(Columbus) More than 450 municipal electric system representatives, elected officials, and engineering and finance professionals gathered in Columbus in October for the 2008 Ohio Public Power Educational Institute/American Municipal Power-Ohio/Ohio Municipal Electric Association Annual Conference, held October 28-30, drawing representatives from more than 69 communities.
Sessions covering the technical, administrative and financial aspects of the municipal electric industry were held on topics that included: carbon and rewnewable energy certificate (REC) markets, distribution cost reduction, PJM and MISO installed capacity issues, annual credit scoring, advantages of using natural ester fluids in transformers, trends in today’s power supply prices and purchasing, business and economic development, energy efficiency, and legislative updates. Attendees also received updates from American Public Power Association President/CEO Mark Crisson, AMP-Ohio President/CEO Marc Gerken, Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Gary Krellenstein, and Managing Director of Fitch Ratings, Karl Pfeil.
All four emphasized the important role public power continues to play in the industry. Crisson discussed issues relative to market conditions, industry pressure points, energy efficiency and public power in general, and Pfeil explained Fitch’s approach to rating AMP-Ohio.
The annual conference provides an opportunity for public power officials to meet and discuss industry topics. AMP-Ohio is the Columbus-based nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services provider for 123 municipal electric systems in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Michigan and Kentucky. The Ohio Municipal Electric Association (OMEA) functions as the legislative liaison for Ohio public power communties and AMP-Ohio. The Ohio Public Power Educational Institute (OPPEI) provides educational services for municipal electric employees and consumers.
Elections held
Representatives from four AMP-Ohio communities were chosen to serve on the AMP-Ohio Board of Trustees. Communities are elected to the board and then the elected community appoints an individual to represent them. Re-elected to three-year terms on the 16-member board were the communities of Celina, Cuyahoga Falls, Napoleon and the City of Newton Falls was newly elected to a three-year term on the board. Following the general membership meeting, the board met in its annual reorganization meeting and re-elected Dan Preising, Orrville director of utilities, as chair; Jon Bisher, Napoleon city manager, as vice chair; Steve Dupee, Oberlin Municipal Light & Power System director, as secretary; and Chris Easton, Wadsworth director of public service, as treasurer.
The OMEA also held elections for seats on its Board of Directors during the conference. Elected were the communities of Orrville, Edgerton, Montpelier, and Napoleon to three-year terms on the 12-member board. At the board reorganization meeting that followed the general membership meeting, Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen was re-elected president and Mayor Robert Vincenzo of St. Clairsville and Mayor Doug Johnson of Bryan were elected to serve one-year terms on the three-member OMEA executive committee.
Seven individuals were named honorary OMEA members in recognition of their dedication to public power during their careers. This year’s inductees are: John Higgins – Amherst, Jay Myers – Cuyahoga Falls, Roy Crawford – Dover, Dan Napier – Hamilton, Don Eaken – Lodi, Dennis Steiner – Orrville, Jim Henkel – Shelby. Eaken, Henkel and Higgins were elected posthumously.
Awards were presented to member communities recognizing their efforts in the previous year in terms of financial excellence, system improvement, innovation, environmental stewardship, public power promotion and safety. The prestigious Seven Hats Award was presented to Village of Carey, Ohio Electric Distribution Superintendent Greg Orians in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the village in managing a utility in a smaller community.
