Registration for Electric Operations Conference & Expo opens next week: Once each year, municipal and electric cooperative employees come together to network and learn about important topics impacting utility operations. MEUW and the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association (WECA) will hold the 2026 Electric Operations Conference & Expo at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells on Jan. 14 and 15. Employees at all levels are welcome and encouraged to attend this year’s event.
Again this year, three types of registration passes — Kilowatt, Megawatt, and Gigawatt — will be available to accommodate those who wish to attend only part of the three-day event. Those most interested in the Expo (trade show), for example, will want to purchase a Megawatt pass, which offers access to the Wednesday Welcome Reception and Thursday’s conference sessions, meals, and the Expo.
Full details will be available when registration opens on Monday, Oct. 20, at 12 p.m.
Join forum on service territories: MEUW is hosting a Service Territory Symposium on Monday, Oct. 27, to discuss member experiences involving service-territory disputes and actions the association can take to help extend and protect municipal utility boundaries. While some members have developed territorial agreements with neighboring utilities, others face periodic and ongoing conflicts over the right to serve. As municipalities grow, so have the number of disputes, even over areas that fall within municipal limits.
The Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Stevens Point Convention Center. There is no cost to attend, but prior registration is required. Please use this online registration link. Your registration on or before Thursday, Oct. 23, will help us properly plan for the day.
Take the APPA Energy Project Roadblock Survey by Nov. 7: At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), APPA is conducting a survey of public power utilities to understand the type of roadblocks creating delays, cost increases, and other impediments to building new and/or expanding existing infrastructure. These responses will help inform both our response to the federal government through the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) and the recent Speed to Power Request for Information (RFI). Your responses should reflect both infrastructure owned and operated directly by your utility, as well as any projects of which you are an off-taker or engaged with a third party for development. You can take the survey using this link: https://surveys.publicpower.org/s3/Energy-Project-Roadblock-Survey
Help us celebrate you! Last week was both Public Power Week and Customer Service Week, and we’d love to see how you celebrated. We’d like to share photos and news about how your utility celebrated Public Power Week with your community, and Customer Service Week with your utility. Please send pics and details to news@meuw.org so we can include them in a future edition of Live Lines.
Take advantage of MEUW’s pricing on MSDSonline: MEUW member utilities can sign up to access safety data sheets online at a discounted rate, thanks to group buying power through MEUW. MSDSonline, a one-stop shop for all your hazard communications needs, is available for an annual fee of $925 (a substantial savings over the typical $3,000 subscription rate).
The key benefits of MSDSonline include having access to:
- More than 12 million Safety Data Sheets (SDS) online;
- Automatic updates on all SDS into GHS compliance (no more struggles keeping paper copies up to date);
- An app enabling SDS on-demand and easy access for employees using smartphones, tablets and computers; and
- Primary and secondary container labels for all its products online.
If your utility already takes advantage of MEUW’s pricing, your subscription to MSDSonline will renew for 2026 and you will receive an invoice in the new year. If you’d like to learn more or wish to sign up for MSDSonline, please contact Mike Czuprynko.
MEUW is once again partnering with E&M Consulting, Inc. to produce a Membership Directory & Resource Guide in 2026. E&M has begun outreach to utility suppliers and others who may have an interest in advertising in the new directory. These are legitimate sales requests made on behalf of MEUW. The publication (to be available both in print and online) will help advertisers reach a wide audience of industry stakeholders and municipal electric utility employees. Companies that may wish to advertise are encouraged to contact E&M at 1-800-572-0011 or advertising@eandmsales.com.
Compliance reporting and deadlines guide available to members: To help MEUW members stay on top of electric utility reporting requirements and deadlines, we’ve posted a handy reference guide on our Website. You’ll find information about key contacts as well as the timeframe to ensure your utility complies with the reporting needs.
Make plans to attend Dec. 3 leadership class: As part of MEUW’s professional development programming, this one-day Leading With Consistency course focuses on why why consistency is essential to being an effective utility leader. Participants will take away practical ideas they can apply to become a consistent leader and learn how consistency can help to inspire people to work toward a common goal. Participants will take away practical ideas they can apply to becoming more consistent and influential leader. Click here for full details about the instructor and what you’ll learn, and register today.