December 2017
Dear Santa
by Dave White, Executive Director
 
The following occurred on a recent afternoon at the NEPPA Headquarters:
 
Steve:   I've been looking for you, Dave.  Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?
 
Dave:    Well, I don't have much time.  I'm supposed to get up to Nashua and make sure everything will be okay for the Membership Meeting.
 
Steve:   You write it and I'll tell you what I want to say.
 
Dave:    Okay, shoot.
 
Steve:   Dear Santa Claus, how have you been?  Did you have a nice summer?  How is your wife?  I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want.
 
Dave:    Oh brother.
 
Steve:   Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible.  If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself: just send money.  How about fifties and hundreds?
 

If so, contact Steve directly at ssocoby@neppa.org or call the office at (978) 540-2200.  Thank you!

 

 Upcoming Training & Events
2017

Apprentice Lineworker Program Graduation,  December 15 (Littleton, MA)

Contact Steve Socoby, Director of Training & Education (ssocoby@neppa.org) or Colleen Del Signore, Training & Education Coordinator (cdelsignore@neppa.org) for more information.

2018

Registration Now Open for 2018 Training & Education and @ Your-Site Programs.

Lunch & Learn: Salesforce, January 30 (Littleton, MA)

Metering I Program, Feb. 5; March 12; April 9; May 14 (Littleton, MA)

Substation I Program, Feb. 6 - 9; March 13 - 16; April 10 - 13; May 15 - 18 (Littleton, MA)

Year I: Feb. 13 - 16; March 20 - 23; Aug. 28 - 31; Oct. 23 - 26
Year II: Jan. 30 - Feb. 2; March 27 - 30; Sept. 11 - 14; Oct. 30 - Nov. 2
Year III: Feb. 27 - March 2; April 24 - 27; Sept. 25 - 28; Nov. 6 - 9
Year IV: March 6 - 9; May 22 - 25; Oct. 2 - 5; Dec. 4 - 7
Apprentice Lineworkers Rodeo: June 6 - 7

NEPPA Board of Directors Meeting, March 15 - 16 (Manchester Village, VT)

Outage & Emergency Communications Roundtable, April 4 (Littleton, MA) *

Advanced Lineworker April 10 - 13; May 15 - 18; Sept. 18 - 21; Oct. 16 - 19 
(Littleton, MA)

Engineering & Operations Conference and Expo, May 2 - 3, 2018 (Worcester, MA) *

Customer Service Conference, June 13 (Location TBD) *

Metering II Program, Aug. 13 & 27; Sept. 10 & 24; Oct. 15; Nov. 5 & 26; Dec. 10
(Littleton, MA)

Annual Conference, August 19 - 22 (Falmouth, MA) *

Crew Leadership, September 5 - 6 (Littleton, MA)

Substation II Program, Sept. 25 - 28; Oct. 16 - 19; Nov. 27 - 30; Dec. 11 - 14 
(Littleton, MA)

* Registration Not Yet Open.
If you're interested in attending any of the above events, please
email Sarah Klingler, Director of Programs & Services at sklingler@neppa.org to be notified as soon as registration becomes available.



 Training & Events Highlight

  Committee Meeting Calendar
2017

Engineering & Operations Subcommittee, December 6 (Littleton, MA)

Member Value Committee, December 8 (Littleton, MA)

Engineering Subcommittee, December 15 (Littleton, MA)

Education Development Committee, December 18 (Littleton, MA)

2018

Advocacy & Reporting Committee, January 25 (Teleconference)

Executive Committee, January 26 (Teleconference)

Finance Committee, February 14 (Teleconference)

Executive Committee, March 2 (Teleconference)

Conference Oversight & Planning Committee, March 6 (Littleton, MA)

Board of Directors, March 15 - 16 (Manchester Village, VT)

Education Development Committee, March 19 (Littleton, MA)

Advocacy & Reporting Committee, April 5 (Teleconference)

Member Value Committee, April 6 (Littleton, MA)

Finance Committee, April 18 

Executive Committee, April 27


 In the News
Need Street Lights?
Littleton, MA - Do you need street lights? Littleton Electric Light & Water Department has the following stock:
  • (60) 50W MH
  • (57) 100W MH
  • (24) 175W MH
  • (10) 1000W MH Flood Light

For more information, contact David Wirzbicki, Inventory/Procurement Coordinator at Littleton Electric Light & Water Department (dwirzbicki@lelwd.com).
Washington Electric Co-op Donates
$1,000 in Food to Stuff-A-Truck
East Montpelier, VT - Washington Electric Co-op's Community Fund donated $1,000 in food to the annual Stuff-A-Truck food drive and fundraiser run by radio stations 107.1 Frank FM, Froggy 100.9 and 105.7 The Beat. Food and funds collected in the drive benefit the Central Vermont Salvation Army Emergency Food Shelf. WEC has contributed to the drive for the past twelve years. 

Stuff-A-Truck is now the largest Salvation Army food drive in New England.  Usually the event collects enough to sustain the food shelf for a year, although trends show increasing need. This year, more people than in the past sought emergency supplies and the food shelf emptied in September. 

"That's exactly why WEC's Community Fund donates to Stuff-A-Truck year after year," said General Manager Patty Richards. "As a rural, member-owned utility, we know some people must choose between putting food on the table and keeping the lights on. Nobody should have to make that choice. We are here to help." 

Richards and WEC staff Gordon Matheson, Mike Myers and Kevin Stevens purchased and delivered $1,000 worth of food on Thursday, Nov. 16, the first day of the drive. "It's fun to do this great work for the Central Vermont area," said Richards. "And the thanks go to WEC's members, who are the donors to our Community Fund. We are truly neighbors helping neighbors." Money in WEC's Community Fund comes from voluntary donations made from WEC members. Beneficiaries of the fund are non-profits and worthy causes helping out in WEC's service area.

Burlington Electric Department Recognized for Communications Excellence by APPA
November 8, 2017  - Congratulations to Burlington Electric Department which received an Award in Merit for Web/Social Media Communications by the American Public Power Association (APPA).

Thirty-six public power electric utilities and utility organizations earned Excellence in Public Power Communications awards from the American Public Power Association. The awards were presented on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Association's Customer Connections Conference in Sacramento, California.

The annual awards recognize excellence in communications. This year's entries were judged in three categories: print/digital, web/social media, and video. Awards were given to those that showed ingenuity and creativity in telling their stories through outstanding copy, design, financial data presentation, graphics, social media engagement, video editing, and web layout and interactivity.

Moody's Upgrades MMWEC Ratings; Berkshire Wind Plans Advance Refunding of Project Debt 
Ludlow, MA - On December 4, 2017  Moody's Investor Service upgraded the credit ratings on three Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) power supply projects, citing the credit strength of project participants and sound financial structure of MMWEC.

At the same time, favorable market conditions have the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) planning an advance refunding of debt it issued in 2010 to finance the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 15-megawatt wind farm that is managed by MMWEC.

Moody's upgraded to A1 from A3 the long-term rating on the MMWEC nuclear projects known as Project No. 3, Project No. 5 and Project No. 6, which represent a portion of MMWEC's ownership interests in the Seabrook Station and Millstone Unit 3 nuclear units.  The outlook for all three ratings is stable.

All of MMWEC's power supply project debt will be retired by 2019, with only $10.68 million in project debt currently outstanding. Millstone Unit 3 is licensed to operate until 2045 and Seabrook Station, which is licensed to operate until 2030, is seeking a license extension to 2050.

In addition to the sound operating performance of the Millstone Unit 3 and Seabrook Station nuclear units, Moody's credits the  successful implementation of MMWEC's debt amortization plan and the strong unrestricted liquidity at each project.

"The upgrades also reflect the expiration date of the two nuclear unit licenses extending well beyond the debt maturities, making (the projects) valuable to the participants," according to Moody's. As MMWEC's nuclear project debt is paid off, "MMWEC's projects' cost structure will decline significantly, which will result in very competitively-priced power generation in the ISO-New England markets" for project participants, Moody's states. 

Among other credit strengths for the three MMWEC projects, Moody's cites the strong credit ratings of the municipal utility project participants and their competitive retail electric rates, MMWEC's take-or-pay power sales contracts, modest projected capital needs at the plants in the near term, and the current New England regulatory environment that values carbon-free attributes. 

"This ratings upgrade is a reflection of the strong and improving credit position of MMWEC and its project participants," said MMWEC Chief Executive Officer Ronald C. DeCurzio.  "It is a credit to the participants and the MMWEC financing program, which has enabled municipal utilities to develop an independent power supply and stabilize rates for their customers." 

Meanwhile, the BWPCC, which consists of MMWEC and 14 Massachusetts municipal utility project participants, is planning an advance refunding of its outstanding debt to produce debt service savings.  BWPCC initially issued bonds in 2010 to finance the construction of the 10-turbine, 15-megawatt Berkshire Wind Power Project, located in Hancock, Mass.  The refunding bonds are tentatively scheduled to be marketed on December 14, 2017, with a closing date of December 22.  Of the initial $64.7 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds issued to finance the project, approximately $44.4 million in bonds currently are outstanding.

All of the BWPCC project participants also are MMWEC project participants, and the underlying credit metrics for both entities are similar.


  Membership
Welcome to our Newest Affiliate Members!

Legislative Update
 
Energy Policy: Hydropower bill advances along party lines, Congressional interest in disaster recovery intensifies, House committee holds hearing on Energy Star...

Tax Reform: House passes sweeping reform, Senate up next...

Personnel:  Glick and McIntyre confirmed...