The utility industry is in a time of tremendous change, according to the American Public Power Association trainer Steve VanderMeer yesterday, and that includes getting the governing board more involved in decision-making on matters where staff can\u2019t make those decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not operational decisions anymore; they are strategic decisions,\u201d he said, during a two-day training that started yesterday with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board and senior staff about governance issues.<\/p>\n
VanderMeer just held a three-day training with CUC staff last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.<\/p>\n
VanderMeer is the senior vice president for planning and marketing of a company based in Fort Collins, Colorado, called Hometown Connections Inc., a national non-profit utility services organization.<\/p>\n
VanderMeer is affiliated with the American Public Power Association, a national trade association of which CUC is a member.<\/p>\n
In an interview, VanderMeer underscored the importance of the CUC board being knowledgeable about what is happening in the industry, about the capabilities of its own utility, about the people they serve, and an understanding of their needs and expectations.<\/p>\n
In fact, it is important for the board to have a \u201cdeliberative and intentional conversation\u201d about where CUC needs to be in the future, he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that, during the two-day training with the CUC board and senior staff, they\u2019re doing some basic governance as a non-profit governing board and meeting some of the expectations and requirements. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent some time talking about priorities and where CUC sees itself\u2026in the years ahead in order to continue to serve CNMI,\u201d VanderMeer said.<\/p>\n
He said they had a bit of strategic dialogue yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be doing some more discussion later today and tomorrow on more issue on governance and how the governing board can be most effective in support of the utility in representing the interests of its customers,\u201d VanderMeer said.<\/p>\n
In last week\u2019s training, VanderMeer spent time with 20 of the CUC staff talking about customer service and how it applies in the utility industry and what that means and why it is important.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lot of great discussions. I was really impressed with what the CUC staff is doing today. It is really very impressive what the utilities is doing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CUC board treasurer Matthew Holley said the governance training is very helpful. \u201cThis is very good experience\u2026for all of us, for understanding our roles as board members,\u201d Holley said.<\/p>\n
He said they also learned more about other utilities around the nation and how they relate to CUC. <\/p>\n
CUC executive director Gary P. Camacho, who invited VanderMeer to hold the two trainings, said that yesterday and today\u2019s training is board governance training. <\/p>\n
Camacho said it is for the management, particularly himself and the deputy executive director, division managers from all three islands, board members, and the chief engineer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is to update us on the latest utility information and how we are going be able to proceed forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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