by Bonnie Biocchi, Executive Director
Defense wins the game. The New England Patriots proved this old axiom during Sunday’s 13-3 Superbowl win over the Rams. Despite the obvious joy and justifiable pride that we feel in New England, there are still a lot of haters in the rest of the country. Papers across the nation called it a “boring game” and “an ugly win” because A) the Patriots won
again, and who can stand that? and B) the offense was nearly non-existent for the first 3½ quarters.
That got me to thinking about the value of a good defense and how the unique combination of brilliant strategy, dogged preparation, constant vigilance and flawless execution must be exercised to prevent defeat. Although we’ve become accustomed to the exciting, no huddle, hard-charging, surgical strike offense that the Patriots are known for, we should not forget that it wasn’t too long ago that putting 40 points on the board was
necessary to achieve a win. For many years, the Patriot’s defense was nothing to write home about. That has all changed, and Tom Brady’s 6
th ring is the result. The best offense is a good defense.
It is often like that for Public Power. Every day our industry is called upon to “do their job”. Whether it is designing a SCADA system, restoring power quickly during an outage, adopting new technology, resolving cyber security issues, or engaging in Mutual Aid, our industry goes to work and gets the job done, creating a “win” for the people we serve. It isn’t necessarily flashy, but it is critical work.
Recently I was invited to join the Cyber Resiliency Working group for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our goal is to identify cyber risks, develop a plan to mitigate potential cyber-attacks and create a response plan to ensure resilience. In other words, we expect to prepare for the worst and develop an overarching strategy that will keep our infrastructure functioning should a cyber attack occur. This is no easy feat, as the threats grow and morph on a daily basis, and hackers have no respect for the common rules of engagement. The energy industry is number 1 or two on the list of vulnerable infrastructure.
Strategy, preparation and vigilance will help us win the day. Creating a strong defensive network, both within our individual systems and through regional cooperation will be important to preventing the 3
rd down conversions of our opponents. It can be grinding work, but in the words of Superbowl MVP Julian Edelman, “I’ll take that ugly win over a pretty loss any day.”
If you have thoughts about how to ensure public power’s cyber resiliency, please let me know. Your experience, training and defensive techniques will be important to this discussion. In true Belichick fashion, let’s makes sure our defense will be able to win the game. As this year’s Superbowl champs proved, claiming a victory isn’t always easy, but it
is always sweet!
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Upcoming Training & Events
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Year I:
March 12 - 15; Aug. 27 - 30;
Oct. 29 - Nov. 1
Year II:
April 9 - 12; Sept. 17 - 20; Nov. 5 - 8
Year III:
Feb. 12 - 15; April 23 - 26;
Sept. 24 - 27; Nov. 19 - 22
Year IV:
Feb. 26 - March 1; May 7 - 10;
Oct. 8 - 11; Dec. 10 - 13
Apprentice Rodeo:
June 5 - 6
Apprentice Graduation:
Dec. 12
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
March 20, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
March 21, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
March 25; April 29; May 20; June 10
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
March 26 - 29; April 30 - May 3; May 21 - 24; June 11 - 14
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
April 2 - 3, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
April 4, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
April 9 - 11, 2019; October 29 - 31, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
April 30 - May 2, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
May 3, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
May 13 - 14, 2019
DoubleTree Hotel
Manchester, NH
Customer Service Conference *
June 19, 2019
Wylie Inn & Conference Center at Endicott College
Beverly, MA
Aug. 5 & 26; Sept. 9 & 30; Oct. 21; Nov. 4 & 18; Dec. 9
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Aug. 6 - 9; Aug. 27 - 30; Sept. 24 - 27; Oct. 8 - 11
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
NEPPA Annual Conference *
August 18 - 21, 2019
Omni Mount Washington Hotel
Bretton Woods, NH
Sept. 10 - 13; Oct. 1 - 4; Oct. 22 - 25; Nov. 19 - 22
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
September 11, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
September 12, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Lineworkers Rodeo
*
September 19 - 20, 2019
(Dates subject to change)
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Outage Management & Emergency Communications Roundtable *
October 23, 2019
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
November 6 - 7, 2019NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Annual Membership Meeting *
December 6, 2019
(Date subject to change)
Location TBA
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Braintree eyes plant retirement in face of capacity rules
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January 16, 2019 (Braintree, MA)
The Braintree Electric Light Department in Massachusetts is using a grant provided by the American Public Power Association's Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments program to explore a solar power project that would float on a...
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Final Rule Issued on OSHA Forms 300 & 301
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January 24, 2019 (Washington, DC)
To protect worker privacy, the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule
that eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA each year. These establishments are still required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). For more information
click here to access the final rule.
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December 18, 2018 (Belmont, MA) Frosty the Snowman was at the Belmont Light office during the recent Winter Solstice celebration, where he greeted members of the Gupta, Roy and Durukkar families along with General Manager Chris Roy, back right.
Many who attended the event donated a new or very gently used blanket, bedspread, comforter, or quilt to Mission of Deeds to help share the warmth with others in need.
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Flexibility Options in the Distribution Grid
Delegation to Germany on Grid Modernization
May 6 - 9, 2019
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The role of distribution grids is evolving. Regulators and distribution grid operators face an array of unprecedented responsibilities and opportunities, associated with the rapid increase of intermittent distributed energy sources, new digital technologies, and demand response.
With the goal to better understand and navigate a new reality of grid operation needs, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) invites you to participate in a transatlantic thought leader exchange. The trip is part of a broader scale effort to strengthen the energy cooperation between our countries, encourage the exchange of ideas, and build energy transition policy expertise.
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OMCIRON's 4th Annual Northeast Power and Energy Conference (NEPEC)
OMICRON and the University of Maine have announced that registration is now open for the 4
th
Annual Northeast Power and Energy Conference (NEPEC). The event will be held on
March 19-21, 2019
in Portland, Maine at the Westin Hotel.
Registration deadline is March 5, 2019.
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Extend your brand to those who matter most.
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Advertising for the 2019 NEPPA Directory of Consumer-Owned Electric Utilities in New England is now underway!
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Northeast Public Power Association | communications@neppa.org | www.neppa.org
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