Author Archive for: KMEA

Effective June 1, KMEA implemented a series of organizational changes designed to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen leadership alignment, and better position the Agency to serve its member cities in the years ahead.

As part of this transition, several key leaders have been promoted to newly aligned executive roles:

Terri Pemberton has been promoted to Assistant General Manager and Chief Legal Officer.
Tom Saitta has been named Chief Operating Officer.
Mike Meyer has been named Chief Financial Officer

This month’s KMEA Executive Committee meeting was held in the City of Wamego, Kansas.

During the meeting, the April 2026 appropriations report was presented, and Resolution 246 was approved. Staff also provided updates across several key areas, including regulatory affairs, operations, member services, Mid-States activities, and power supply.

Representatives from KMEA and several member cities recently had the opportunity to tour a number of Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) generating facilities, gaining valuable insight into the infrastructure and operations that support reliable energy across the region. Attendees included representatives from the cities of Ottawa, Garden City, and Gardner, along with KMEA staff, all of whom participated in a full day of tours and informational sessions focused on GRDA’s current and future projects. The group visited several key sites, including the Pensacola Dam, the GRDA Administrative Center, the GRDA control center and Kerr Dam, and the newly constructed Grand River Energy Center Unit #4.

The KMEA Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita in conjunction with the KMU Conference. Board members attended both in person and virtually. During the meeting, the Board reviewed the 2025 Financials and Accounting report, followed by staff reports covering legal and regulatory matters, operations and power supply projects, member services, Mid-States activities, and a general manager update from Paul Mahlberg. The next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for October 28, 2026, in Wichita, Kansas.

We are very dependent on our electrical grid in our daily lives. Electricity is, in many cases, taken for granted. We flip the switch and expect the light to come on. What happens to our country if the electrical grid collapses or is attacked? How do we go about our daily activities without lights, stop lights, gas pumps, no airports in service, and on and on?

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) may be one solution, or at least worth testing.

For years, the military has engaged in testing nuclear reactors for remote power generation. In 1957, the U.S. Army developed a multi‑service training reactor. It was the first reactor on the electrical grid. In the 1960s, they developed a small component reactor that was transportable by truck, rail, or barge.

This testing continued into the 1970s. Today, SMRs are a reality and are being considered for multiple applications. Those applications include remote and forward operating bases with a lack of infrastructure.