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Governor Jim Doyle set in motion a frenzy of renewable energy and energy conservation efforts by signing the Energy Efficiency and Renewables Act in 2006 (2005 Wisconsin Act 141). Now, thanks to six WPPI member municipal electric utilities of Boscobel, Menasha, Plymouth, Richland Center, River Falls and Waupun, in partnership with Madison Gas & Electric and We Energies, the State will set the bar for Wisconsin in terms of renewable energy usage.

The six WPPI communities, each of which hosts a major state facility, will sell a total of 33,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy per year to the state. This energy is supplied from renewable resources secured by WPPI for its members and bid jointly through WPPI to the state for the major state facilities served on the WPPI system.

Wisconsin Act 141 requires key state agencies and university campuses to purchase 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources now and 20 percent by the end of 2011.

Governor Doyle and WPPI President Thilly made the announcement on the grounds outside of WPPI headquarters in Sun Prairie, in front of their solar voltaic collection panels.

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Saturday, September 6 in Stoughton
Third Annual MEUW Lineman’s Rodeo

The Third Annual MEUW Lineman’s Rodeo will be held on Saturday, September 6, at Mandt Park in Stoughton. This year, we are changing to two-man teams (instead of three-man teams). We are once again offering an apprentice competition, for individual apprentices who wish to participate in the Rodeo but are not part of a team.

Spectators, families and friends are encouraged to attend. Besides watching their favorite lineman compete in the rodeo, there will be activities for the children and other family members and friends. The day will finish with an Awards Banquet at the Heights Event Center, located at 2300 Highway 51/138 in Stoughton. Participants, judges and volunteers will each receive two tickets to the Awards Banquet. Additional tickets may be ordered for $12.00 each.

Booklets containing participant and volunteer registration forms, schedules, judging guidelines, hotel information and maps to the events were mailed to Member utilities in early July. The team, apprentice and volunteer registration deadline is Friday, August 8!

If your utility has not received a booklet, please contact MEUW Office Manager Linda Olson at lolson@meuw.org or 608/837-2263. The booklet is also available on our website at www.meuw.org/events.htm.

A group rate of $116.99/night for one night (either Friday, September 5, or Saturday, September 6) or $107.99/night for a two-night stay has been arranged at the Comfort Inn, 660 Nygaard Street, Stoughton. The hotel serves a continental breakfast in the mornings. Ask for the MEUW Discount to get the special rate. There is a Badger football game in Madison that weekend, so book your hotel rooms early -- the hotel will probably be booked solid by Friday, August 22.

Don’t forget, we will be kicking off the Rodeo on Friday, September 5, with the MEUW Mutual Aid Seminar from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at Stoughton Utilities. The MEUW Pole Climbing School will also be held in Stoughton on September 8-10. We hope to see you at the MEUW Lineman’s Rodeo on September 6!

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September 16 & 17 in Wisconsin Dells
PSC Utility Roundtable and MEUW Accounting & Customer Service Seminar Together in Wisconsin Dells

The 2008 Accounting & Customer Service Seminar has been set for Wednesday, September 17, at Glacier Canyon Lodge at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells.

There will be an update on new Commitment to Community reporting requirements, as well as presentations on foreclosures; records management; a potpourri of accounting topics (to include energy conservation dollars, the new USOA and internal controls); banking fraud prevention and new banking products; and PSC customer issues and complaint procedures. We will conclude with the popular Open Forum.

As an added bonus, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has agreed to move their semi-annual Utility Roundtable to the same site on the previous day (Tuesday, September 16) to encourage municipal electric personnel to participate.

This year’s pre-registration fee is $75. Registrations received after September 12 will be $80 each. There is no charge to attend the PSC Utility Roundtable on September 16, but we will need a head count for lunch, so please pre-register. Registration materials will be sent to your utility in early August and will also be posted online at www.meuw.org/events.

Those who wish to stay overnight on the night of September 15 and/or 16 should telephone Glacier Canyon Lodge (800/867-WILD) by August 16 to make your reservations. Be sure to ask for the MEUW block to receive the special rate of $70 single/double.

We hope to see someone from your utility at the 2008 MEUW Accounting & Customer Service Seminar!

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APPA Washington Report
Facing Up To the CO₂ Challenge
By Robert Varela, Editor, APPA’s Public Power Weekly

Utilities are facing “our biggest challenge ever— CO₂”—Maude Grantham-Richards, electric utility director, Farmington, N.M., Electric Utility System, said as she took office as the 2008-09 chair of APPA’s board of directors.

APPA prepared for the challenge by adopting a new policy resolution setting out criteria for any federal cap-and-trade legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any cap-and-trade legislation must achieve its goals with the least possible adverse economic impact, the resolution says. That means any cap-and-trade bill must include a safety valve (which sets a maximum price for emission allowances) or other stringent cost control mechanisms.

The resolution calls for other measures to keep down costs, such as minimizing the initial amount of emission allowances auctioned to no more than 5% of the total amount of allowances. The auctions should be as simple, transparent and straightforward as possible, and the government should review the auctions regularly to ensure they do not create windfall profits, APPA said. Net proceeds of auctions of allowances should be used only for limited research and development, energy efficiency and mitigation of costs to consumers. The resolution also calls for an integrated national program for carbon reporting and trading that is equitable to all states.

Greenhouse gas offsets should be widely available for projects that reduce emissions, provided that the offsets are additional, permanent, independently verified, enforceable and measurable. Also, allowances or offsets should be provided to the electric utility sector to protect it from fuel-switching between economic sectors. The cutoff date for credit for early action on climate change should be Jan. 1, 1994, APPA said.

Another key to containing the cost of climate change legislation is timing. Goals must be set to provide sufficient time (and allowances) to maintain reliability and develop new technologies on a commercial scale, the resolution states.

To ensure that climate change legislation does not unduly harm the economy, the government should conduct regular reviews to determine if changes are needed to prevent transfers of wealth and jobs to other countries, the resolution states.

Members of Congress are aware of the high energy costs facing consumers. Some cost-containment provisions (but not a safety valve for allowance prices) were added to the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill in the Senate. APPA’s new resolution on federal cap-and-trade legislation makes a good starting point for driving home to your legislators the need to minimize the costs to protect consumers. Members of Congress can’t hear that enough; they’ll be hearing from others that renewables and conservation will take care of everything.

In addition to lobbying members of Congress, public power utilities can prepare by doing what they typically would do to combat a sustained period of high prices. Strategies such as promoting energy efficiency, conservation and demand-side management, diversifying your power supply (including renewables), and generally tightening operations and costs work to mitigate both high costs and greenhouse gas emissions. APPA has developed a new “Energy Efficiency Resource Central” initiative, with its own Web site, www.EERCnet.org. It offers a wide range of tools, including a database of best practices from public power utilities.

Whether you agree with the science or not, it makes no sense to wait, with passage of a cap-and-trade bill a matter of when (within two years), not if. Public power has an advantage in that its business model is well suited to this approach.

Utilities need to communicate about climate change issues with their customers, governing boards and city councils. Electric utilities start with the disadvantage of being seen as part of the problem in terms of carbon dioxide emitted by the industry. Being seen as recalcitrant to solutions could cause real problems. Letting customers know why their bills are going up and what you are doing to hold them down is better than waiting until customers open their bills.

Public power has a business model that will serve consumers well, but its distinctive identity has blurred over the years as people have taken good utility service for granted. Now is a good time to communicate with the public about your status as a public power utility and what that means, particularly when it comes to providing reliable service at the lowest possible rate and responding to your community’s environmental concerns.

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Proper Lifting Techniques Can Help Prevent Back Pain
by Chris Belz, MEUW Southeastern Regional Safety Coordinator

Teaching and enforcing proper lifting techniques and preventing back pain or injury can be one of the most cost effective safety investments a utility can make. Back injuries are one of the most common types of pain and disability in any workplace setting. Some back injuries are serious enough to require surgery, can cause tremendous pain, cause the employee to lose mobility, and detract from doing normal daily tasks. Remember even the smallest back injury can limit your activities on and off the job.

It’s a good idea to have a refresher lesson or two about proper lifting techniques. By using some simple guidelines for lifting, you can potentially avoid a back injury.

Make sure you have a clear path to carry the load.
Size up the load before you lift it.
○ Test the load by lifting one of the corners or pushing it.
○ If it feels too heavy or too awkward, get assistance or use a mechanical device (forklift, digger derrick, pallet truck or dolly).
○ When in doubt do not lift alone.
Bend your knees.
○ This simple rule is the most important step of lifting because this takes pressure off the back.
Place your feet as close to the object and center your body over the load.
Get a good grip on the object.
Lift straight up, smoothly, and let your legs do the work and not your back.
Do not twist or turn your body once you have made the lift or while lifting the load.
Do a reverse lift and set the load down properly.
○ Do not drop on your feet or damage the object.
Always push a load instead of pulling it on a cart or dolly.
○ Pushing is much easier on the back.
If the load is long, get a coworker to help.
Split the load up into smaller ones when you can.

Other factors that can affect the back include age, proper standing posture (shoulders back, “S” curve centered over pelvis), physical condition, repetitive motions. Sleeping on your side with knees bent will relieve strain on your back. Sitting in a chair or at your desk with your knees slightly higher than your hips will also help reduce back strain.

Some things to consider to help inform employees in your Utility include:

Have an ergonomic or safety professional give employees a training class;
List the tasks requiring lifts in your various facilities (shop, office);.
Periodically remind employees of any ergonomic practices you have instituted; and
Ensure employees know how to use any lifting aids or equipment and that the equipment works properly.

Taking simple measures to help employees stay “back healthy” can pay dividends in the long run for both your utility and your employees.

Source - JJ Keller Online lifting techniques 5 minute training.

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Great Lakes Water Compact Reaches State-wide

On the surface, it may seem that the highly touted, much debated Great Lakes Water Compact only affects water utilities – and only those in the Lake Michigan or Lake Superior Basin (a geographic area within a certain mileage of the lakes). However the recently approved Great Lakes Compact will have wide reaching impact on Wisconsin industries and utilities.

For the Compact to become effective each of the eight Great Lakes states must ratify the Compact and Congress must give its consent. Wisconsin officially approved the Great Lakes Compact on May 27, 2008 when the Governor signed Special Session Senate Bill 1. Michigan was the last of the eight Great Lakes States to approve its Compact just last month.

Wisconsin’s version of the compact both ratifies the Compact and establishes how the Compact will be implemented once it is approved by Congress. But it also goes beyond what the basic Compact requires. The bill requires water withdrawal permits for most withdrawals of surface water or groundwater from the Great Lakes basin, and it places limitations on transfers of water outside the Great Lakes basin; requiring water withdrawals in the Great Lakes basin to meet Compact-like requirements regardless of whether the Compact is ever approved by Congress.

The bill contains two provisions that apply statewide. First, the bill requires the DNR, in consultation with the PSC and the Department of Commerce, to develop water conservation goals. The goals must include a voluntary statewide program, and mandatory and voluntary conservation and efficiency measures for the basin.

Secondly, the bill establishes a new requirement for water supply service area planning. By no later than Dec. 31, 2025, all municipalities (not just those in the Great Lakes basin) making a water withdrawal to service populations of 10,000 persons or more must have a water service area plan approved by the DNR. In some cases a community within the Great Lakes basin may need a plan sooner if the community is seeking a new or expanded withdrawal, interbasin transfer, or diversion. This requirement is intended to be similar to that required for sewer service area planning. The DNR will establish and administer this water supply planning process for public water supply systems.

For more specific terms of the Compact language, and information on Congress’ efforts to approve the Compact visit the Council of Great Lakes Governors website at: http://www.cglg.org/projects/water.

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