Wire
IMPA
News from the Indiana Municipal Power Agency
May/June 2014 • Volume 20, Issue 3
IMPA welcomes solar
energy into its power
supply portfolio
President’s Message
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—by Raj G. Rao
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency
(IMPA) became 25 people stronger when
the Agency’s Board of Commissioners
recently voted to amend the Capacity
Purchase Agreement with Richmond for
IMPA to operate the Whitewater Valley
Station (WWVS).
Though new to IMPA, one of
the greatest assets of IMPA’s new staff
members is that they are not new to the
plant. On average, they have 22 years
of experience operating WWVS.The
employees harness a high level of expertise
and a dedicated work ethic, which IMPA
was especially impressed by during the very
cold days of early 2014. The WWVS staff
- continued on page 3
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency welcomes
its newest staff members, who will operate the
Whitewater Valley Station in Richmond, Indiana.
Pictured above (back row from left to right): Jim
Chaplin, Steve Clark, Rick Pennington, Scott Sweet,
Chico Cotton, Jerry Spicer, Scott Schultz and Mel
Bond; (middle row from left to right): Doug Buresh,
Larry Thomas, Jerry Catron, Dan Straight, Doug
Friend, John Reeves, Jeff Newton and Mark Phenis;
(front row from left to right): Chris Cox, Raj Rao,
Steve Brown and Jack Alvey.
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The Indiana Municipal Power
Richmond, IN
Agency’s (IMPA) two, newly
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energized solar parks are
PA TIN
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more than environmentally
LA CU
O
S ON
responsible resources. They
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RI
will also provide the 60
August 22
communities IMPA serves
with a wholesale power supply
that is low-cost and reliable well into the future.
The solar parks, each providing one megawatt
of power, are located in Frankton and Rensselaer. Both
parks feature fixed-tilt panels, which maximize output
while balancing installation and maintenance costs. IMPA
managed these projects cost effectively by internalizing the
general contracting and engineering services necessary to
construct the parks.
A third solar park in Richmond, expected to be
complete in July, will be celebrated along with the other
two solar parks with a ribbon cutting ceremony planned for
August 22. The Richmond solar park will also produce one
megawatt of power through the use of panels that track the
sun’s movement from east to west.
The completion of these three solar parks does not
spell the end of solar power generation in IMPA’s power
supply portfolio, however. Rather, the IMPA Board
of Commissioners approved moving forward with five
additional solar locations at the Board’s May meeting. The
Agency’s goal is to locate a solar park in every IMPA-served
community over time. W
Inside
New employees
welcomed into
IMPA family
page 2 - EPA rules to impact Indiana’s ratepayers
page 3 - Groundbreaking of new IMPA facilities
page 4 - IMPA staff updates
IMPA Wire
May/June 2014
page 2
May/June 2014
Proposed EPA rules to have grave impact on Indiana’s ratepayers
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Simply put, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan could be a game
changer for Indiana’s electric utilities and ratepayers.The rules propose a 30 percent reduction in carbon
emissions for existing coal-fired generation facilities nationwide by 2030. Indiana’s emissions reduction target
alone is 20 percent.Such a rule will cause direct harm to Indiana by increasing electric rates and eliminating
jobs.
The United States – and the Midwest in particular – have long relied on coal-fired generation as a
significant portion of its power supply.Coal is low-cost, plentiful and with the latest technologies has very
high pollutant removal and operating efficiencies.Yet the EPA’s proposed rules for both new and existing
coal-fired power plants seek to eliminate using the resource that has helped to build Indiana’s economy.
Currently, a technology that reduces carbon emissions from coal-fired plants has not been proven on a utility
scale and is therefore not commercially viable.Consequently, in order to comply with EPA’s proposed rules, a
significant amount of coal generation will have to be retired and replaced with renewables, nuclear and natural
gas resources.This will come at a huge cost.While the EPA analysis of the Plan estimates that the average
residential rate will actually decrease, IMPA believes that the replacement of coal generation with renewable,
nuclear and natural gas resources will create a significant rate increase.On the losing end of proposed rules are
businesses, middle-class and low-income customers, as well as retirees who will feel the full force of the rate
increase.
IMPA has long dedicated itself to providing a low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible power
supply to its 60 member communities.Over the past 30 years, IMPA has invested hundreds of millions of
dollars in the latest environmental controls to protect the air and water. IMPA continues to advocate for a
balanced approach that encourages a diverse mix of energy sources.W
IMPA Member leaders recognized with national awards
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(Top middle) Lawrenceburg
Municipal Utilities General
Manager Mel Davis and (bottom
middle) Walkerton Public Works
Director Kent VanDyne stand with
American Public Power Agency
(APPA) Nominations and Awards
Committee Chair Phyllis Currie
and APPA Board of Directors Chair
Gary Stauffer at the APPA National
Conference in June.The other
awarded IMPA Members were not
in attendance at the conference.
page 3
IMPA remembers those recently lost
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) mourns the loss of two
people that made enormous impacts on the Agency and public power.
Keith McClarnon, a founding father of the Agency, passed away in
early May and Mike Buffington, Electric Superintendent of Geneva,
Illinois and longtime Peru and Lawrenceburg IMPA Commissioner,
died in June.
McClarnon’s contributions to IMPA and his community have
been felt by many.McClarnon served the City of Greenfield as its
IMPA mourns the loss of Mike Buffington (left)
Mayor for five consecutive terms, first elected in 1976. He served on and Keith McClarnon (right), pictured with IMPA
the IMPA Board of Commissioners when the Agency began operations President and CEO Raj Rao.
in 1983 until 1994 and was always a strong supporter of public power.
Buffington, originally from Peru, was the General Manager of Peru Utilities and Lawrenceburg
Municipal Utilities Director before moving to Illinois. He served as the Northern Illinois Municipal Power
Agency President (NIMPA), was a member of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency Board of Directors and a
member of the Prairie State Generating Company Management Committee for NIMPA.
The IMPA family extends its sympathies to the McClarnon and Buffington families during this time of
loss.The Agency is grateful for the service these great men provided the public power industry. W
IMPA breaks ground
on new facilities
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The American Public Power Association (APPA), at its annual national
conference, recognized four individuals from communities served by the
Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) for their service to public power.
APPA bestowed Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities General Manager Mel Davis
with the James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award, Tell City Mayor
Barbara Ewing with the Spence Vanderlinden Public Official Award, Walkerton
Utilities Superintendent Kent VanDyne with the Larry Hobart Seven Hats
Award and City of Greenfield Director of Utilities Michael Fruth with the
Honor Roll Award.
Davis, who is to retire from Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities in
August, has sat on APPA’s Board since 2007, most recently having held the
position of Board Vice Chairman. Davis has also been part of the IMPA Board
of Commissioners since 2002.
Mayor Ewing is a steadfast supporter of public power, having attended
several APPA Legislative Rallies to speak with Indiana’s political leaders about
the issues affecting Tell City and Indiana’s municipal electric utilities.
VanDyne oversees the Town of Walkerton’s electric and water utilities,
though he will do whatever needs done in town.His work ethic has been
instrumental in maintaining Walkerton’s low-cost, reliable electric system.
Fruth oversees every City of Greenfield utility and is the community’s
representative on the IMPA Board of Commissioners.As Commissioner, he has
been integral in the Agency’s legislative efforts to advocate for public power.
IMPA congratulates this year’s APPA award recipients as they greatly
deserve the honor for their commitment to public power.W
IMPA Wire
At the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) Board of
Commissioners May meeting, the Agency broke ground on
a new, 14,000 square foot conference center in Carmel,
Indiana. The project, which is expected to take nine months
to complete, will also include the renovation of an existing
building to create more office space. Pictured above are
representatives of IMPA’s Board of Commissioners, IMPA
staff, the general contractor, Brandt Construction, and
the architecture firm, Blackline, at the groundbreaking
ceremony. “In over 30 years of operations, we have grown
from a small agency providing power to only 11 municipally
owned utilities to a $1.6 billion company serving 60
communities in Indiana and Ohio,” said Raj Rao, President
and CEO of IMPA. “We are excited for the opportunity
to create an expanded office space and state-of-the-art
meeting center that will reliably serve the needs of our
members and our staff for years to come.” W
President’s letter
- continued from page 1
had to thaw the plant’s frozen equipment and slowly
bring the generating station online to produce power
during a period of exceptionally high energy demand
– a process that took both skill and teamwork.This
is just one illustration of how these employees already
embody the Agency’s culture.
From afar, IMPA’s day-to-day operations
that ensure the Agency continues providing lowcost, reliable and environmentally responsible
power may look easy. But that is only because of the
IMPA staff’s hard work behind the scenes. The new
WWVS employees have already proven that they too
are dedicated to working hard and will fit seamlessly
into the IMPA family.
As WWVS’s operators are faithful to their
work, so too shall IMPA be committed to the
employees. The Agency is devoted to safety at the
WWVS so that every employee may go home every
night unharmed.
IMPA is very fortunate to have such a
knowledgeable staff ready to operate WWVS.The
Agency, its staff and all 60 communities that IMPA
serves with power welcomes these employees with
open arms.W
May/June 2014
IMPA Wire
page 4
IMPA staff updates
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Dmitrii Markitanov
Brodie Williams
Steve Brown
Joe Schmidt
Two new employees have joined the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) staff while
two other employees were recently promoted. IMPA welcomes Dmitrii Markitanov and
Brodie Williams to the Agency and congratulates Steve Brown and Joe Schmidt on their
promotions.
Markitanov was hired as an Electrical Engineer, most recently working at NPK
Promir LLC as a Senior Electrical Engineer and at Energoset Project Institute as a Senior
Electric Grid Reliability Engineer. Both companies are located in Moscow, Russia.
Markitanov has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Power Engineering from
Chuvash State University in Cheboksary, Russia.
Williams joins IMPA as a Market Operations Coordinator with a Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration from Ball State University. His most recent position
was with Lumiga LLC.
Brown has been promoted to General Manager of the Whitewater Valley Station
in Richmond. Brown joined IMPA in 2000 as a Market Operations Coordinator and is
a Master Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Prior to
joining IMPA, Brown worked at Richmond Power and Light Whitewater Valley Station as
a Shift Supervisor.
Schmidt has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, ISC Engineering, a
role in which he is now responsible for the management of ISC engineering staff, project
assignments, project budgets, schedules and the billing process. IMPA members are
encouraged to contact Schmidt at (317)573-9955 for ISC engineering services.W
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Send submissions and suggestions to:
Niki Dick • IMPA Wire
Indiana Municipal Power Agency
11610 N. College Ave.
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 573-9955
[email protected]
Raj G. Rao, President
Marlow J. Smethurst, Chairman
The IMPA Wire is published by the
Indiana Municipal Power Agency
11610 N. College Ave.
Carmel, Indiana 46032