MEUW - Live Lines

Over the past 45 days, MISO’s “Day 2" market proposal, a locational market pricing (LMP) theory for wholesale transactions of electricity, scheduled to begin in the entire MISO footprint including all of Wisconsin on December 1, 2004, has been in the news.

LMP theory holds that electric prices should go up in areas of constrained transmission and generation to “incent” or encourage the deployment of new electric infrastructure. Wisconsin’s status as one of the nation’s most highly constrained areas from an electric transmission standpoint is well known.

On February 16, 2004, CEO’s from Wisconsin major electric utilities jointly signed a letter and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) asking for a five year deferral of the LMP market, until such time as Wisconsin has completed major planned electric infrastructure improvements. The letter listed the improvements in detail, which total over 700 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines and over 4,800 MW of new generating capacity, at a cost of over $5 billion dollars.

The proposed five year deferral was supported unanimously by other stakeholder groups and customer groups, such as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the Wisconsin Merchants Federation, the Wisconsin Economic Development Association, the Customers First! Coalition, the Wisconsin Paper Council, the Citizens Utility Board, the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group and the IBEW Wisconsin State Conference.

On March 3, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle sent letters to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioners asking that they require MISO to work with the Wisconsin PSC and our state’s stakeholders to achieve the intent of the MOU. On March 4, a similar letter was sent to FERC by leadership of the Wisconsin Legislature. And on March 11, all ten members of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation jointly signed a similar letter to FERC.

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25 Year Municipal Utility Law Veteran
Attorney Mike May Appointed as Madison City Attorney

At a press conference on March 12, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced his appointment of Attorney Michael P. May as Madison’s new City Attorney. Attorney May, a Partner with the Boardman Law Firm, has a long history representing municipal electric utility interests, here in Wisconsin, and across the country.

“I truly treasure my years advocating for the interests of public power. The municipal electric industry is full of great people, and I have been honored to have worked on their behalf. I hope my association with the City of Madison will be equally rewarding,” said May.

“Mike has been an outstanding presenter at a number of American Public Power Association (APPA) Workshops over the years, including the important APPA Policymakers Course since 1995 – his talents and experience will be dearly missed”, said Alan Richardson, APPA Executive Director.

“In the municipal electric utility community, we will all miss his expertise and guidance,” said Roy Thilly, CEO and President of Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI). Thilly has known May for the past 26 years, ever since May was hired as a Summer Associate at the Boardman firm, where Thilly was working at the time.

“MEUW, the various municipal power groups and municipal joint action agencies around the State have been very well served by Mike, who always offered prompt, sound and realistic legal advice and direction” said Dave Benforado, MEUW Executive Director.

At the March 12 press conference, Mayor Cieslewicz said that “Mike brings the perfect combination of legal expertise, management experience and an exceptional ability to work well with people. I know he will quickly earn the confidence and trust of alderpersons, city managers, staff, the press and the public. His solid knowledge of the law is backed by good judgement and integrity. He’s going to do a great job for Madison.”

May said he was “pleased, honored and excited to accept the Mayor’s nomination. We have a vibrant community that faces many challenges and opportunities. I love Madison, and I intend to use my legal skills to make our city a better place.”

May, who was Valedictorian of his Holy Name Seminary High School Class of 1972, received his BA in Journalism from UW-Madison in 1975, and graduated with Honors from the UW-Madison Law School in 1979. He has been with the Boardman firm since 1979 and chairs both the Executive Committee and the Municipal Services Practice Group in the firm. He chaired the State Bar of Wisconsin Section on Administrative and Local Government Law, served on the Legislative Council Special Committee on Recodification of Municipal Law, and taught a course on local government law at the UW-Madison Law School. An avid Wisconsin Badger sports fan, Mike has attended three Badger football Rose Bowl victories.

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Deserving Folks Recognized at 2004 Joint Superintendents Conference

This year’s Joint Superintendent’s Conference included the presentation of the first MEUW Outstanding Lineman Award.

The award was proposed by the MEUW Safety Directors to recognize exemplary work by particular lineman in support of their municipal electric utility.

It was presented during the January 21, 2004, MEUW portion of the Joint Superintendent’s Conference in Wisconsin Dells. The first recipient was John Potier. John is the General Foreman at Sturgeon Bay Utilities, where he has worked for the past 33 years.

Thursday night, January 22, featured the “Class of 2003” Wisconsin REC and MEUW Indentured Linerepairer Apprentice Graduation Banquet. Eight municipal graduates joined a select group of over 300 municipal electric utility lineworkers in Wisconsin. We wish them continued success in their careers. We also wish to remind them to work safely and using proper work procedures. Each of us share in the responsibility to make sure that they and their coworkers work safely and go home each night.

Congratulations to the graduates, and to “Outstanding Lineman” John Potier.

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Entries Due April 19
5th Annual MEUW Safety Award Program Under Way

For the 5th straight year, MEUW is coordinating a Safety Award Program. As in the past, the reporting time period is January 1 - December 31 of the prior year. We strongly encourage all MEUW members to participate each year, even if injuries occurred. It helps us track injury trends, which then allows our Safety Program to better target particular training areas in the future. Last year, 30 MEUW members participated -- let’s try and push that participation up this year! Please consider submitting an entry form by the April 19 deadline.

Beginning this year, the Safety Award reporting form will take into account the efforts your utility is making to create a safe work environment. You will still report injuries, lost time/light duty days and medical treatments that were the result of an on a job accident. However in addition you will receive credit for pro-active measures, i.e., submitting an entry in the past years, employees regularly attending MEUW safety sessions (at least 6 of 8), holding safety meetings at your utility on a weekly basis, reviewing the safety manual on an annual basis, and performing “Critical Behavior Audits” (job site audits done by employees or management to determine if safety rules and safe work procedures are being followed). This will allow utilities that are making efforts to create and maintain a safe work environment to overcome minor incidents that in the past would have put them out of the running for a Safety Award.

We will recognize recipients of the 2003 MEUW Safety Achievement Awards at the MEUW Annual Conference in Oconomowoc (June 9-10, 2004).

All report forms must be received by MEUW no later than Monday, April 19. Questions about the reporting form should be directed to Steve Hedden, MEUW Safety Director, (shedden@meuw.org). If you need another copy of the form or instructions, contact Linda Olson (lolson@meuw.org), MEUW Office Manager.

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April 27 - 29, 2004 at Chippewa Valley Technical College, West Campus
MEUW Lineman Climbing School

Pole climbing is quickly becoming a lost art. The improvements to bucket trucks and the conversion of back yard overhead distribution systems to underground systems have meant that lineman’s belt and hooks have been relegated to very infrequent use. The need for linemen to climb poles, though, will never totally be eliminated as long as we have overhead systems and the need to train regularly for pole top emergency rescue. The problem is, they don’t get enough climbing time on the job to hone their skills and may not have anyone who can even teach them.

This is where the MEUW Lineman Climbing School comes in. Linemen who attend this school will spend three intense days of learning and practicing basic climbing skills needed to perform their jobs. After the three days of instruction and practice, their skills will be assessed and if their abilities meet the grade, they will be issued a Qualified Pole Climbing Certificate. Attendance will be limited to twenty so that the instructor to student ratio will be 1:5. This will allow us to give personal attention to each student.

Students will spend much of the three days climbing; because of this it is imperative that they come to the school in relatively good health, with a good quality pair of lineman boots with steel shanks, and climbing equipment which is in good condition. In addition, they will need to bring work gloves, hard hats, safety glasses, a long sleeve shirt and rain gear (in case it rains) for each day.

Because of the limited class size, you should send your registration in as soon as possible. Registrations will be taken as they are received and will close when the class size reaches 20. We will keep a waiting list to help us assess whether to hold an MEUW Lineman Climbing School next year.

The fee for the MEUW Lineman Climbing School will be $175 per person. This fee includes lunch for all three days, refreshments and break snacks. A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Quality Inn in Eau Claire, single rooms can be booked for $52.95. You must make your own reservations by calling the Quality Inn before April 16, 2004 at (715-834-6611) and ask for the MEUW block. Please fax your registration to the MEUW (608-837-0206) or mail it to: MEUW Lineman Climbing School, 725 Lois Dr., Sun Prairie, WI 53590.

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