Several key leaders who have made significant contributions to public power were recently honored at the Utah Associated Municipal Systems (UAMPS) 2015 Member Meeting in Salt Lake City. Matt Draper, vice chair of the UAMPS board, presented the awards.
New UAMPS officers were also elected at the Member Meeting, including Jackie Flowers, general manager of Idaho Falls Power, as board chair; Jason Norlen, representing Heber Light & Power, as vice chair; Les Williams, representing Beaver City, as secretary; and Dwight Day, representing Oak City, as treasurer.
Honorees included:
- Mike Lehto, Champion of Public Power award. Lehto is completing his fourth 4-year term as a member of the Idaho Falls City Council and has served as liaison to the electric department for many years. He has been instrumental in leading Idaho Falls Power in establishing important new policies and has been a stalwart supporter and defender of public power.
- Stephanie Miller, mayor of Hyrum City, Elected Official of the Year. Miller has made Hyrum City Power a high priority and has worked to improve the system while maintaining reliability and fair power rates. She has shown vision and unusual devotion in the performance of her duties.
- Terry Winter, Appointed Official of the Year. Winter serves on Hurricane City’s Power Board and has brought vast experience and depth of knowledge to help work through complicated issues like grid-tied solar and a customer rate increase.
- Allen Johnson, Distinguished Service Award. Johnson is ending his third term as UAMPS Board Chair. He represents Bountiful City and has been involved with UAMPS for many years, leading numerous projects and initiatives.
- Woody Berry, Employee of the Year. Berry is approaching the end of a 36-year career at Lehi City Power. He has made many contributions in more than three decades of work and has an exceptional love and passion for public power.
- Logan City, Smart Energy Innovation Award. Logan recently installed a community solar project and created a new Residential Solar Rate to allow residential customers to participate in solar energy. The project has been so popular that phases 2 and 3 are being planned and slots are already being filled up.
- System Improvement Awards were presented to Beaver City Power Department, Hyrum City Power, Lehi Power, and Logan Light & Power.
- Beaver substantially rebuilt and upgraded two old substations with new transformers to better serve city residents. The city is also upgrading transmission lines and poles, rebuilding hydro plants, and installing a Smart Meter Read System.
- Hyrum replaced a 1960s oil circuit breaker that was failing and is installing Ethernet for instantaneous meter readings. The city has rebuilt three miles of three-phase line and upgraded a hydro plant.
- Lehi kept pace with rapid population increases and higher electricity demands while maintaining a high standard of reliability. Lehi improved monitoring ability by installing a new System Control and Data Acquisition system, while also completing a major substation conversion and adding a new substation.
- Logan replaced aging transformers with new twin 25 MVA transformers, allowing for future population growth and increased electricity demand. Backup capabilities and reliability were also increased.
Presentations and speeches at the Member Meeting focused on UAMPS 2015 accomplishments, investigation of small modular nuclear energy technology, the challenges facing public power, and financing issues related to public power projects.
UAMPS is a joint action agency providing wholesale electricity and electric energy services to 45 public power utility members in eight western states. Established in 1980, UAMPS helps its members with planning, financing, development, acquisition, construction, operation and maintenance of various projects for the generation, supply, transmission and management of electric energy.
