Alliance Advantage Fall 2017

FALL 2017 www.MPUA.org
Register Today!
2017 Annual Conference, See Insert
FEATURE: Apprentice Training, p.6
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Fulton, p.20

3
From the President’s Desk:
MPUA Annual Conference, p4
APPA Washington Report:
Barriers for improving and
expanding energy
infrastructure, p5
Column: Regulatory Review
Grain Belt Express CCN Denied;
Wester-KCPL Merger, Part II, p7
AMI enables utility to offer
payment options, customer
engagement apps, p17
Column: Hydropower Watch
Sale of PMA Transmission Assets,
p19
SPOTLIGHT: City of Fulton, p20
MPUA CALENDAR
9/27-9/29
MPUA Annual Conference
Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks
9/27 | 3:00 pm
Joint RTO Committee Meeting
Tan-Tar-A Resort
9/28 | 7:00 am
Member Services Committee Meeting
Tan-Tar-A Resort
9/29 | 8:30 am
MPUA Board of Directors Meetings
Tan-Tar-A Resort
Feature: Apprentice Training, p6
Do you have a net metering &
PURPA policy, p11
Utility Broadband Service
Becoming Outstate Focus, p13
MPUA Annual Conference, p14
FEATURE: Apprentice
Training, p6
Utility Broadband
Service Becoming
Outstate Focus, p13
SPOTLIGHT: City of
Fulton, p20

4
Coming Soon:
MPUA Annual Conference
From the President’s Desk Duncan Kincheloe
dkincheloe@mpua.org
Last week the nation watched as rising
flood waters, rain, and high winds hit
Texas and the Gulf Coast. Beyond the
devastating storm, we witnessed an
immense recovery response at the front
lines, including thousands of lineworkers
and utility employees who worked around
the clock to stabilize the situation and
restore service where it was possible.
As the waters are receding in Texas,
residents in the Carribean and Florida are
bracing for destruction in the form of
Hurricane Irma. The recovery from both
storms will be long and arduous in all
sectors, including utilities. Repairing
damaged infrastructure and tackling water
treatment challenges will take time and
cooperation. In times like these, I would
be remiss not to remind all members of
the importance of joining the MPUA
Mutual Aid program as part of your
disaster preparations. For more
information, visit mpua.org/mutualaid.
Equipping your utility for future
inclement weather is only one component
in a strong, forward-thinking utility. This
year at the annual MPUA conference,
Utilities of the Future, experts from
across the utility industry will share insight
on future trends, opportunities, and
challenges facing municipal utilities in the
years ahead.
We are honored to have some truly great
speakers this year including Carol Comer,
Director of the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources who will deliver a
keynote address on what the future holds
for state environmental efforts.
Hometown Connection’s Dan Ebert will
bring us wisdom from his 25 years’ worth
of experience in energy policy, energy
market operation, and corporate
management through WPPI Energy and
the TAPS transmission advocacy group.
He will explore important policy,
operations, and communications issues
that could define the future of utilities.
We will hear a primer on determining
your utility’s real value in order to design
rates and plan appropriately for the future
from Ted Kelly of Burns and McDonnell.
The legislative panel promises to give us
an inside scoop on recent and future
legislation affecting municipal utilities.
An important focus for building strong
Utilities of the Future is on customer
relations and public outreach. Great Blue
Research’s Mike Vigeant will share why
strategic planning priorities should start
with understanding your customers’
opinions and expectations. Drew Grinch
and Brittany VanMaele of Woodruff will
give strategies for using social media and
an online presence to improve citizen-
owner relationships and customer service
response. With attention across the
country focused on water quality, it will be
great to hear from Lathrop & Gage’s
David Shorr on promoting the quality of
your utility’s water service and instilling
customer confidence.
Three great breakouts will offer the
choice of three great topics important to
the future of utility operations and
management. Drue Merkle of Honeywell
will discuss the benefits of installing a new
metering system and how AMI can help
operations at municipal utilities of all
sizes. Springfield City Utilities’ Cara
Shaefer and Columbia Water & Light’s
Eric Hempel will host a breakout on best
practices for customer solar integration to
respond to increased requests for net
metering and options for green-conscious
customers. Finally, Brad Luna of N-
Dimension will give insight on cyber
security threats and how to minimize
risks.
Friday morning, the conversation on how
to develop Utilities of the Future will
continue through the meeting of the
MAMU and MJMEUC Board of
Directors. Staff presentations will cast
vision for potential service areas to
strengthen your utility operations and
responding to future power needs.
Other valuable meeting opportunities are
available to members before the general
sessions get started.
On Wednesday afternoon, prior to the
opening reception, we will have a joint
meeting of our RTO committees – an
important avenue for members to have a
voice in the future of energy markets and
transmission planning – followed by our
opening reception with ample time to
meet with vendors and find solutions to
your utility’s current and future needs.
On Thursday morning, if you are not a
member of one of the MPUA Executive
Committees, I encourage you to
participate in the Member Services
Committee breakfast. MPUA has many
exciting potential service expansions
which need input from members of all
sizes and capabilities. As MPUA works to
equip the Utilities of the Future, we will
continue to seek this valuable feedback
through the Member Services Committee
which meets quarterly.
This year’s annual conference promises to
give you fresh ideas and new strategies,
with relevance for utilities of all types and
sizes. The utility industry has changed
vastly in the last decade, together we can
take the steps to prepare for the
opportunities and challenges of the
decades ahead. We hope you and your
staff or governing board members will
join us on September 27-29 at Tan-Tar-A
Resort in Lake of the Ozarks. Don’t miss
out!◄
Sign up today using the
inserted Delegate
Registration form or visit
mpua.org/conference.

5
Sen. Murkowski addresses barriers for
improving and expanding energy
infrastructure
Washington Report
By Paul Ciampoli
In a Q&A with the American Public Power Association, Sen.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, detailed what she sees as the
biggest barriers for improving and expanding the country’s energy
infrastructure and why she thinks public power utilities are
uniquely positioned to effectively address energy infrastructure
issues.
What are the biggest barriers for improving and expanding
the country’s energy infrastructure?
The United States is home to some of the most robust and
reliable energy infrastructure in the world, but it is almost always
an afterthought—until it breaks down. Much of our nation’s
infrastructure is privately owned and maintained. Building and
upgrading it is an expensive and time-consuming process.
Hundreds of projects, representing billions of dollars of
investment, are currently navigating the federal labyrinth of
permitting. Multiple agencies, numerous applications, and
duplicative requirements make the permitting process
cumbersome and can unnecessarily delay projects for years. The
federal process is also layered on top of state and local
permitting processes, with little to no apparent coordination,
which only adds to the difficulty of “getting to yes” on these
important projects.
What steps can be taken legislatively to address energy
infrastructure issues?
I strongly support the new administration’s decision to make
infrastructure a national priority. We are talking about building
things, again. As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, I am working with administration
officials and my colleagues to develop ideas for a broad
infrastructure package. In fact, our committee is already ready to
contribute to it. [in late June, Murkowski and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D
-Wash., the committee’s ranking member, introduced the Energy and
Natural Resources Act of 2017, the successor to the broad, bipartisan
legislation from the previous Congress]. During the development of
our bipartisan energy bill last Congress, we sought to address
our energy infrastructure challenges. Our bill, which passed the
(Continued on page 8)

6
APPRENTICE TRAINING
“STILL ON THE LINE” By Kerry Cordray | kcordray@mpua.org
Wow - that was one violent storm.
Your lights flickered a moment, then the
house went dark. Usually, the power is
back on in just a few seconds. (It didn’t
always used to be that way, but that’s a
whole other story.) This time, though, you
waited a few minutes, and still, no juice.
You dug out some old candles or a lamp.
Maybe you knew how to contact the
electric utility to report your outage. Or
maybe you just hunkered down to wait it
out.
Between the time the power went out and
whatever time it was restored, somewhere
between you and wherever your electricity
came from, chances aren’t bad that there
were workers about 30-50 feet in the air
on the elevated arm of a “bucket truck”,
working on the problem. Commonly, they
may have cleared tree limbs, spliced and
reattached downed lines or replaced fuses
on fused lines. Or if the tempest was an
especially fierce one, line crews gathered
to assess the mess and to replace entire
downed poles, work on transmission lines
or substations, or even “restring” entire
neighborhoods.
Those workers didn’t just walk in the
utility’s front door yesterday and get
handed a hard hat, a tool belt, and the
keys to a truck.
INNOVATIVE PROGRAM DESIGN
The lineworker responsible for
maintaining and repairing your town’s
electric system is either a journeyman,
who took years to fully learn the craft, or
an apprentice, working under more
experienced staff and studying toward
earning a journeyman’s certification.
In cities belonging to the Missouri Public
Utility Alliance (MPUA), training for new
lineworkers is conducted under MPUA’s
Apprentice Lineworker Training Program.
The training undertaken by these front-
line technical staff is a rigorous 4-year
program of hands-on preparation for the
challenges of a dangerous job.
First organized in 1988 by the Missouri
Association of Municipal Utilities
(MAMU), training for apprentice
lineworkers at Alliance-member municipal
utilities has now been going strong for 29
years. The program graduated its first
journeyman lineman in 1991.
“I think the program’s design was kind of
unique at the time we started it,” said Lee
Barker, who administered the program’s
first 15 years as MAMU Member Services
Director from 1986-2001, before
becoming the City of Higginsville’s
electric superintendent. “We adapted
course content from a correspondence-
based training provided by Merchant’s
Powerline Job Training & Safety Program,
based in South Dakota,” said Barker. “But
we looked at their content and used the
approach of going out to municipalities
themselves, trying to make it possible,
especially for small municipal electric
systems, to sort of ‘train your own’. Our
MAMU program combined annual
workshops and classes with supervised
hands-on work in local settings.”
That distinctly municipal flavor sets
MPUA’s training apart from some other
training programs offered by schools and
commercial providers. It has also proved
(Continued on next page)

7
to be a formula for sustained success.
Since the inception of the program, the
program has now certified 599
lineworkers to their journeyman status.
Among those certified workers, 66 were
linemen who previously had 10-years or
more on the job, but who lacked the
necessary records or other requirements
to be recognized or certified by the U.S.
Department of Labor. In such cases, the
program provides a 1-year “advanced
course,” combining a correspondence
course with recordkeeping of supervised
on-the-job training, so the more
experienced lineworker can qualify for
their journeyman certification.
LEARNING THE CRAFT
Learning the work involves a mix of
classroom sessions, discussion, hands-on
sessions and on-the-job training, and of
course, testing. Currently, there are 166
apprentices enrolled in the program, all
who are in any of the four years of
training. One of those apprentices is
Jason Hancock, a fourth-year apprentice
while working for the Palmyra Board of
Public Works. “Communication is also an
important aspect of how we learn from
our apprenticeship,” Hancock said. “It's
(Continued from previous page) really important to talk to other
apprentices in the program to see how
they do things in the towns they come
from.”
This mix of learning and instructional
approaches is applied to the many
different facets of a lineworker’s skills
and know-how. To do the job
successfully, the worker needs to grasp a
wide amount of electrical theory, know
current technology, and even develop
some important physical skills.
All this is anchored by a comprehensive
focus on safety. “Electric line work
consistently ranks among the most
dangerous occupations,” said Mark
Mustain. Now an apprentice trainer for
MPUA, Mustain went through the
program himself, earning his
journeyman’s “ticket” in 2003 as he
worked for the City of Centralia. Now,
he’s helping train a new generation of
lineworkers. “The danger comes with the
nature of the job, so safety has to
undergird every part of training,” Mustain
said. “A classic saying in this business is
that ‘there are old linemen and bold
linemen, but mighty few old, bold
linemen.’ We’re all about making sure
those with municipal crews go home after
the job is done.”
A LOT TO LEARN
The curriculum combines classroom work
and hands-on training with applied on-the
-job training and in-depth modules.
Hands-on training sessions that the
apprentices must take include “immersion
skills workshops” held at facilities in
Kansas City or in Paragould, Arkansas.
First and second year apprentices cover
more basic equipment and transformers,
rescue training, personal safety equipment,
and a 5-day “climbing school.”
Subsequent third and fourth year
apprentice training covers more advanced
metering and grounding, terminating and
splicing, and more advanced transformers
and troubleshooting.
For these field-based workshops, the
program has used a training facility and
“pole yard” in Kansas City, at a center
provided by the National Utility Industry
Training Fund (NUITF) and KCP&L. In
2017, continuing MPUA’s commitment to
provide closer-to-home training for many
participants, the same annual sessions
were held for the first time at a new
training yard and classroom facility in
partnership with the City of Paragould.
April and October workshops are now

8
Senate by a vote of 85-12, included provisions that could fit
seamlessly in an infrastructure package, whether it is streamlining
the permitting process for LNG exports, enhancing electricity
delivery, or improving the regulatory process for hydropower,
natural gas pipeline, and mineral projects.
What additional steps can the federal government take to
expand the use of hydropower in the U.S.?
I often say that hydropower is our hardest-working renewable
resource, but it rarely gets the credit it deserves. The U.S. has 100
gigawatts of installed capacity that produces emissions-free,
baseload power, but we have our work cut out for us on the
regulatory side. A third of our nation’s hydropower dams will
require license renewals by 2030, but relicensing an existing project
can cost tens of millions of dollars and take a decade or longer. In
our bipartisan energy bill, we sought to enact common sense
reforms, such as designating the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) as the lead agency for purposes of
establishing an enforceable agency schedule, and eliminating
duplicative or unnecessary studies. During conference, we sought
to go even further by expediting approvals for non-powered dams,
given that only three percent of the country’s dams are actually
electrified.
With respect to cybersecurity threats, what steps can the
power sector and the federal government take to protect the
nation’s power grid and other elements of the energy
infrastructure?
We have long recognized that our nation’s energy sector is a
popular target for bad actors. With the enactment of the Energy
Policy Act in 2005, and the subsequent certification of the North
American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the Electric
Reliability Organization, the power sector has been working
collaboratively with the federal government to protect our grid
system from both cybersecurity and physical threats.
The industry stakeholder process authorized by that law has led to
the formulation of mandatory standards and fostered a robust
public-private partnership. And last Congress, via the FAST Act,
we codified the Department of Energy’s role as the sector-specific
agency and provided the Secretary with the authority to address
grid-related emergencies. We also included provisions to protect
sensitive information from disclosure in order to facilitate
information sharing and help close the gaps identified by industry.
Given the ever-evolving nature of the cyber threat, the federal
government must continue to share actionable information with
our private partners, including granting needed security clearances
on a timely basis.
Would you say that public power utilities are uniquely
positioned to effectively address energy infrastructure issues
given their focus on local communities?
Yes, absolutely. Because public power utilities are owned and
operated at the local level, they have a special position of trust with
their customers and communities. These utilities offer not-for-
profit services, thereby keeping electricity affordable for the 49
million people they serve. Like all of our nation’s utilities, I know
they view the responsibility of keeping the lights on as paramount,
which means having safe and reliable infrastructure in place.◄
(Infrastructure...continued from page 5)

9
Regulatory Review Doug Healy, Healy Law Offices
doug@healylawoffices.com
Grain Belt Express CCN Setback;
Westar KCPL Merger, Part II
Grain Belt Express Hearing at the
Missouri Public Service Commission
In August, the Missouri Public Service
Commission (MoPSC) issued an order
denying Grain Belt Express (GBX) a
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity
(CCN). The CCN, needed by GBX in
order to exercise eminent domain as
needed, is a necessary step in the
construction of the GBX project.
The MoPSC, in its denial of the CCN,
stated that the only reason the CCN was
denied was due to a recent Western
District of Missouri ruling (Neighbors
United v. Ameren Transmission (ATXI)) that
has created confusion as to what authority
the MoPSC has in issuing CCNs.
However, and encouragingly, in a 4-0-1
concurrence, the Commissioners found
that the test the MoPSC had previously
applied to determine whether to grant a
CCN had indeed been met in full by
GBX.
Both MJMEUC and GBX presented legal
alternatives for the MoPSC to issue a
CCN; however with a strait denial our
legal options are straightforward. Both
MJMEUC and GBX plan to proceed to
the court of appeals, given the opinion of
the MoPSC that but for the ATXI
decision the CCN would have been
issued.
KCPL/Westar merger/Second
Attempt
Great Plains Energy Incorporated (GPE),
the parent company of Kansas City Power
& Light (KCPL), and Westar Energy
(Westar) announced on July 10 that a new
approach to merging the companies
would be attempted. The merger would
be cashless, and would combine the two
companies into a new entity (yet
unnamed) with over 1.6 million electric
customers and a combined equity value of
approximately $14 billion. There would
additionally be approximately $50 million
in customer credits available. Westar
shareholders would receive a majority of
the shares in the new company, and the
debt issued by GPE in anticipation of
acquiring Westar would be retired.
This is a different approach than
previously attempted between the
companies. Earlier this year, GPE

10
held at the Paragould facility, mirroring the classes still held in
Kansas City in May and September.
For MPUA staff that run the program, the program includes
monthly on-site visits and testing, on-the-job hour record
keeping, and administration of U.S. Department of Labor
apprentice paperwork.
SKILLED WORKERS = HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
The program’s “class of 2016” provided 34 apprentices with their
journeyman status. Currently, there are 166 apprentices enrolled
in training, with 40 on track to become certified in 2017.
Beyond the obvious individual benefit to those workers
thoroughly learning their trade under experienced guidance, the
program provides a vital collective benefit to the Missouri and
Arkansas municipalities that use the program. “To a municipal
electric system, making sure experienced, skilled lineworkers are
on staff is central to the utility being able to meet the needs of its
citizens, businesses and industries,” said Mike Conyers, MPUA’s
Director of Lineworker Safety & Training since 2001. “If you
think about it, it’s really a key part of making the city a good place
to live.” ◄
CONTACTS:
Utilities interested in learning more about the Apprentice
Lineworker Program may contact MPUA’s Mike Conyers,
Director of Lineworker Safety and Training, or Mark Mustain,
Apprentice Trainer, at 573-445-3279. For administrative
assistance, contact MPUA’s Cathy Susa.
(Apprentice...continued from page 7)

11
Do you have a net metering & PURPA policy?
By Connie Ford | cford@mpua.org
The cost of photovoltaic systems has dropped considerably
over the last several years and more customers are approaching
their utilities about net metering. If you don’t already have
policies and ordinances in place for net metering and the
federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), now
is the time to act.*
When it comes to your customer generating electricity and
selling it your utility, Missouri laws and federal guidelines must
be met. There are state statutes that outline how electric
utilities handle net metering for electric generating systems that
are rated under 100 kilowatts. PURPA guidelines allow
independent generators to generate and sell electricity.
Although with PURPA, the municipal utilities’ governing body
can define some of the parameters.
Net Metering: State of Missouri statute 386.890
 Customer-generator has a renewable energy resource with a
capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts
 Net metering is available to customer-generators until the
total rated capacity of all approved net metered systems in a
utility equals 5% of the utility’s single-hour peak load (Yearly
installed total is capped at 1%)
 Utilities must have a simple net metering application process
and must respond to the customer generator in 30 days for
systems under 10 kilowatts. Larger systems must be
responded to within 90 days
 Any customer generation credits shall expire without any
compensation at the earlier of either twelve (12) months after
their issuance, or when the customer disconnects service or
terminates the net metering agreement
 Need to establish your utility’s Avoided Fuel Cost Rate or work
with your electric wholesaler so you have a rate to credit your
customer for any energy the utility receives from them
 Let customers know that you offer net metering agreements
 Release an annual report with the total number of net metered
facilities, the generating capacity and an estimate of the net
kilowatt hours received.
PURPA
 Any system over 100 kilowatts is covered under the PURPA
guidelines and the energy delivered to the utility only has to be
paid at the Avoided Fuel Cost Rate.
 For independent generation that is over one megawatt then the
independent-generator must submit FERC Form 556.
 Qualify Facilities are not exempt from local zoning laws
 There are guidelines for cogeneration facilities and renewable
small power production facilities
Need more information? Request a copy of the MPUA July 20, 2017
presentation and recording from the net metering and PURPA
workshop. (info@mpua.org or 573-445-3279)
*If you receive electricity through a MJMEUC power pool, contact MPUA for a sample PURPA ordinance.
NOTE: This is for informational purposes only. Consult an attorney before enacting any ordinances, agreements, policies, etc.
Net Metering Customer Credits
No electricity supplied to the utility: the customer-generator shall be billed for the net electricity supplied by
the utility for customers in the same rate class
Electricity supplied to the utility: the customer-generator shall be credited the excess kilowatt-hours generated
during the billing period and the utility’s avoided fuel cost rate

12
attempted to purchase Westar, but the application was
denied by the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) in a
unanimous 3-0 vote, due to what the KCC found to be an
excessive acquisition premium that GPE was to pay to
Westar. The KCC encouraged the parties to continue
options that did not involve excessive leverage.
MJMEUC will again be intervening at the KCC and
MoPSC, to ask for cost protections at Iatan 2, and to ensure
that the higher transmission costs in the Westar
transmission zone did not raise transmission pricing in the
KCPL or KCPL-GMO transmission zones.
News at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC)
After the resignations of Comm. Collette and Comm. Bay,
since February 3 FERC was left without a quorum, which
resulted in a large backlog of orders accumulating over six
months. After some delays, Trump nominees Neil
Chatterjee and Robert F. Powelson were appointed and
sworn in as FERC Commissioners, which restored the
quorum at FERC and will allow FERC to perform its
regulatory mandates. Comm. LaFleur, first appointed in
2010, remains from the Obama administration.
Commissioner Chatterjee was also named the new chairman
of FERC, although that position is likely to change with the
appointment of two additional FERC Commissioners in the
next month.
Chairman Chatterjee, the former senior energy adviser to
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), will serve
out the remainder of a term that ends in June 2021. Prior to
working for Sen. McConnell, Chairman Chatterjee worked
for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Commissioner Powelson, a member and former chairman
of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission since 2008,
and the current president of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners, will serve out the
remainder of a term that ends in June 2020. Commissioner
Powelson will bring a state regulatory view to the FERC
which should prove to be of value.
We wish these two new Commissioners the best, and will
keep you all apprised regarding the remaining two
(Regulatory Review...continued from page 9) Commissioner positions that have yet to receive Senate approval.
Those two nominees are Kevin McIntyre, currently an attorney
with Jones Day, and Richard Glick, the general counsel of the
Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. McIntyre is expected to be the new Chairman of FERC once
he receives Senate confirmation. He has extensive experience in
private representation of parties at FERC, and should bring a
practical perspective to FERC. He has been representing energy
clients since 1994, and has watched the formation of the RTOs
and deregulation from the perspective of both the public and
private utilities that he represents.
The remaining Democratic seat also pending Senate approval will
go to Richard Glick. Mr. Glick, previous to serving as general
counsel for the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, served as a vice president of government affairs at
Iberdrola, as a director of government affairs at PPM Energy in
Portland, and as a director of government affairs at PacifiCorp.
Of additional interest, one of Mr. Glick’s first jobs was working
for former Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers as his chief counsel
and director of legislative affairs.◄
Natural Gas Fired
Electricity Facilities
Among the most
efficient and
environmentally
advanced power
stations in the world.
Proud to be an Associate Member of MPUA

13
By Ewell Lawson | elawson@mpua.org
Utility Broadband Service Becoming Outstate Focus
Outstate Missouri is beginning to see a
renewed focus on broadband service in
outstate Missouri after a series of in-state
events and several national announcements
over the last five months. All the while,
consumer-owned, hometown utilities may
be the best resource to get the job done.
The Missouri State Fair was the latest
venue for Governor Eric Greitens to
announce a renewal of state efforts to
connect rural areas. Greitens also
announced in April an initiative to bring
high-quality broadband internet access to
every school. Three months later in July, he
said to a newly formed Missouri Broadband
Initiative Workgroup that “the time for
inaction is over. We need to get it right and
get it done today.”
Even President Trump has promised to
expand rural broadband service as part of
his $1 trillion nationwide infrastructure
plan announced in June. Overall, the
administration called for $200 billion in
federal spending over 10 years on public
works of all types – including broadband
– seeking to leverage $800 billion from
states, localities and the private sector.
Both of Missouri’s U.S Senators are
touting the need as well. Senator Claire
McCaskill is offering the Community
Broadband Act, and in a Senate floor
speech Senator Roy Blunt recognized
August as “Rural Broadband Month.”
“Access to broadband in rural
communities is critical to helping our
small towns thrive—growing jobs and
businesses, educating our kids, and
delivering essential health services,” said
McCaskill. “If big-city internet providers
are making the barriers to entry too high
for the rest of the state, then we’ve got to
give our small towns and communities the
tools they need to invest in high-speed
internet where they are.”
For his part, Blunt said in 2017, roughly
two-thirds of people living in rural
Missouri don’t have any access to
broadband, and among those who do, 7-
out-of-10 are concerned it’s not working
well.
"It hasn't been invested where everyone
has equal access," Blunt said, adding that
broadband can do things such as aiding
farmers in quickly learning how to fix a
broken-down combine. "This should be
consumer-owned,
hometown utilities are
especially well-positioned
to play an essential role in
building rural broadband
networks

14
UTILITIES FUTURE
Join us at the 2017 MPUA Annual Conference
at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Lake of the Ozarks
September 27-29
KEYNOTE: What the Future Holds for State Environmental Efforts
Director Carol Comer, MO DNR

15
Sessions
Moving Forward—Utility Trends & Topics
What is your utility worth?
PANEL: State Legislature Discussion
What do your customers think of you?
The survey says...
Getting the Word Out Through Online Outlets
Water Quality: Customer Confidence
& Going Beyond Standards
Building a Smart Utility by
Integrating Technology
Customer Solar Integration: Best Practices
Cybersecurity Insights

16
one of our top priorities." he said. “This is a critically
important issue for our ability to compete.”
But it is consumer-owned, hometown utilities that have begun
making reliable and affordable connectivity happen in outstate
Missouri.
Much like the expansion of electricity during the 20th century,
municipally-owned and cooperative utilities have
become the driving force behind broadband investment
outstate. These consumer-owned, hometown utilities are
especially well-positioned to play an essential role in building
rural broadband networks. Some of the most successful
examples of cutting-edge networks have been of these local
electric and water utilities.
Most recently, the City of West Plains (2015) became the latest
municipal utility to build a broadband network after a year-
long, civic-led collaboration to expand the electric utility’s fiber
network into a broadband utility.
“We’re here, at this point in time, because of our citizens,” said
Tom Stehn, city administrator of West Plains. “It is really being
driven by our community. The city’s leadership has really
listened to the community, and it has been proactive in trying
to meet their needs.”
Municipally-owned utilities in several other rural communities
have previously expanded broadband investments to serve
(Broadband...continued from page 13) community needs. Among them, Carthage Water and Electric Plant
(2000) and Marshall Municipal Utilities (2002) led this growth, much
of which paid great dividends in the vitality and stability of their rural
communities and supported the agri-business needs of their regions.
In the same way, several electric cooperatives are utilizing the same
pattern of development. Ralls County Electric Cooperative formed
Ralls Technologies (2003), Co-Mo Electric Cooperative grew Co-Mo
Connect from a pilot project (2011), and currently, SEMO Electric
Cooperative is creating GoSEMO Fiber (2017).
The reason for the broadband success of these electric and water
utilities is their existing experience in managing infrastructure. They
own repair trucks and employ field staff who can perform
installations and conduct maintenance. Existing utilities are
experienced in customer service, managing individual accounts, and
receiving calls locally to handle questions or complaints. A utility-
owned broadband enterprise can frequently count on its electric or
water operations as an anchor user of the network. The network can
serve essential needs for internal utility operations and plant
management. And consumer-owned, hometown utilities have
established institutional structures to provide for community
participation and local buy-in—either through municipal or
cooperative governance.
As we begin the fall season, don’t expect the rhetoric on outstate
broadband to subside like the heat of summer. The need is real and
the service is necessary. Like coops, Missouri’s municipal utilities are
well positioned, both geographically and structurally, to build on the
existing utility infrastructure and services to fill the void. That’s why
MPUA has fought for the past several years in Jefferson City to
preserve the broadband option for municipal utilities. ◄

17
AMI enables utility to
offer payment options,
customer engagement apps
Prior to investing in an advanced metering system six years
ago, the Bolivar Energy Authority in Tennessee felt hampered in
key areas of utility operations and customer service. The staff
faced unsafe conditions entering yards to read meters, trudged
through inconsistent billing cycles, could offer little good
information when responding to high bill complaints, and
considered distribution system maintenance and outage response
to be inefficient and costly. Today, with the advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI) from Honeywell [formerly Elster], BEA is
deploying a variety of new billing, engineering, and energy usage
applications proving to be very popular with utility customers and
employees.
With 1,500 miles of distribution lines, BEA serves 11,400
customers across 700 square miles of service territory covering 5
counties in 2 states. When deciding on which AMI system to
purchase, BEA officials visited nearby public power systems and
examined Honeywell system deployments.
“In particular, we found the Honeywell AMI system would work
well for a utility like ours,” said John Fortune, President and
Chief Executive Officer. “Yes, price was a factor. As important,
we serve a wide area but do not have a fiber backbone for
network communications. We need an AMI system that provides a
strong radio frequency signal, and Honeywell maintains very good
relationships with the RF vendor community. The Honeywell
system’s ability to communicate with our legacy billing system also
proved to be a major point in Honeywell’s favor.”
A marketing partner of Hometown Connections, Honeywell Smart
Energy is enabling utilities and distribution companies to deploy
advanced capabilities that transform operations, reliability, and
environmental sustainability while also providing solutions that
engage customers in a more meaningful way. Honeywell meters
monitor energy usage for improved energy management. Plus,
Honeywell Smart Energy helps utilities exceed their demand
management goals through a broad array of customer engagement
and energy management programs.
“So far, our AMI system is only scratching the surface of all it can
do, and we cannot imagine not having it,” said Tony Kirk, Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer for BEA. “We no longer
need to roll trucks to connect or disconnect meters. We used to
struggle reading every meter every month. Now, we can read every
meter several times per day. Thanks to the integration of the AMI
data from Honeywell with our meter data management software,
our customer service representatives view weather and account
information on screen when customers call with questions about
their bills.
Our engineers use the AMI system to monitor functions such as
distribution transformer loads, substation loads, and voltage alarms.
We can often pinpoint a location of an outage before the customer
even knows there’s a disruption. The system enables us to reallocate
metering staff to inspecting lines and maintaining the distribution
system. It simplifies work tasks, improves accuracy and efficiency,
and reduces the duration of outages.”
Kirk emphasized the deployment of the AMI system enabled BEA
to offer a prepay system that has proven so successful at revenue
collection that it saved the community from a rate increase. He

18
explained, “Today, more than 1,000 or 12 percent of our
customers are using U.S. Payments’ PaySite® kiosks for prepay
services, as arranged by Exceleron. We have been able to collect
over $150,000 in bad debt because Honeywell and Exceleron have
worked so well together.”
BEA customers may access two kiosks to prepay or pay their
electric utility bills 24 hours per day. One kiosk is located onsite at
the utility; the other in a local grocery store. Prepay helps
customers budget their daily usage. They pay for service prior to
delivery, and as they use electricity, their credit balance is reduced
daily. BEA issues to participating customers a card with a 12-digit
customer/location identification number. Customers enter their
I.D. number on the kiosk keypad to access their account and make
a payment. Customers can pay with check or cash at no additional
charge and with a credit or debit card for a $2.95 fee.
“The kiosk program represents a huge and valuable change for us
and for our customers,” Tony Kirk said. “It’s a win-win situation.
The customers are enjoying the convenient access and financial
control the kiosks offer. The utility is collecting about $1.7 million
per year via the kiosks. This frees up our customer service and
administrative staff. The money collected by the kiosks is posted to
our bank accounts immediately, with no risk of loss through
robbery. About 20 percent of our residential customers are using
the kiosks, greatly reducing the volume of mail and visits to our
office.”
The kiosks represent part of an expanding collection of payment
and energy usage applications that are available to BEA customers
and built on the Honeywell AMI platform. In addition to the
kiosks, customers may use the BEA website to pay their bills
online or use an interactive voice response system to pay by phone.
Customers may make payments at the customer service window at
the BEA office during business hours. Through the Exceleron
MyUsage Mobile solution deployed by BEA, prepay customers can
choose to receive a daily text or email with their account balance
information.
In addition, via MyUsage Mobile, customers may obtain
information about their electricity consumption via smart phone.
In the near future, BEA customers will be able to use the MyUsage
Mobile solution to make payments to their accounts.
Key to the success of BEA’s AMI deployment is having an IT
professional on staff. “I coordinate the cybersecurity demands of
the system, as well as spearhead efforts by the staff to mine all of
the many benefits and features it offers,” said Steve Herriman,
Purchasing and IT Manager. “I am able to drive the integration of
the data from the AMI system with our MDM, outage
management, and billing solutions.”
“We give the Honeywell technical support team very high marks,”
Herriman noted. “From our launch of the project over six years
ago with the Elster team through the transition to Honeywell
today, their personnel is responsive and very knowledgeable. The
same people have been assigned to our account for a long time.
They work hard to help us integrate the AMI system with a variety
of software packages, and they work with us to find new and
innovative ways to use the AMI data.”◄
(AMI...continued from page 17)

19
Hydropower Watch Nicki Fuller, SPRA
nfuller@sprahydro.com
Sale of PMA Transmission Assets
Recently, the President proposed in
his FY2018 Budget Proposal to sell the
transmission assets from the Power
Marketing Administrations (PMAs),
including those of the Southwestern
Power Administration’s (SWPA’s).
While this Proposal seems like a
revenue benefit for the government on
its face, that is not the case. Not only
would this Proposal raise the rates of all
the PMA customers across the country,
including the 8.2 million federal
hydropower customers in Arkansas,
Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma,
and Texas served by SWPA. In
addition, this detrimental rate increase
to the fragile rural economies in the
Midwest would not save the federal
government or the taxpayers a single
dollar, because the PMAs and their
customers pay their own way. The
taxpayers do not subsidize any part of
the federal hydropower program. In
addition, this Proposal could harm a
robust infrastructure rehabilitation
program in the Midwest.
The PMAs, like SWPA, market and
transmit hydropower generated at
federally-owned dams (such as the US
Army Corps of Engineers). This power
is used to serve primarily rural electric
cooperatives and municipalities, as well
as some military installations. For 75
years, SWPA has provided reliable
power to the Midwest using a
transmission system built to connect
these rural communities to the federal
hydropower it markets. This power is
crucial to the communities and
installations it serves. If these
transmission assets are sold to the highest
bidder, these federal power customers
would have to pay increased costs to use
these transmission lines they currently
utilize and have already paid for in their
power rates. These cost increases would
be damaging to rural economies.
Unlike most federal programs, the PMAs
like SWPA pay their own way. Every
dollar spent on the federal hydropower
power program is repaid through rates
charged to customers. This includes the
construction, operation and maintenance,
and transmission costs of generating and
marketing the hydroelectric energy and
capacity incurred by both the Corps and
the PMA, plus interest on capital costs.
All expenses for Southwestern and for the
Corps’ costs for hydropower and a
percentage of joint use expenses are
included in the rates that the customers
pay. The taxpayers do not subsidize or
pay for any activity of any PMA, including
SWPA. In fact, if the federal hydropower
customers did not pay the power rates,
the taxpayers would have to fund the joint
-use costs for the dams currently included
in SWPA’s power rates.
In addition, selling the transmission assets
of the PMAs would hurt the President’s
infrastructure objectives. Since 1999,
SPRA, SWPA, and the Corps have
worked together to fund over $550
million in infrastructure improvements
and modernization on federally-owned
dams through one of the nation’s first
public-private partnerships. In addition,
the customers of SWPA have committed
another $1 billion over the next 30 years
to fully revitalize the federally-owned
hydropower assets in the Midwest. By
selling the transmission assets of SWPA,
the increased costs of federal hydropower
will be transferred to the customers,
making these rehabilitations much more
onerous.
Thanks to the quick work of our
statewide trade associations and joint
action agencies, we were able to pressure
our federal legislators to insert language in
the budgets put forth by Congress which
recognized the important role the PMAs
play in delivering affordable power,
maintaining grid reliability, and supporting
the nation’s federal multipurpose water
projects. Further, the language rejected
the transmission sale proposal.
We ask that you continue to stand with us
as we work to defeat the misguided
proposal to sell the transmission assets of
the PMAs. Not only would it harm the
rural communities of the Midwest, it
would not save the federal government
any money. In addition, it would harm a
robust public-private partnership that is
actively working to protect and restore the
nation’s infrastructure.◄

20
By Kerry Cordray | kcordray@mpua.org
Member Spotlight
Fulton
By Kerry Cordray
kcordray@mpua.org
“City of One” Rides a Wave of the Future
It makes sense that a place named for
one of America’s first famed engineers
would be a place where utility
technology is being pushed forward.
Fulton, Missouri, largest city and the
county seat of Callaway County is
named for Robert Fulton, one of the
earliest Americans to make a worldwide
name in the technology of his time
when he helped make the steamboat
commercially viable. In more recent
years, the Missouri town that bears his
name became one of the region’s
earliest adopters of advanced metering
for its electric system.
This city of nearly 13,000 is home to
two colleges, Westminster College and
William Woods University. It is also the
home of the Missouri School for the
Deaf, and the Fulton State Hospital, the
oldest public mental health facility west of
the Mississippi River. But perhaps many
know Fulton best for that day in March of
1946 when former British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill came to town along
with President Truman, to give a speech
at Westminster College that was the first
to describe the Soviet-domination of
Eastern Europe as an “Iron Curtain.”
But for a town that reflects so warmly on
its past, Fulton, Missouri is remarkably
focused on the future. It maintains that
focus through shared commitment by city
staff and leadership to meet community
needs together, expressed in an unofficial
motto - “A City of One.”
Doing whatever it takes
To provide the best customer service.
For more information about Westar Energy’s energy marketing services,
visit www.westarenergy.com/powermarketing or call 785.575.6347
ADVENTURES IN MODERN METERING
Fulton’s pursuit of the leading edge of
grid technology was born in the wake of
the recession of the late 2000s, as
Congress enacted the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA),
providing grants for a wide variety of
technology and construction projects
nationwide.
Awarded $1.5 million in such “stimulus
funding” by the U.S. Department of
Energy, Fulton was one of only 100
communities nationwide selected to
develop a “smart grid” energy
(Continued on next page)

21
management system with ARRA grant
funds. The project allowed the city to
install advanced electric meters (a.k.a.
“smart meters”) for all the city’s
residential, and commercial electric
meters. An advanced meter can record
electricity consumed in short periods of
time and communicate that information
back to the utility for monitoring and
billing.
Fulton’s experience of jumping onto what
was then the “bleeding edge” of new
technology for Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) brought a few big
challenges. “Some of the timeline from
2011 till now has been waiting for
products to be developed,” said Darrell
Dunlap, Fulton’s utility superintendent
since 2006. “But our electric AMI is now
fully deployed, and we have been billing
on it since 2016. We’re now about one-
quarter deployed on our water and gas
meters, and we’re working hard now on
trying to get water and gas to bill on our
billing system.”
Based on Fulton’s experience leaping to
the cutting edge, it may be a good place to
consult for experience. “Like most new
technology, it’s grown by leaps and
bounds since early adopters like us started
in,” said Dunlap. “But one piece of advice
Fulton would tell others if they called us
about AMI would be: Do one thing at a
time. Get one thing operating, then do
another. Trying to do all your services at
one time can be a bit much.”
(Continued from previous page)
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Having had a few growing pains as it
implemented AMI doesn’t mean Fulton is
sour on the outcome. Dunlap points to
benefits the city is already seeing. “Some
of the biggest benefits so far have been
with key customers,” he said. “You can
point to a large facility with multiple
buildings, let’s say a campus’s energy use,
and be able to say ‘I don’t know what’s in
that building, but there’s your usage, at
this place, and at these times.” Some
advantages of advanced metering emerge
in stories of solved mysteries. “We had
one homeowner, they bought a house,
couldn’t figure out why the bill was so
high. Come to find out, they had a heated
driveway system for melting snow, that
they didn’t know was there. The smart
grid showed them using unusual amounts
of electricity all night, and that’s how they
found the heated driveway. Somebody
comes to you with a problem you can
look at it and say, here’s exactly what’s
happening with your usage at this time.”
In 2017, Fulton was recognized by the
American Public Power Association
(APPA) with of its second consecutive
three-year designation as a Reliable Public
Power Provider (RP3]. Dunlap also
credits that achievement as one benefit of
Fulton’s development of a smart grid. “It
allows us to know about outages so much
faster. And we know what our exact
outage times are now, it’s not a guess. The
meter time-stamps it: ‘I went out then,
and I came back on here.’ In the course of
watching your records, you identify your
problem areas. And when you go fix those
problem areas, naturally your reliability
numbers come up.”
WAVE OF FUTURE MOVES DOWNSTREAM
Fulton’s experience with advancing its
technology isn’t confined to electricity,
and wasn’t always pursued by its own
choice. In 2010, the stream receiving the
outflow of the city’s wastewater treatment
plant was classified under Clean Water
Act standards as having impaired water
quality, triggering requirements for the
city to make costly wastewater facility
improvements to improve the water
quality of the stream. Upgrades that cost
Fulton about $12 million should finally be
complete this year. “The plant previously
had two outfalls, including a secondary
outfall of a seven-acre pond to
accommodate torrential rains,” said Rob
Barnes, Fulton’s Director of
Administration. “That pond outfall will
now be diverted back to the plant. We
also had to put in UV disinfection that we
didn’t have before.” In addition, the city
added a 90-foot clarifier to go with four
existing clarifiers, new headworks, and a
new aeration system.
“The EPA originally wanted us to spend
about $80 million on updates," said
Dunlap. "But U.S. Rep. (Blaine)
Luetkemeyer got involved and worked
with them, and the Missouri DNR was

22
also very good to work with. We were able to turn it into a
multi-phase project.” The stream will be monitored for
several years after the improved facility is online, to
determine if more upgrades are needed.
A CITY OF ONE
Making municipal utilities serve a community effectively
depends on people who share a commitment to meeting the
needs of neighbors. Fulton expresses that spirit in an
unofficial motto. “We call it being ‘A City of One’,” said
Dunlap. “The idea is that if one department is doing
something and other departments can help, we all help.”
“For example,” the utility superintendent explained, “if
there’s a big snowstorm, but the electricity is on, and our
street department has been pushing snow for 16 hours, then
linemen can get on the snow plows. If we have an ice storm,
and there’s nothing for the street guys to push, they come
and help the power guys, clearing debris out of the way, or
maybe pulling the trucks around. And the employees we
have here, when they know another department needs help,
not only do they do it, they volunteer to do it.”
“I think that’s one of the advantages that a city-owned utility
has – it’s that if there’s a need somewhere in the community
to be addressed, it’s just addressed. The problem’s identified,
the problem’s handled. There aren’t a lot of meetings about
it, it just happens.” ◄
(Fulton...continued from page 21)
ABOUT CITY OF FULTON UTILITIES
ELECTRIC: Fulton’s electric utility established service in 1895,
and now serves nearly 5,600 meters. The City owns and
maintains about 112 miles of electric line, including 28 miles of
69KV transmission lines, including a 12-mile loop around the
perimeter of the City connecting its four substations. The
distribution system includes 64 miles of overhead distribution
lines (41 miles of 3-phase overhead 13.8KV lines, and 23 miles of
single-phase 7.9KV lines). In addition to overhead distribution,
the city has 20 miles of underground lines (6 miles of
underground 3-phase 13.8KV lines and 14 miles of underground
single-phase 7.9KV line). Fulton purchases power from the
Southwest Power Administration, Sikeston Power Plant and the
Prairie State Energy Campus. It also has emergency/peaking
generation facilities including three diesel engine generators and
a combustion turbine, with a combined generating capacity of
33.975 MW.
SEWER: The first sewers in Fulton were constructed in the early
1900s. The city maintains 80 miles of collection lines, 2100
manholes and about 4,000 connections. The existing Wastewater
Treatment Plant (WWTP) was constructed in 1987. The WWTP
processing average is currently 1.7 million gallons-per-day, with a
capacity of 2.93 MGPD. The receiving stream is Stinson Creek.
WATER: Fulton’s municipal water system was established in
1937, and currently serves about 4,288 meters. The system
meets current drinking water regulation standards, delivering
water through 90 miles of distribution mains. The source of the
city’s water comes from six groundwater wells. Storage includes
three elevated towers and three ground storage facilities. Water
usage currently averages about 1.7 million gallons per day, with a
supply capacity of 4.39 MGD.
GAS: The city owns and operates a municipal natural gas system
serving about 4,000 customers. Its first natural gas meters were
installed in 1936. Fulton owns and maintains approximately 89
miles of natural gas mains. The city purchases natural gas from
Kansas and Oklahoma gas fields, transported to the city by the
Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line.
SOLID WASTE: The City of Fulton provides a full range of solid
waste management services (trash collection, recycling) for
residential and commercial customers.

24
LEADERSHIP
MPUA, JOC Chair
Stephanie Wilson
Macon
MAMU Chair
Mark Petty
Kirkwood
MJMEUC Chair
Chuck Bryant
Carthage
MGCM Chair
Dennie Carothers
Clarence
_________________
President & GM
Duncan Kincheloe
dkincheloe@mpua.org
Senior VP and Associate GM
Eve Lissik
elissik@mpua.org
VP of Engineering, Operations, &
Power Supply;
COO, MJMEUC
John Grotzinger
jgrotzinger@mpua.org
CFO and VP of Administrative
Services
Mike Loethen
mloethen@mpua.org
VP of Government Affairs,
Communications, and Member
Relations
Ewell Lawson
elawson@mpua.org
_________________
Publisher
Ewell Lawson
elawson@mpua.org
Layout
Elise Buchheit
ebuchheit@mpua.org
Copy-Editor
Kerry Cordray
kcordray@mpua.org
1808 I-70 DR SW | Columbia, MO 65203 | P 573-445-3279 | mpua.org

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