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Not in My House
By Mike Hyland
Executive Director, NEPPA
As many know, I worked in and around the Washington, DC area for over 25 years. I remember my move to DC in October 1996 like it was yesterday, and it occurred just a month prior to the presidential election. President Clinton had completed a solid four years and was reelected in a landslide win over republican challenger Bob Dole. I liked Bob Dole, and I also liked Bill Clinton. I was so busy with the move from New Hampshire to DC that I didn’t have time to reflect much on the election, but I’ve often thought that either candidate would have done a nice job.
Fast forward 4 years and the 2000 election brought us a very interesting matchup. I had just completed a multiple year stint within the US Department of Energy and the White House as APPA’s representative on the Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance team. We partied at midnight on December 31, 1999, but January 1, 2000 came and went and the country began to focus on an excellent presidential matchup. A popular and environmentally focused Vice President Al Gore versus the challenging Texas Governor from a legacy family, Mr. George W. Bush.
As we know looking back, G.W. Bush won in a squeaker, yet I still believe if it wasn’t for the Clinton scandal, Gore could have one. But he did not, the country was divided, and while Bush won the electoral college, Gore won the popular vote. (For those that are too young to know, the term ’hanging chad’ has great meaning to many my age – so use your google machine and look it up.) I remember thinking, ‘Dang – this country is nuts, especially for those of us living in DC.’ People were rioting, one side refused to accept the outcome, and it began an argument that still rings true today - Can we come together as one unified country if we can’t even talk about the issues?
As an engineer, I was new to politics when I moved to the DMV from New Hampshire. But four short years in DC and I learned enough to realize that regardless of facts, points within an argument, debates, etc. I was never going to change someone’s mind or opinion by presenting those facts to the person who thought and voted different than I did. It reminds me of a point I brought up a few Newsline articles ago – you can certainly prove that you are dead right and the other person in dead wrong. The problem is at the end of the argument, you both are dead to each other. You win the battle, but possibly lose the war or friendship.
I was bothered by this, I had brothers, sisters-in-law, co-workers and friends on both sides of the aisle, and I worried that in the heated post-election environment of 2000, I would lose some of my closest peeps. It was then that I was listening to a level-headed talk show host on the radio during my 90-minute drive into the city. He said, and I quote exactly, "What happens in the White House doesn’t happen in my House…". I’ve reflected on that comment ever since, after every election, from Bush over Kerry, to Obama over both John McCain and Mitt Romney, to Joe Biden over Donald Trump, and Trump over Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
What happens in the White House doesn’t happen in my house.
After each and every election, I’ve sat and watched the results come in and the pundits go crazy, with one side saying the world was about to end and the other side celebrating good times. Did it reach my house? If so, barely.
I woke up the day after the elections in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 and went to work and did my job. I’ve paid my taxes, purchased cars and groceries, donated my time on lacrosse fields around the world, raised my three kids into engineers, advocated for safety and energy efficiency, participated in fantasy football leagues, drank fine wine and cheap Irish Whiskey, fished in lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans, and all the while watched gay friends get married, solar panels get installed and EV’s purchased. I've discharged rifles and shotguns with friends and enjoyed working in the public power electric industry.
What happens in the White House doesn’t happen in my house.
Local decision making is one of the greatest principles of public power. This doesn’t mean we don’t care about the federal picture, such as who’s in the White House, or who sits as the United States Secretary of Energy. But what it does mean is that one's journey should be focusing on local issues, where we can make our impact matter more, instead of worrying about a DC or NYC talking head whose view of the world is based on click bait and ratings.
Since the day I was married, over 34 years ago, on the wall hangs an old saying attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, a Lutheran theologian. It reads "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". This was given to my wife Colleen by her aunt in 1978 when Colleen was diagnosed with Leukemia. The prayer simply puts into perspective where one should place their efforts.
For me, I believe I can work locally to impact my life more effectively than trying to compete in the national rat race. What happens in the White House doesn’t happen in my house.
-Mike
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Upcoming Training & Events | |
** All Members Welcome ** (Free to Attend) - MUST RSVP! | |
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Annual Membership Meeting &
Apprentice Lineworker Graduation
December 5, 2024
7:30 am - 2:00 pm
Doubletree Hotel
Leominster, MA
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|| Spaces Filling Up - Register Soon || | | |
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Managing Conflict
December 10, 2024
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Tactical Tuesday
December 10, 2024
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Held Virtually
Presenter: Paul Eory,
Director of Resource Planning
at Ascend
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Tactical Tuesday
January 14, 2025
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Held Virtually
Presenter: James Naviaux
Director of Global Partnerships & Commercial Strategy
ESS, Inc.
Topic: Iron Flow Longterm Battery Storage
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Registration Coming Soon! | |
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Customer
Service 101
January 16, 2025
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Registration Coming Soon! | | |
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OSHA-10
General Industry
January 22, 2025
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Registration Coming Soon! | |
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Apprentice Lineworker Program
New/Returning Students Start
Jan/Feb 2025
4 Days a Week
4 Weeks a Year
4 Years
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
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Energy Policy: House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member urges opposition to Manchin-Barrasso permitting legislation… | |
Tax Policy: Treasury official outlines plans for the fourth phase of IRA tax credit guidance… | |
FERC: FERC holds its October Open Meeting and annual Commissioner-led Reliability Technical Conference; FERC denies co-location permit; Texas Court invalidates incumbent transmission rights … | |
Memories Made at This Year's
NEPPA Energy Connect Conference | |
Held October 22-24 in Worcester, MA, the Energy Connect Conference was full of learning and laughter. Here are some highlights from the conference: | |
2024 Carol A. Tracey Customer Service Award Recipients: (left to right) Suzanne Hoffses of Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant; Kalyn Stapel of Sterling Municipal Light Department; Marla Emery of Village of Johnson Water & Light Department; Heather Terluk of Norwich Public Utilities; Desarae Dolan of Pascoag Utility District; and Sheila Drummey of Norwood Municipal Light/ Broadband. | |
Teams get moving during the build-a-bike team building event for charity, showing off their team cheers and signs in an effort to be the first to earn bike parts and build their bike! | |
The NEPPA Players take a bow, after their entertaining skit titled "Lifecycle of a Customer". (Left to right) Panos Tokadjian of Hull Municipal Light Plant; Colleen and Mike Hyland of Northeast Public Power Association; Haleigh Dufour of Littleton Electric Light and Water Department; Kevin Boyle of Middleborough Gas & Electric Department and Anne Finley of Hull Municipal Light Plant. | |
CLICK HERE or follow NEPPA on social media to see more pictures from the ECC! | |
Excellence in Public Power Communications Award Winners
Louisville, KY - October 27 - 30, 2024 - Twenty-three public power electric utilities and utility organizations earned Excellence in Public Power Communications Awards from the American Public Power Association.
The awards were presented at APPA’s Customer Connections Conference in Louisville, KY.
The annual awards recognize excellence in communications. The entries are judged in three categories: Print & Digital, Web & Social Media, and Video. Awards were given to those that showed ingenuity and creativity in telling their stories through outstanding copy, design, financial data presentation, graphics, social media engagement, video editing, and web layout and interactivity.
Pictured above: Jackie Campbell, Member Services Coordinator for Northeast Public Power Association, accepting her APPA Execellence in Public Power Communications Award.
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Local Winners include:
- Award of Excellence for Print/Digitial – Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant
- Award of Excellence for Print/Digitial – Northeast Public Power Association (Jackie Campbell, Member Services Coordinator)
- Award of Merit for Web/Social Media – Westfield Gas + Electric/Whip City Fiber
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Congratulations!
NY Apprentice Lineworker Program Graduates | |
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October 24, 2024 - 9 students graduated from the Joint NEPPA/MEUA Apprenticeship program in NY this year. The following graduates are pictured above with Senior Trainer, Bill Hesson:
- Jack Breed - Village of Groton
- Kellen Clukey - Plattsburgh Municipal Lighting
- John P. Corrow - Plattsburgh Municipal Lighting
- Caleb Gordon - Fairport Municipal Commission
- Dayne Hughey - Village of Watkins Glen
- Sean LeClair - Fairport Municipal Commission
- Chris Reynolds - Village of Springville
- Seth Schumacher - Village of Castile
- Torin Welch - Fairport Municipal Commission
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Wellesley, MA - November 7, 2024 -
Meet the BESS, a new battery energy storage system from the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) that will significantly benefit customers. WMLP is partnering with Citizens Energy, a nonprofit energy corporation, on the BESS. The project will provide electricity cost savings during peak demand periods and provide emergency backup power to essential Town services in the event of a power outage. At a ceremony on Thursday, November 7, WMLP leaders, Town officials, Citizens Energy President Joe Kennedy III, and community members gathered to watch the 4.99 megawatt system be energized with the “flip of a switch.”
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RMLD is Now Offering an Innovative Demand Response Program – Connected Homes: To allow residential customers to more effectively manage their energy use | |
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Reading, MA - November 12, 2024 - RMLD is pleased to announce the introduction of Connected Homes, an innovative residential demand response program that allows residential customers to better manage Wi-Fi-connected devices in their homes while reducing their carbon footprint.
RMLD is partnering with Next Zero to bring Connected Homes to RMLD customers and to support further electrification and clean energy transition efforts. The program is part of RMLD’s Shred the Peak demand response and load reduction initiative, an effort to put less stress on the electric grid, while reducing carbon emissions. Through participation in Connected Homes, RMLD customers can easily and conveniently manage their home’s energy use.
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New Round of Electric School Bus Funds | |
October 29, 2024 - EPA has opened an additional $965M rebate opportunity for the Clean School Bus Program. Previous rounds of this program have been well-received by school districts in rural areas, and BEL has provided assistance to cooperatives and munis who are helping schools with this program over the last two years. Applicants can request up to $325,000 per bus (if they are a priority school district), for up to 50 buses per application, an increase in the total buses per project in response to stakeholder feedback to help achieve faster fleet turnover. EPA is accepting applications until January 9th.
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Paxton Municipal Light Department, Lightshift Energy, and MMWEC Unveil Battery Storage Project at Paxton’s Substation | |
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Paxton, MA – November 7, 2024 – Paxton Municipal Light Department (PMLD) and Lightshift Energy, a leading energy storage project developer, owner and operator, today hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the battery storage project in Paxton, Massachusetts, which will bolster the grid for PMLD and its customers. Part of a first-of-a-kind program to deploy battery storage for Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC)’s municipal utilities, the energy storage project will reduce grid load during peak events, saving PMLD up to $10 million in energy costs and lessening the Commonwealth’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Chair James Van Nostrand, State Senator Peter Durant, and other elected officials participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony
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Keeping You Connected...
Events & Opportunities | |
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PublicPowerX Webinar: Reducing Costs for Public Power through Advanced Transmission Technologies
Complimentary event hosted by the American Public Power Association (APPA) in collaboration with American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
Thursday, November 21, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Held Virtually
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Many public power entities want to protect their customers from rising transmission costs while also meeting the increasing demand for power and integrating new resources. In this webinar, you will learn more about the array of technologies available today to expand transmission capacity, efficiency, and reliability at a much lower cost and speed than new construction. Leaders at the Department of Energy have said that these technologies are a top priority in the last round of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grid funding. Speakers will discuss how public power transmission owners can fund their own deployments and how transmission-dependent utilities can push for grid modernization.
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Regional Climate Resilience Workshop for Electric Utilities - Northeast
On behalf of the Department of Energy, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), Argonne National Laboratory, Northeast Public Power Association (NEPPA), and EPRI, you are invited to participate in the Northeast Regional Climate Resilience Workshop for Electric Utilities.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
12:00 - 5:00 PM
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Thursday, January 30, 2025
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Hosted by Northeast Public Power Association
Location: Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center 219 Littleton Road, Westford, MA 01886
Registration will be open through January 15, 2025. REGISTER HERE
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Register for this interactive workshop designed to support cooperative, municipal and tribal utilities' climate resilience planning efforts. Utilities attending the regionally focused workshop will gain exposure to the topic of Climate Science and Vulnerabilities, Climate Resilience Action and Strategies, and engage with industry leaders and climate experts about how to successfully apply climate data to drive change within their organization.
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The Dangers of Deep Frying a Turkey | |
Deep frying has become a trend in recent years for turkey lovers on Thanksgiving. Deep frying a turkey results in a crispy finish on the outside with tender, juicy meat on the inside. It also frees up the oven for other Thanksgiving food staples. Before you decide to deep fry, however, recognize the serious risks that can come with this cooking technique. Deep frying a turkey is so dangerous, in fact, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends avoiding this cooking method completely.
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