2020 ANNual conference presentationS archive
The following files represent presentations provided at the 2020 NWHA Annual Conference. Where available, click on a speaker’s name to view or download a file of that speaker’s presentation.
Wednesday, February 19
Keynote: Debra Smith, General Manager and CEO, Seattle City Light
Communicating Around Hydro
Continuing the messages and themes of the key note address, this interactive panel will provide a chance for the audience to directly engage with NWHA in helping shape its communication priorities and messages to support hydropower through live polling. Results will be shared during the session.
Live Polling Results Here
Facilitators:
Heidi Wahto, Principal Licensing and Regulatory Lead, Stantec
Kelsey Rugani, Director, Kearnes & West
Kurt Miller, Executive Director, Northwest RiverPartners
Green and Clean the Grid and Hydro
As the shift from fossil generation to renewable generation in the US accelerates via Renewable Portfolio Standards or the like or Integrated Resource Plans by the individual generation company’s, green power is becoming an important market. This panel will be discussing these new green markets, why are they important to their shareholders, how they are being modeled and challenges they are experiencing getting to 100% green power procurement.
Moderator: Sandra Slayton, Principal Consultant, Impact Assessment, ERM
Panelists:
Rob Aldridge, Business Development Oregon, 3 Phases Renewable
Phillip de Mello, Senior Engineer, Energy Consulting, GE Power
Phillip Popoff, Manager, Resource Planning and Analysis, Puget Sound Energy
Changes in the Hydro Playing Field: Legislative, Policy, and Regulatory Initiatives Affecting Large, Small, and Pumped Storage Hydro
Come find out how your projects may be affected by changes in state RPS and climate policies, the 401 water quality cert process, and FERC regulatory and licensing changes.
Moderator: Hallie Meushaw, Of Counsel, Troutman Sanders
Panelists:
Dustin Till, Assistant General Counsel, Pacific Power
Malcolm Woolf, President and CEO, National Hydro
Suzanne Grassell, Governmental Affairs Program Manager, Chelan County PUD
power Association
Lunch: Annual Membership Meeting, Klatt Award – Elwha Ballroom
Changing Climate: How Operators and Hydrologists are Adapting Their Work
When and how much water is available to generate hydroelectricity, design conveyance facilities, and balance resource needs is changing. In this panel, industry experts will discuss technical and operational strategies to address climate change unknowns. The session will showcase real case studies and applied research.
Moderator: Catrin Bryan, Director of Dam Safety, McMillen Jacobs Associates
Panelists:
John Chandler, Water Resources Technical Lead, Puget Sound Energy – Case study on how PSE if incorporating climate research into current and future operations
Patricia Dillon, Principal Hydrologist, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants – How models are being used to incorporate climate change for dam safety, fisheries, and resource planning
Greg Pederson, Research Scientist, Northern Rockies Science Center – Role of climate variability in driving changes in water resources, and other biological and physical components of mountainous ecosystems in the western North America
Wild Fires: From Prevention to Recovery
Changes to our region’s population, land use, urban/wildland interface, invasive species, and climate mean that the traditional notion of wildfire management no longer exists. Utilities and land managers are facing increased pressure from the damages and liabilities related to longer and more serious fire seasons. This session will look at the range of wildfire-related issues: from aging equipment to land management practices, from proactive maintenance to wildfire safety programs, and beyond!
Moderator: Allison Murray, Environmental Manager, Idaho Power
Panelists:
Andy Delmas, Acting Assistant Fire Management Officer, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office
Kendra Fallon, Wildland Fire Program Coordinator, Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation
Chris Lautenberger, Principal Engineer, REAX Engineering
Alex Konopka, Manager, Vegetation Management, Portland General Electric
Thursday, February 20
Breakfast Club: Topical Small Group Discussions
Need informal guidance or advice on a hydro-related issue? Want to share your knowledge with industry colleagues on issues? Submit your issue/questions on Wednesday then join the breakfast clubs for small group discussions. Concurrent conversations will be organized by topic area and will discuss issues faced by your fellow conference attendees. Moderators and experts will be on hand to help facilitate discussions in areas of dam safety, licensing, asset management, or other topics based on questions received.
Existing Hydro Installed Base – Already Integrating Intermittent Renewables – But at What Cost?
With over 100GW of hydro generation in the US of which 21GWs are pumped storage, operators of this installed base are seeing increased operation cycles due to the integration of intermittent renewables and this new cyclic generation is causing issues. This panel of hydro operators and OEMs will share their current day operation and what issues they are starting to experience. OEMs will also share equipment cycling concerns and areas that need to be monitored.
Moderator: Matt Pevarnik, Senior Sales Leader, GE Renewable Energy
Panelists:
Ed Hanson, Senior Project Engineer, Pacific Gas & Electric
Ryan Mills, Plant Manager, Portland General Electric
Tom Brittain, Senior Hydro Mechanical Engineer, Black & Veatch
Contracting for Success – Perspectives in Risk Management
Managing capital projects involves assessing unknowns and finding appropriate mechanism for mitigating risk; developers, utilities, and contractors approach the problem from very different perspectives. This panel will explore creative ways that these projects get completed and what success means from all parties.
Moderator: Craig Massie, Principal Project Manager, Jacobs
Panelists:
Tim Foley, Vice President of Construction and Business Development, McMillen Jacobs Associates
Patty Boyle, Generation Contracts Supervisor, Eugene Water and Electric Board
Erik Steimle, Vice President of Project Development, Rye Development
Tim Saville, Senior Engineering Consultant, Kleinschmidt Associates
Women in Hydro Luncheon
Keynote: Michelle Vargo, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Seattle City Light
The Power of Collaboration
This panel provides agencies with a platform to address the hydropower industry as a whole, with emphasis on the benefits of the ongoing collaboration and problem solving between the agencies and the industry.
Moderators: Matt Love, Partner, Van Ness Feldman
Steve Padula, Principal/Senior Consultant, Hydro Regulatory Services Inc.
Panelists:
Chad Brown, Water Quality Standards Unit Supervisor, Washington Department of Ecology
Jennifer Quan, Branch Chief, Central/South Puget Sound, National Marine Fisheries Service
David Turner, Chief, Northwest Branch Division of Hydropower, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Cyber Security: Navigating NERC, FERC, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Cyber Security Audit
Bad operators are out there attacking your IT systems every minute of every day and night. They do not stop, they do not rest. This panel will review how bad operators commonly get into your IT system, what they can do and have done once they are in your system, common ways to defend your IT system, and how to prepare for a FERC cyber security audit which is designed to foil bad operators attempt to get into your IT system.
Moderator: Marie Whyatt, Senior Researcher/Cybersecurity, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Panelists:
Michael Robinson, IT Security Services Manager, PacifiCorp
Collin Miller, Director of Cloud Security, Structured
Darsh Singh, Associate Attorney, Van Ness Feldman
Liza Velez, Cyber Security Specialist- Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
A Special Celebration of 02/20/20 for all NWHA Attendees
Thanks to our sponsors for underwriting this evening
Friday, February 21
Operations and Maintenance: Aging Assets, Changing Operational Requirements, and Shared Knowledge
Moderator: Mark Jones, HDR
Panelists:
Rick Werner, OPM, Chief Joseph Dam, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Ty Ehrman, Managing Director- Power Production, Grant County PUD
Ram Veeraraghavan, Electrical Engineering Manager, Tacoma Power
Migrating Towards Success: Case Studies for Fish
Case studies and lessons learned, including balancing needs of diverse species will be covered in this session.
Moderator: Alene Underwood, Fish and Wildlife Manager, Chelan County PUD
Panelists:
Steve Hemstrom, Senior Fish Biologist, Chelan County PUD - Lamprey
Tim Shibahara, Westside Biological Services Manager, Portland General Electric – Clackamas River Case Study
Crystal Ball, Executive Manager, Fish and Wildlife Manager, Bonneville Power Administration
Barry Thom, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Services – Columbia Basin Partnership
Selling Mitigation to Operators and Management
It seemed like a good idea at the time: a “reasonable” PME measure in response to an agency concern, mandate, or identified resource impact. Until it got explained to the folks who have to implement it! This panel explores ways to get buy-in from managers and operators for measures that will inevitably cost money, foul screens, and confound the trading floor.
Moderator: Jeff Deason, Senior Licensing Consultant, Kleinschmidt Associates
Panelists:
Andrew Welch, Manager, Hydropower License Compliance, Northwestern Energy
Mike McCann, Generation Manager, Eugene Water and Electric Board
Marcie Clement, Water Resources Program Manager, Chelan County PUD
Keith Underwood, Natural Resources Manager, Tacoma Power
Natural Resources Legal and Policy Update
of regulatory and litigation developments relevant to the intersection of natural resource issues including fish and water quality for hydropower.
Moderator: Angela Levin, Partner, Troutman Sanders, NWHA General Counsel
Panelists:
Michael Campbell, Partner, Stoel Rives – 401 Clean Water Act rulemaking
Dennis Cakert, Manager of Regulatory Affairs and Markets Policy, National Hydropower Association
Gary Frazer, Assistant Director- Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – DOI-ESA rulemaking and habitat
Wednesday, February 19
Keynote: Debra Smith, General Manager and CEO, Seattle City Light
Communicating Around Hydro
Continuing the messages and themes of the key note address, this interactive panel will provide a chance for the audience to directly engage with NWHA in helping shape its communication priorities and messages to support hydropower through live polling. Results will be shared during the session.
Live Polling Results Here
Facilitators:
Heidi Wahto, Principal Licensing and Regulatory Lead, Stantec
Kelsey Rugani, Director, Kearnes & West
Kurt Miller, Executive Director, Northwest RiverPartners
Green and Clean the Grid and Hydro
As the shift from fossil generation to renewable generation in the US accelerates via Renewable Portfolio Standards or the like or Integrated Resource Plans by the individual generation company’s, green power is becoming an important market. This panel will be discussing these new green markets, why are they important to their shareholders, how they are being modeled and challenges they are experiencing getting to 100% green power procurement.
Moderator: Sandra Slayton, Principal Consultant, Impact Assessment, ERM
Panelists:
Rob Aldridge, Business Development Oregon, 3 Phases Renewable
Phillip de Mello, Senior Engineer, Energy Consulting, GE Power
Phillip Popoff, Manager, Resource Planning and Analysis, Puget Sound Energy
Changes in the Hydro Playing Field: Legislative, Policy, and Regulatory Initiatives Affecting Large, Small, and Pumped Storage Hydro
Come find out how your projects may be affected by changes in state RPS and climate policies, the 401 water quality cert process, and FERC regulatory and licensing changes.
Moderator: Hallie Meushaw, Of Counsel, Troutman Sanders
Panelists:
Dustin Till, Assistant General Counsel, Pacific Power
Malcolm Woolf, President and CEO, National Hydro
Suzanne Grassell, Governmental Affairs Program Manager, Chelan County PUD
power Association
Lunch: Annual Membership Meeting, Klatt Award – Elwha Ballroom
Changing Climate: How Operators and Hydrologists are Adapting Their Work
When and how much water is available to generate hydroelectricity, design conveyance facilities, and balance resource needs is changing. In this panel, industry experts will discuss technical and operational strategies to address climate change unknowns. The session will showcase real case studies and applied research.
Moderator: Catrin Bryan, Director of Dam Safety, McMillen Jacobs Associates
Panelists:
John Chandler, Water Resources Technical Lead, Puget Sound Energy – Case study on how PSE if incorporating climate research into current and future operations
Patricia Dillon, Principal Hydrologist, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants – How models are being used to incorporate climate change for dam safety, fisheries, and resource planning
Greg Pederson, Research Scientist, Northern Rockies Science Center – Role of climate variability in driving changes in water resources, and other biological and physical components of mountainous ecosystems in the western North America
Wild Fires: From Prevention to Recovery
Changes to our region’s population, land use, urban/wildland interface, invasive species, and climate mean that the traditional notion of wildfire management no longer exists. Utilities and land managers are facing increased pressure from the damages and liabilities related to longer and more serious fire seasons. This session will look at the range of wildfire-related issues: from aging equipment to land management practices, from proactive maintenance to wildfire safety programs, and beyond!
Moderator: Allison Murray, Environmental Manager, Idaho Power
Panelists:
Andy Delmas, Acting Assistant Fire Management Officer, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office
Kendra Fallon, Wildland Fire Program Coordinator, Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation
Chris Lautenberger, Principal Engineer, REAX Engineering
Alex Konopka, Manager, Vegetation Management, Portland General Electric
Thursday, February 20
Breakfast Club: Topical Small Group Discussions
Need informal guidance or advice on a hydro-related issue? Want to share your knowledge with industry colleagues on issues? Submit your issue/questions on Wednesday then join the breakfast clubs for small group discussions. Concurrent conversations will be organized by topic area and will discuss issues faced by your fellow conference attendees. Moderators and experts will be on hand to help facilitate discussions in areas of dam safety, licensing, asset management, or other topics based on questions received.
Existing Hydro Installed Base – Already Integrating Intermittent Renewables – But at What Cost?
With over 100GW of hydro generation in the US of which 21GWs are pumped storage, operators of this installed base are seeing increased operation cycles due to the integration of intermittent renewables and this new cyclic generation is causing issues. This panel of hydro operators and OEMs will share their current day operation and what issues they are starting to experience. OEMs will also share equipment cycling concerns and areas that need to be monitored.
Moderator: Matt Pevarnik, Senior Sales Leader, GE Renewable Energy
Panelists:
Ed Hanson, Senior Project Engineer, Pacific Gas & Electric
Ryan Mills, Plant Manager, Portland General Electric
Tom Brittain, Senior Hydro Mechanical Engineer, Black & Veatch
Contracting for Success – Perspectives in Risk Management
Managing capital projects involves assessing unknowns and finding appropriate mechanism for mitigating risk; developers, utilities, and contractors approach the problem from very different perspectives. This panel will explore creative ways that these projects get completed and what success means from all parties.
Moderator: Craig Massie, Principal Project Manager, Jacobs
Panelists:
Tim Foley, Vice President of Construction and Business Development, McMillen Jacobs Associates
Patty Boyle, Generation Contracts Supervisor, Eugene Water and Electric Board
Erik Steimle, Vice President of Project Development, Rye Development
Tim Saville, Senior Engineering Consultant, Kleinschmidt Associates
Women in Hydro Luncheon
Keynote: Michelle Vargo, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Seattle City Light
The Power of Collaboration
This panel provides agencies with a platform to address the hydropower industry as a whole, with emphasis on the benefits of the ongoing collaboration and problem solving between the agencies and the industry.
Moderators: Matt Love, Partner, Van Ness Feldman
Steve Padula, Principal/Senior Consultant, Hydro Regulatory Services Inc.
Panelists:
Chad Brown, Water Quality Standards Unit Supervisor, Washington Department of Ecology
Jennifer Quan, Branch Chief, Central/South Puget Sound, National Marine Fisheries Service
David Turner, Chief, Northwest Branch Division of Hydropower, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Cyber Security: Navigating NERC, FERC, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Cyber Security Audit
Bad operators are out there attacking your IT systems every minute of every day and night. They do not stop, they do not rest. This panel will review how bad operators commonly get into your IT system, what they can do and have done once they are in your system, common ways to defend your IT system, and how to prepare for a FERC cyber security audit which is designed to foil bad operators attempt to get into your IT system.
Moderator: Marie Whyatt, Senior Researcher/Cybersecurity, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Panelists:
Michael Robinson, IT Security Services Manager, PacifiCorp
Collin Miller, Director of Cloud Security, Structured
Darsh Singh, Associate Attorney, Van Ness Feldman
Liza Velez, Cyber Security Specialist- Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
A Special Celebration of 02/20/20 for all NWHA Attendees
Thanks to our sponsors for underwriting this evening
Friday, February 21
Operations and Maintenance: Aging Assets, Changing Operational Requirements, and Shared Knowledge
Moderator: Mark Jones, HDR
Panelists:
Rick Werner, OPM, Chief Joseph Dam, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Ty Ehrman, Managing Director- Power Production, Grant County PUD
Ram Veeraraghavan, Electrical Engineering Manager, Tacoma Power
Migrating Towards Success: Case Studies for Fish
Case studies and lessons learned, including balancing needs of diverse species will be covered in this session.
Moderator: Alene Underwood, Fish and Wildlife Manager, Chelan County PUD
Panelists:
Steve Hemstrom, Senior Fish Biologist, Chelan County PUD - Lamprey
Tim Shibahara, Westside Biological Services Manager, Portland General Electric – Clackamas River Case Study
Crystal Ball, Executive Manager, Fish and Wildlife Manager, Bonneville Power Administration
Barry Thom, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Services – Columbia Basin Partnership
Selling Mitigation to Operators and Management
It seemed like a good idea at the time: a “reasonable” PME measure in response to an agency concern, mandate, or identified resource impact. Until it got explained to the folks who have to implement it! This panel explores ways to get buy-in from managers and operators for measures that will inevitably cost money, foul screens, and confound the trading floor.
Moderator: Jeff Deason, Senior Licensing Consultant, Kleinschmidt Associates
Panelists:
Andrew Welch, Manager, Hydropower License Compliance, Northwestern Energy
Mike McCann, Generation Manager, Eugene Water and Electric Board
Marcie Clement, Water Resources Program Manager, Chelan County PUD
Keith Underwood, Natural Resources Manager, Tacoma Power
Natural Resources Legal and Policy Update
of regulatory and litigation developments relevant to the intersection of natural resource issues including fish and water quality for hydropower.
Moderator: Angela Levin, Partner, Troutman Sanders, NWHA General Counsel
Panelists:
Michael Campbell, Partner, Stoel Rives – 401 Clean Water Act rulemaking
Dennis Cakert, Manager of Regulatory Affairs and Markets Policy, National Hydropower Association
Gary Frazer, Assistant Director- Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – DOI-ESA rulemaking and habitat