- Notes from leadership
- Green electrolytic hydrogen pilot project on the horizon
- Register now for Office 365 training
- You're invited to a "How to" webinar on your HRA
- EES change readiness survey launched to EWEB Employees
- EWEBers step up to restore power over holiday weekend
- June CI Tool of the Month - Brainstorming!
- Thank you Thursday!
- MissionSquare Retirement offers free financial webinars
- Current recruitments
|
|
Notes from leadership
Executive Team
|
|
This week the Executive Team (ET) reviewed the EWEB Enterprise Solutions RFP evaluation work that took place last week. EWEB appears to have two very good options to replace our aging CIS and other enterprise business systems. ET would like to thank all the people who spent many hours listening and evaluating the two finalists.
Also discussed was the end of our pandemic response, which leads us into our new distributed work culture.
We will soon have ROC office space details, so those of you coming and going will be able to locate office and collaboration spaces and we can finalize moves for the HQ folks moving to the ROC. And finally, we will be working with Managers and Supervisors over the summer to help our work culture move into a highly functioning distributed work culture, so look forward to training and tools and sharing ideas.
|
|
Green electrolytic hydrogen pilot project on the horizon
Aaron Orlowski, Communications Team
|
|
EWEB is coordinating with NW Natural to host the first green electrolytic hydrogen blending project in Oregon.
NW Natural, an investor-owned natural gas utility, recently began public outreach for the pilot project, which is still in the design and permitting phase. For the project, NW Natural would lease a portion of EWEB’s property at Roosevelt Boulevard and Bertelsen Road to build a 1 MW electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen, then blend it into their existing natural gas pipeline and serve it to customers in northwest Eugene. EWEB first began exploring a green hydrogen project with NW Natural in 2020.
To learn more, read on:
What is EWEB’s role in the project?
EWEB is supplying NW Natural with water, electricity and property. EWEB will supply all of these at retail or market rates, so EWEB customers will not be subsidizing the project in any way. The location, on EWEB property adjacent to the Roosevelt Operations Center, is close to natural gas infrastructure, provides plenty of access to water and electricity capacity, allows EWEB to evaluate the operational impacts of hydrogen production on our system and provides for possible expansion in support of EWEB’s long-term interests in hydrogen.
What is green electrolytic hydrogen?
Hydrogen can be created in a variety of ways – with different impacts to the climate. Some, such as steam methane reformation, which uses steam to split methane molecules into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, rely on fossil fuels and have a larger carbon footprint.
Green electrolytic hydrogen, in contrast, takes green electricity such as wind and solar and uses it to split water molecules (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The process is called electrolysis and takes place in a machine called an electrolyzer. Because the Northwest’s retail electricity mix at optimal times is less carbon-intense than most of the country, the hydrogen produced would be low-carbon and would likely meet emerging policy definitions of “green” or “renewable” hydrogen.
What will NW Natural do with the green hydrogen?
This is a blending project, so NW Natural will inject the hydrogen into its existing natural gas pipelines that serve a segment of their customers in northwest Eugene. The gas-hydrogen blend will behave the same as the gas customers are using now and requires no appliance updates or home modifications, according to NW Natural.
Where does the project stand today?
NW Natural is currently conducting outreach to certain parts of the community as they design the project. The company is pursuing an application to take advantage of funding opportunities made available by SB 844 (ORS 757.539), which the Oregon legislature passed in 2013 and which provides incentives to natural gas utilities that invest in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company hopes to gain approval for the project in the next six to nine months, and to have hydrogen gas flowing by the end of 2023.
Why does EWEB have long-term interests in green electrolytic hydrogen?
This project will allow EWEB to learn more about how hydrogen could support our customer-owners' environmental and financial goals. In particular, EWEB has four long-term interests.
Supporting the growth of renewable electricity. Decarbonizing the electricity grid requires replacing dispatchable fossil fuel generators such as coal with intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar. But enormous amounts of renewable sources will need to be built to maintain grid reliability, resulting in times of excess energy when the sun is shining, the wind is blowing and the rivers are flowing. If electricity generators can sell this excess electricity on a secondary market to hydrogen producers, then they will be able to better offset their costs, incentivizing greater buildout of renewable electricity.
Helping other sectors decarbonize. Some sectors, such as industry and transportation, demand the intense energy that fossil-based fuels provide. Hydrogen gas could serve as a replacement and help them decarbonize, or it could serve as a component in future non-fossil-based fuels.
Supporting the grid through energy storage. Hydrogen created during times of renewable energy surplus can be stored in a variety of forms, then converted back to electricity when renewable energy is in shorter supply and consumers are demanding lots of energy. Hydrogen storage would complement battery storage, improve reliability and reduce cost volatility.
Bolstering resiliency to disaster. Having access to stored hydrogen, as well as fuel cells already in our local community, could serve as non-fossil backup energy sources if earthquakes or storms threaten the grid.
|
|
Register now for Office 365 training
Anastasia Ehlers, IS Employee Experience Manager
|
|
Have you ever wondered…
- When to make a new Team?
- What files to store in OneDrive, Teams, or SharePoint, and how the file servers fit in?
- How to collaborate on a document without creating new versions?
- What are the best practices for building a SharePoint site?
- How to make your Teams notifications more useful?
Please join me for a new series of live Office 365 training courses covering why, how and when to use all sorts of different tools in the cloud. Teams, SharePoint and all the other Office 365 applications have played an important role in supporting remote work, and they are here to stay. As we look ahead to what dynamic work means for us, this series is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to navigate it.
Courses are virtual and available for anybody from the utility to join. We’ll have lots of live demo and hands-on time. Bring your questions, projects, real examples, and best tips to share!
Schedule:
- Office 365 Connections: June 9 & June 17
- OneDrive: June 9 & June 16
- Teams: Customize and Communicate: June 10 & June 21
- Teams for Collaboration: June 16
- Teams: Run a Great Hybrid Meeting: June 23
- SharePoint Site Design: June 14
- SharePoint Document Management: June 23
- SharePoint Lists: June 24
- Forms: June 30
- Personal Productivity Tools: June 30
|
|
You are invited to a "How to" webinar on your HRA
Autumn Coble, Workforce Services
|
|
The HRA VEBA plan is hosting a virtual educational workshop. These webinars will be live 30-minute sessions designed to help you learn about your health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) and how to use it. They will cover online registration, filing claims, and more. There will be a Q&A session to follow.
About the webinar:
You’ll learn about your health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), including what you can use it for and how to easily get your money.
Highlights:
- Plan features
- Using your HRA
- Covered expenses
- Investment options
- Personalized help
Register now! Just click on the date and time that works best for you.
Tuesday, 6/14 @ 11 AM
Wednesday, 6/15 @ 10 AM
Thursday, 6/16 @ 2:30 PM
Wednesday, 6/29 @ 1 PM
|
|
EES change readiness survey launched to EWEB employees
JoAnn Hanna, EWEB Enterprise Solutions
|
|
Tell us what you think! The EES Change Readiness Survey is open to all EWEB Employees from Friday, June 2 through Tuesday, June 14.
By answering 8 questions in about 5 minutes, you can help improve your change journey as we implement the EES solution at EWEB.
The results will be shared with EWEB employees later in June. Results will also be used to tailor information and activities to workgroups to fit their needs and preferences.
The survey will be repeated periodically throughout the EES program so that we can continue to adapt information and activities to fit the changing needs of each department.
|
|
EWEBers step up to restore power over holiday weekend
Electric Division Leadership Team
|
|
While most of us were relaxing with friends and family over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a group of EWEB line workers, dispatchers and others was busy restoring power for customers affected by outages.
The windy and rainy conditions on Saturday knocked out power for 3,415 customers, but EWEBers responded and sprang into action and, even with limited staffing, managed to restore power for all customers by 1:22 a.m. on Sunday.
Dispatch was able to take care of all outage coordination, while the on-call troubleshooter and line crew took care of assessment and repair. In addition to the on-call staffing, Chad Ekelund contributed as an extra troubleshooter and greatly assisted an overloaded Chad Holteen.
The efforts of all were tremendous and EWEB’s customers greatly benefitted from their efficiency and dedication.
We offer kudos and a huge thank you to Dispatchers Jim Siroshton, Bob Kasten and Mike Harris; Troubleshooters Chad Holteen and Chad Ekelund; Substation Tech Tyler Engle, and the on-call line crew consisting of Tavita Ma’O, Cody Nutt, Ryan Oosthof and Justin Fitzgerald.
|
|
June CI Tool of the Month - Brainstorming
Kelsey Brannon, Continuous Improvement
|
|
Looking for a way to come up with ideas to help solve a problem? Join the Continuous Improvement Team on Wednesday, June 15th for our first brainstorming class of 2022. Brainstorming is one of the most widely practiced techniques in problem-solving, for good reason. When done following a few simple guidelines, it can produce many good ideas, as well as increase engagement, teamwork, and creativity.
While it may seem like having a successful brainstorming session is a no brainer, believe it or not, there is science behind it that can help you get better results. Join us to learn simple ways to ensure your brainstorming session produces as many new and innovative ideas as possible, all while increasing teamwork and engagement.
|
|
From EWEB employees Gretchen Lowen & Michele Klemp: After 2 long years of quarantine we were finally able to bring some of the fun back to our work world with a fabulous Bake Sale. Thank you everyone, bakers and buyers alike for coming out last Wednesday and again Thursday (“Day Old” bake sale) to provide support for this event. We put out the call for pastry chefs and within a day we had an army of culinary wizards ready to go. All in all 23 people provided the goodies that helped us raise $1169 to benefit the EWEB Energy Share program. These funds will be deposited in the Customer Care reserve fund which is primarily used by customer service. The staff are empowered to use their judgement to help customers who may not qualify for standard assistance and may award up to $250 per household. Not only was is a nice donation to the program, the event brought a wonderful opportunity to meet new faces and see old friends at both the Headquarters and ROC. Thank you again to all who participated and look forward to more events, like this, in the future.
|
|
|
MissionSquare Retirement offers free financial webinars
|
|
MissionSquare Retirement will be hosting several financial webinars throughout 2022 to help you prepare for retirement.
June: Keep it simple
Wednesday, June 22, 10 a.m. Pacific Time
July: Enhance your journey
Wednesday, July 6, 10 a.m. Pacific Time
Wednesday, July 13, 1 p.m. Pacific Time
You can also reach out to your Retirement Plans Specialist, DeLana Hansen, to schedule a one-on-one appointment.
|
|
|
Current recruitments
Kayla Haaby, Workforce Services
|
We are pleased to announce the following opportunities are currently available here at EWEB!
To learn more, please visit your UKG account under “View Opportunities” to read the full job posting and to apply.
To stay up-to-date on all the latest job opportunities, continue to visit Employee News and UKG each week! Thank you!
|
|
|
|
Are you interested in sharing an article through Employee News? Please submit your article to employee.news@eweb.org by Wednesday afternoon to be included in that week's article.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|