Event Profile

Engineering & Operations Conference

Date(s):
April 27 — 29, 2021
Venue:
Online
Website:
https://www.nwppa.org/eo
Description:

Note:

Online registration is currently closed, but spaces are still available. If you would like to attend this event, please call NWPPA at 360-254-0109, and our staff will be happy to help you.

Who Should Attend:

Electric utility engineering and operations personnel, as well as those in information technology, safety, purchasing, environmental, accounting, communications, or any area where a more in-depth knowledge of engineering and operations would be beneficial.

Conference Overview:

The 2021 Engineering & Operations Conference, traditionally the largest gathering of public power utilities in the Northwest, will go virtual on April 27-29. Utility employees and vendors should not miss this premier event.

    Educational Sessions: In addition to a renowned keynote speaker, executive panel, and wildfire hot topic presentation, over a dozen different sessions will be presented.

    Vendor Engagement: This year we have created sponsorship options that provide opportunities for vendors to share their best new technology, company information, and support of the industry with attendees while also providing exposure to key stakeholders, at a greatly reduced cost.

    Networking: As our industry constantly changes, it is essential to establish relationships and build valuable connections, whether those be in person or online, with colleagues.

Vendor Information:

Click here to see sponsor opportunities for vendors. Please contact Nicole Farabee at (360) 816-1454 or nicolef@nwppa.org. to learn more and develop your custom sponsorship and advertising package.

Conference Agenda:

    Tuesday, April 27


    8-9:30 a.m.

    General Session 1

    Welcome

    Keynote
      The Psychology of Winning: Cultivating a Champion’s Mindset
      Dr. Jen Welter, the first female to coach in the NFL

      Dr. Welter will reveal her proven techniques to effectively train your team to achieve success. Take away new perspectives on what it really takes to motivate and improve the performance of individuals and groups in the most competitive environments, as well as learn applicable tactics for cultivating winning mindsets within your organization.


    9:30-10 a.m.

    Awards Presentation

    Excellence in Engineering or Operations

    Career Commitment to Safety

    Safety Heroism


    10:15-11 a.m.

    Concurrent Sessions 1

    Engineering

      Winning Strategies for Solar and Battery Storage: A Win-Win for Utilities and Customers
      James White P.E, Senior Energy Conservation Engineer, Chelan County PUD

      Come discover an award-winning approach for combining solar and battery energy storage in a way that electric utilities can lower costs for everyone, improve reliability, and reduce rates.

    Fleet Equipment, Purchasing, and Stores

      Recovering from Snowpocalypse
      Phil Bigler, Assistant General Manager, Douglas Electric Cooperative

      On February 24, 2019, Douglas Electric Cooperative was hit with the worst storm of its 80-year history, resulting in 100% of its nearly 10,000 members being without power. Hear the story of how Douglas Electric leveraged mutual aid, contract crews, and their own staff to restore power to their members.

    Fleet Equipment, Purchasing, and Stores

      We See the Darndest Things!
      Alex Senf, Account Manager, Altec Industries

      When we get customer’s vehicles for service, sometimes we find interesting issues. Join us to find out more.


    11:15 a.m.-noon

    Concurrent Sessions 2

    Substation and Distribution Integration and Automation

      The Digital Utility: A Technology Roadmap for Distribution Management
      William Rambo, Business Development Director, POWER Engineers

    Metering and Customer Solutions

      In the Red Zone: Crisis Communications
      Kierstan DeLong, Executive Vice President, Edelman

      Do you have a plan in the event customer data is stolen or hacked? DeLong will present a case study and approach in planning and responding to brand impact risks that can adversely impact your organization. Learn how crisis planning, communication, preparedness planning, and responsiveness help you rebuild your utility’s brand and customer trust in the event of an unexpected crisis.


    Noon-1 p.m.

    Vendor tech presentations

    TBA

    Closing remarks/prize drawings


     

    Wednesday, April 28


    8-9:30 a.m.

    General Session 2

    Welcome

    CEO/GM panel discussion


    9:30-10 a.m.

    Industry Showcase


    10:15-11 a.m.

    Concurrent Sessions 3

    Operations, Construction, and Maintenance

      Electrical Workers without Borders
      Brady Hansen, Lineman, Written in Red

      Hansen will share his experiences and discuss why electrical development is critical for human development, electrical development has created substantial safety challenges for electrical workers, communities in the international community need help to develop energy infrastructure, we take for granted what we have, and we can make world-changing differences by simply doing our job to the best of our ability. 

    Technology and Communications

      Records Management: Changing the Culture of Hoarding
      Nolan Ball, Director of Client Experience, Praece Consulting

      A strong and consistent electronic records retention policy is a vital part of any PUD. An effective solution should be flexible enough to fit the workflow of each employee while adhering to the public records disclosure policy of the PUD. Education, establishment of best practices, and consistent tracking and follow up are key to successfully implementing an electronic records retention policy.

    Substation and Distribution Integration and Automation

      When IT and OT Worlds Collide with SCADA
      Joe Murphy, Project Delivery Engineering Manager, Open Systems International (OSI); John DeBoer, Manager of IT, Kootenai Electric Cooperative; and Michael Thomas, Chief Engineer, Kootenai Electric Cooperative.

      Are you the engineer that wants to run with technology? The IT administrator that wants to pass on too few permissions? The SCADA system engineer that has both offensive and defensive playbooks designed for success? Then this session is for you! It will cover how SCADA systems address the needs of both information technology and operations technology together, and how KEC and OSI decided to move forward with implementation.


    11:15 a.m.-noon

    Concurrent Sessions 4

    Technology and Communications

      Drones and the Data Avalanche
      Aaron Ames, Senior GIS Analyst, POWER Engineers

    Power Supply

      Clean Energy: Coal Plant Retirements
      Bruce Rew, Senior Vice President, Operations, Southwest Power Pool

      This presentation presents Southwest Power Pool’s experience with changing generation resources. Less than 10 years ago coal was supplying SPP with almost 70% of its energy; it is currently 40% and dropping. Coal is being replaced by wind which has become the primary fuel source many months of the year. This presentation will cover current experiences and future challenges with those winds of change.

    Fleet Equipment, Purchasing, and Stores

      Engineering the Perfect Drive: Life-Cycle Modeling for Your Fleet
      Marc Knight, Consultant, AssetWorks, LLC.

      Life-cycle cost analysis helps fleet managers understand and minimize ownership and operation costs. The session will look at the data required to model life-cycle costs, how the data is transformed, and several different models that can be used to understand when assets should be replaced and how maintenance and operating costs change over time and utilization. Lessons learned from implementing life-cycle models with different fleets will be shared.


    Noon-1 p.m.

    Vendor tech presentations

    TBA

    Closing remarks/prize drawings


     

    Thursday, April 29


    8-8:45 a.m.

    General Session 3

    Welcome

    Awards Presentation

    Utility Safety Contest


    9-9:45 a.m.

    Concurrent Sessions 5

    Safety, Health, and Environment

      Cascadia Rising: A Look into High-Voltage Resiliency in an Earthquake Zone
      Leon Kemper, Jr., Principal Structural Engineer, Bonneville Power Administration

      High-voltage electrical transmission lines are components of the electric power lifeline infrastructure. Utilities design this infrastructure to address reliability requirements: blue/gray sky events. The resilience of the electric power system to low-frequency-high-impact (dark sky) events is important for providing services to other critical lifeline infrastructures. This presentation discusses the structural performance of the electrical transmission line system to a potentially disastrous event in the Pacific Northwest: the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.

    Operations, Construction, and Maintenance

      Two Miles of Underground 69kV Replacement: How We Did It
      Linda Giovannoni, Senior Civil Engineer, Environmental Specialist, Sacramento Municipal Utility District; and Rob Ferrara, Environmental Management Specialist, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

      How do you successfully replace two miles of underground 69kV? With a collaborative approach to public outreach and project scheduling. Giovannoni and Ferrara will share how SMUD was able to identify strategies and efficiencies for accomplishing this project on an accelerated timeline that created as few impacts as possible to the local community and to neighboring jurisdictions.


    10-10:45 a.m.

    Concurrent Sessions 6

    Power Supply

      Marine Renewable Energy Panel
      Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s team of Charlie Vartanian, Technical Advisor; Dhruv Bhatnagar, Energy Systems Research Engineer; Jan Alam, Project Manager and Senior Engineer; and Rob Cavagnaro, Mechanical Engineer and Team Leader

      Marine renewable energy (MRE) is gaining interest as a potential resource for the electric power grid. However, its variabilities need to be managed and predictabilities need to be utilized to unlock full potential. Lack of validated knowledge and commercial demonstrations of MRE technology are among the major concerns for its widescale adoption. This panel presentation will briefly summarize some recent advances in MRE demonstration, technology development, grid interconnection/integration, and competitive/unique values.

    Engineering

      Hot! Hot! Hot! Measuring Substation Equipment Temperature Conditions
      Ed Cochanek, Sales Director, FLIR Systems


    11-11:50 a.m.

    General Session 4

    Hot Topic: Labor Day Windstorm
    Billy Terry, Director of Operations, Consumers Power Inc.

    The windstorm on September 7, 2020, will forever be remembered in the Northwest. Terry will cover CPI’s experience and measures taken when faced with a mega-fire. He will take a deep dive into the importance of a wildfire management plan, communication, and restoration. We will also look at the recovery process, lessons learned, and how we can better prepare for the future.


    11:50 a.m.-noon

    Closing remarks


Conference Schedule:

The conference runs from Tuesday, April 27 through Thursday, April 29, 2021 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on the first two days, and from 8 a.m.-noon on day three.

How to Participate:

Instructions will be emailed to attendees at least 12 hours before the event and we recommend that you test the link to the meeting as soon as you get the instructions.

Conference Fees:

Member Rate: $250
Non-Member Rate: $500

Note: Organizations that register a group of employees will receive every fifth registration for free. For example, if you register five employees, you only pay for four; register 10 employees, you only pay for eight; and so on. There is nothing additional you need to do to receive this discount.

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellations are accepted with a full refund as follows:

For webinars and virtual classes, if the request is made at least five days prior to the course, then 100% of the registration fee will be refunded.

For in-person events, the following fee structure applies: cancellation at least 30 days prior to the event, full refund; within 15-29 days, $100 fee; and within 1-14 days or no show, 100% of the registration fee. When possible, please send a substitute instead of canceling because NWPPA does not charge a fee for substitutions.

Continuing Hours:

This conference qualifies for 14 continuing hours. Certificates are issued upon full completion of the conference.

Conference Sponsors:


PLATINUM SPONSORS:
   
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GOLD SPONSORS:
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BRONZE SPONSORS:
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For More Information:

To find out more about this event, or to learn about other events, view the Training and Event Catalog.