Entries by KMEA

Katie Hodge Honored with 2024 Early Career Excellence Award by KACM

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Katie Hodge, the City Manager for Osage City was honored with the Kansas Association of City/County Management (KACM) 2024 Early Career Excellence Award.

Since its creation in 2013, the Early Career Excellence Award has honored emerging professionals who showcase excellence and the potential to make a substantial impact in their field. Katie’s commitment and successes in public service have marked her as a standout professional.

Katie is a KMGA Executive Committee member and serves on the KMGA Board of Directors.

Complete the 2024 Annual City Questionnaire

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The 2024 Annual City Questionnaire is now available. Your participation is crucial as the data collected will help us calculate annual dues accurately.

Please take a moment to complete the questionnaire electronically by clicking the link provided in the flyer below.

The deadline for submission is February 24, 2025.

FERC Approves SPP’s Markets+ Tariff, Paving the Way for 2027 Launch

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The Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) proposed Markets+ service achieved a significant milestone on January 16 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of its tariff. Markets+, a regional day-ahead energy market developed in collaboration with over 30 western entities, is set to launch in 2027. This approval allows participants to proceed to phase two of development, which includes system development, testing, and parallel operations.

President Trump Appoints Mark Christie as FERC Chairman

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On January 20, President Trump appointed Mark Christie as Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Christie began his term as a FERC Commissioner on January 4, 2021, following his nomination by President Trump in July 2020 and subsequent confirmation by the U.S. Senate on November 30, 2020. Immediately before joining FERC, Christie was the Chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), on which he served for nearly 17 years, having been elected three times by the Virginia legislature on bipartisan votes. During his service as a state regulator, he was elected president of the Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI), representing 13 states and the District of Columbia in the PJM transmission and markets organization, and served on its governing board for over a decade.

City of Cheney Seeks Maintenance Superintendent

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The City of Cheney is seeking a full-time individual to supervise our Maintenance department, which includes our Water, Sewer, Natural Gas, Street and Parks departments, as well as facility maintenance. 
Pay Range: $61,360-$95,680/annual salary (Dependent upon experience and qualifications. 
DUTIES PERFORMED: Supervise department staff and oversee all aspects of the Maintenance department, manage projects, perform an assortment of maintenance work, operate a variety of equipment in the construction, operation, repair, maintenance and replacement of the City’s water, natural gas, street, sewer, sidewalks, parks, Golf Course, City buildings and storm drainage facilities.

Meet James Remley, Newest Addition to KMEA Team

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We are thrilled to introduce James Remley, the newest addition to the KMEA Mid-States team.

James was born in Liberty, Missouri, and grew up just south of Concordia. He pursued his higher education at Kansas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Prior to joining KMEA, James worked at Evergy for nine years. He was part of the Long Term Transmission Planning team for three years, and after that, he was part of the Transmission Operations Planning department for six years.

DOE Makes Funds Available for Grid Projects

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity released three Notices of Funding Opportunity totaling nearly $18.4 million for programs to support research and development of electricity grid technologies.

The programs will reduce the cost of high-voltage direct current circuit breakers, improve risk assessment and communication for grid operators, and ensure communities are ready to respond to unanticipated energy storage system failures, it said.

“Upgrading critical systems and controls will extend the life of existing grid components, increase the grid’s ability to receive, transmit, and deliver electricity, and improve communications to help predict and prevent failures,” it said.

“Moreover, quantifying and clearly communicating risk and uncertainties to decision-makers and human operators enables more accurate and effective prediction, prevention, and mitigation of cascading failures in the grid. In addition, ensuring communities are prepared to safely manage and monitor energy storage systems is critical to successfully deploying storage technologies.”

Winter Weather Challenges

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Winters in the Midwest can sometimes be rough due to rain, snow, wind, ice and whatever else comes along. Ice can many times be the worst. Accompanied by wind it presents several challenges. Safety is of the utmost importance, and it starts with protecting yourself. This includes falls, frostbite and several other potential dangers. This article is an oldy, but it gives you a good overview of some of the challenges for your system this winter. Work together and be safe.

Save on Energy this Winter

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Reduce your energy usage and save money on your heating bills by following the tips below:
Seal it up. Check for leaks around windows, doors, and other openings to the outside. Seal these leaks with caulk and keep the warmth in.
Cover it up. Cover bare floors with carpet.
Furnace Checkup. Have your furnace and heating system inspected annually to check for leaks or other problems.
Insulate. Wrap old water heaters with proper insulating jackets, and set the temperature to 120°F (or lower). Insulate your plumbing.