Blog Archives - IAMU Informer

Register for Governor's Safety and Health Conference - Early Bird Registration Closes Friday!

9/28/2022

Early Bird Registration Closes Friday

November 1-2, 2022
Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack, & Hotel

Join us in Des Moines for two days of conversation on how best to protect Iowa workers. Network with colleagues, make new contacts, and continue your growth as an OESH professional.

Register Now

$275 Early bird registration before October 1, 2022
$295 Registration on or after October 1, 2022

Keynote Speakers

Chad Pregracke - “One Person Makes a Difference”
Diane Rohlman - “Mental Health in the Workplace”
Gary Higbee, EMBA CSP - “Getting to YES: Establishing Executive Buy-in for Safety”

Learn more about the keynote speakers

Vendor Space is Available

When was the last time hundreds of prospective customers poured through your doors at once? As a vendor at the 51st Annual Iowa Governor’s Health & Safety Conference, your business will have the opportunity to network with hundreds of safety professionals from across the state of Iowa.

$450 Early bird registration before October 1, 2022
$500 Registration on or after October 1, 2022

Exhibitor space is limited. Register online today!

More Info

Electric and Gas Members: Get ready, Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week ARE NEXT WEEK

9/28/2022

Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week are just a few days away. Each is celebrated October 2-8 this year.

Public power utilities across the United States celebrate Public Power Week to help customers and stakeholders understand how they can better engage with their community-owned utility and benefit from all its offerings.

American Public Power Association (APPA) member utilities can use the sample resources and templates to spread the word and help celebrate in your communities.

Public Natural Gas Week is a nationwide observance that offers the perfect opportunity for natural gas utilities to show their systems and generate enthusiasm about the benefits of public natural gas.

American Public Gas Association (APGA) has developed sample materials to help APGA members celebrate the week in their communities.

IAMU Membership Directories are on their way

9/28/2022

The 2022-2023 IAMU Membership Directory is being shipped out to members this week. All utility, affiliate, and associate members will receive a copy as part of their membership.

This printed publication is a quick reference guide to IAMU members’ profiles, including addresses, phone numbers, and contacts.

Thank you to all associate members who bought ads and helped to make this directory possible.

Another thank you to everyone for your patience with the directory delay, which was out of IAMU’s control. The directories were delayed significantly due to paper supply chain issues.

Remember that you can also always look up contact information for utility, affiliate, and associate members online by going to www.iamu.org, signing in as a member, and then going to Resources > Directory Search.

If your office does not receive your copy in the next two weeks, contact Bri Kincart at bkincart@iamu.org.

Electric and Gas Utilities Reminder: Check the IAMU Compliance Calendars

9/28/2022

Did you know – IAMU curates and updates a compliance calendar for both electric and gas utilities! IAMU recommends checking these calendars regularly and bookmarking them in your internet browser. Click on the links below to view the electric and gas compliance calendars.

Electric Calendar (https://members.iamu.org/page/Electric_Calendar)

Gas Calendar (https://members.iamu.org/page/Gas_Calendar)

If you have electric or gas compliance questions – please contact Jeff Gorrie – jgorrie@iamu.org.

BIL/IIJA Funding Checklist

9/28/2022

For many months IAMU has been talking about the BIL (aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aka the IIJA, aka the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and the incredible amount of money (in the form of federal grants and incentives) up for grabs. When asked, “what can we do to prepare” our messaging has been “hurry up and wait,” except for the few programs that have already opened for applications. Well, today there are a few things you can do to prepare for the IIJA funding - The American Public Power Association has put together an excellent checklist for utilities wishing to receive IIJA funding. This checklist also applies to many of the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Download the checklist here.

A Note on Nomenclature: Whenever the government comes out with a spending bill that then becomes a law, there are many different names they call the legislation. Politically convenient labels on legislation are nothing new - for example, in 2009 there was the “American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009” which was also called “The Recovery Act” “Recovery Law” “ARRA” “The Stimulus Package” “Stimulus” etcetera, etcetera. This time around we have similar confusions with the BIL. “IIJA” is the same thing as the “Inflation Reduction Act” which is the same thing as the “BIL” which is the same thing as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” A separate piece of legislation which will impact utilities is the “Inflation Reduction Act” or “IRA.”

The BIL is an enormous law with many provisions. You very likely have questions – don’t hesitate to reach out to Jeff Gorrie – jgorrie@iamu.org.

Communications Corner: 3 Tips for email subject lines

9/21/2022

How much thought do you put into your email subject lines? Those brief few words can make all the difference in whether someone opens the email.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Keep it short and to the point. A Marketo study found subject lines containing four words received the highest average open rates (18.26%).
Use numbers when possible. People’s brains are attracted to numbers.
Use power words to build trust. Think words like results, safety, official, secure, studies show, professional, etc.

Register for Governor's Safety and Health Conference

9/21/2022

Registration is open!

November 1-2, 2022
Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack, & Hotel

Join us in Des Moines for two days of conversation on how best to protect Iowa workers. Network with colleagues, make new contacts, and continue your growth as an OESH professional.

Register Now

Early Bird Registration Ends in Just 2 Weeks

$275 Early bird registration before October 1, 2022
$295 Registration on or after October 1, 2022

Vendor Space is Available

When was the last time hundreds prospective customers poured through your doors at once? As a vendor at the 51st Annual Iowa Governor’s Health & Safety Conference, your business will have the opportunity to network with hundreds of safety professionals from across the state of Iowa.

$450 Early bird registration before October 1, 2022
$500 Registration on or after October 1, 2022

Exhibitor space is limited. Register online today!

More Info

Upcoming: Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Workshop

9/21/2022

This workshop is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). OCED Principal Deputy Director Kelly Cummins recording this video which does a great job of explaining the role of the office and these workshops.

The DOE is interested in hearing about how demonstration projects will improve the resilience, safety, reliability, availability, and environmental performance of rural and remote energy systems throughout the country. These workshops are an opportunity to hear from people like you about energy challenges you are facing and the types of projects that can improve your energy systems.

These workshops will:

Provide a detailed overview of the ERA program to interested stakeholders
Collect feedback from stakeholders on drivers, challenges, and potential impacts of demonstrations
Offer a forum for stakeholder networking in preparation for the funding opportunity announcement

Before sharing this opportunity with your rural and remote stakeholders, please watch the video linked in the first paragraph. It really does a great job of explaining the new DOE Office and the role of the workshops. If your coalition represents rural communities and is interested in attending, we also encourage you to register and share your feedback. Let me know if you have any questions.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $1 billion to improve energy systems in rural or remote areas of the country with fewer than 10,000 people, and OCED is seeking input as it shapes this new ERA program in preparation for a future funding opportunity announcement.
There are three upcoming ERA workshops (list below) and your stakeholders may interested in joining one at the locations below.

Workshop focusing on the Western U.S. is set for October 12-13, 2022 in Golden, CO. Register here.
Workshop focusing on the Eastern U.S. is set for October 25-26, 2022 in Little Rock, AR. Register here.
Virtual workshop is set for November 1-2, 2022. Register here.

IAMU Accident Investigation Workshop - October 6th

9/21/2022

The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities’ Safety Services will be holding an Accident Investigation workshop on Thursday, October 6, 2022. The workshop will be 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

This workshop is designed to give basic working knowledge to those conducting accident investigations in the workplace. Employers, supervisors, lead employees or anyone that is part of a safety committee are encouraged to attend. The workshop will include discussion on how to develop a safety and health management system, how to lead an accident investigation, how to conduct effective interviews and how to write the report.

*A certificate of completion will be given to participants upon confirmation of participant’s full attendance

Who Should Attend?
Employers, Clerks, Administrators, Managers, Supervisors, Lead Employees, Safety Committee Members

Cost:
$100 per IAMU Member participant
$125 per Non-IAMU Member participant

Questions?
Contact Margret Meade at mmeade@iamu.org or (800) 810-4268.

Registration is open!
For additional information and online registration, please click HERE.

IMU to build local solar farm in unique partnership

9/21/2022

Indianola Municipal Utilities announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Sandhills Energy to build a state-of-the-art solar generation facility that will produce five percent of the utility’s electricity. Per the partnership, Sandhills Energy will own and maintain the equipment, while IMU will retain ownership of the land.

"Sandhills Energy is excited to work with a forward-thinking utility in IMU,” said Raki Giannakouros, Executive Vice President for Sandhills Energy. “In a volatile utility market, the solar project will provide stability and day one savings that are projected to increase over time as wholesale energy rates rise.”

There will be no increase in cost to IMU’s customers, and they will see no changes to their bill. Solar-generated electricity will simply become part of the overall power mix.

“This is a unique opportunity for a city the size of Indianola to offer solar to our customers at competitive rates, without bearing the construction and maintenance costs ourselves,” said IMU Board of Trustees Chair Lori Smith. “We’ve been working towards this for a while, and we’re excited to explore the possibilities of solar for the community of Indianola.”

The state-of-the-art system will feature First Solar Series 6 photovoltaic (PV) panels. First Solar is the largest domestic manufacturer of PV panels, and their patented thin film technology provides a host of benefits, including superior snow shedding, higher shade tolerance and an industry-leading degradation warranty.

IMU’s new solar generation facility will be co-located with the water plant at 1602 S. K Street, on about 25 utility-owned acres. Environmental stewardship is a priority; the installation will sit atop low-height pollinator habitat maintained by Sandhills Energy. Its 4.1-megawatt capacity will generate up to 6.5 million kilowatt hours of IMU customers’ electricity every year, and seasonality will be only a minor factor, as IMU’s new solar arrays will be able to reliably generate electricity even when partially covered by snow.
It will also help lower costs over time. By tapping into renewable solar energy, IMU will be able to offload about 10 percent of the peak demand load in summer and up to 40 percent in winter. Put simply, that’s energy the utility doesn’t have to buy from the grid when it costs the most. Since IMU’s cost to purchase electricity is based on historical usage, lowering peak usage will create substantial savings up front, and reduce the utility’s cost to purchase and bring power to Indianola in the future.

“As IMU moves to diversify its power mix, solar is an important component,” said IMU General Manager Chris DesPlanques. “Our goal is to become carbon neutral, and this is a significant step forward.” IMU and Sandhills Energy are tentatively scheduled to break ground in June 2023. The solar generation facility is expected to be online before the end of 2023.

Headquartered in Omaha, Sandhills Energy is a Midwest renewable energy corporation with over 2 GW of wind, solar, and storage in development. With an office in Iowa, Sandhills Energy understands the importance of local collaborations. The company delivers innovative, precision-developed projects for local partners, and are always eager to utilize local subcontractors to maximize the local economic benefit of its facilities. Learn more at sandhillsenergy.com.