If Something Looks Wrong, It Probably Is

IAMU has noticed an increased amount of fraudulent emails being sent to our members from outside of our organization. These emails are an attempt to defraud our members by using the IAMU brand as a segue. IAMU assures you that we have not changed our invoicing processes for either membership or training. If something looks wrong, it probably is. If you have any questions about any official correspondence from IAMU, please contact your primary point of contact within our organization.

To learn more about phishing scams and how to spot them, click here to take a free online cyber security awareness course from the DOD - https://iatraining.disa.mil/eta/disa_phishing_v31_fy17/launchPage.htm

Both the ME-1 and the MG-1 (the annual electric and gas reports to the Iowa Utilities Board) are due April 1. The IUB now has this year’s forms on its website, and utilities can access them.
 
Here is the link: https://iub.iowa.gov/utility-annual-report
 
Note: Do not attempt to complete the forms online. All forms must be downloaded to your computer to be saved, according to the IUB website. 

Registration is still open for the IAMU Advanced Water Treatment Workshop and Advanced Water Distribution Workshop scheduled for March 7th & 8th, 2018.

Each day is good for 0.5 CEUs towards renewal/certification.

To view the full agenda and to register click here.

The 2018 IAMU Broadband Conference is March 21 & 22, 2018 at the Holiday Inn and Suites on Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, and registration for both exhibiting vendors and attendees is now open. To register, click here.

The Presenting Sponsor of the 2018 Broadband Conference is Power & Tel, an IAMU Associate Member company that provides supplies and solutions to telecommunications companies. Joining Power & Tel will be around 40 exhibiting vendors who will participate in a vendor show and reception on March 21st. During both days of the conference, both general sessions and concurrent sessions will be offered to participants. Concurrent tracks are organized around different functions of broadband providers. In addition to a marketing/customer service track and technical track, a leadership track is being developed to provide resources to utility leaders, including board members, general managers, and telecom department heads. 

Vendors are encouraged to register soon in order to secure a space on the exhibit hall. In addition to tabletop exhibits, vendors can also reserve a Gold or Silver Sponsorship for increased exposure. Details on the various sponsorships are included in the Vendor Flyer, also available here.

IAMU will be offering a Gas “Boot Camp” Operator Qualification Training Workshop at the end of October. The workshop will take place April 2nd-6th, 2018 at the IAMU Training & Office Complex.

This workshop is geared towards:  New operators, dispatchers, on-call personnel, and operators who would like to qualify or re-qualify on the covered tasks being presented.  Hands-on and written evaluations will be offered.  Participants may attend only Monday or all week.  This training is also very valuable for dispatch personnel answering phone calls.

Qualifications will be offered for all topics covered.

Every year, thousands of injuries and fatalities result from contact with heavy equipment. This type of hazard is known as a struck-by hazard and exists when a worker can be potentially hit or struck by an object. If strict vehicular safety practices are not followed at a job site, workers run the risk of being crushed between a fixed object such as a building or being caught in the swing radius of a crane or backhoe.

Here are some work practices that will help ensure your safety when working around heavy equipment:

• Make sure the equipment operator is experienced with the equipment that they are operating. Operators who are unfamiliar with the equipment that they are operating will be highly distracted and less likely to notice you in the area.
• Always install, use, and maintain vehicle back-up alarms. Vehicle back-up alarms must be detectable above the ambient jobsite noise. Be aware that some alarms are mounted at the rear of a vehicle, and the sound may be blocked when the truck bed is raised or the alarm is obstructed by equipment parts.
• Station one or more flaggers behind vehicles that have obstructed rear views. Never position yourself between moving and fixed objects.
• Keep non-essential workers and all unauthorized personnel away from vehicle use areas. Use barricade material, such as brightly colored snow fencing or flagged rope, so the zone perimeter is highly visible.
• Always wear bright, highly visible clothing when working near equipment and vehicles. Keep your high-vis clothing clean so the color stays bright and always zip or button the front of the vest for more coverage area.

Gas members, you may have noticed that OQ notifications are coming from a new email address – IAMU OQ [iamu.oq@gmail.com]. These are legitimate emails from IAMU, not spam. The email switch is a workaround for an upcoming network change that will affect the OQ system.  If you haven't seen your expected OQ notification email in the last couple weeks, please whitelist - iamu.oq@gmail.com and check your spam folders and filters.

IAMU provides a variety of email communications. In addition to the weekly Informer, during the state legislative session, which typically runs from January through April, we also send out:

• Capitol Links – a weekly e-newsletter dedicated specifically to utility-related issues before the Iowa Legislature.
• Urgent Action Alerts to let you know about particularly time-sensitive legislation that could significantly impact Iowa’s municipal utilities. We send these alerts out so that you may contact your lawmakers to let them know your thoughts and feelings on the issue before a decision is made.

 
We use the same email list for all three of these email communications. If you prefer not to receive legislative emails but still want to receive the Informer or vise versa, be sure to click on the link “update your preferences” and not “unsubscribe from this list” at the bottom of the email.  Choose “IAMU Informer” to only receive IAMU’s weekly update of member news and upcoming events.  Choose “Capitol Links” to receive the two legislative email blasts above.  By clicking on “unsubscribe from this list,” you will be unsubscribed from all three emails – Informer, Capitol Links, and Urgent Action Alerts.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jen Cronin at jcronin@iamu.org.

You can download this Facebook banner and more materials at www.apga.org/NGUWDay.
 
March 18 is now national Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day. The decision to hold this day on March 18 was made by a poll of the American Public Gas Association (APGA) Community. March 18 is the date of the New London, Texas, school explosion in 1937 that led to the wide­spread odorization of natural gas and an increased emphasis on safety. Safety is a vital aspect to natural gas distribution, and the employees of dis­tribution companies endeavor to make natural gas delivery as safe as pos­sible.
 
Please honor the natural gas utility workers in your community and at your system by celebrating on March 18 or surrounding weekday. We encourage you to plan events, communication, so­cial media posts, etc., to celebrate this important day. We also ask you to share how your system cel­ebrates the day by either making a post to the APGA Community or by emailing Audrey Anderson at aanderson@apga.org.
 
Join your industry peers in celebrat­ing this important recognition day to honor the hard work of natural gas utilities. Materials, including a press re­lease, op-ed, social media banner, and logo are available on the APGA web­site at www.apga.org/NGUWDay.
 
For questions on this event, please contact Audrey Anderson at aander­son@apga.org.

Both the ME-1 and the MG-1 (the annual electric and gas reports to the Iowa Utilities Board) are due April 1. However, the IUB does not have this year’s forms on its website yet so that utilities can fill them out. Here is the IUB’s written response on the matter:
 
“The online annual report forms are all being revised to make them easier for the companies to complete. Those forms are currently being tested and should be available on the IUB website by mid-February at:  https://iub.iowa.gov/utility-annual-report.”
 
Although it is mid-February, forms are not posted yet. We suggest that you check back to the IUB site periodically for the forms’ availability. If IAMU learns of anything more regarding the status of the forms, we will pass along the information to members through the Informer.