The Western Load Research Association
(WLRA)
1998
Spring 1998. The Spring 1998 conference saw the Western Load Research Association go east to the old west to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with Brien Lemmings and Pam Cobb of Oklahoma Gas & Electric hosting the meeting. The hospitality of Oklahoma was on display and the cowboy spirit strong. Of special interest was the group dinner and outing to the Cowboy Hall of Fame a world class art museum where the cowboy story was told in art, artifacts and with ropes.
Pricing and profiling in the age of choice were covered by Mike Davis, OG&E, with Deregulation Issues Facing Oklahoma, Fred Sebold, RER, with Using Conventional Load Research Data in the Development of Dynamic Profiles, Roger Walkingstick, OG&E, with The Big Picture - Real Time Pricing, John Powers, Energy Interactive, with Evaluating Competitive Pricing Offers and an Update from Ilene Obstfeld, EPRI, on EPRI Load Profiling Project Findings.
The conference again had a strong theme of the internet, load research and load data applications with Steve Kearney, ConnexT, presenting Providing Interval Billing Data by the Internet, Majhid Zehani, Austin Electric, presenting Load Research Customer Web Services, Joe Taffe, Tacoma Public Utilities, presenting UTILIGRAPH, and Tom Noll, Idaho Power Company, moderating a round table asking, "Is the Future Really on the NET?". Commercialization of Small Fuel Cell Generators by Jack Phipps, OG&E and Cost Effective Residential End-Use Data Development by Roger Wright, RLW Analytics brought the focus back to the home and rounded out the agenda.
The business meeting affirmed the twice yearly meetings; elected Tom Noll, Idaho Power Company as co-chair replacing Joe Taffe, Tacoma Public Utilities; provided an overview of the Fall 1998 conference in San Diego by John Killmer, San Diego Gas & Electric; and established a further staggering of the co-chair terms so that one would be elected at a spring meeting and the other at the following fall meeting. Subsequent to the Oklahoma conference, Justine Dase left Nevada Power and resigned as WLRA co-chair and Ilene Obstfeld, EPRI, graciously consented to fill in as co-chair until the San Diego conference.
Fall 1998. The Fall 1998 conference was held in San Diego. San Diego Gas & Electric sponsored the Fall 1998 conference providing a warm and sunny location on Mission Bay. John Killmer of SDG&E was our host for the meeting. SDG&E sponsored a pre-conference reception the evening prior to the conference. A wonderful attribute of this conference was that the receptions were held outside so everyone could enjoy the wonderful Southern California weather.
Presentations on recent activities in load research were delivered. Subjects included using the web for load research information and a joint load research project with a water company. In addition, one entire day was spent discussing the practicalities of load profiling in the California. In addition, load profiling in Montana was presented along with theoretical discussions of load profile development.
At the business meeting, the desire for two meetings per year was reaffirmed. The issue of who to invite to the conferences was also discussed. It was determined that the conference would be open to anyone who would like to attend. However, the mailings will be focussed to the existing mailing list which includes utility load research staff and load research vendors. Location for the Fall 1999 meeting was discussed and several people volunteered to look into the feasibility. It was determined that Arizona Public Service in Phoenix would sponsor the meeting. Ilene Obstfeld of EPRI was elected to complete the co-chairman term originally held by Justine Dase of Nevada Power. The term expires 1999.
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