Wilderness Resort
1046 Winfield Dunn Parkway
Sevierville, TN 37876
877.325.9453

NOTE: All meeting functions take place in the adjacent Sevierville Events Center.

TVPPA room rate: $99 single/double ends July 24.

IMPORTANT: The hotel is holding a block of rooms for TVPPA attendees until July 24. However, the room block could sell out prior to July 24, so early reservations are encouraged. Reservation requests received after July 24 will be confirmed on a rate- and space-available basis.

NOTE: If the TVPPA room block is sold out when you try to make reservations, ask TVPPA to place you on our waiting list. If you need to CANCEL a reservation, do so through TVPPA instead of the hotel. We will match canceled rooms with those in need. Call 423.648.2466 or e-mail conferences@tvppa.com.

Wednesday, Aug. 19

Pre-Conference Sessions (Separate registration required.)

EPRI Power Distribution Products & How To Access (Free)
Complimentary, but you must let us know you’re attending.

Technical experts from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will conduct this technology transfer workshop, highlighting EPRI research results available to TVPPA-member utilities, drawn from its Distribution, IntelliGrid, and Substation programs. Learn what’s new and how to access, download or order reports without charge.

This session is for engineers fairly new to the electric utility industry, as well as those who graduated some years ago. Everyone who attends will learn something about formulas, calculations, and rules of thumb that are specific to distribution utility engineering.
$99, separate registration required.

Update on TVPPA R&D projects
TVPPA consulting engineer Bruce Harvey, CPE, reports on current R&D projects. You’ll hear about “AMI Roadmap for the Tennessee Valley,” a guide for TVPPA-member utilities, no matter where they are on the continuum of implementing AMI. “Impact of DOE Efficiency Rules” looks at transformer buying practices and evaluates the economic impact of new 2010 regulations. Bruce will also announce details of a new E&O page for TVPPA’s website, which will contain items of interest to the E&O community.

New “One-Call” Policies, Penalties
Like other Valley states, Tennessee has a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent damage to underground utility lines. Excavators are required to call Tennessee811, and allow the affected utility to locate and mark their lines before the excavator digs. Bill Turner, Executive Director of Tennessee811, will share changes proposed to Tennessee’s law, such as mandatory membership, greater enforcement, and increased penalties. He’ll also report on other Valley states, particularly Mississippi where drastic changes occurred recently.

What the Smart Grid Can Mean to Your Utility
“Smart Grid” can mean different things to various utilities, due to the multi-faceted potential of this evolving technology. The utility industry seems to be aligning behind the seven principal characteristics of Smart Grid. Rick Wornat, Senior Consultant with EnerNex Corporation, will survey the various aspects of Smart Grid, the potential value of each, and how a utility might go about defining its vision. Rick is a consultant in developing TVPPA’s AMI Roadmap.

Overhead Maintenance Practices
How are fellow utilities handling overhead maintenance? Learn about Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative’s (FLEC) two-person “reliability crew,” from Regan Dalton, left, FLEC Engineering Technologist, and Shane Schaffer, center, FLEC Line Foreman. Richard Chesney, right, Chief Operating Supervisor, Appalachian Electric Cooperative, will reveal how a riser wire/animal guard installation program also improved reliability by the replacement of over 15,000 arresters, hot line clamps, stirrups and switches.  

Effects of Plug-in Vehicles on Distribution System
Plug-in vehicles are coming to the Tennessee Valley. Nissan, for one, has announced their availability for 2010. In response, TVA has formed an electric transportation group to ascertain the effects of electric vehicles on the power distribution system. James Ellis, left, TVA Program Manager, and Carla Nelson, Senior Engineer, Nashville Electric Service, will provide an update on TVA’s work with several power distributor partners and with EPRI. You’ll learn what’s being done to identify and mitigate any negative effects on utility systems.

Over-current Protection Philosophies
This session will review fusing philosophies, use of re-closers, and device coordination as these impact reliability, safety, and ease of application. Other issues will include momentary interruptions, fuse saving and fuse blowing, conductor burn downs, and arc flash. Fusing issues will include impacts of lightning, sizing transformer fuses, and sizing tap fuses. Session leader is Tom Short, Senior Engineer with EPRI, based in Burnt Hills, NY.

Underground Inspection & Maintenance Practices
Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative (FLEC), headquartered in Vonore, TN, is inspecting and making maintenance decisions on all underground primary. Since some of this underground is 20 years old, FLEC has experienced things and learned lessons from which you’ll benefit. Mike Atkins, left, FLEC Senior Engineering Technician, and Shane Schaffer, right, FLEC Line Foreman, will lead the discussion.

Developing a Better Line Extension Policy
Last year Knoxville, TN, Utilities Board surveyed 14 other TVPPA-member utilities about their line extension policies. From that data, KUB developed a new, improved policy. Utility and customer needs don’t remain static, so KUB has adjusted the policy to meet changing conditions. Gabe Bolas, shown, Manager, KUB Engineering Systems, and Everett Noe, photo not available, retired KUB senior engineer who captured and analyzed the data, will lead this session. If you’d like to know what other utilities are doing, as well as what components make an effective line extension policy, don’t miss this session.

NESC Compliance on Arc Flash
Utilities nationwide are attempting to comply with NESC 2007–410 (A). Effective January 1, 2009, this ruling requires an assessment of potential exposure to an electric arc for employees who work on or near energized equipment. Nate Boike, Safety Project Manager for Irby Tool and Safety, has conducted arc flash training nationally. He’ll cover the new standard, PPE appropriate for various situations, and how other utilities are complying.

Substation Battery Testing
Properly designed battery systems don’t fail suddenly, but suddenly is when many users find out they’ve failed. Battery degradation is a slow process that may not be noticed. Jim Cook, Branch Manager, Swift Industrial Power, has more than 40 years of DC power/battery experience. He’ll review testing methods such as discharge capacity, inductance, and conductance. Learn how to assure the battery remains ready to perform when you need it most.

Interfacing Your System with Distributed Generation
How can we safely and reliably interface into the existing grid renewable energy sources owned by customers? Larry Taylor, left, Middle Tennessee EMC, and Jamie Patterson, center, Huntsville, AL, Utilities, have each experienced issues they’ll share, including installation photos. They’ll cover parameters, components, safety, billing, and logistics. Mark Brooks, right, Project Manager, TVA Transmission & Reliability, is responsible for managing TVA’s generator interconnection procedures and its interconnection queue.

Current Utility Legal Issues
TVPPA-member power distributors seek to provide an essential service/product as safely and reliably as possible. Even so, potential legal liabilities and pitfalls exist that need to be addressed. Larry Cash, attorney with Miller & Martin PLLC and legal counsel for Distributors Insurance Company (DIC), will review current liability trends and legal cases in our industry, emerging claims asserted against power distributors, and will share some tried and true legal pointers.

Succession Planning &
Knowledge Transfer
Like many employers, TVA is facing the retirement of a large percentage of its workforce over the next five years. Many of these people literally built the plant and facilities they now operate and maintain. These experienced employees possess much unique, but often undocumented, knowledge. E.R. (Dick) Brabham, Jr., TVA Human Resource Services Manager, will share a simple approach to identify, prioritize, and capture the undocumented knowledge of employees nearing retirement.

Communications Bleeps & Blunders
You said one thing; your boss or coworker heard another. Neither was wrong, but now there’s confusion to fix. Enjoy Todd Hunt’s communication lessons wrapped in laughter. He’s a former Chicago marketing agency owner and Recovering Anal Retentive Professional (RARP), who finally learned to lighten up. Now he speaks for organizations that want to add fun to their meetings and send attendees back to work smiling, with tips to improve communication and success. It’s OK to laugh and learn!