY, EPB; TVPPA’s Kim Culpepper, TVA’s Teresa Ashworth and TVPPA’s Judy Hughes.

Receiving CPE certificates were:

(L-R) David Johns of CDE Lightband (Clarksville, TN) and Randall Abel of North East Mississippi EPA, Oxford, MS.

(L-R) Brandon Barlow of Gallatin, TN, DE; Angela Ebbert of Greeneville, TN, L&P and TVA’s Brian Smith.

(Continued on page 37)


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broadband services, but the cooperatives’ authorization to provide retail broadband internet and video services was more limited. This year’s legislation now autho-rizes electric cooperatives to provide a full range of broadband services.

As electric systems continue to install more and more broadband capacity for their core electric-system needs, this new authorization should prove to be very useful in closing the broadband availabil-ity gap, and should also enable electric cooperatives to better provide state-of-the-art broadband services to a wide range of citizens in Tennessee.

Regulatory RequirementsUnder existing law, there are several regulatory requirements that apply to an electric cooperative’s broadband operations. Similar requirements apply under the state’s municipal broadband laws.

This year’s legislation some-what expanded upon the regulatory requirements that apply to an electric cooperative’s retail operations. An electric cooperative providing retail broadband video or Internet services under the Act must follow several regula-tory requirements. These requirements include:

■ To obtain a franchise for certain broadband video services

■ To be subject to regulation by the Tennessee Regulatory Authority in the manner and to the same extent as applies to other providers of various broadband services

■ To furnish services on an area-cover-age basis the same way as Tennessee’s electric cooperatives have historically provided electric service

■ To provide other providers of broad-band services with nondiscriminatory access to locate their broadband equipment on infrastructures and poles owned or controlled by the cooperative

■ To avoid subsidies for broadband services

■ To provide these broadband inter-net and video services as a separate subsidiary.

In addition to authorizing electric cooperatives to provide broadband video and Internet services, the legislation also creates a broadband accessibility grant program and a new state tax credit pro-gram to encourage the deployment of broadband facilities. ECD will administer the broadband accessibility grant pro-gram, and the grants are available to all broadband providers.

While ECD has not yet released the full program requirements, the

legislation provides for priority for (1) locations without access to Internet download speeds of at least 10 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least one megabit per second, (2) projects that utilize “scalable” technology that can deliver higher download and upload speeds, (3) projects located in areas with strong community support, (4) projects that have not otherwise received state or federal funds and (5) projects that will provide higher download and upload speeds. The Haslam Administration pro-poses to provide $10 million of funding each year for the next three years.

Additionally, the legislation proposes to create a new franchise and excise tax credit—a credit against the state’s cor-porate income and property tax—for companies that invest in higher speed broadband networks in more rural parts of the state.

To be eligible for this credit, the tax-payer must invest in Internet equipment that is capable of a minimum 25 megabits per second upload speed and minimum upload speeds of three megabits per second. The Act provides for up to $5 mil-lion of credits per year, and the program is expected to continue for three years.

While this legislation did not include any additional authorization for Tennes-see’s municipal electric systems, it will create more opportunities for municipal electric systems to work with their neigh-bors in addressing the state’s broadband challenges. Under existing law, Tennes-see municipal systems have a range of options to provide various video, Internet and telecommunications services, so these systems will be well positioned to support electric cooperatives and other municipal electric systems that move for-ward with broadband business plans.

Electric systems in Tennessee have played a significant role in the advance-ment of broadband infrastructure and services in that state, and the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act should be a welcome addition to the toolkit for Ten-nessee’s local power companies and the communities that they serve. PThis article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. TVPPA-member systems are encouraged to consult their primary counsel to discuss the matters addressed in this article.

Legal (Continued from page 10)

controller.McCall earned her undergraduate

degree from Union University in Jackson, TN, and an MBA from Belmont Univer-sity in Nashville, TN.

Kelly spent five years at the helm for Columbia P&WS, departing in May for the CEO job at Huntsville, AL, Utilities.

Hicks

Hicks Succeeds Bettis At Sweetwater UBEric Hicks, a 23-year veteran at Sweetwater, TN, UB, is that utility’s new general manager.

He succeeds the late Robert Bettis, who passed away in January

2017 after a brief illness. Hicks had understudied Bettis as Sweetwater UB’s assistant GM since 2013.

Hicks started his Sweetwater UB career while still in high school, working as a co-op student during his senior year (1993-94). He started full-time at the util-ity later in 1994, then commenced TVPPA lineman training the next year.

Hicks completed TVPPA advanced line training in 2004. He added a TVPPA safety certification in 2009, at which time he became Sweetwater UB’s safety direc-tor and assistant superintendent/electric. He served in those capacities until his 2013 promotion to assistant general manager. P

www.tvppa.com

Names & News (Continued from page 35)


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ADVERTISER DIRECTORYThe following companies support TVPPA by ad-vertising in TVPPA News. Their support enables us to provide you with the quality of publication you expect from your association. Please join us in recognizing these companies, and be sure to tell them you saw their ad in TVPPA News!

A.J. Gallagherwww.ajg.com .............................................................. 13Alexander Publicationswww.alexanderpublications.com ................................. 4Alexander Thompson Arnoldwww.atacpa.net .......................................................... 36Andax Industrieswww.andax.com ......................................................... 11Central Service Associationwww.csa1.com ........................................... Inside FrontClearwater Paymentswww.clearwaterpayments.com .................................... 4Distributors Insurance Companywww.distributors-insurance.com ...........................BackElectric Power Systemswww.epsii.com ........................................................... 36Fisher Arnoldwww.fisherarnold.com ................................................ 36GDS Associates, Inc.www.gdsassociates.com .............................................. 9George C. Paris Companywww.georgeparisco.com ............................................ 32Leidoswww.leidos.com ......................................................... 27National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)www.nisc.coop ............................................................. 7PowerTech Engineeringwww.pt-eng.com ........................................................ 32Service Electric Companywww.serviceelectricco.com ....................................... 33Stanley Consultantswww.stanleyconsultants.com .................................... 26TVPPA Conferenceswww.tvppa.com ..........................................Inside BackTVPPA Technical Trainingwww.tvppa.com .......................................................... 32

Looking for an economical way to reach the entire electric utility industry in the Tennessee Valley? Let TVPPA deliver your message for you. For advertising rates and information, call Tim Daugherty at 423.756.6511 or send e-mail to [email protected].

THE LAST WORD

President/CEO: Jack Simmons423.490.7918 • [email protected]: Judy Hughes423.490.7912 • [email protected]: Judy Hughes423.490.7912 • [email protected]/Membership: Tim Daugherty423.490.7930 • [email protected]: Phillip Burgess423.490.7928 • [email protected]: Tim Daugherty423.490.7930 • [email protected]

Conferences: Diana Bryant423.490.7923 • [email protected] Relations: Phillip Burgess423.490.7928 • [email protected] Services: Kari Crouse423.490.7918 • [email protected]/Pricing: Jim Sheffield423.490.7925 • [email protected] Services: Doug Peters423.490.7924 • [email protected]

DRIVE AN ELECTRIC CAR . . . NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

THIS SPRING, WITH SUPPORT power companies (LPCs) have been exploring new ways to pre-

dict, using ZIP Code, where solar power will most likely be adopted. This effort has also sought to predict consumer interest in both community and residential rooftop solar.

This spring, with support from Chat-tanooga, TN, EPB, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), TVA and Green Commuter launched the first all-electric car-sharing service in the South-east. In fact, only a handful of car-sharing services in the whole United States utilize electric vehicles; those are usually found in large metropolitan markets such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and Indianapolis.

For 25 years, CARTA has quietly carried millions upon millions of tourist and resi-dents around downtown Chattanooga on their fleet of electric shuttle buses. CARTA’s mission is to provide multiple options for affordable and environmentally friendly transportation services for those who live

in and visit Chattanooga, so sponsoring another clean, efficient transportation option such as electric car sharing was right up its alley.

Green Commuter was selected by CARTA to operate the car-sharing service with an initial deployment of 20 all-electric Nissan LEAFs. Offering smart-phone-enabled, on-demand hourly and daily rentals, Green Commuter vehicles serve the central busi-ness district, key employment and residential centers, retail locations, local universities and complement existing transit and bike share networks.

TVA and Chattanooga EPB supported the planning and connection efforts for 56 elec-tric vehicle charging ports (“Level-2” 240V) across 20 locations which are available to the general public when not in use by car-share vehicles. The charging system’s energy use was compensated by the installation of 3 new solar PV sites that have a combined capacity of 80 kW feeding directly into stan-dard TVA solar programs.

After a few months of operation, usage of the vehicles and charging sta-tions continue to grow and approximately 1,000 rentals/trips have occurred through the members’ portal. Data collection from the charging stations, vehicles and solar generation will continue in order to quantify emissions impacts, energy consumption and consumer interest. Also, an eye will be kept on the sales of electric vehicles in the area to determine if this project was effective in exposing consumers to electric vehicles and influencing their decision to purchase a personal EV.

If you would like additional informa-tion, please contact Drew Frye by phone at 423.751.7060 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Also, go to https://greencommuter.org/chattanooga/ to learn more, including how to sign up.

Brought to you by EPRI Distribution Program advisors John Bowers and Joey Lawson of Pick-wick EC, Selmer, TN; Philip Lim of Murfreesboro, TN, ED and Clint Wilson of TVPPA.

TVPPA STAFF QUICK REFERENCE

‘Are we a system with 155 different parts, counting

TVA as one part, or are we 155

separate entities, loosely connected with one another but doing our own things?’

— TVA PRESIDENT/CEO BILL JOHNSON, speaking at TVPPA’s 71st Annual Conference.

Timely Tech Tip


U T I L I T Y P U R C H A S I N G • A N N U A L • E N G I N E E R I N G & O P E R A T I O N S • U T I L I T Y S A F E T Y • A C C O U N T I N G & F I N A N C E • C U S T O M E R S E R V I C E &

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S ¶ H U M A N R E S O U R C E M A N A G E M E N T

T h e E n g i n e e r i n g & O p e r a t i o n s C o n f e r e n c e i s T V P P A ’ s a n n u a l e d u c a t i o n a l m e e t i n g f o r m o r e t h a n 2 0 0 T e n n e s s e e V a l l e y e l e c t r i c u t i l i t y e n g i n e e r i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n s r e l a t e d p r o -f e s s i o n a l s . A t t e n d e e s ’ w o r k r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s r a n g e f r o m e n e r g y e f f i c i e n c y , m a p p i n g , o u t a g e m i t i g a t i o n a n d a u t o -m a t e d m e t e r i n g i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t o t r a n s m i s s i o n a n d d i s t r i b u -t i o n . M o r e t h a n 1 0 0 s p o n s o r s w i l l j o i n t h i s f a n t a s t i c g r o u p a n d p r o v i d e a s o u r c e o f i n f o r -m a t i o n , t i p s a n d n e t w o r k i n g .

2017 Conference Series

T h i s y e a r ’ s a g e n d a i s p a c k e d f u l l o f i n f o r m a t i v e , e n g a g i n g a n d c r i t i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g a n d o p e r a t i o n s i n f o r m a t i o n y o u w o n ’ t w a n t t o m i s s . E x p a n d y o u r k n o w l e d g e , d e v e l o p y o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l g r o w t h a n d c h e c k o u t t h i s y e a r ’ s t o p i c s i n c l u d i n g :

• P r e - C o n f e r e n c e # 1 : B a s i c D i s t r i b u t i o n S y s t e m O p e r a t i o n s a n d E q u i p o t e n t i a l G r o u n d i n g

• P r e - C o n f e r e n c e # 2 : N E S C U p d a t e s• 7 S P C , T V P P A R & D a n d T V A P o w e r S u p p l y U p d a t e s• R a t e E v o l u t i o n• N i n e B r e a k o u t O p t i o n s w i t h i n t h r e e t r a c k s : T e c h n o l o g y , E n g i -

n e e r i n g a n d O p e r a t i o n s• T e c h n o l o g y C a s e S t u d i e s• E m e r g e n c y C o n t i n g e n c y P l a n s• C a s e S t u d y o n W i l d f i r e s

N E W : C h e c k o u t t h e “ S o l u t i o n C e n t e r s ” i n t h e e x h i b i t h a l l a t v a r i o u s t i m e s d u r i n g t h e c o n f e r e n c e . T w o m i n i - t h e a t e r s w i l l h o s t a n u m b e r o f s h o r t p r e s e n t a t i o n s o n v a r i o u s t o p i c s .

Y o u ’ v e g o t P L E N T Y o f o p t i o n s t h i s y e a r ! Y o u ’ l l n e e d t o r e g i s t e r t o t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m .

T o R e g i s t e r a n d f o r a c o m p l e t e a g e n d a a n d a d d i t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e d e t a i l s , v i s i t w w w . t v p p a . c o m a n d c l i c k “ C o n f e r e n c e s ” t h e n “ E n g i n e e r i n g & O p e r a t i o n s C o n f e r e n c e ”

A U G U S T 9 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 7M A R R I O T T D O W N T O W N & C O N V E N T I O N C E N T E RC H A T T A N O O G A , T N

E n g i n E E r i n g & O p E r a t i O n s C O n f E r E n C E

R e g i s t e r o n l i n e n o w ! R o o m r e s e r v a t i o n i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r o v i d e d u p o n r e g i s t e r i n g .

PO Box 6189Chattanooga, TN 37401-6189

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 586Chattanooga,

Tennessee

Return Service Requested

678-393-5200

Competitively Priced Insurance Coverage.Distributors Insurance Company has provided utility-specific property-casualty insurance coverages at com-petitive premiums to more TVPPA members than any other insurer or program since its 1983 inception. What does this mean? It means it costs little more to go first class and have the broadest property-casualty insurance coverages and most professional claims and loss control services available.Owning your own insurance company does make a difference.

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Utility Specific Coverage

w w w . d i s t r i b u t o r s - i n s u r a n c e . c o mDistributors Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, Inc.

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