6.1. ERMUSR 03-20-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~~wPrfi~ a Tuesday, June i 9 11 a.m.-Noon The Importance of Providing Resources for NERC Compliance Many senior managers and policymakers are trying to under- stand why so much of their operating resources are allocated to regulatory compliance these days. In this session, tailored for governing boards and executives, learn why developing an organizational culture of compliance is so important and why the risks to entities that fail to comply are so dangerous. Haw to Achieve Peak Utility Performance High performance utilities periodically review their reliability and safety statistics in addition to system betterment, work force development, and all other operational aspects of providing excellent customer service. Learn about utility best practices and benchmarking measures your utility can employ to ensure that it is operating at an optimum level. What's Your Utility's Role in the Emerging Transportation Infrastructure? As the electric vehicle industry continues to grow, utilities and cities need to understand their role in the process. Explore how utilities are working with cities, charging station manu- facturers, car manufacturers and others to welcome electric vehicles into their communities. Building Renewable Energy into Your Future Resource Portf®lio Public power communities face a variety of complex technical, economic and regulatory issues as they make decisions to add renewable energy to their generation resource portfolios. Hear about the diverse experiences of APPA members as they tackle decisions such as buy versus build, whether to consider new or only proven technologies and business partners, cus- tomer rate impacts, state and community expectations, siting and local environmental impacts, proper valuation of envi- ronmental benefits and the operational limitations of variable energy sources. Speakers will discuss a variety of renewable sources including wind, solar, geothermal, biofuels, as well as customer distributed resources. Topics The Future of Coal Just as some are predicting that up to one-third of the U.S. coal fleet will be shut down in the next 10 years due to more stringent environmental regulations-significantly reducing the demand for coal-international markets are heating up, in- creasing demand and putting upward pressure on coal prices. This session will examine the likely demand and price for coal in future domestic markets, the impact that international mar- kets will have, and the likely role of coal in our resource mix for the next 10 to 20 years. Energy Storage Technologies: What Can We Count On? The goal of energy storage technologies is to help balance the supply and demand of electricity, store intermittent wind and solar energy, and employ ice storage for air conditioning demand. Utilities have used pump storage and batteries for decades; newer technologies include use of fuel cells such as "Bloom Box" devices, new types of batteries and compressed air storage in vast geologic vaults. Speakers will examine these solutions and their application to public power utilities. Improving Energy Efficiency with Building Codes and Standards New building construction provides one of the best opportuni- ties to achieve long-term energy efficiency since it costs much less than retrofits. Hear how and why utilities are supporting energy efficient building codes and how they are using them to increase the efficiency of private and public facilities to support energy efficiency in their communities. Recruitment and Retention in Tough Economic Times Public power utilities face many challenges in maintaining their work forces, including upcoming baby boomer retirements, skilled-worker shortages, and struggles in offering competitive compensation levels. Learn strategies to help your utility re- cruit and retain its intellectual and human capital, including the concepts behind managing succession planning and retention programs, and how utilities can use the Internet to source and recruit for positions. r •