RMEL will host the 2008 Spring Electric Energy Conference in Mesa, Arizona, on May 4-6, providing continuing education on a list of relevant engineering, operations and management topics.

The conference will touch on topics for the generation, transmission, distribution, safety, customer service, human resources and overall management business units. The conference will feature more than 25 presentations, networking opportunities, exhibits and even a bit of time to rejuvenate in less than 48 hours. The Spring Conference offers attendees the opportunity to customize their education lineup to focus on presentations and resources they are most interested in.

Nathan Mitchell, director of engineering & operation services at American Public Power Association will present, “APPA’s Reliable Public Power Provider Program - Improving Distribution Reliability with a Utility Self Audit.” He will cover APPA’s RP3 program, a self-audit of a utility’s system answering questions in four critical areas: Reliability, Safety, Workforce Development, and System Improvement.

Jim Sims, president/CEO, Western Business Roundtable returns to the Spring Conference as a presenter, addressing a common question our industry faces, “What Would the Electric Energy Industry Do If…?” This presentation focuses on describing the impacts of various scenarios of mandated federal carbon regulations.

Colorado PUC Chairman Ron Binz will talk about some innovations that Colorado is considering that will spur efficiency investment by utilities and acceptance by consumers. He will discuss Colorado’s new legislative mandates for DSM.

Charles Plummer of Power System Engineering, Inc. will be discussing the “Smart Grid.” The term “smart grid” has been a very popular subject for debate over the last few years. However, there is not one single definition of a smart grid because a “smart grid” is a user-specific design dependent on the application needs of the individual utility. This presentation focuses on how a utility can define their own “smart grid” design today that focuses on current application needs and is expandable for future application needs.

“NERC and WECC Reliability Requirements: The Audit Process,” will be the subject of Western Area Power Administration’s Lloyd Linke. Lloyd will provide utilities with insight into the reliability audit process including lessons learned from a recent NERC, WECC and MRO compliance audit.

Hear Scott Canada from Arizona Public Service talk about, “Solar Renewables: Utility-Scale Solar Power - Challenges and Strategies.” Where does solar fit in the utility generation portfolio? Arizona Public Service will share their strategies for dealing with this question and review challenges such as peaking capacity, technical challenges, thermal storage, siting for delivery and solar input.

Additional topics to highlight:
• What Does it Take to Build a Coal Project Today?
• Challenges in the Siting and Development of a Major 500kv Project
• Interconnecting Small Renewable Energy Solar Systems
• Solar Renewables: Utility-Scale Solar Power - Challenges and Strategies
• Construction Issues
• Transmission System Planning
• Strategies for Pulverized Coal Generating Stations
• Industry-Academia Partnership – Where Will You Get Your Future Workforce?
• City of Farmington AMR Installation: A Case Study in Which Persistence Pays Off
• 13KV Switchgear with Generation Interconnection for a Major University Campus
• Taking Customer Service to the Next Level
• Addressing Solutions for the Workforce Issue
• Helping Business Customers through Programs and Seminars
• SPCC Containment Requirements and Methods of Secondary Containment and Diversion
• Water Right Considerations in Water Supply Projects
• Net Metering Practices at Tucson Electric Power: A Case Study
• Site Safety and Security at Project Sites
• Oxy-Coal Combustion – Pathway to Commercialization

See the Conference brochure for a complete agenda and details about specific presentations. The brochure can be downloaded at www.rmel.org.

RMEL Continuing Education Certificates are provided to all attendees. Upon course completion, a continuing education certificate will be mailed to you. The certificate provides professional development hours based on your participation. Full conference registration provides 14.0 PDHs. Review the Conference brochure for further details.