IRP assistance earns KMEA's Turner Administrator's Award

Tony Turner displays the Administrator's Award from Western honoring his dedication to helping KMEA member cities complete their integrated resource plans. (Photo by Kansas Municipal Energy Agency)

With understaffed utilities, aging populations and shrinking loads, small rural towns pose a special challenge to resource planners. The way Tony Turner of Kansas Municipal Energy Agency meets that challenge has earned the finance and accounting director Western's prestigious Administrator's Award for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.

Power Operations Manager Ron Steinbach of Western's Rocky Mountain Region presented the award at the KMEA annual board of directors' meeting on Nov. 15. KMEA General Manager Jim Widener accepted the award on behalf of Turner who was unable to attend. "Western created the Administrator's Award to recognize the kind of outstanding initiative and dedication Tony has shown in his career," said Steinbach. "We are proud to honor his service to KMEA members."

Technical assistance with the personal touch

KMEA, a municipal joint action agency serving 72 members, first began receiving allocations from the Loveland Area Projects in 1989. Turner joined the agency about the same time. One of his duties was to help KMEA members perform the integrated resource plans required under the Western contract.

For some of the small utilities that KMEA serves, meeting this requirement is a struggle. Cawker City, Kan., for example, has only 391 meters, said Turner, "And one city administrator, one assistant and two field staff to handle the electric utility and all other city functions. Towns like that just don't have the expertise or time to do extensive planning," he observed.

Yet, appropriate system planning and maintenance, along with conservation and energy efficiency measures, can protect these municipalities' financial and energy resources. Turner grasped from the start that member systems were going to need more resources if they were to effectively plan for their customers' current and future energy needs.  

Developing a thoughtful resource plan for member utilities requires Turner to gain a thorough understanding of their communities. He has spent countless hours traveling the roadways of Kansas, meeting with KMEA members' staff and learning about each town's unique needs. That includes accommodating the busy schedules of city officials who wear more than one hat. On one occasion, with laptop in hand, Turner met with an administrator who was working at the county fair in order to finalize his community's resource plan.

Coping with changing times

Many of the cities in KMEA's service territory have decreasing loads, Turner noted. "The resource plan has to strike a delicate balance between keeping a town economically viable and saving energy," he said.

Energy-efficiency programs can be difficult to implement where the customer base is older. "Many residents are on fixed incomes and some expect to leave the area to be closer to healthcare services," Turner explained. "They simply don't feel that energy-efficiency improvements are worth the investment in their situation."

In recent years, however, KMEA member utilities have been doing more customer education on energy efficiency, said Turner. He's seen a bigger change in internal operations, however. "Towns are weatherizing municipal buildings and replacing streetlights with more LEDs. It helps them keep their budgets under control."

Rate design is another area that undergoes change. Taking a close look at the member utility's rate schedule is an important part of the IRP process. "I help the city make sure that its tariff structure is providing the proper price signal," he said.

Turner's effort to support KMEA members has ensured that the small rural utilities get the full benefit of resource planning. Western congratulates Tony Turner and Kansas Municipal Energy Agency on receiving the 2007 Administrator's Award, and on giving new meaning to the phrase "customer service."

Resources

• Kansas Municipal Energy Agency
• Rocky Mountain Region
• Integrated resource plans

People

• Tony Turner
• Ron Steinbach

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