Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 17)

Kissimmee Utility Authority in Florida likes to mix it up during Public Power Week, said Chris Gent, vice president of corporate communications. “We’ve done a variety of things over the years. It’s easy to get into a promotional rut, and we want people to be excited.” Nonetheless, the utility has ended Public Power Week for the last decade with a big concert. The venue has changed from year to year, sometimes indoors, sometimes outdoors. “An outdoor concert works best,” he said. It’s a family event, with high school musical groups and students from the local arts school performing. Two years ago, KUA offered nighttime tours of its natural gas-fired power plant. “For scout groups and youth groups, it was an opportunity for a field trip.” And it was an opportunity for the utility to let the public know about the plant’s environmental benefits. “We use sewage effluent instead of ground water for cooling, so we avoid drawing roughly 900 million gallons of water a year from the aquifer,” said Gent. During Public Power Week, customers have an opportunity to learn more about the people—and the utility—that provide their electricity. Utilities have an opportu- community, said Roth. And that community includes utility employees. At the PUD’s spaghetti dinner, employees help develop an entertainment program. Idaho Falls Power includes its employees in planning for its Public Power Week open house. “They are involved from the start and often offer suggestions on activities,” said Van Ashton, the utility’s customer service manager. “We created a children’s fishing pond at one of our hydro plants, and one of our employees proposed a fishing contest for kids during Public Power Week.” Employees of Bryan Texas Utilities work both sides of the road and bike races—registering runners and cyclists and participating in the races, said the utility’s Reim. Owensboro Municipal Utilities in Kentucky launched its Power Run/Walk three years ago as a way of involving its employees in Public Power Week, said the utility’s Dixon. Public Power Week also is an ideal time for utilities to support community activities. In Wisconsin, Algoma Utilities asked customers to stop by its office with new, unused personal care items and cleaning supplies. The utility then donated the A compact fluorescent bulb and incandescent bulb are each connected to an electric meter to show customers of Kissimmee Utility Authority the difference in energy consumption. Photo courtesy KUA. Public Power Week is an excellent time to convey this message to customers. “The easiest way to save energy is to change a light bulb,” said Owensboro Municipal Utilities’ Dixon. Not surprisingly, Owensboro—and scores of other utilities—are offering compact fluorescent light bulbs to their customers. Kissimmee Utility Authority employees crafted a demonstration with two light bulbs—one incandescent, one compact fluorescent—attached to a meter. It was a compelling way to show the relative electricity use of each. “It’s expensive to build a power plant, so it’s important that our customers understand the impact of controlling their energy use,” said KUA’s Gent. “Energy efficiency is an ethic for our utility,” said Columbia River PUD’s Roth. This year, every family at the spaghetti dinner will receive one or two CFLs. Jefferson Utilities in Wisconsin has raised the energy efficiency ante through its Power Challenge. For the second consecutive year, the utility will challenge customers to reduce their electricity use by 15 percent in a one-month period compared with the same period a year ago. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2007 17 Public Power Week also is an ideal time for utilities to support community activities. nity to thank their customers. That’s why Columbia River People’s Utility District decided four years ago to host a spaghetti dinner. The Oregon PUD partners with the local Grange—a national rural family organization—to feed between 600 and 650 people. It’s so popular that customers ask the PUD: Will you have the dinner this year? “We try to make the dinner a community affair, a family affair,” said Thad Roth, the PUD’s market development and communications supervisor. “It’s a way to connect the community to the PUD.” The biggest challenge is finding a venue that can accommodate everyone, he said. The larger community—What matters about Public Power Week is engaging the www.APPAnet.org items to the Lakeside Community Action Partnership, which provides services, food and nutrition resources to people in the northeastern part of the state. Similarly, New Holstein Utilities partnered with two elementary schools in its Wisconsin community in a food drive. The utility also asked customers to donate food for the drive in exchange for a compact fluorescent light bulb. Columbia River PUD holds a raffle at its spaghetti dinner. There’s a catch, however. To participate in the raffle, those attending the dinner must contribute to the utility’s fuel fund, which is used for customers who may find it difficult to pay their utility bill. Increasingly, utilities are emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency, and http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - September/October 2007

Contents Washington Focus 10 Questions Public Power (Every) Week Training Tomorrow’s Work Force What’s in Your Wallet? U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment Now What? For Engineers Safety Community Broadband For Governing Boards Human Resources Hometown Connections Customer Service DEED Index to Advertisers Advertisers by Category Parting Shot

Public Power - September/October 2007

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