With quiet conviction and courage, the public power utilities that make up our membership are working hard through this crisis to make sure that electricity is flowing to the critical services and infrastructure so important to our communities. The NWPPA staff is honored to be working for these people, these companies, and the customers they serve.
To serve member needs, NWPPA will continue to be forward thinking with our training events and other activities. Our team is working hard to move many classes into virtual mode, reschedule events when possible, and enhance our web-based options. We have created this webpage as a clearinghouse for all COVID-19-related information.
Dedicated to safety here and in the community, our staff will continue to work remotely for the time being. We will continue to monitor local, state, and federal updates to help inform the scheduling and delivery method of future events.
While these are trying times, public power is highly skilled at handling emergency situations and the ability to adapt in difficult circumstances. We will come out on the other side stronger than ever. Thank you for your perseverance. Take care and stay safe.
Scott Corwin
NWPPA Executive Director
Take a look at these COVID-19-related articles from the latest 2020 Bulletin Magazines.
April Cover Story
NWPPA News
Executive Director
Marketing/Communications
Information Technology
Legal
Customer Service
Washington D.C.
Utility Responses to COVID-19
Thank you to all of our NWPPA members who have shared their policies and practices concerning Coronavirus. The following is a clearinghouse of the news releases we have received. We are sharing these here for your information and as
2020 NWPPA Annual Meeting Postponed
April 3
NWPPA’s Annual Conference and Membership Meeting is always a time of great joy. It is where several hundred board members and staff of consumer-owned utilities from across the greater Northwest gather to learn, network, and catch up with friends and colleagues. Not only is this event a great educational opportunity that highlights important topics that impact our members, but it is also a time of community. We value the time it affords us to elect our trustees and officers, as well as acknowledge and honor those who stand out in our industry.
I am sad to announce that this year’s annual meeting scheduled for May 17-20 in Kennewick, Wash., must be postponed. The board meeting for May is also postponed. We have not made this decision lightly; however, forecasts show that safety concerns from COVID-19, restrictions against large events in Washington state, and travel restrictions for our members are likely to continue into May. All of these factors impede our ability to guarantee that we can hold the top-tier event that our members expect and deserve. Our primary consideration will always be the safety of our members and staff, and we strive to involve our broadest membership in the events that we convene.
We are looking at moving the annual meeting business elements, and some educational ones as well, to a day associated with our board meeting in the second week of September at the Murano in Tacoma. As we confirm the logistics, we will provide more details about a rescheduled annual meeting in 2020 via our communication channels, including www.nwppa.org and social media. In the meantime, those who are already registered for the 2020 event will receive refund information via email.
For next year’s annual meeting, our goal is to schedule it in Kennewick and roll forward many of the elements that we were so looking forward to enjoying in the Tri-Cities.
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this unprecedented time. I look forward to seeing you all at our annual meeting—and other live events—as soon as possible.
Scott Corwin
NWPPA Executive Director
NWPPA Events and Office Update
As stated before, NWPPA’s primary consideration will always be the safety of our members and staff. As a training organization, we also strive to involve our broadest membership in our events. We have been closely monitoring both the status of public health concerns and the increasing travel restrictions at our member utilities; as a result we have postponed or rescheduled the remainder of our March events as well as several in April, including our largest event, the Engineering & Operations and Trade Show scheduled for April 7-9 in Reno, Nev.
We will continue to evaluate our upcoming events on a case-by-case basis and have a list of affected events on our website at https://www.nwppa.org/updates-and-cancellations/. If the status of an event changes, we will promptly provide any updates to registrants. For certain events, virtual options may be available.
For registered attendees needing to cancel because of a travel restriction or health concern, we will make every effort to reschedule them into a later class or event. If rescheduling is not possible, we will provide a full refund of fees.
To keep our employees and the public as safe as possible, we have also asked most staff to work from home this week. We expect our members to see minimal change from this as all staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality of service to our membership at all times.
NWPPA will continue to closely monitor these issues and take our lead from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, as well as local, state, and regional governments. We will also continue to monitor and honor travel restrictions at our member utilities.
As the impact of the coronavirus evolves, NWPPA will continue to share information and updates as well as how it impacts the public power community. In the immediate term, NWPPA is strongly encouraging attendees, as well as staff, to practice recommended health and safety habits.
Scott Corwin,
NWPPA Executive Director
2020 NWPPA E&O Conference and Trade Show Update
March 12
NWPPA’s primary consideration will always be the safety of our members and staff. As a training organization, we also strive to involve our broadest membership in our events. We have been closely monitoring both the status of public health concerns and the increasing travel restrictions at our member utilities; as a result the 2020 Engineering & Operations Conference and Trade Show scheduled for April 7-9 in Reno, Nev., has been postponed with the intention to reschedule the event in whole or in part later in the year.
Over 1,000 people attend our annual E&O Conference, which is our largest event. We know our members, sponsors, vendors, and speakers have come to rely on this event for valuable education on operational matters pertinent to our industry. It is because of these valuable takeaways that we hope to find a location and time to hold the event later in 2020. Thank you to everyone who has helped us come to this decision and vowed to work on rescheduling the event, including those on the E&O Planning Committee, our board of trustees, and our staff.
We will distribute more information as soon as possible. Those who are registered for the event will receive refund information via email from NWPPA but will need to cancel their own hotel and travel reservations.
NWPPA will continue to closely monitor these issues and take our lead from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, as well as local, state, and regional governments. We will also continue to monitor and honor travel restrictions at our member utilities.
We will evaluate other upcoming events on a case-by-case basis; if the status of an event changes, we will promptly provide any updates. Unless otherwise noted, NWPPA events will occur as scheduled. For certain events, virtual options may be available. For registered attendees of any event needing to cancel because of a travel restriction or health concern, we will make every effort to reschedule them into a later class or event.
As the impact of the coronavirus evolves, NWPPA will continue to share information and updates as well as how it impacts the public power community. In the immediate term, NWPPA is strongly encouraging attendees, as well as staff, to practice recommended health and safety habits.
Scott Corwin,
NWPPA Executive Director
COVID-19 Update and Statement
March 5
A message from NWPPA Executive Director, Scott Corwin:
NWPPA’s primary consideration will always be the safety of our members and staff; we are closely monitoring the status of public health concerns and taking our lead from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, as well as local, state, and regional governments.
We are evaluating our upcoming events on a case-by-case basis; if the status of an event changes, we will promptly provide any updates to registrants. Unless otherwise noted, NWPPA events will occur as scheduled. For certain events, virtual options may be available.
For registered attendees needing to cancel because of a travel restriction or health concern, we will make every effort to reschedule them into a later class or event. If rescheduling is not possible, we will provide a full refund of fees.
Taking precautions
As the impact of the coronavirus evolves, NWPPA will continue to share information and updates as well as how it impacts the public power community. In the immediate term, NWPPA is encouraging attendees, as well as staff, to practice the recommended health habits:
- If you are feeling feverish or coughing prior to arriving at an event, please stay home.
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the trash.
- Maintain social distancing by keeping at least three feet of distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
- Disinfect personal items such as laptops and cellphones that you use often.
- Event attendees may also want to consider the adoption of practices such as a no-handshake policy or reducing physical business card exchanges.
- Most of all, if you start feeling feverish or coughing during an event, please stay in your room and notify nwppa@nwppa.org so that we are aware of your condition.
If you have any questions or would like to share what your own utility is doing to manage the situation, please contact us at nwppa@nwppa.org. Thank you very much for your involvement with and support of NWPPA!