STRIPES to streamline procurement process

Senior Contracting Officer Todd Tetrault completes the first production purchase via STRIPES, verifying web service connection between STRIPES and BIDDS.

A new procurement management system for Western had been in the works since 2008, but on Feb. 1 became a reality when the Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System was implemented throughout Western. STRIPES is a procurement and contract management program, chosen by the Department of Energy to be used agencywide as part of the electronic government initiative. Its implementation reduces the number of procurement-related systems used across DOE and streamlines many aspects of the procurement process.

Read the full story on Western’s website.

Western customer recognized for including the public in IRP process

Western’s Rocky Mountain Region Manager Brad Warren  presented Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s CEO Ken Anderson an Administrator’s award in recognition of Tri-State’s exceptional energy efficiency and renewable energy contributions.

Tri-State earned this peer-recognition award for going above the standards to engage the public in its Integrated Resource Plan process.

“Tri-State went the extra mile to involve stakeholders, and that was a tremendous effort to undertake,” said Warren.

See the news release for more information.

Western helps neighboring utility overcome storm damage

Lineman Ryan Wheeler from Western’s Redding maintenance office uses a hot stick to remove snow from a transmission line.

A Western Sierra Nevada line crew heeded a call for mutual aid and assistance from a neighboring utility and customer Jan. 20 in response to the unexpectedly severe Pacific Northwest winter storm, which had extensively damaged the utility’s local transmission system.

Western’s Sierra Nevada Region Redding line crew worked closely with linemen from Trinity Public Utilities District along steep and rugged terrain Jan. 20 through 22 to restore power to the citizens of Weaverville, Douglas City, Lewistown and Hayfork in northern California, or about 8,000 citizens.

Read more at Western’s Newsroom.

Aberdeen Central High School wins S.D. regional science bowl

Aberdeen Central’s Team No. 2 was the winner of the 2012 South Dakota Regional Science Bowl held Saturday at Huron Event Center. The team qualified for the national tournament this April in Washington, D.C. Pictured are, from left, Coach Janet Palmer, Diana Peck, Matthew Guthmiller, Patrick Dawn, Coach Chuck Hermansen and Luke Malsom. (Photo courtesy of Sean M.X. Kelley, Plainsman newspaper)

Aberdeen Central High School Team 2 of Aberdeen, S.D., won the South Dakota Regional Science Bowl Jan. 21 at the Huron Event Center. The winning team, including Diana Peck, Patrick Dawn, Matthew Guthmiller and Luke Malsom and Coaches Jan Palmer and Chuck Hermansen, advances to Washington, D.C., April 26-30 to compete against 77 other regional winners in the national finals of the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl.

Aberdeen Central High School Team 1 finished second and Rapid City Central High School of Rapid City, S.D., finished third.

Twenty-one teams from high schools all over South Dakota competed for the regional title. Many of these teams spent months preparing for this regional event, which features head-to-head competition in a fast-paced question and answer format similar to Jeopardy. The students competed to be the first to answer questions on all science disciplines including astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, mathematics and physics, as well as math.

This is the 19th year for the South Dakota Regional Science Bowl hosted by Western Area Power Administration. Science Bowl encourages high school students to excel in math and science and to pursue careers in those fields.

More than 13,000 high school students from schools in 46 states and Puerto Rico will compete in the national competition. Since 1991, more than 130,000 students and teachers have participated.

Reclamation Extends Comment Period on Glen Canyon Dam Operations EIS

After receiving a number of requests, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Park Service decided to extend the scoping period for a new Environmental Impact Statement related to the operation of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River from Dec. 30 to Jan. 31.

During the scoping period, agencies determine what factors to consider in the EIS and gather comments from the public to identify social, economic and environmental concerns and project alternatives to evaluate.

The EIS, which is jointly led by Reclamation and the Park Service, involves adopting a Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan for the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam.

The plan, the first comprehensive review of dam operations in 15 years, will ensure that regulated flows on the Colorado River meet the goals of supplying hydroelectricity and water for communities, agriculture and industry; protecting endangered species; and lessening the impact on downstream ecosystems, including the Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon.

Changes to current water flows will be evaluated as “alternatives” in the EIS.

For more information on the EIS or how to submit a comment, visit the project’s web site.

Western wins APPA 2011 Annual Report Contest award

Ingenuity and creativity in copy, design, financial data, graphics and communicating the agency’s special story earned Western the American Public Power Association’s Award of Merit for Western’s Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report.

On Wednesday, Annual Report Project Manager Jennifer Neville accepted the award on behalf of Western during the APPA Customer Connections Conference in Savannah, Ga. “I feel honored that our efforts to support our customers and to communicate on a level that matches their style is being recognized,” Neville remarked. 

The APPA award is the first that Western’s annual reports have received. Neville believes that the report was selected due to its different visual look and style. “This is the first year that we have used a graphical, painted theme rather than photographs,” Neville explained. “Once we devised the theme, Roadmap for Renewable Energy, Graphical Designer, Grant Kuhn, came up with designs, and this one was the clear choice by Senior Managers.”

Read more on Western’s website.

Bill to repeal TIP’s borrowing authority moves to full House

House Resolution 2915, which proposes to repeal Western’s Transmission Infrastructure Program’s $3.25 billion borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury, passed the House of Representatives Committee of Natural Resources with no amendments Oct. 5 with a 26-17 straight party-line vote.

While the three projects currently approved to use the borrowing authority – TransWest Express (development phase), Electrical District 5 – Palo Verde Hub and the Montana Alberta Tie, Limited – would not be impacted by the bill’s passage, no other projects being considered would receive funding.

“New transmission is urgently needed in the western United States.  And yet, getting lines in the air has been far too slow over the past few decades,” said Lauren Azar, senior advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, in a written testimony for a Sept. 22 hearing with the Subcommittee on Water and Power. “Western’s $3.25 billion of permanent, indefinite, borrowing authority is, therefore, a critical tool for addressing two of the major energy challenges we now face in the West — the need for additional transmission infrastructure and integration of renewables onto the grid.”

The bill will now be considered in the full House.

TIP’s borrowing authority constructs or upgrades transmission infrastructure within Western’s 15-state service area that has the reasonable expectation of helping deliver renewable generation to customers and is in the public interest.

One of TIP’s projects chosen for fast-track approval

The Department of Energy announced, Oct. 5, seven transmission projects chosen by President Obama’s administration for accelerated permitting and constructing by the newly-formed Rapid Response Team for Transmission, which brings together nine agencies to expedite and improve the coordination of necessary Federal approvals for building transmission.

One of the chosen projects, TransWest Express, is currently being funded partially by Western’s Transmission Infrastructure Program’s borrowing authority. Western will provide $25 million, or 50 percent, for the development phase to determine the technical feasibility of building the project.

“The RRTT selection highlights the TWE Project’s importance to the overall grid, its economic and environmental benefits, and its ability to create and sustain competitive, cost-effective energy for consumers in California and other states,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of TransWest Express LLC.

About Rapid Response Team for Transmission
The agencies included in the team are the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Proposed Bill could cancel TIP

The Subcommittee on Water and Power, within the House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources, held a hearing Thursday on  H.R. 2915.  This bill would repeal Western’s borrowing authority that was granted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The borrowing authority is placed into law as an amendment to the Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984, and is carried out by the Transmission Infrastructure Program office. To hear what the issues are, you can watch the hearing on the Natural Resources Committee website.

Western, TWE execute development agreement for TransWest Express Transmission Project

A major milestone for the TransWest Express Transmission Project was reached Friday as the Western Area Power Administration and TransWest Express LLC announced an agreement to fund the project’s $50 million development phase.

The TWE Project development phase will determine the feasibility of constructing and operating a 725-mile, 600-kilovolt, direct current transmission line that would facilitate renewable energy delivery from Wyoming to the southwestern United States. The project would interconnect with the existing transmission grid near Rawlins, Wyo., and the Marketplace Hub, near Las Vegas, Nev.

Western’s Transmission Infrastructure Program will use its U.S. Treasury borrowing authority under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act amendement to the Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984 to fund 50 percent of the development phase. TWE , LLC will fund the other $25 million.

The press release in its entirety can be read in Western’s online Newsroom.