The Importance
of Teamwork
by Bonnie Biocchi, Executive Director
Over the course of the past several years, I have watched with dismay the manner in which those who govern our nation accomplish so little. Whether Democrat or Republican, House, Senate or Executive branch member, it seems these folks need to go back to kindergarten and learn some basic principles. After learning civility, which I discussed in my last column, they could move onto the concept of teamwork!
To look for an excellent example of teamwork, they should invite our Mutual Aid team to come to Washington. Our Mutual Aid Committee and Regional Coordinators could offer a tutorial on how to work in a united fashion to accomplish a goal - all in a timely and efficient manner!
Last week, Tropical Storm Isaias wreaked havoc on many parts of our region. High winds and rain knocked out power in dozens of locations across a wide swath of Connecticut, Western Mass, New Hampshire and Vermont. NEPPA Mutual Aid sprang into action and within a few hours had 14 teams deployed to assist in restoration.
I want to thank Groveland Municipal Light Department, Groton Electric Light Department, Rowley Municipal Light Plant, Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, Marblehead Municipal Light Department, Georgetown Municipal Light Plant and Merrimac Municipal Light Plant who worked alongside Norwich Public Utilities to restore power to their battered community.
The Town of Wallingford Electric Division was aided by Middleton Municipal Light Department, Braintree Electric Light Department, Town of Stowe Electric Department and Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant. Wallingford’s Director Rick Hendershot was profuse in his praise: “Down here in good old Wallingford, CT, we could not be happier with how NEPPA Mutual Aid worked last week. We got what we needed, when we needed it, and as a result we went from over 4,000 customers out to all done in just under 5 days. From our vantage point, EVERYTHING worked like it was supposed to!”
Chicopee Electric Light was helped by crews from Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments and Mansfield Municipal Light Department, while Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department and West Boylston Municipal Light Plant joined crews at Holyoke Gas & Electric. WBMLP then went on to help at Westfield Gas + Electric who was already being aided by crews from Massena NY. Groton Electric Light Department traveled to South Hadley Electric Light Department to assist with their restoration efforts. Thanks to all these crews who made it happen.
As you can see, this was quite an undertaking. And during a Pandemic, mind you! Because of Mutual Aid’s considerable efforts, thousands of people had their power restored significantly more quickly. That is public power at its best. Hats off to the Nick Lawler, Dave Ketchen and the entire Mutual Aid team who tirelessly plan and execute each and every restoration event. And to all the lineworkers who never fail to answer the call for assistance and who stay until the job is done - we are proud of you. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say…
I wish as much could be said of our leaders in Washington!
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Keeping you informed 24/7
NEPPA's COVID-19 Resource Center
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Upcoming Training & Events |
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This webinar we will explore at a high level, reliability from the perspective of regulators, customers, and utility employees, with a focus on how to improve it.
Participants will deepen their understanding of the indices that are used to measure reliability, set performance targets, and identify performance improvement initiatives. They will also learn how to build an organizational “culture” that supports a reliable infrastructure, operation, and customer service.
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Very few organizations have effective and practical policy and procedure in place for an incident of violence or active shooter incident. For many, policies and procedures look great on paper, however, when you examine what's expected of employees it's simply not possible to carry out under the circumstances of an incident.
Policy and procedure is an area where limitation of vulnerability to organizational liability is critical. This seminar brings a very high level understanding to policy and procedure and its real effectiveness in what it's designed to accomplish. The facilitated Roundtable will be an open discussion about what other policies and procedures are being used, what resources are available, and what are best practices to follow.
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September 2020 - TBD
(9:00 am EST)
Webinar
Registration required
September 2; December 8
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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2020 Apprentice Lineworker Program
2020 Apprentice Lineworker Program dates have been updated with the virtual lectures. Please see the website.
Year I: Sept. 22 - 25; Oct. 27 - 30
Year II: Sept. 29 - Oct. 2; Nov. 3 - 6
Year III: Oct. 6 - 9; Nov. 17 - 20
Year IV: Oct. 20 - 23; Dec. 7 - 10
Apprentice Rodeo:
New Date: October 21, 2020
Apprentice Graduation:
Dec. 10, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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September 3; December 9
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
September 3, 2020 (11:00 am EST)
Webinar
New Date - September 15, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
New Date - September 15, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
New Dates - Sept. 15 - 18;
Sept. 29 - Oct. 2; Oct. 20 - 23; Nov. 3 - 6
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
New Dates October 6 - 7, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Engineering Roundtable *
October 6, 2020 - (Tentative)
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
General Foremen's Roundtable *
October 7, 2020 - (Tentative)
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Crew Leadership *
October 14 - 15, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
New Date Session III: October 27-29, 2020
New Date Session IV: April 13 - 15, 2021
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
New Date - October 29, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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New Dates - November 3 - 4, 2020
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
November 5, 2020 (11:00 am EST)
Webinar
New Dates November 17 - 18
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
2021 E&O Conference & Expo*
May 13 - 14, 2021
Doubletree Manchester Downtown
Manchester, NH
2021 Annual Conference *
August 22 - 25, 2021
Westin Portland Harborview
Portland, ME
September 23-24, 2021
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Postponed Until 2021
(see website):
Advanced Lineworker Program
Metering II Program
Customer Service Leadership Program
Public Utility Accounting (APPA)
Work Order & Asset Management (APPA)
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Pandemic: Senate bill launches fruitless negotiations, President issues Executive orders…
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Energy: DeGette introduces long-awaited clean energy standard legislation, Muni and Coop financing bills introduced… |
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Washington Electric Cooperative Triples Support for Community Food Programs |
East Montpelier, VT August 5, 2020 - Washington Electric Cooperative ( is stepping up to help food insecure Vermonters in its service area. WEC’s Community Fund contributed $3K
over and above past funding to Barre based Capstone Community Action and the Ver-
m ont Foodbank. Both nonprofits help Vermonters access nutritious food.
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As Eversource and United Illuminating Struggle, Smaller Utilities Across Connecticut Shine in Storm Response |
Norwich & Wallingford, CT August 7, 2020 Municipal electric utilities with small and compact customer bases — like Norwich Public Utilities and Town of Wallingford Electric Division — have made quick progress restoring power to customers after Tropical Storm Isaias even as hundreds of thousands of customers of Eversource and United Illuminating remain without power on Thursday night.
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Public power mutual aid efforts ramp up with Tropical Storm Isaias power outages
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Braintree, MA, August 5, 2020 -Public power mutual aid activities kicked into high gear on Aug. 5 as Tropical Storm Isaias churned up the East Coast and knocked out power to millions of customers for investor-owned utilities, cooperatives and public power utilities.
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APPA recognized for work on project to bring electricity to Navajo Nation |
Washington, DC July 30, 2020 - The American Public Power Association (APPA) has been honored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) with the 2020 Summit Award, which is the highest recognition under The Power of A Awards. The award recognizes APPA’s work on the Light Up Navajo project, a mutual aid initiative by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) and APPA to provide electricity to Navajo homes.
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Energy New England and NextEra Energy Resources complete innovative clean energy supply agreement |
MANSFIELD, Mass., July 15, 2020 – Energy New England LLC (ENE), the largest wholesale risk management and energy trading organization serving the needs of municipal utilities in the northeastern U.S., has completed a major clean energy transaction for 15 Massachusetts municipal utilities (MLPs) that will add 50 MW of new solar energy along with existing carbon-free nuclear energy to smooth and fill in around the solar generation’s time-of-day production.
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We are delighted to welcome Jon Blair, General Manager of Ipswich Utilities Department to the NEPPA Board of Directors. Jon began his career as a Submarine Officer in the United States Navy before joining the Ipswich Electric Light Department in 2016. We are looking forward to leveraging Jon's knowledge and experience as we explore new training options focusing on engineering, sustainability and community outreach. Welcome to the Board, Jon!
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Northeast Public Power Association | communications@neppa.org | www.neppa.org |
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