EPCE Online Newsletter
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EPCE Newsletter, June 2010 |
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Use the 'dog days of summer' to get a leg up in your career with online energy education brought to you from the Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE).
EPCE's programs offer: |
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EPCE News - EPCE awarded for Smart Grid Workforce Training Grant! |
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CAEL's regional office in Denver, which facilitates the Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE), was notified that the 'EPCE - Workforce Preparedness for Smart Grid Deployment' proposal was awarded a $2.5 million Department of Energy grant. Some of the key objectives include developing three new online Smart Grid curriculum courses with EPCE's founding education partner, BSC, providing workforce preparedness training for thousands of current and future employees of several electric power entities currently engaged in deploying Smart Grid technologies, creating new blended learning models by combining online energy education and locally delivered technical and general education, and developing a career pathway and online energy education for high-school students. Press Release - EPCE awarded for Smart Grid Workforce Training Grant |
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Member News - EPCE Welcomes Two New Members - TEP and Lakeland |
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EPCE is also pleased to announce that two new members have joined the coalition, Tucson Electric Power and Lakeland Electric. Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) serves more than 400,000 in southern Arizona. While TEP continues to find innovative ways to increase reliability and renewable generation, they can trace their history all the way back to 1892 when they first illuminated the streets of Tucson. Similarly, Lakeland Electric began providing electricity for the Lakeland, Floridas streetlights in 1904. Today, Lakeland Electric, a non-profit utility, provides electricity to more than 100,000 customers and is Floridas third-largest public power utility. |
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Public Utilities Fortnightly indicates that, "Reports of the electric car's death are greatly exaggerated. Technology, economics and politics are driving a new start for electric vehicles; already dozens of EV models are heading for U.S. showrooms. Electricity wont replace gasoline overnight, but utilities are planning today for tomorrow's transportation load." "We are definitely at the tipping point," says Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan. "The question is whether it will be a gradual or a rapid transition..." |
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"I should have taken advantage of my educational opportunities earlier. If I had, I may well have had different career opportunities. But, the good news is that I am now taking advantage of this opportunity. I have two young children and online learning gave me the flexibility to earn my degree but still be present for my family. They see how important it is to study hard and gain knowledge."
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Online education continues to see increases in enrollment as more universities offer online programs and more students are taking them. There were more than 4.6 million college students taking at least one online course in 2008, or about one in four of all college students. A recent commentary by The New York Times features six experts discussing the pros and cons of online education. Source: The New York Times |
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A pastor, a doctor and a technician were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The technician fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!" The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!" The pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him." "Hi George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime." The group was silent for a moment. The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight." The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my Ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them." The technician said, "Why can't these guys play at night?" |
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"If you want a good solid academic base for the industry, definitely enroll in this program. My engineers were impressed with it!."
Kenny Baird knew he liked the energy industry having worked for LaFollette Utilities Board in 1987. After working as a Corporate Controller with a roofing company, he returned to LaFollette Utilities Board in 1993 as the Director of Accounting & Finance. He was promoted to General Manager in 2005. While researching the purchase of a regular transformer versus an auto-transformer, Kenny decided it would be beneficial to be able to technically discuss the factors of this decision. He definitely had a solid business education earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and an MBA, but he needed to find something to provide him with the technical knowledge he required. When he saw the EPCE online energy education programs presented in the American Public Power Association (APPA) Magazine, he decided to take advantage of it. The Electric Power Technology program at BSC kept Kenny engaged. "I've always been pretty good at school," Kenny said. "Like a hobby. If I'm interested I'll work for hours." "I enrolled in the program to learn the technical aspects of the industry," Kenny continued. "It really helped me with the engineering and operations talk. My engineers were impressed with it!" Kenny strongly recommends that students starting out stay on schedule. "Don't put your studying off! You've got to do a little everyday." For his next step, Kenny is interested in the EPCE sponsored BS degree in Electrical Engineering with Clemson University. |
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