Ubits November / December 2020
TPU adapts and responds to the COVID-19 pandemic Nov. – Dec. Virtual Giving Tree Benefitting local families through The Salvation Army
Pierce County confirmed its first case of COVID-19 last March, following outbreaks in King County and worldwide. In line with guidance from Governor Jay Inslee and the Pierce County Health Department, Mayor Victoria Woodards declared a State of Emergency in Tacoma and suspended utility disconnects for nonpayment. Gov. Inslee ordered closure of businesses in our service area to slow the outbreak, and we closed our TPU lobby and Tacoma Power parks to the public. City employees began to telework, TPU implemented shift rotations for field staff, and the City stood up an Incident Command System for crisis response at the Fire Department. As public activity closed, TPU sprung to work. Emergency Management quickly assembled a team and meeting structure to keep the community and our employees informed about how the virus impacts our work and business, and guidelines for keeping customers and employees healthy and safe. The team also worked with our Key Accounts staff to source thermometers and enlisted community volunteers to sew masks for the several hundred employees who still
Virus Strikes
needed to report to the TPU campus for work. They also initiated a City-wide process to write “reconstitution” plans that will serve as re-entry protocols, once the City and County are in agreement that we can safely reoccupy our facilities and are in alignment with our local health jurisdiction and state guidance. ”To help our customers, Customer Services implemented technology quickly to make it possible for staff to assist people remotely,” said Utilities Director Jackie Flowers. “With businesses closed and many in the community out of work, TPU also spread the word that we offer payment assistance and arrangements, extended payment plans, late fee waivers, additional Customer Services hours, and would not disconnect services for nonpayment,” she added. Since many people in our community experienced financial hardships due to job loss, Customer Solutions stepped up by repurposing the utility’s Bill Payment Assistance funds into an Emergency Assistance program making $2.4 million available and expanded eligibility requirements to more than 10,000 customers in need to date.
Continued on page 7
In this issue
Page 2
High fives for Community Connection Leadership
Page 4
Advanced meters deploy
Page 5
Brown & Haley sweet deal
High fives for the Community Connection Leadership Team Now in its 33rd year, the CCLT is led by over 18 employees. They put in hundreds of hours and often work nights and weekends to help the program run smoothly. “The work coordinated by the CCLT is critical to the most vulnerable in our community and their access to the basics - food, shelter, heat, and water,” said Director Jackie Flowers. “I am consistently impressed by the dedication, leadership, and organizational skills of the CCLT.” Principles that guide the team: • F ocus on the most pressing human service needs our employees are best suited to address. Ebon Brown (CCLT member and lead for the 2020 Virtual Book Drive), Quyen Urick (early childhood outreach coordinator for Communities in Schools of Tacoma) and Christina Turner (TPU social responsibility manager) along with the 580 books employees donated to Communities in Schools last May.
• B uild strong relationships with community partners who demonstrate integrity, trustworthiness, and a clearly stated mission that matches our objectives. • U se our resources wisely to deliver measurable results within the communities we serve.
Volunteering and giving thrive at TPU through our employee volunteer program, Community Connection, which develops employees’ leadership skills, builds awareness of community needs, and develops empathy for our customers. However, making it all happen is no small feat.
• C reate a cooperative environment that fosters growth, learning, and development within our team, our employees and our communities.
LaTasha Wortham led the Community Connection Leadership Team (CCLT) for the last several months of 2019 in addition to her duties as regional relations manager for Public Affairs. She went above and beyond the normal call of duty, logging hours of extra work to manage the resources during a period of transition. Christina Turner, our new social responsibility manager, started on Jan. 27 and jumped in to lead the team finding creative ways to continue the momentum of employee giving during the pandemic. As the pandemic increased needs in our community, the CCLT changed the way employees and our families can support our community. When schools and public libraries closed in March, the need for children’s books grew. The team was determined to meet that need and set up a virtual book drive in May using an Amazon wish list. Employees exceeded expectations and bought over 580 books for Communities in Schools. The wish list worked so well, the team set up another in June for My Sister’s Pantry’s. Giving continued and employees raised $3,561.35 and contributed 5,000 individual food items and basic supplies. Their mission provides opportunities for employees and their families to leverage their unique skills and resources to help the communities we serve.
An employee from My Sister’s Pantry and Geri Schimpa, CCLT member and our 2020 lead for our My Sister’s Pantry Drive, assist with TPU donations.
A committee chooses over 40 projects annually that reflect our TPU values and concern for our neighbors, especially children, and seniors. A volunteer leader heads each project and encourages employees and their families and friends to participate. “Most importantly, they lead with their hearts,” Jackie said. “The CCLT has my full commitment and support.” The CCLT deserves a big high five the next time you see them.
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Tacoma Water focuses on conserving water with a smart new rebate Water conservation has always been top of mind at Tacoma Water. Part of its Water Conservation Plan is to reduce peak water use between May and October. At the peak, water use is often double the baseline wintertime use, due to customers watering lawns and outdoor plants.
bits & pieces
The utility launched a new rebate for smart irrigation controllers to help reduce high summertime water use. The rebate helps residential and business customers by offering them the ability to buy a smart controller at a lower price. A smart controller automatically adjusts the watering schedule based on local weather data, soil, and plant types to create a customized watering schedule. Customers who install smart irrigation controllers can rest assured knowing they are only watering as much as their landscape needs while saving money and reducing water waste. The utility makes it easy for customers to get their rebate with its online application, paperless approval process, and account credit delivery. Moving the rebate from concept to completion required time and took a wide variety of people to develop the paperless solutions for every step of the process, create awareness among all our internal stakeholders, iron out the legal details, and launch the program. Now, customers can save money, conserve water, and have a smart yard.
Virtual TPU Academy creates new opportunities for kids Our organization recently teamed up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound for the 3rd annual TPU Academy. The Academy provides STEAM learning opportunities for youth in the community tailored to TPU careers, a pathway for future employment, and helps Club members better understand the use of power and water resources, and railroad safety. The program looked different this year as TPU staff restructured the program from hands on to virtual learning.
“The virtual format breaks down barriers for kids as sometimes there are reasons kids can’t go offsite, travel for field trips or come in on certain days,” explained Fiona Cipiti, senior program lead for the Clubs. “Now they can join from home, the Club or on the go. It allows for further inclusion.” The innovation and willingness of leads Christian Paige, John Gaines, Megan Cammorano, Rochelle Gandour-Rood, Brian Johns and Jim Clark with the support of Kevin Madden, Wei Zhang, Kacee Woods, Danielle Szegeti, Scott Hallenberg, Daniel Broussard,
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Andrew Simpson, Maddie Gray, Kyle Coen, and Josh Banks was significant. Modifying the format allowed kids to see things in the field they wouldn’t otherwise see due to safety reasons. “Providing the program virtually gave us the opportunity to reach learners differently,” noted Christian. He is our Education Outreach manager. “In a traditional classroom, students raise their hand to ask a question. Virtually, they can chat or annotate on the screen; they get to use different tools, which led to some cool engagement, and students got to have a good time.” Utilities Director Jackie Flowers and Tacoma Mayor Woodards wrapped up the series with a graduation video to congratulate the kids for completing the course, encourage them to continuing learning about STEAM jobs, and inform them about how they might join the City or utility in the future. Based on the success of the program, a hybrid model is under consideration for future to leverage the value of hands on learning while broadening TPU Academy to more students with virtual segments.
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Utility gears up to deploy advanced meters in early 2021 “Our network infrastructure is the heartbeat of the system, securely and wirelessly connecting customer meters to our TPU data systems,” said Advanced Meter Network Deployment manager, Pat Bacon. “Successful construction of the network will be a result of teamwork and coordination among multiple TPU departments, Sensus, and our contractors.” The Public Utility Board also adopted a variety of new policies in July and August, including an Advanced Meter Opt-Out Policy and Customer Side Repair Policy. The policies will provide governance to ready the utility for deployment and address people who might not wish to have a communicating advanced electric meter or need meter installation related repairs at their home.
Brandon Bol installs a new advanced water meter.
In late September, crews from our Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water meter shops began to install our long-awaited modern meters at 230 homes and businesses. The initial small group of live meters will help the team validate our advanced metering system to ensure the utility can collect usage data from the new meters and process it through SAP for billing. The system validation will continue until early 2021 to ensure we can convert all customers to monthly billing successfully before full meter deployment throughout our service area.
“Staff worked closely with our utility leadership, Board, and City Council to develop policies that will ensure a smooth meter installation for all customers,” said Matt Hubbard, Advanced Meter Workstream lead. “Business leads from each division have been involved since day one and will continue to play a key role in implementing these new processes in our daily work.” Employees impacted by initial new processes or changes relating to advanced metering began to train in September and training will continue through the remainder of the year for additional staff. A change
“Staff worked extremely hard to ensure our first meter installs were a success,” said Advanced Meter Program manager, Andre’ Pedeferri. “We continue to monitor daily meter data, validate advanced features such as remote disconnect/reconnect, and will validate all billing processes for accuracy before moving to mass meter deployment.” Deploying the new meters is the start for TPU to provide customers with many great benefits advanced metering infrastructure offers, including increased privacy, control, convenience, automated meter reads, monthly billing, faster response to outages, and more efficient move-in/move-out services. Construction of the three radio communication network sites necessary for the initial advanced meter deployment area were completed in mid-August. Full construction of the Phase 1 network is slated for completion this fall, ahead of mass deployment in early 2021. Constructing Phase 1 of the network includes 48 base stations that involves placing 27 poles and antenna units at or near substations within our service area. An additional 11 antennas are being installed on existing power and water facilities. The final 10 antennas for this phase will go on existing communication towers. In Phase 2, the utility will add more sites as needed to strengthen network coverage throughout our service area.
agent network of 30 employees throughout the utility started in June in an effort to foster timely and open communication between the advanced metering program team and other employees in a peer-to-peer setting. Monthly virtual lunch and learns, open to all TPU employees, also provide opportunities to learn more about advanced metering. Lunch and learn topics include customer communications, deployment planning, and live system demonstrations. The sessions will continue through the end of the year and include an all TPU update before mass meter deployment begins.
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Tacoma Power and Brown & Haley create a sweet deal for candy production
Brown & Haley considered removing two tall towering poles in their driveway for years but had challenges determining the best way to do it and how to involve the right people. The candy maker turned to the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Utilities for assistance with the removal of the 80-year-old traffic hazard. Removing the long-time hazard also modernized operations for the candy company. The joint project started for Tacoma Power over four years ago with engineers Dan Lovato and Dan Reed discussing the distribution pole, overhead transformer bank location, and new requirements for electric service. To ensure
Kudos to the crews Crew 407
Charles Williams - Crew Foreman and Job Lead Andy Printz - Lineman Clem Corbiell - Lineman Alfonzo Gonzales -Apprentice Robert Bennett - L.E.O.
Crew 438 Ivan Welch - Line Foreman Landon Taylor - Lineman Donny Blank - Lineman
success, they included several other departments including construction supervisors from Tacoma Power Transmission & Distribution, inspector Mike Robinson, two power crews, and engineering specialists Mike Bell and John Green. Together the team assisted the contractor to ensure they met the maintenance downtime window for the candy company by quickly installing the new transformer to continue electric service. The upgrades modernized the long-time Tacoma business without breaking its bank, and the team met its project requirements. Account executive Dave Rosholm also coordinated the agreements between all parties over several months.
“I watched this historic moment with CEO, Pierson Clair and he was thoroughly impressed with the coordination and efficiency with which the two boom trucks and eight crew members worked,” Dave said of the experience. “Mr. Clair stated it was wellchoreographed and they worked so well together with hardly any communication that it was nothing short of amazing.”
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Tacoma Power crews work to remove two poles from the Brown & Haley driveway after years of obstruction.
Moving the transformers from the poles to the ground near existing utility boxes improved the supply of electricity to Brown & Haley. The move reduced potential outage risk from storm damage which could have negative impacts on many businesses in the area. The work also eliminated a safety hazard that trucks tried to avoid for years. “We had to work hard both internally and with many outside partners to align for this to happen,” said project manager Dan Reed. “It was gratifying to see the great outcome and how happy the customer was when those poles came down, and the new equipment went up.” Best of all, the landmark candy business will continue to grow in our community. The extra electricity will power two new candy wrapping machines later this year. “All stakeholders worked well together from the various departments within the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Power,” Dan added. “Most importantly, we keep a manufacturing plant in Tacoma.” That’s good news for everyone who loves Almond ROCA.
Recent retirees
Thank you for your service
MARCH Dave Anthony, a Tacoma Rail locomotive engineer, retired after 20 years. Chris McMeen, a Tacoma Water deputy superintendent, retired after 18 years. Wayne Snow, a Tacoma Power Electrical Meter & Relay technician, retired after 22 years.
APRIL John Clements, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Telecom Network technician, retired after 22 years. Bret Forrester, a Tacoma Power supervisor, retired after 15 years. John Jamison, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Telecom Technician Services supervisor, retired after 22 years. David Klock, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Telecom assistant supervisor, retired after 21 years.
Chuck Wiggins, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Network Operations Center technician, retired after 20 years.
MAY
Barbara Ostrander, a Tacoma Public Utilities senior financial manager, retired after 25 years.
Fran Chapin, a Tacoma Water, Water Control Station operator, retired after 25 years.
Roger Peery, a Tacoma Power Conservation supervisor, retired after 13 years.
Doug Johnson, a Tacoma Rail locomotive engineer, retired after 17 years.
JULY Lynn Bucher, a Tacoma Public Utilities customer accounts supervisor, retired after 22 years. Bruce Carter, a Tacoma Power Conservation assistant manager, retired after 13 years. Don Gesch, a Tacoma Power assistant section manager, retired after 38 years. Stephen Hamel, a Tacoma Power Electric Meter & Relay - advanced trainer, retired after 30 years.
Donna Leifester, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Sales & Service representative, retired after 8 years.
Fred Hendricks, a Tacoma Power Parks supervisor, retired after 12 years.
William Pearson, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Sales & Service representative, retired after 3.5 years.
Tony Kendall, a Tacoma Public Utilities Customer Services assistant manager, retired after 33 years.
Jeff Simmons, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Telecom technician, retired after 21 years. Ted Van Tuyl, a Tacoma Power Click! Network Broadband Services technician lead, retired after 22 years.
Kathy Munro, a Tacoma Public Utilities Customer Services technical representative, retired after 14 years.
Bret Larson, a Tacoma Power supervisor, retired after 28 years. Carol Matthews, a Tacoma Public Utilities Customer Services technical representative, retired after 14 years. Paula Mazurek, a Tacoma Power engineer technician, retired after 24 years.
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Patrick Prentice, a Tacoma Power custodian, retired after 14 years. Lisa Ross, a Tacoma Power Electric Meter & Relay - advanced trainer, retired after 29 years. Mark Schomaker, a Tacoma Power Tool & Equipment Room coordinator, retired after 13 years. Jeffrey Thomas, a Tacoma Water, Water Supply supervisor, retired after 6 years. Margie Villanueva, a Tacoma Power engineer, retired after 32.5 years. Carmen Watt, a Tacoma Public Utilities Customer Services supervisor, retired after 32 years. Marlon Williams, a Tacoma Public Utilities senior technical IT analyst, retired after 19 years. Suzanne Wright, a Tacoma Power Grounds Maintenance crew lead, retired after 16 years.
AUGUST Anita McGowan, a Tacoma Public Utilities senior technical IT analyst, retired after 20 years. Terry Storset, a Tacoma Rail railway conductor, retired after 17 years. We did not publish Ubits from March to October due to changes in operations from the COVID-19 pandemic. We will publish retirees for September through December in our January/February Ubits.
Welcome new employees
Hannah Ball Senior Utilities Economist Tacoma Power
Timothy Carothers Power Engineer Tacoma Power
Skyla Fisher Assistant Park Supervisor Tacoma Power
Jeremy Graves Systems Power Dispatcher Tacoma Power
Todd Kanyer Project Manager Tacoma Power
Lura Landon Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Mark McCabe Power Engineer Tacoma Power
Rebekah Medford Real-Time Energy Trader Tacoma Power
Luke Meier Data Architecture Manager Tacoma Power
Rhonda Middleton Workforce Coordinator Tacoma Public Utilities
Nora Ramirez Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Chris Ryan Engineer Tacoma Water
Antoine Scott Senior Project Manager Tacoma Water
Nate Walters Power Engineer Tacoma Power
Makaila Woodard Systems Power Dispatcher Tacoma Power
TPU adapts and responds to the COVID-19 pandemic continued from page 1 Safety also became an imminent need for employees who are unable to work remotely. Our line and wire workers, water system staff, and other field employees adopted new safety protocols. They began reporting to different crew sites, implementing shift rotations, keeping physical distance when possible, coordinating vehicles in new ways, and wearing masks and gloves while working. “Our world changed in the blink of an eye in March. Suddenly, we couldn’t socialize in the shop. Apprentices began to take their own trucks, limiting socializing even more. However, one great thing happened! With COVID-19, and
more of our customers working and schooling from home, we can call ahead and make appointments with customers for meter exchanges, which cause momentary power outages,” said Electrical Meter and Relay technician Rebekah Wotton.
At first, City employees expected to return to work in May, then July, then after Labor Day. Eventually, in partnership with other Western Washington cities and counties, City officials decided to extend our telework status through June 28, 2021.
“Our customers appreciate the call. Before, we were giving customers little warning. I’m excited to see what comes out of these challenging times. After all, we cannot grow if we are stagnant. We’re learning to be kinder to one another.”
While our community waits for Pierce County to reopen, there is much great work to celebrate at TPU. These are just a few of the many ways Team TPU rises to the occasion. We continue to adapt and adjust under stressful circumstances to deliver on our mission of providing clean, safe, reliable electricity, water, and rail services to the communities we serve.
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Tacoma Public Utilities PO Box 11007 • Tacoma WA 98411
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Ubits is a publication for Tacoma Public Utilities employees and is provided as a courtesy to retirees. • Ubits@CityofTacoma.org • 253-254-9739
Electric transportation plans roll out after a long haul seeking legislative authority “With their endorsement, Tacoma Power is now able to offer programs that will promote transportation electrification for all the communities we serve.”
A TPU electric vehicle parked at a new charging station installed in 2019 at a Walmart.
House Bill 1512 was passed by both chambers of the Washington State Legislature and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019, giving public utilities clarified authority to engage in transportation electrification efforts. Our Public Utility Board then adopted Tacoma Power’s Transportation Electrification Plan and Strategic Guidelines in July to guide how the utility will promote electric transportation to our customers. “I am pleased that the Public Utility Board formally adopted the Transportation Electrification Plan,” said Cam LeHouillier, manager of Energy Research and Development.
Tacoma Power is a member of a coalition of publicly owned utilities that for years sought clear legislative authority to offer electric transportation programs to customers. Until HB 1512 passed into law, our ability to engage the public to promote electric transportation was uncertain due to legal precedent. HB 1512 clarifies that the legislature sees a role for power utilities to promote and provide the public with direct incentives to advance electric transportation. We have had electric transportation programs since early 2016 and Tacoma Power established a reputation for supporting electric transportation through partnerships with the City of Tacoma, LeMay – America’s Car Museum, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Forth, Puget Sound Energy, and Cheney Stadium to host demonstration events, with more than 1,000 people participating overall. Over 400 came and experienced the fun of driving an electric vehicle 8 (EV) through the
events. Education and outreach are critical to informing the public about the benefits of EVs and continue to be an ongoing effort. “Electric vehicles are less expensive to operate and provide cleaner air for everyone, especially in Tacoma where the power is clean and inexpensive,” Cam stated. Our utility also assisted the City of Tacoma in launching the first Electric Car Discount Program in the State of Washington and is currently in year two of a residential EV Charging Study. “We are excited to be able to finally offer new types of transportation electrification programs that benefit our customers and bring revenue back to the utility,” added Chris Weber, an analyst for Tacoma Power. The utility also wrote a Transportation Electrification Action Report to accompany the Transportation Electrification Plan and Strategic Guidelines. The Action Report will assist the Board in understanding Tacoma Power’s efforts to advance electric transportation. The utility will update the Action Report annually.
