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Clayton’s Ethan Poppe Named a Public Power Rising Star

Each year at the ElectriCities Annual Conference, we recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to public power.

At the 2023 Annual Conference:

  • Ethan Poppe received the Rising Star Award.
  • Rich Worsinger received the Distinguished Service Award.
  • Paul Fisher received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Let’s meet and celebrate the 2023 Public Power Rising Star Award recipient, Ethan Poppe.

2023 Public Power Rising Star Award recipient Ethan Poppe (center), with fellow Town of Clayton staff (left to right): Allen Turnage (Electric Director), Penny Adams (Program Support Specialist), Ann Game (Utilities & Billing Director), and Rich Cappola (Town Manager)

The Rising Star Award recognizes up-and-coming leaders who have less than 10 years of experience and who, in that relatively short time, have made significant and sustained contributions to the electric utility industry and to public power.

That perfectly describes Ethan.

Ethan joined the Town of Clayton in 2020 as an Energy Service Technician in the Electric Department. Even though he had no prior experience working in an electric department, his initiative and ability to learn new skills immediately made him a valuable member of the team.

Through staffing changes in the Electric Department, including a period without a dedicated Electric Department Director, Ethan stepped up and took on responsibilities above and beyond his job role. He worked with engineering, operations, and contracts & procurement staff, as well as outside consultants to increase his knowledge of electrical and project management principles.

Clayton’s Engineering Director, Joshua Baird, said Ethan’s professional growth, willingness to take on additional duties, and process improvements make him an asset to the department and the community and enable the Town to continue to provide exceptional service.

Joshua isn’t the only one singing Ethan’s praises. Ann Game, the Town’s Utilities & Billing Director, said she’s amazed at what Ethan has been able to do. From bidding, contracting, and load management analysis, to helping the Town receive APPA’s Gold-level RP3 designation, helping launch the Town’s new outage management program, and performing an EV study, Ann says Ethan accepts all challenges that come his way and is just an incredible all-around employee.

Clayton’s Electric Director, Allen Turnage, said, “We see a long future for Ethan at the Town of Clayton, and we appreciate his dedication to our community.”

And so do we. Congratulations, Ethan!

Next, let’s meet the 2023 Distinguished Service Award recipient, Rich Worsinger, and the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Paul Fisher.

4 NC Public Power Communities Receive Downtown Revitalization Grants

ElectriCities has awarded Downtown Revitalization Grants to four North Carolina public power communities: Albemarle, Statesville, Wake Forest, and Wilson. Each community will receive $10,000 to help achieve its downtown revitalization goals and spur downtown economic development.

The City of Albemarle’s grant proceeds will help fund its Downtown Catalyst Grant Program. Launched in 2022 to spur economic vitality in the downtown district, the program is a public/private partnership that assists businesses in the downtown municipal service district by offering grants to fund facade and/or building stabilization improvements, as well as internal improvements, including furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

The City of Statesville will use its funds to cover more than 20 large electric boxes downtown with local community art from the school system, established artists, and local flavor art wraps. The enhanced boxes will improve the aesthetic of Statesville’s downtown that’s rich with historical architecture and beautiful city-scaped sidewalks with trees and flowers.

The Town of Wake Forest will put its funds toward retaining Firebox Theatre, a performing arts venue in Downtown Wake Forest. Along with supporting theatrical productions and cultural experiences, the theatre serves local youth through educational programs, including introductory improvisation and dramatic performance.

The City of Wilson will put its funds toward adding a mural and improving 12 intersections with crosswalk murals in Historic Downtown Wilson. Part of its Wilson Street Works initiative, the project will support activity for local businesses, make the city more attractive, engage citizens and community groups, improve the quality of life and place, and promote bicycle and pedestrian safety.

ElectriCities awards the competitive Downtown Revitalization Grants twice a year—each spring and fall—to its members in the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA) and in North Carolina Municipal Power Agency Number 1 (NCMPA1). Grant proceeds must be used for projects that advance the community’s downtown revitalization goals and are approved by the city or town manager or chief executive.

Congratulations to these latest grant recipients! The next cycle for ElectriCities Downtown Revitalization Grants opens in September 2023.

Are You Billing All Your Customers?

Having unbilled accounts is more common than you may think, says ElectriCities’ Senior Utility Systems Analyst, Sherri Callery.

Consider this scenario:

A diligent billing clerk in a small public power community has a large customer’s complex account open in the billing system to perform account maintenance. As lunchtime approaches, several customers line up at once to pay or ask questions about their utility bills. The billing clerk leaves her desk to serve the Town’s customers.

When she returns to her desk, the billing system has logged her out. After taking care of several customer requests, she has forgotten about the account she was working on earlier.

Before the customers came in, she’d been changing the account’s rate assignment and route schedule. When the system logged her out, the account status was saved as “inactive.”

Without a rate schedule or route assignment saved in the legacy billing system, the account wasn’t billed.

In the real-life version of this story, the problem came to light during a Retail Billing Assessment a year later. That one account was underbilled over $100,000 that year, representing 3% of the Town’s total electric department revenues!

With staff turnover during that time, no one had noticed the unbilled account as the source of lower revenues. And the Town’s legacy billing system didn’t flag the unbilled account like a modern billing system might have.

This is just one example of how a utility can inadvertently fail to bill all its customers. And it’s one of the common issues a Retail Billing Assessment uncovers.

A Retail Billing Assessment is a thorough analysis and process review of a utility’s electric retail billing system. It identifies unbilled revenue sources and opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Sherri conducts Retail Billing Assessments for ElectriCities members and recommends having one every two to five years, before major system conversions, and immediately following any significant rate, technology, or staff changes. They’re free for Power Agency members.

Learn more about the power of ElectriCities’ Retail Billing Assessments and other lost revenue Sherri has discovered here.

And be sure to catch Sherri’s breakout session, “Retail Electric Billing: Revenue Lost & Found,” at the 2023 ElectriCities Annual Conference in August. She’ll highlight common sources of billing errors that can have huge impacts on your utility and your revenue.

To determine whether a Retail Billing Assessment should be on your utility’s to-do list, contact Sherri Callery.

Summer Load Management and How You Can Save Money

If you haven’t already prepared for the summer heat, it’s time. Your local electric provider may offer a Load Management program. A Load Management program is intended to reduce your power costs by decreasing the electricity demand when your usage is highest.

Residential Load Management

Participating in a residential load management program involves having a remotely controlled switch attached to your appliances that impact peak demand most.

“Now is a good time to participate in your local load management program, learn how it works and the value of it—especially with the extreme temperatures we’ve experienced so far this season,” says ElectriCities Field Operations Manager Jason Thigpen.

Customers already participating in residential load management need to prepare for summer.

  1. Different appliances are affected. Water heaters are typically controlled year-round, but air conditioners replace heat strips in summer.
  2. Load management time frames. In winter, peak demand is usually 6-8 a.m. Summer peak periods are more prolonged and typically in the afternoon—about 2-7 p.m., most occurring between 3-6 p.m.

“Almost every local public power member in North Carolina participates in load management in some form, which collectively saves customers millions of dollars each year,” says Thigpen.

“Taking steps now to manage the summer demand peaks ensures you don’t miss out on those savings.”

Information about load management is available for customers through your hometown public power utility that is working to help you reduce energy and save money.

Contact your local electric provider for more information about load management or transitioning to summer load management.

49 ElectriCities Members Recognized for Excellent Safety Records in 2022

Congratulations to the 49 ElectriCities member utilities that had no lost workday cases due to accidents or injuries in 2022.

North Carolina members that received 2022 ElectriCities Municipal Electric Safety Awards are:

Albemarle
Belhaven
Dallas
Edenton
Farmville
Granite Falls
High Point
Kings Mountain
Lincolnton
New River Light & Power
Pineville
Scotland Neck
Wake Forest
Waynesville		 Apex
Benson
Drexel
Elizabeth City
Fountain
Hamilton
Hobgood
Landis
Maiden
Newton
Red Springs
Shelby
Walstonburg
Western Carolina University		 Ayden
Cherryville
East Carolina University
Enfield
Fremont
Hertford
Hookerton
Laurinburg
New Bern
N.C. State University
Rocky Mount
Smithfield
Washington
Wilson

South Carolina members that received 2022 ElectriCities Municipal Electric Safety Awards are

Easley
McCormick Public Works		 Greer Public Works
Newberry		 Laurens
Seneca Light & Power

ElectriCities Senior Safety & Training Specialist Mark Todd, CUSP, recognized each member for their perfect records and safe operating practices at the NCAMES conference on May 17.

Though reporting on-the-job accidents and injuries is required by OSHA, Mark says it’s not just for record-keeping and awards. The reports provide an opportunity for utility employees to revisit safe work practices, often with the help of the ElectriCities Safety & Training team.

The team uses the information to tweak training classes or to ensure they emphasize certain safety practices. “If, for example, we’re seeing a lot of lineworkers with hand lacerations, that tells us we need to review the importance of wearing proper personal protective equipment,” he said.

“Creating a culture of safety requires everyone’s buy-in, and even with that, an accident or injury can still occur,” Mark said. “Thank you to each member utility employee who is committed to safety and who completed 2022 with no accidents or injuries—whether or not your city or town received an award.”

For more information about the ElectriCities Municipal Electric Safety Awards, contact Mark Todd. And you can find out about upcoming ElectriCities safety training classes here.

Warm Weather Resources

It’s summertime, and the heat is on!

This time of year, it’s normal to want to turn the air conditioning down. We all want to be cool! However, no one wants a high electric bill.

To see how the summer heat affects your energy use—and your monthly energy bill, use TempTracker 365™. It records daily high and low temperatures in ElectriCities member communities. You can use it to find out which days, weeks, or months were extremely hot, causing your cooling system to run longer. You can also see which days had milder temperatures and didn’t result in as much energy use.

Whatever the temperature extremes are in your community, these simple, no-cost and low-cost tips from the U.S. Department of Energy can help you save money and keep cool this summer.

Use your windows to keep out heat

  • Install window coverings to prevent heat from coming through your windows during the day.

Operate your thermostat efficiently 

  • Set your thermostat at a temperature that you find comfortable and that provides humidity control, if needed.
  • When you’re away, set your thermostat a few degrees higher than normal. Lower the thermostat setting when you return home and need cooling.
  • Avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you first turn on your air conditioner.

Use fans and ventilation strategies to cool your home

  • Turn off ceiling fans when you leave the room. Remember that fans cool people, not rooms, by creating a windchill effect.
  • When you shower or take a bath, use the bathroom fan to remove heat and humidity from your home.

Keep your cooling system running efficiently

  • Schedule regular maintenance for your cooling equipment.
  • Avoid placing lamps or TV sets near your thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
  • Vacuum your air intake vents regularly to remove any dust buildup. Ensure that furniture and other objects aren’t blocking the airflow through your registers.
  • Change the filter for your HVAC system monthly.

Consider a range of appliances and lighting options

  • Consider lighting options that operate at cooler temperatures.
  • If convenient, take advantage of daylight instead of artificial lighting, but avoid direct sunlight.
    • Learn more about strategies for efficient daylighting.
  • Wash full loads of dishes and clothes for better efficiency.

Keep hot air from leaking into your home

  • Seal cracks and openings to prevent warm air from leaking into your home.
  • Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal air leaks around doors and windows.

Lowe your water heating costs

Water heating accounts for about 18% of the energy consumed in your home.

  • The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends setting your water heater at no more than 120˚F to prevent scalding. The lower setting will also conserve energy and save money.

For more ways to save money and keep cool this summer, check out https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/spring-and-summer-energy-saving-tips.

 

 

 

ElectriCities Apprenticeship Program Participants Eligible for GI Bill Benefits

Military veterans who are enrolled in the ElectriCities Apprenticeship Program in North Carolina can now receive GI Bill benefits.

That’s thanks, in part, to Jared Auman, an Apprentice Lineworker II who helps power the towns of Huntersville and Cornelius in North Carolina.

Jared joined ElectriCities in 2021 after serving four years with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, including a combat tour in Afghanistan.

When he discovered that the ElectriCities Apprentice Lineworker Program was state-approved, he knew it could be eligible for on-the-job training reimbursement through the GI Bill.

Jared Aumen during his service in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division

He was right.

He contacted ElectriCities Manager of Safety and Training, Craig Batchelor, who ran with it.

Turns out, ElectriCities Vice President of Human Resources, Melissa Miranda, had been working with the state and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) to get the ElectriCities apprenticeship program VA-approved.

Craig helped get things moving and became a School Certifying Official (SCO) through the VA. Being an SCO enables him to submit all the documentation required to help apprentice lineworkers get their GI Bill benefits. To provide backup and ensure efficiency, two more ElectriCities employees are on their way to becoming SCOs: Safety and Training Specialist Jeff Freeman and Learning and Development Specialist Susanne Taylor.

With Jared officially receiving his benefits, Craig is working with a few other lineworkers to get theirs going. And he’s looking for more.

If you or anyone on your team is enrolled in the ElectriCities Apprentice Lineworker Program in North Carolina and is eligible to receive GI Bill benefits, contact Craig.

Craig’s message to South Carolina veterans in the ElectriCities apprenticeship program: Hold tight. “We’re working on getting our apprenticeship program approved for VA benefits in South Carolina,” he said. “We hope to have that done by the end of the year.”

Discover the Power of Retail Billing Assessments

Could your utility be missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual revenue?

While performing a recent Retail Billing Assessment, ElectriCities’ Senior Utility Systems Analyst, Sherri Callery, discovered that could have happened to an ElectriCities member utility.

A Retail Billing Assessment is a thorough analysis and process review of a utility’s electric retail billing system. It identifies unbilled revenue sources and opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency.

Sherri recommends conducting an assessment every two to five years, before major system conversions, and immediately following any significant rate, technology, or staff changes.

One of the many details Sherri examines during an assessment is billed demand and energy consumption before and after meter exchanges. During that recent assessment, Sherri discovered that demand decreased by a factor of 100 after each new meter was installed.

At that point, the utility had already lost $75,000 in revenue for the billing year.

Sherri worked with the member utility’s billing team to track down the source of the problem. Turns out, the metering vendor’s data transfer file setup parameters were based on incorrect demand units.

The team collaborated with the vendor to correct and validate the file transfer parameters.

Had the problem not been corrected all year, it would have cost the utility $133,000 in lost revenue. And, if all the utility’s meters had been exchanged without that correction, that lost revenue would have jumped to $582,000 per year.

The potential losses don’t stop there.

Another member utility was having a similar issue, so Sherri worked with that member and the vendor to get the problem corrected. Two other much larger member utilities are preparing to deploy that vendor’s metering system. With the file transfer parameters corrected, they avoided lost revenue that could have reached $2.4 million per utility.

“Utility billing operations are complex, and that complexity increases the potential for errors,” Sherri says. And those errors can happen to anyone.

Even a teeny tiny mistake can have a significant impact, she says. That’s why it’s important to regularly analyze and review your billing system parameters, meter data inputs, and processes.

“During a Retail Billing Assessment, we look at everything from the smallest details to the overall processes to deliver big value for your utility.”

To learn more about the process and determine whether a Retail Billing Assessment should be on your utility’s to-do list, contact Sherri Callery.

And, if you’d like to learn more about other common Retail Billing Assessment findings and how this service can benefit your utility, be sure to catch Sherri’s breakout session on the topic at the ElectriCities Annual Conference in August.

12 ElectriCities Members Earn National Award for Outstanding Safety Practices

Twelve ElectriCities of North Carolina member utilities have earned the American Public Power Association (APPA) Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2022.

The award recognizes a utility’s incident rate and the state of its safety program and culture.

Recipients of the 2022 Safety Award of Excellence are:

Group B (systems with 15,000 to 29,999 worker-hours of exposure)

  • First place: City of Monroe, N.C.
  • First place: Town of Granite Falls, N.C.

Group C (systems with 30,000-59,999 worker-hours of exposure)

  • First place: Gaffney Board of Public Works (S.C.)
  • Third place: New River Light & Power (N.C.)
  • Honorable Mention: City of Rocky Mount, N.C.

Group D (systems with 60,000-109,999 worker-hours of exposure)

  • First place: Town of Apex, N.C.
  • Third place: City of Statesville, N.C.
  • Honorable Mention: City of Lumberton, N.C.

Group E (systems with 110,000-249,999 worker-hours of exposure)

  • Second place: Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works (S.C.)
  • Third place: City of Concord, N.C.
  • Honorable mention: City of Rock Hill, S.C.
  • Honorable mention: Wilson Energy (N.C.)

“Safety is the top priority for ElectriCities and for our members,” said Craig Batchelor, ElectriCities Manager of Safety and Training. “It takes a lot of hard work to create and maintain an exceptional safety program. I commend these public power providers for their dedication.”

According to an APPA news release, 166 utilities nationwide earned Safety Awards of Excellence in 2022 out of the 283 utilities that entered.

To determine award winners, APPA first categorized entrants according to their number of worker-hours. Then APPA ranked them based on their incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2022.

The incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2022, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“Safety needs to be the first thing on every utility employee’s mind as they go about their work,” said Jim Boyd, Chair of APPA’s Safety Committee and Electric Operations Safety Manager at Tacoma Power in Washington. “The utilities honored by APPA for excellence in this area should be proud of the culture they have instilled in serving their communities.”

Review the national list of 2022 Safety Awards of Excellence honorees at www.PublicPower.org.

For a list of awards ElectriCities member utilities have won since 2020, visit the Awards and Accolades page on the ElectriCities website.

11 ElectriCities Members Earn RP3 Designation

Eleven ElectriCities of North Carolina member utilities have earned the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation from the American Public Power Association for providing reliable and safe electric service.

The RP3 designation, which lasts for three years, recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines:

  • Reliability
  • Safety
  • Workforce development
  • System improvement

Receiving it demonstrates a utility’s sound business practices and a utility-wide commitment to its employees, customers, and community to deliver electricity safely and reliably.

RP3 designations are awarded in three levels based on the number of points a utility earns in each of the four disciplines. Diamond is for 98-100 points, Platinum is for 90-<98 points, and Gold is for 80-<90 points.

Congratulations to these 2023 RP3 designees:

Diamond Level

  • City of Monroe, N.C.
  • City of Rocky Mount, N.C.
  • City of Statesville, N.C.
  • Wilson Energy (N.C.)

Platinum Level

  • Town of Apex, N.C.
  • New River Light & Power (N.C.)

Gold Level

  • Gaffney Board of Public Works (S.C.)
  • Town of Cornelius, N.C.
  • Town of Huntersville, N.C.
  • Town of Pineville, N.C.
  • Town of Tarboro, N.C.

“I’m proud of these public power providers for reinforcing their commitment to their customers and their communities by earning the RP3 designation,” said ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones. “The RP3 program enables them to confirm that they have the sound business practices in place to safely deliver reliable electricity to their customers now and into the future.”

“Receiving an RP3 designation is a great honor signifying a utility has demonstrated commitment to industry best practices,” said Troy Adams, Chair of APPA’s RP3 Review Panel and General Manager at Manitowoc Public Utilities, Wisconsin. “And ultimately, the culture developed from this pursuit of excellence and continued improvement through the RP3 program results in measurable value delivered to the local community.”

These 11 ElectriCities member utilities are part of the 109 utilities nationwide that earned the designation in 2023.

In North Carolina, 26 public power communities hold RP3 designations—more than in any other state, and 32 ElectriCities members are RP3 designees.

A full list of the ElectriCities member utilities with RP3 designation is available on the Awards and Accolades page on the ElectriCities website. A national list of designees is available at www.PublicPower.org.