HydroVision International 2015

Session 3E: Cage Fight Featuring Maintenance, Operations and Dispatch: Can They Get Along? (Room A106)

16 Jul 15
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Tracks: Operations and Maintenance

Speaker(s): Mike Holt, Hydro Generation Coordination Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority; Roger Yeargan, Hydro Manager – Lower Coosa River Group, Alabama Power; Norman Bloom, Hydroelectric Power Operations Manager, John Day Dam/Willow Creek Project; Tony Kirk, Maintenance Manager, Bonneville Lock and Dam, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Moderator(s): Greg McDonald, Senior Project Engineer, Black and Veatch;

Understanding where each group’s decisions come from and the other challenges they face can lead to better cooperation and results going forward. How to get there is the problem. People who have been there and back describe the way they arrived at the solution to the conflict, and understanding what it’s like to walk in the other’s shoes can lead to smooth working relationships and best outcomes for the power producer.

The differences in basic philosophy and drivers for the mutually dependent operations, maintenance, and dispatch functions often lead to conflicts that get resolved by higher ups. This session will provide good examples of how these entities can approach conflict successfully and can turn conflict into opportunities to more smoothly run the water-to-grid processes.