Public Power - November 2008 - (Page 52)

FOR GOVERNING BOARDS customers and others can keep tabs on how well the utility is meeting its objectives. Twitty recommended that utility boards undertaking strategic planning for the first time keep the process at a high Once the Jamestown board recognized it needed to get involved in strategic and long-term planning, the board formulated a concept and a scope. The process involved not only the board, but also the utileach other. “Our former general manager, Walter Haase, was one of the people instrumental in driving the strategic planning process down to the staff,” said Zabrodsky. “Our new general strategy, but the plans, actions, schedules and financials that go along with it.” In revising and updating its strategic plan, the board is cognizant of two important things. One is making it a living document. The second is In revising and updating its strategic plan, the board is cognizant of two important things. One is making it a living document. The second is making it “fun.” level. “Don’t get too tactical in your strategy, which involves how you plan to deliver the strategy,” he said. He also warned that utilities resist the tendency to change the plan every year. “Boards do a lot of things every year, so they may think that updating the strategic business plan should be one of them,” he said. “You won’t be ‘checking off’ strategic plans each year as having been done. You will probably be working on them over a number of years.” Jamestown Board of Public Utilities in New York launched its strategic planning process in 2000, when the utility got a new general manager. “At the time, there was nothing in place in terms of strategic or long-term planning,” said John Zabrodsky, chairman of the board. He was appointed to the board in 2000 and became chairman in 2002. ity administration. The board formed a strategic planning subcommittee and began to identify issues. The subcommittee consulted with the senior staff to identify some of the long-term goals the utility wanted to achieve. “We made sure that we focused on strategic issues, not tactical issues,” Zabrodsky said. Jamestown put its first strategic plan for the electric division in place in 2004. Later the plan was expanded to address the water, wastewater and solid waste divisions. “Since that time, we have always stayed true and followed through with our strategic planning efforts,” said Zabrodsky. While the board launched the strategic planning effort, staff now drives the effort. Now, all staff members are aware of what each division is doing and share information and ideas with manager, David Leathers, has carried this on.” While the strategic planning process has had a number of benefits over the years, one of the most significant is the opportunity to pursue a new oxy-coal power plant project. “This is a fairly extensive project with potential state, regional, national, and even international impact, especially as it relates to addressing global climate change,” said Zabrodsky. “Because of our strategic planning experience, we were able to react to the opportunity this plant offered. We were able to link our strategic goals with a new power plant, especially in terms of what was needed from regulatory and environmental perspectives.” In addition, the members of the board’s strategic planning subcommittee support the steering group for the oxy-coal project. Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission in Minnesota worked with a facilitator to put together a strategic plan, said Bob Bonawitz, commission president. The utility is about to embark on a fresh strategic planning process. Changes in the business climate, especially changes affecting the environment, are behind the new effort. “We plan to focus on this in the next few months,” he said. “We not only need an updated making it “fun.” “All too often, boards create strategic documents, put them on the shelves, and then don’t use them,” said Bonawitz. “We want to make sure our strategic plan is something we continue to focus on on an everyday basis and are able to use as a guide and a measure of our progress and success.” The board also realizes the process can be hard work and take a lot of time. However, while it is challenging, it is possible to make it fun, which makes it more appealing to take the time to do. “When you envision the things that you plan to do, this can be energizing,” said Bonawitz. “If you just plug along with the status quo, this usually isn’t fun. Real change is fun.” There are some interconnected topics must be included in any utility’s strategic plan, Gelvin said “If you aren’t revising your strategic planning on the basis of energy, climate and sustainability, then a tsunami is headed in your direction, and you are sitting on the beach applying suntan lotion,” he said. “This is a changing world, and we are not going back.” ❚ Bill Atkinson is a writer in Carterville, Ill. 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Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - November 2008

Public Power - November 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Capturing Knowledge Before It Retires Jackson’s GIS Search Keeping a Job Journal Japan Tackles the Kyoto Protocol Getting to 20 by 10 Damless Hydro Power Earthquake: The Hidden Disaster For Engineers Safety For Governing Boards DEED Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - November 2008

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