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Optimism
By Mike Hyland
Executive Director, NEPPA
Happy New Year all you NEPPer’s and NEPPettes!
It’s January, and as my mom always said, “Hope springs eternal”. She was an avid reader, and the quote stems from Alexander Pope's 1732 poem An Essay on Man. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest".
To tell you the truth, there were times I thought my parents were crazy for the way they were able to recite poetry. My mother and my father must have had the catholic school nuns in West Philly beat the poetry into their brains. My Dad actually wowed us on his deathbed when he recited the John Greenleaf Whittier poem "In School-days". To this day, I still find it amazing that he was able to recite a poem from his youth, over 70 years later, yet none of us had ever heard a mention of that poem in our house in the past 40 plus years. I remember thinking optimistically that maybe I could have that good of a memory when I’m in my late 80’s. Only time will tell. (Yep, I know what you're thinking – "Mike, you probably won't make it to your late 80s and even if you do, with the state of your brain now, we question where your brain will be then".)
"Hope springs eternal" is the idea that we can always find a reason to be optimistic and have hope. Well, optimism isn’t for everyone, and I think we all have that "Debbie Downer" friend that just seems to think the worst is always going to happen. Although I try to avoid those people as best I can, it's true that there are sometimes good reasons to employ pessimism and realism. Being optimistic can, at times, be unrealistic. For instance – being optimistic that the sun will not set when you are having a great day at the beach is simply setting you up for disappointment. I think the key is to be optimistic, within reason.
So does an optimistic person lead a better or longer life, or have better days compared to a person who is naturally more even keeled? Good question. When I first started the courting process with my wife in 1988, I vividly remember her explaining to me that the optimistic pediatric cancer patients that came into the hospital did better than those that accepted their fate. Positivity, hope and optimism played a significant part in the success rate once diagnosed with certain cancers.
How about our utilities? We have been told to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Can we even have optimism? The answer to that is: Absolutely! In the week heading into Christmas, much of our northern territory was hit with extremely high winds. You all know the scenario - trees snapping and lines down. You could take a pessimistic view and focus on the negative impact this event had on reliability statistics, or instead it might be better to think optimistically and focus on the NEPPA Mutual Aid Program springing into action and sending crews to assist. I’d like to think that those utilities requesting crews were optimistic in the results when requesting help, and those utility crews responding were optimistic in their ability to get the lights back on.
Simply put - Optimism, Hope and Positivity is a state of mind.
On the National Institute of Health (NIH) literature library website, there is a study by a small group of Italian scientists entitled “Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being”. It’s a review of multiple studies on the connections between being optimistic and attaining better success. Rather than me trying to explain, I have provided their conclusion below:
“Optimism is a tendency to expect good things in the future…… it is apparent that optimism is a mental attitude that heavily influences physical and mental health, as well as coping with everyday social and working life. Through an adaptive management of personal goals and development and by using active coping tactics, optimists are significantly more successful than pessimists in aversive events and when important life-goals are impaired.”
Similarly to the old "Glass half full" analogy, I agree that optimists tend to think the glass is half full, while the pessimists tend to think the glass if half empty. We engineers are weird. We just think the glass is twice the size it needs to be to hold that amount of water.
So, as we settle into 2026, lets choose optimism. Let’s choose hope. Let’s emanate positive vibes, to bring out the best in ourselves and others as well.
Cheers and Happy New Year,
-Mike
| | Upcoming Training & Events | | | | |
CLASS FULL
Customer Service 101
January 21, 2026
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Tactical Tuesday
February 10, 2026
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Held Virtually
(Free to members)
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OSHA-10 General Industry
February 24-25, 2026
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Industry Day
Hosted by Shamrock
February 26, 2026
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
| | | Fitch Ratings Affirms MMWEC Cotton Solar Project Bonds at AA- | | |
November 17, 2025 - Ludlow, MA - Fitch Ratings has affirmed its rating of AA- on approximately $14.5 million in outstanding revenue bonds issued by the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) for the MMWEC Master Sergeant Alexander Cotton Memorial Solar Project in Ludlow, MA.
MMWEC, the Commonwealth’s designated joint action agency for municipal utilities, issued the MMWEC 2023 series A bonds to finance the approximately 6.9-megawatt Cotton Solar Project sited at MMWEC’s Ludlow headquarters. Built on 35 acres, the project is expected to generate approximately 12,000 megawatt-hours in 2025, consistent with the projected output. The project came online in March 2024.
| | New Transformer for
Rowley Municipal Lighting Plant | | |
January 13, 2026 - Rowley, MA - Work is progressing on the new substation transformer which will replace two original units and increase capacity to help meet the future needs of ratepayers. During the past several months, a new foundation has been laid, and the new transformer has been put in place. Work continues on new relays and control panels, with an expected completion date for the project by summer 2026.
| | Welcoming Accomplished Utility Professional Jason Small to Serve as RMLD General Manager | | | | |
December 8, 2025 - Reading, MA - Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) and its Board of Commissioners (Board) have announced that Jason Small will take the helm as general manager effective January 2, 2026. Small brings more than 20 years of deep utility experience as a proven, hands-on leader in electric distribution, substation and transmission systems, operations, capital planning, labor relations, and strategic development.
| | Peabody Municipal Light Plant and Landis+Gyr Agree to Contract for Advanced Metering and Smart Grid Services | | |
December 17, 2025 - Peabody, MA - Landis+Gyr (SIX: LAND) and Peabody Municipal Light Plant (PMLP) have agreed to a contract that will bring the benefits of intelligent grid management to PMLP’s 27,000 electric customers on the outskirts of Boston.
The third largest municipally owned electric utility in Massachusetts, PMLP is installing Landis+Gyr’s Revelo grid sensing AMI technology utilizing the Gridstream® Connect RF Mesh IP network to support efficient and flexible communication across its service territory.
“Our grid modernization project is designed to integrate new energy resources, while expanding energy management options for our customers,” said Joe Anastasi, General Manager at PMLP. “This technology supports initiatives to continually modernize our communications network, improve system functionality, and add public EV charging infrastructure, additional solar generation and energy storage. The real-time processing of grid edge data that Revelo provides is a significant benefit for situational awareness and load disaggregation to help manage demand and maintain reliability.”
| | Massachusetts Recognizes Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department for Work on Energy Project | | |
Wakefield, MA – December 27, 2025 – Massachusetts public power utility in December was recognized by the Commonwealth for working with the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School and Wakefield High School on the Wakefield Energy Park project, which will serve as a microgrid for both schools.
The project includes a five-megawatt battery storage system, which will help reduce peak demand and provide backup power to the schools during outages, and rooftop solar systems at each school. The Energy Park project is expected to save customers $20 million over its lifetime.
| | Keeping you Connected... Events & Opportunities | | NECA 2026 Power Markets Conference | | Finding the Fulcrum: Balancing Affordability, Reliability & Growth | | |
WHEN: Thursday, January 29 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Young Professionals networking event to follow
WHERE: Federal Reserve Plaza, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA
Wholesale power markets are at a crossroads. Climate goals are accelerating, data centers are fueling unprecedented demand growth, federal energy policy is shifting, and rising costs are straining household budgets and business bottom lines alike. The fundamental question facing New England—and regions across the country—is how competitive markets can continue to deliver reliable, affordable electricity amid these converging pressures.
| | Federal Funding: LIHEAP funding released… | | Administration: FERC issues co-location orders; Wind projects paused; Executive Order on State AI Laws; FEMA reform council meeting releasing report cancelled… | | Congressional Action: House passes SPEED Act; Additional permitting reform legislation passes the House; Power Plant Reliability Act passes the House; Senate Stalls on Permitting Reform… | | |
Customer Service 101
January 21, 2026
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
Littleton, MA
Tactical Tuesday (Virtual)
February 10, 2026
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
OSHA-10
February 24 - 25, 2026
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
Littleton, MA
Industry Day - Hosted by Shamrock
February 26, 2026
8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Littleton, MA
Hoisting 1B-1D
March 3, 2026
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Littleton, MA
Hoisting 2A-2C
March 4, 2026
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Littleton, MA
2026 RodE&O Conference*
May 11 - 14, 2026
Loon Mountain Resort
Lincoln, NH
APPA's National Conference*
June 26 - July 1, 2026
Boston, MA
2026 Annual Conference*
August 16 - 19, 2026
Margaritaville Resort
Hyannis, MA
2027 Annual Conference*
August 29 - September 1, 2027
Newport Harbor Island Resort
Newport, RI
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*Registration not yet available.
See All Events
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2026 Apprentice Lineworker Program
Year I:
Group A: Jan. 27 – 30; Mar. 31 – Apr. 3; Jul. 21 – Jul 24; Sept. 29 – Oct 2
Group B: Feb. 3 – 6; Apr. 7 - 10; July 28 – 31; Oct. 6 – 9
Year II:
Group A: Feb. 10 – 13; Apr. 21 – 24 (Plymouth, NH); Aug. 4 – 7; Oct. 20 – 23
Group B: Feb. 17 – 20; Apr. 28 – May 1 (Plymouth, NH); Aug. 11 – 14; Oct. 27 – 30
Year III:
Group A: Mar. 3 – 6; May 5 – 8; Sept. 1 – 4 (Pascoag, RI); Nov. 3 – 6
Group B: Mar. 10 – 13; May 19 – 22; Sept. 15 – 18 (Pascoag, RI); Nov. 17 – 20
Year IV: Mar. 17 – 20; Jun. 2 – 5; Sep. 22 – 25; Dec. 1 – 3
Apprentice Lineworker Skills Assessment Rodeo
June 17 – 18, 2026
Apprentice Lineworker Program Graduation
(Class of 2026)
December 3, 2026
Learn More
| | (Pictured above: This year's NEPPA Quilt Raffle to benefit the Benevolent Fund) | | | Reducing Risk Through Situational Awareness | |
January 2026 - Whether at work or at home. Reducing risk through situational awareness involves actively recognizing potential hazards and making informed decisions to mitigate them. This safety corner outlines how to understand and implement situational awareness effectively. Situational awareness is the ability to perceive and understand the environment around you, anticipate potential risks, and make proactive decisions to ensure safety.
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