We sit down with CEO & General Manager Arlen Orchard on the brink of his retirement to talk about his time at SMUD and what’s next.
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Empowering our customers & community
Health & Safety Services
Health. Safety. What could be more important? Especially in recent times when we’re faced with a pandemic. Luckily, there’s a team at SMUD that’s 100% focused around-the-clock on making sure employees stay safe, are well and able to enjoy their lives at work, home and play.
Recognition is powerful and our Power. Done Right awards are a powerful way to recognize our employees for living SMUD’s brand values. In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2019, 81 employees were recognized for demonstrating SMUD’s values.
Award categories:
Community
Integrity
Leadership
Ingenuity
Proactive, insightful, influential and dependable.
Passionate, forward-looking and inventive.
Collaborative, approachable, inclusive and caring.
Safe, reliable and trustworthy.
Just
askin'
In honor of Arlen’s retirement, we asked employees what they respect most about his leadership style. Here’s what they said.
He makes it a priority to talk directly to us, even about difficult issues we face as a company or areas we need to improve on.
Leslie Adorno De Chacing
Dwayne Chapel
Robert Chin
His ability to make an entire audience feel like they're part of a conversation. He makes sure everyone has a voice. And he cares about everyone's health and safety.
Videos
News Briefs
Awards
Around the System
We take a deep dive into what we’ve been doing to support our customers and community as they feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assets by the numbers
Do you know many powerhouses, reservoirs and poles we have? We have the answers that’ll impress your neighbors.
VOLTron catches thieves, saves time & money
A new “super” tool named VOLTron is helping SMUD save money, time and prevent outages for our customers.
This team worked diligently to ensure SMUD provides safe and quality-tested high voltage equipment to field staff. In addition to updating our high voltage equipment database, this team also created a system to plan and schedule a rotational change-out of high voltage equipment. They also sought out additional training, above the requirements to become certified personal ground testers and builders, and complete formalized training to ensure our testing protocol meets and exceeds Title 8 compliance.
Power.DoneRight.® Leadership
Andrew Thomason, Trevor Sykora, Joshua Vollman, Andrew Cuthbert
High Voltage Test Lab Team
Power. Done Right.
I respect that Arlen is clear on his leadership direction, but he also allows others to use their expertise to execute that vision.
Suzanne Dizon
Christy Dray
Maria Henry
What I respect the most about Arlen’s leadership style is that he always puts the company and its employees’ wellbeing first.
Arlen’s courage and vision, his commitment to our customers, his approachability, transparency and sense of humor. Above all, I respect Arlen’s integrity. I’ll miss his leadership.
I respect the transparency in Arlen’s communications and that he doesn’t shy away from answering tough questions. He’s proven to be a strong leader through these uncertain times and cares about employees.
Ethan Koenigs
Ivan Rostami
Jason Shibata
I really appreciate Arlen’s regular communications with SMUD staff. If you want to know what he thinks about issues facing SMUD, you can always check out his video blogs.
I respect Arlen’s dedication to our employees and his willingness to listen and gather as much information as possible before making decisions.
His ability to transform SMUD and empower employees. He also made every effort to stop by when he was in our area to say hello. I wish him all the best in retirement.
This team conducted an SAP license review and found that SMUD was using more licenses than we needed. The team coordinated with more than 200 supervisors to identify licensing needs and a new process for requesting SAP licenses. Through their efforts, SMUD achieved a savings of $2 million in unnecessary licensing costs, plus 22% in annual maintenance costs.
Power.DoneRight.® Ingenuity
SAP Security Team
Daniel Rosca, Wylda Carey, Vikram Alle, Yuva Palaniappan
This team collaborated to create a new tool to identify power theft. In 2018 alone, this tool identified 26 marijuana grow houses that stole over 11 million kilowatts of power worth over $1.8 million. Thanks to this team’s innovative efforts, we’re able to reduce a massive amount of theft, save money and minimize potential related safety issues to our community.
New Voltage Analytic Team
Richard Andrade, Lance Langan, Michael Wolff
This team collaborated across multiple departments to transition our residential customers to a new Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m. ) Rate structure. This team successfully transitioned over 541,000 customers to the new rate with an adoption rate of 98.5%, exceeding their 90% goal.
TOD Implementation Project Team
Back (left to right): Matt Fontana, Tina Dorsette, Greg Sinclair, Hoi Tran, John McClimans, Ryan Tan, Alcides Hernandez, Krishna Madivada. Middle (left to right): Amy Killer, Lucy Vaughn, Salvador Torres, Ebony Dixon, Sabrina Hudson, Katherine Davis, Miyoshi Carlisle, Sastry Mukkamala, Prashant Saxena, Latha Sridhar, Weiwei Wu. Front (left to right): Karen McCord, Eric Hebert, Denise Watts, Derek Yamamoto, Shelle Smallwood, Mikia Enguillado, Lo Saeteurn, Lisa Gallegos, Joy Love, Gao Lee. Not shown: Michelle Monier, Paul Starr, Piyush Sujoria
Ron and Greg devised a unique strategy to help SMUD redirect Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) contributions to fund our pension plan. This strategy leveraged the funding of one plan to accelerate funding in another. For every $25 million more paid now, SMUD avoids paying $50 million over 20 years. It’s projected this will result in a fully funded plan in the next 10 years.
PERS/OPEB Unfunded Liability Reduction Team
Ron Jelicich, Greg Pochy
Dave, Connie and Tommy completed a 12-month study testing the effects of circadian lighting systems for 35 families who have children with autism spectrum disorders. The study involved the installation of connected lighting systems in each participating family’s home, baseline surveys, weekly surveys and home visits. The team discovered that using proper color temperature lighting can positively impact the behavior of children with autism.
Power.DoneRight.® Community
Lighting for the Spectrum Project Team
Connie Samla, Dave Bisbee, Tommy Turk
This team developed an internal tool for presenting and communicating bill impacts to customers from the commercial rate restructure transition. They developed customized data infrastructure that processes smart meter data for each customer, generates forecasted bills through 2028 and outputs branded documents that can be shared with customers. Thanks to this team’s efforts, customers can better understand the changes and impacts to their bills.
Commercial Rate Restructure Impact Tool Team
Lucas Krall, Sean Mcdonough, Marlana Minor, Roy (Mark) Crume, Val Ivanov, Eric Hebert
In an effort to support our carbon reduction strategies, our Treasury team offered $75 million of "green bonds” to pay for some of the sustainability-related Headquarters project costs. This was the first time SMUD's issued "green bonds," which are verified by an independent party to contribute to sustainable and environmentally friendly initiatives.
Green Bond Issuance Project Team
Jon Anderson, Jason Casella, Alex Fastovich, Cary Maigret-Baptiste, Doug Norwood
This cross-functional team collaborated across SMUD to help produce a balanced, creative and principled approach to wildfire prevention and mitigation planning. The team didn’t limit its assessment to the statutory requirements. They looked at effective measures for reducing risks and drafted SMUD’s first Wildfire Mitigation Plan.
Wildfire Mitigation Team
Michelle Monier, Eric Brown, Chris Capra, Joy Mastache, Daniel Honeyfield, Toni Hoang, Jose D. Hernandez, Parikshat Pathak, Duke Luu
This team of volunteers collected, sorted and redistributed office supplies that were initially slated to be thrown out or recycled. As a result of their proactive and innovative solutions, 75% of the office supplies, which are estimated to be worth $10,000, were repurposed and donated to 58 local teachers and school employees.
Office Supply Project Team
Brittany Jackson, Brian Howell, Jennifer Bird, Beth Wells, Michele Samhammer, Gary Ferguson, Laura Fisher, Kaelin Sherrel, Sandy Fuller, Andrew Kosim, Suki Punia (Not shown: Allen Coe, Laura Cummings)
Farewell to an exceptional chief
Videos are a powerful way to tell SMUD’s story – everything from demonstrating our community spirit to capturing events for posterity. Click through the carrousel below to hear about SMUD’s wildfire prevention efforts, find out what it takes to build an emergency kit and learn how SMUD is making a difference for children with autism.
Click through to see...:
PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS
2020 Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Farewell to an exceptional chief Assets by the numbers Empowering our customers & community
In this issue
Power. Done Right. News Briefs Awards Around the System
2020 Sacramento Municipal Utility District | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Farewell to an exceptional chief Assets by the numbers Empowering our customers & community VOLTron catches thieves, saves time & money On the Clock: Health & Safety Services
Vol. 74, Issue 2 3rd Quarter 2020
FEEDBACK?
As his SMUD career winds down, CEO & General Manager Arlen Orchard keeps getting the same familiar question:
What are you going to do in retirement?
Relax.
While these come as no surprise from the chief of the nation’s 6th largest publicly-owned power utility – they were Orchard’s interests when he took on the role as CEO and general manager – he acknowledges things like travel and hitting the gym will be difficult, at least in the short term, due to COVID-19. After 6 years in SMUD’s top job, he’s emphatic about what’s not next.
Orchard recently shared some thoughts on his career speaking remotely from his East Sacramento home, which has also been his office since March when shelter-in-place orders were put in place. “That’s one thing I look forward to in retirement – not having to jump on (Microsoft) Teams calls at the crack of dawn,” he says with a laugh. Highlights of his tenure as CEO include overseeing an ambitious Integrated Resource Plan that commits SMUD to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, implementation of Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate and his leadership role in creating the California Mobility Center. Orchard’s national reputation as a forward-thinking leader was bolstered in June when he was named winner of the American Public Power Association’s Alex Radin Distinguished Service Award for exceptional leadership and earlier this month when he was recognized by the Sacramento Business Journal in this year’s Most Admired CEO Awards in the Distinguished Career category.
Thirty years after arriving at SMUD as a brash young attorney sporting an earring, spiked platinum hair and bold ties, Orchard is retiring on Oct. 2. He and his flamboyant socks planned to walk out the door a couple of months ago, but he moved the exit date to Oct. 2 when the COVID-19 pandemic presented SMUD with a unique set of challenges.
“Not seeing my colleagues or employees in person anymore is certainly not the way that I planned to end my career,” he says. “There’s a part of you that says, ‘Hey, I want do a couple of victory laps,’ and that’s clearly not an option now."
“It’s not the way I wanted to go out, but it’s the way I should go out, providing stability and making sure we’ve laid a good foundation in really unprecedented times for my successor.”
Travel.
Relax. Travel. Cook. Work out. Spend more time with family.
Cook.
“I won’t run another utility. If I wanted to do that, I would stay at SMUD because I think it’s the best utility in the country. Why would you want to go somewhere else if you’re already at the best?”
The first accomplishment he mentions when we asked him about his time as CEO was the integral role rank-and-file employees played in developing SMUD’s college scholarship and community awards programs. “I’m extremely proud of the early work we did with the swath of employees – the Community Value Working Group – who helped identify how we could better connect and provide value to our community,” Orchard says.
Orchard attributes being raised by a single mother in Reno with sharpening his commitment to helping the less fortunate. “My start in life was what I call humble,” he says. “There was a time when we lived in a one-bedroom apartment. My sister and I shared the bedroom and my mom slept on the couch. If it wasn’t for being able to eat at my grandparents’ at the end of the month, before my mom’s paycheck arrived, we would have gone hungry."
“Out of that came things like our scholarship program and Shine awards. Then, of course, the experts and staff took that and developed something that is a powerful contribution to our community."
“Our Sustainable Communities Initiative grew out of that concept – an acknowledgment and deep understanding that we have a duty to customers in communities that have historically been left behind by institutions, including to some degree by SMUD.”
“Those experiences played an important role in shaping who I am.”
From the start, Orchard focused intently on reshaping SMUD’s culture – on listening to criticisms and suggestions from employees, on instilling accountability, openness and trust across a large organization. “I want to believe that SMUD is a more focused and better workplace than it was when I took over as CEO. I’m a big proponent of strategy, but culture comes first. Culture will eat strategy every day for lunch,” he says. As for any regrets or unfinished business, Orchard wishes he had started earlier and moved faster to improve trust across the organization. And the Black Lives Matter protests of the last few months made him wonder if he and SMUD could have done more. “The recent events around systemic racism have been a real eye-opener for us, and certainly me,” he says. “I wish we’d started working earlier on diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization in a more profound way. I think SMUD’s always done a good job of supporting it, but we’ve shied away from having the tough conversations." “I wish we had moved earlier, but the truth is, you sometimes need an event like the death of Mr. Floyd to trigger change and shake us out of our complacency and comfort zone.”
As Chief Grid Strategy & Operations Officer and incoming CEO & General Manager Paul Lau, who has been at SMUD even longer than Orchard, puts it, “He takes the work very seriously but doesn’t take himself seriously. He really hasn’t changed that much over the years. Arlen is Arlen. He’s got a great can-do attitude.” Laura Lewis, Orchard’s successor as Chief Legal Officer, believes Orchard’s humor is a key instrument in his leadership style. “Arlen understands the importance of relationships and the need to connect with people in an authentic way,” Lewis says. “He leads with humor, which instantly builds trust. The ability to laugh at work is especially important during stressful times.” As for her boss’s fast-approaching departure, Lewis says, “In the past year, his filter has eroded in proportion to the number of days until he retires ... which is frightening, because he didn’t have much of a filter to begin with.”
Through the highs and lows, Orchard never lost his sense of humor and his wall-piercing laugh.
When he succeeded longtime friend and colleague John Di Stasio in 2014, Orchard became, to our best knowledge, the first openly gay CEO of a major American electric utility. When he took the job, he said he didn’t want to be remembered when all was said and done as a gay CEO, but as a good CEO. “What I hope it says to employees and people outside of SMUD who are LGBTQ+ is that this is a place where that’s achievable,” Orchard says. “SMUD is a place where a gay man can be CEO and be welcomed by the organization. So I take my being a role model very seriously. Because, if you do a crappy job, you just made the path harder for somebody behind you who is like you."
Retirement for Di Stasio meant becoming president of the Large Public Power Council and he continues to operate the family winery in Amador County. Di Stasio is effusive in his praise of his successor. “I think Arlen has done a great job in moving SMUD forward and distinguished himself in the process,” Di Stasio says. “As he passes the baton, he can feel great about his contribution. He’s left SMUD in a very good position." “I did offer him a job working at our winery, so he has at least one retirement option,” he adds.
“At the end of the day, I want to be remembered as a CEO who did a good job and happens to be gay.”
From the moment he moved from the general counsel’s chair into the corner office, Orchard used the platform to share his conviction that SMUD is “more than just an electric utility.” “One of my roles as CEO is to be chief spokesman, the chief cheerleader, for SMUD,” Orchard says. “I feel passionately about SMUD’s capacity to do good. Whether I’m talking to someone in Congress, collaborating with CEOs from other utilities or attending events out in the community, part of my job is to say, ‘We’re doing some really cool things, blazing trails.’” “We’re not perfect. We don’t get everything right. But we’re pretty damn good, I’d say.”
More on his 2020 Awards
Having accepted dozens of awards on SMUD's behalf over the years, Arlen will head to retirement with a couple prestigious awards for his mantle, thanks to his scope of work that spans over 3 decades at SMUD. Back in June, he received the Alex Radin Distinguished Service Award during the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Public Power Connect: Virtual Summit & Business Meeting in June. Click here to watch the presentation (Arlen’s award is announced at the 23-minute mark). The award is the highest award granted by the American Public Power Association and recognizes exceptional leadership and dedication to public power. Read the press release. But that's not all. Just this month, Arlen also received the William "Bill" McCrorie Distinguished Service Award by the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA). As one of their most prestigious honors, the award recognizes individuals that have best served the interests of public power and the NWPPA. Read the award letter to Arlen from the NWPPA. And to cap off his awards mantle, Arlen was honored with the Distinguished Career category of the Most Admired CEO awards by the Sacramento Business Journal. This award is for a CEO who's made a positive impact through their dedication and leadership inside their company and in the business community. See his acceptance speech where he says he'll miss the SMUD team and credits employees for their passion, commitment and hard work.
Prestigious awards cap off a distinguished career
Farewell to an exceptional chief Assets by the numbers Empowering our customers & community VOLTron catches thieves, saves time & money On the Clock: Health & Safety Services Power. Done Right. News Briefs Awards Around the System
Getting electricity from our power sources to our customers' homes and businesses can be a long journey. The electrical current travels through high-voltage transmission lines from as far away as El Dorado County to SMUD’s transmission substations where the voltage is lowered and delivered by overhead and underground lines to SMUD’s distribution substations. There, it’s again lowered for use by the neighborhood distribution system consisting of overhead and underground lines and transformers. Finally, the voltage is lowered 1 more time for connection to our customers' homes and businesses.
by the
Assets
#
It’s a long journey from start to finish that touches many different SMUD assets along the way including:
The electricity flows through wires inside the walls to the outlets and switches all over your house.
11
Reservoirs
9
Powerhouses
212
Distribution substations
26
Transmission substations
1,944
Transmission towers
484
miles of transmission lines
141,815
Distribution poles
10,428
miles of distribution lines
80,457
Transformer banks
29,278
Solar installations
(pole and ground-mounted)
It’s no secret, our customers and community have been hurting due to the pandemic, with a disproportionate impact on our underserved communities. As you read in our recent COVID-19 issue of HiLines, this unique time in our history has presented challenges, which we’ve been working to address. Here’s a deep dive into what we’ve been doing to support our customers and community.
Because we know some of our customers are experiencing significant financial losses, we stopped disconnections for nonpayment until Jan. 4, 2021, reduced the documentation required to apply for the Energy Assistance Program Rate (EAPR) and encouraged customers to apply for EAPR online to receive the fastest response. We also paused the recertification process for EAPR and MEDRate programs. Keeping the health and safety of our employees and customers in mind, we made the decision in March to pause our EAPR pilots, including energy efficiency and solar programs, because they required sending staff and/or contractors into customers’ homes. Once it was safe to do so, we developed a measured and safe approach to restart our EAPR pilots over the summer, partnering with Rebuilding Together (RBT) to create “stay-at-home kits” that included energy efficient products like lightbulbs, power strips and fans, along with safety-related items. Our Special Assistance team developed creative solutions to support our most vulnerable customers. We conducted virtual energy audits and leveraged bill data and analytics to educate low-income customers on how to save on their bills. We also released a backlog of HVAC/heat pump projects to our SEED contractors so we could continue to support our customers struggling with inefficient or inoperative air-conditioning systems.
customers have been contacted by SMUD’s Special Assistance team since the start of the pandemic. The goal being to identify potential energy usage or efficiency issues in their homes and provide tips to help them save money while they sheltering in place.
SMUD customers seem to appreciate our recent efforts to help during this difficult time in our shared history. Here are a few thank you messages we’ve received:
“You are calling to help me with all that is happening, and you cannot even be at work yourselves? Thank you!”
“Thank you for reaching out to me! I had no idea there was a program that would do so much for me – can you please call my daughter too?”
“I have very high bills and didn’t know there was anything I could do about it. Will you please come out to visit me when it's safe and you're able to?”
Thank you notes
Helping the most vulnerable
900+
Since March, in-person events and family workshops have transitioned to the virtual world. This year’s Electricity Fair, held annually at the Folsom Powerhouse, was quickly scrapped and converted to a virtual experience with online tours, activities and history lessons about electricity and how the Folsom Powerhouse came to be. Also aware that school closures were severely impacting the health and well-being of students, primarily those from low-income families that relied on school lunches, we launched a COVID-19 Free Lunch Campaign to support students who’d normally receive school lunches and provided educational fliers about our EAPR program and our suspension of disconnects for non-payment to families in need.
Supporting families
families were served thanks to SMUD’s Drive-Through Food Bank partnerships, including our Giving Monday Canned Food Drive at Cal Expo where we collected more than 2,800 pounds of food.
4,100
40,000
low-income families and 7 school districts in our region were served by SMUD’s COVID-19 Free Lunch Campaign between April and June.
Since many local food drives were cancelled this year due to COVID-19, our partnerships with Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, Sunrise Christian Food Ministry and the Sacramento State Food Pantry helped put food on the table for many more struggling families.
To serve our community further, we developed a Sustainable Communities Resource Priorities map that uses a collection of key data from various resources to help guide how we, and our local partners, make more informed decisions about where resources go within our communities to reduce the growing economic disparity in Sacramento. As part of this, it addresses equity risks tied to COVID-19 indicators and identifies the locations and needs of populations most impacted by COVID-19, including high-risk seniors, medically underserved persons and low-income populations, as well as the nonprofit organizations that support them.
Taking care of business
We have 80 nonprofit partners through SMUD’s Sustainable Communities initiative (SCI). As part of our response to the pandemic, we realigned our resources and plans to address the COVID-19 impacts through revised distance learning strategies and provided resources like laptops to local nonprofits for kids in disadvantaged communities. We also provided low-income daycare vouchers for families and short-term support for non-profits struggling to keep their doors open to serve community members in need.
Did you know?
To help counter the economic fallout from the pandemic, SMUD's Sustainable Communities initiative (SCI) partnered with California Capital to create a simple and low interest microloan program. Called the SMUD COVID-19 Relief: Nonprofit Microloan Program, it seeks to help local small nonprofits in our service area with fewer than 100 employees keep their operations running and growing. As of the release of this HiLines issue, we've received more than $440,000 worth of loan requests since the program's launch in July. Nonprofits have until Oct. 15 to submit their application. Recognizing the significant impacts of the pandemic on local businesses, our Strategic Account Advisors also reached out to our commercial customers to check in, understand how they're impacted by COVID-19 and provide information and tools, including information on payment arrangements. We’ve worked closely and continually with our economic and small business development partners — chambers, business organizations and small businesses — to extend resources, provide updates, connect partners and support initiatives related to the COVID-19 response in our area.
By identifying areas of need, we developed a nonprofit volunteer program and aligned SMUD staff, resources and tools to provide support for organizations including March of Dimes, the LGBT Center, Sacramento Food Bank, the Greater Sacramento Urban League, California Conservation Corps, Sacramento Employment Training Agency, Improve Your Tomorrow, Center for Fathers & Families, Square Root Academy, local school districts, local chambers and many more.
SMUD has leveraged its technical, marketing and webinar know-how to help our community partners keep their small business members informed of important resources available to them in a time of social distancing. Some examples include:
Online support
We took our How to Do Business with SMUD workshop online and made it easier for them to do business with us during the pandemic. We created a Business Action Plan Preparation checklist for business owners to help them navigate financial considerations, employee and customer interactions and fluctuating information related to COVID-19 funding. We supported the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce so they could provide emergency expansion funding to Single Mom Strong (SMS). This allowed SMS to expand daycare services and increase capacity to meet the childcare needs of essential workers in the Citrus Heights community. We connected over 100 SEED-qualified suppliers of personal protective equipment with the California Department of General Services so they could participate in the procurement of emergency goods and services to support the state’s COVID-19 response. We collaborated with partners like the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce to highlight pivoting business J.J. Pfister, a distillery that began producing hand sanitizer. We connected the business with SMUD to get orders in early to procure hand sanitizer for employees reporting onsite at SMUD each day. We also profiled J.J. Pfister as one of the small businesses in our “Business Reimagined” social media campaign to highlight those that have quickly pivoted their businesses amid the pandemic to support the response effort.
• • • • •
VOLTron
catches thieves, saves time & money
A new “super” tool named “VOLTron” is helping SMUD save money, time and prevent outages for our customers. We first told you about how we’re using data from our smart meters to identify overloaded transformers and detect power theft in a HiLines article in 2018. Since then, the data collection process received a high-tech upgrade. Early this year it was automated and got the new name of VOLTron. “The old way was a very manual and tedious process which Excel isn’t cut out for,” says Enterprise Tech Analyst Remington Clark. “We just didn’t have the right tool. Now we do with VOLTron.”
Every meter, every day, every hour. The new software allows data to be collected overnight, and employees in several departments like Revenue Protection and the Meter Shop can access and sort the data to help them with their work.
Instead of a small portion of the data, we can see it all. It’s automated. All exceptions are stored in a database and can be pulled up by individual customers or substation. We can now see every meter, every day, every hour.
- Revenue Protection Representative Mike Wolff
In fact, on the first day the software was installed, the Revenue Protection team discovered an instance of power theft. “I was showing the team how it works and within minutes, there it was,” Wolff adds. “We never would have been able to find that with the previous system.” And, the team discovered another incident of theft just a week later. The program was designed in-house using the skills and institutional knowledge of team members like Meter Tech Lance Langan who created the original tool, “We have a ridiculous amount of data in our smart meters and now VOLTron helps us utilize it.” “This is a great example of how teams from Revenue Protection, Meter Shop, Business Intelligence & Analytics and the Technology Delivery Competency Center collaborated to take a manual process that was working, but needed a little revamp, to the next level,” says IT Manager and VOLTron Product Manager Brian Aldrich. “It’s pretty incredible. This program is saving employees in those workgroups at least 100 hours a year.” What also helped move this project along was using the Agile process. "We were able to rapidly deliver the highest value based on real user feedback throughout the project,” said Scrum Master Michael Brown. “This process ensured that our customer not only was given a solution that exceeded their expectations, but one they had a hand in building."
- Enterprise Tech Analyst Remington Clark
I think we were able successfully implement a solution at SMUD because we were able to bridge the gaps between teams. We were able to involve the subject matter experts throughout the company in order to design a more complex solution with greater business value for SMUD.
Here you see an example of how power thieves are using dangerous methods to get free power.
The project is moving into phase 2 where it will become more robust. The idea is to have it be able to create investigations and run reports to make it simpler and more efficient to use. This program has been so successful that there is a patent pending. There are also talks of implementing pilot programs at other utilities, which would create a new revenue stream for SMUD.
So, what’s next?
Revenue Protection Representative Mike Wolff is on the Board for the Western States Utility Association. He represents a team that has been recognized as leaders in detecting power theft. He also played an integral part in the creation of VOLTron.
At any given time, our dedicated team is advocating on your behalf to support you making it home safely every day. -Safety Manager Ellias van Ekelenburg
But even when there isn’t a pandemic, they’re there, behind the scenes or out in front leading safety meetings and job-specific trainings, helping departments mitigate safety risks, responding to incidents and guiding leaders and employees alike – doing whatever it takes to support a strong safety culture at SMUD. “Prior to the pandemic, we spent time making sure we had the right people with the right specialties led by the right supervisors so that we could better support SMUD, and we’re glad we did,” says Safety Manager Ellias van Ekelenburg, who joined SMUD a little over a year ago. “We’re much more aligned around the needs of our internal clients than ever before, and we’re able to respond to a variety of situations whether developing policies and procedures, providing regulatory guidance, facilitating training or working on field & customer solutions for SMUD.” Adds Environmental, Health & Safety Services Director Patrick Durham, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team. Time and again, they’ve worked to make sure SMUD is a safe place to work, and when the pandemic hit, they navigated one of the toughest times in our history with grace and an unwavering dedication to SMUD employees, customers and our community.”
Health. Safety. What could be more important? Especially in recent times when we’re faced with a pandemic. Luckily, there’s a team at SMUD that’s 100% focused around-the-clock on making sure employees stay safe, are well and able to enjoy their lives at work, home and play. They’re Health & Safety Services, and you’re probably familiar with their efforts over the last few months to help all of us navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, keep us safe from possible exposures and inform us about what we can do to stay healthy and help our colleagues, loved ones and neighbors do the same.
Focus on the field
Lori Pena, supervisor of the High-Risk Operations Team dedicated to the safety of our field crews, says, “We work to ensure we have proper coverage for all SMUD employees and situations, not just in my team but across Health & Safety Services.” Peña’s team has specific experience and skill sets to train and support our employees on the front line – from conducting job site inspections to training staff on various topics, such as Excavations, Pole Top Rescue, Fall Protection, Confined Space, Silica and more. Health & Safety Services have on-call team members, too. She says, “We’re on duty as early as 6 a.m. to the end of shift, then we have team members who work on-call, should we need to respond to evening or weekend incidents and emergencies.”
Everyone in Safety is approachable and willing to assist in any way we can. Even if we can't personally help, we'll help find someone who can. - Health & Safety Services Supervisor Lori Peña
Hover over each team member below to learn more about how they serve SMUD.
Steve Apicelli
I support Electrical Trades (Substation, Meter Shop, CMI’s) and Vegetation Management. I conduct 12 safety meetings per month, provide safety training on various topics and conduct incident investigations.
Jacob Peterson
I support Power Generation (Gas Pipeline Operations and Fresh Pond). I am a Certified Industrial Hygienist. I perform site inspections/audits, assist with training, coordinate Joint Labor Safety Committee meetings and conduct incident investigations.
Jason Collins
I track Monthly Safety Meeting attendance for 12+ safety meetings, maintain the Weekly Grid Assets Safety Scorecard, conduct ergonomic evaluations and assist with incident classification and tracking.
Sheryl Yee
Larry Pierce
Justin Simmons
I support Power Generation (Fresh Pond). I perform site inspections/audits, assist with training, coordinate Joint Labor Safety Committee meetings and conduct incident investigations.
As a Certified Industrial Hygienist, I help with Occupational Health & Safety Trainings for Grid Assets field staff. I also perform site inspections/audits.
I support Line Division and the Network Group. I provide training on various topics, such as Wildfire Smoke, Excavations, Confined Space, Silica and Crane training; and conduct incident investigations.
Safety means serving those at risk
Health & Safety Services Supervisor Stephen Wolfe-Jones knows employees are in good hands when it comes to his team. From safety training to ergonomic evaluations and Safety for Life events and employee outreach, their focus is helping field, office and remote employees stay safe and free of injuries in keeping with safety’s strategic goals and SMUD’s North Star points Be Safe. Always. and Treasure Our Employees. He also directs and manages the weekly, Friday message Safety at a Glance newsletter providing tips, injury notifications and updates the average employee needs to make staying safe a priority “because it’s not just Safety’s role to do that. Every employee plays a part,” Wolfe-Jones says.
Megan Melead
Laura Vo
Jackie Reames
Carl Whitley
Neal Brashier
My focus is field ergonomics and Safety for Life, which includes coordinating office and professional safety meetings, annual Safety Day events and outreach. I also help with remote work and return-to-work efforts.
My experience with wellness helps me add value to the Health & Safety team by looking at not just direct injury causes but also indirect ones such as mental stress. I also help with remote work and return-to-work efforts.
I analyze safety data to ensure accurate OSHA reporting and help us determine what we can do to make SMUD a safer place to work. I also assist my teammates with their projects.
I’m all about office ergonomics and vehicle safety. I also help with office and professional safety meetings. I help with remote work and return-to-work efforts.
I coordinate getting safety training into LMS, assign training to those who need it and back up the ergonomics team.
Most employees and retirees can’t remember a time where there wasn’t a SCORCH team of employees assessing our ergo posture, pointing out and helping to address safety hazards and reminding us of ways we can be safer as part of quarterly safety meetings. But did you know they weren’t always a part of Health & Safety Services? They worked in partnership, sure, but it wasn’t until earlier this year when Health & Safety Services brought the SCORCH program into the fold with the hire of SCORCH Coordinator Dwyane Chapel, who already had a long history with SCORCH, having been part of the team that launched the SCORCH process and has remained an active supporter.
SCORCH rounds out the team
Through hiring Dwayne in this role and bringing SCORCH into Health & Safety Services, we’re even better prepared to partner with and respond to our employees and their safety needs. - Safety Manager Ellias van Ekelenburg
Dwyane Chapel
I oversee the SCORCH process, which provides behavior awareness training and data analysis for identifying and mitigating safety barriers.
Our goal is to make things safer for everybody and, if you have a concern, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We want that partnership. We want to find a solution that will work for you from a business stance and also make you safe. - Safety Manager Ellias van Ekelenburg
Safety’s about our contractors, too
Assisting with contractor safety is Safety Specialist Dan Driscoll, who works with Procurement to evaluate potential contractors from a safety perspective and facilitates orientations prior to job kickoffs to make sure contractors are fully aware of SMUD’s safety expectations and requirements. They even perform occasional site visits on contractor job sites to verify safe work practices in the field.
Led by David Payette, Health & Safety Services’ occupational health team works to make sure field crews are not exposed to hazardous products such as asbestos, PCBs, lead, silica and solvents. Additionally, Occupational Health Services provides assessments for chemicals, dusts, noise, indoor air quality and ensuring that employees are enrolled in our medical monitoring program. Their work involves conducting investigations and partnering with staff in Facilities. A well-known example of such a partnership was the Headquarters renovation project, which they followed up with the development of new PCB safety standard and guidance around safe work practices.
It’s also about occupational health concerns
Alexander Neuhaus
I oversee the public safety program and provide health and safety support to Procurement, Warehouse and Fleet. I also support the occupational health program.
Dave Payette
Through the On the Clock series, we highlight the people, roles and teams who make a difference at SMUD. If there’s another team or role you’d like to know more about, please let us know. Email Employee.Communications@smud.org.
Is there a team you’d like to see featured?
Dan Driscoll
Stephen Wolfe-Jones
Lori Pena
Click on each team member below to learn more about how they serve SMUD.
New Hires
Robert Adams Manager, Supply Chain Jonathan Balbuena Electrical Technician Apprentice Steven Brooks Emergency Preparedness Specialist II Geneva Budd Human Resources Analyst (J) Eric Cahill Senior Strategic Business Planner Kaitlin Coppinger Resource Planning Analyst Matthew Cummings Lineworker Christopher Dark Enterprise Technology Analyst Ty Gutierrez Electrician Apprentice Brian Lee Environmental, Health & Safety Specialist III Steven Overton Electrician Dennis Peters Legislative & Regulatory Program Manager Devin Prasad Enterprise Technology Infrastructure Specialist (J) Ujjwal Rawlley Business Technology Analyst Ronnie Roper User Experience Specialist (J) Joseph Szabo Vehicle Attendant Daniel Tackett Security Officer II Seila Tieng Security Officer II Kirk Ulmer Business Transformation Specialist
Moves and Promotions
Shawna Adams to Office Technician Khalaf Aladem to Associate EMS Engineer (J) Derrick Arnold to Associate Electrical Engineer (J) Shafa Asif to Associate EMS Engineer (J) James Bailey to Power Systems Analyst Jeffrey Belk to Gas Pipeline Fieldperson Donavon Bok to Distribution System Operator Jason Booke to Cable Locator Eric Brown to Manager, Vegetation Management Justin Cahoon to Enterprise Technology Analyst Dagoberto Calamateo to Associate Mechanical Engineer (J) Mikael Cha to Associate Distribution System Engineer Mysti Champion-Freyenberger to Manager, Business Transformation Dwayne Chapel to Safety Coordinator Kyle Chatoian to Engineering Designer III Sridhar Chukka to Enterprise Application Administrator (J) Stephen Cleary Jr. to Line Equipment Operator McCain Crow to Engineering Designer III Janette Cruz to Senior Enterprise Performance Planning Coordinator Naga Saida Rao Devarasetty to Senior Enterprise Technology Developer Joshua Ehrhardt to Troubleshooter Darin Floyd to Line Foreman Lisa Gallegos to Customer Services Supervisor Mathew Gangl to Line Foreman Victoria Garcia to Engineering Designer III Michelle Johnson to Procurement Specialist (J) Fay Gibbs to Enterprise Performance Planning Coordinator (J) Nicole Goi to Assistant Superintendent Power Generation Sanjeel Govind to Senior EMS Engineer Spencer Grossarth to Associate Enterprise Technology Developer Christopher Hall to Human Resources Technician-Confidential Renee Hall to Senior Customer Services Representative Zachary Hartman to Service Dispatcher Lori Hendrix to Office Technician Sally Her to Business Technology Analyst Blair Hickman to Manager, Field Metering Matthew Hoffman to Engineering Designer III Amy Huss to Office Technician Lawrence Irby Sr. to Supervisor, Construction Management Inspection Aaron Jaramillo to Senior Management Administration Assistant Dwight Johnson to Line Foreman/woman Ashley Kennedy to Customer Service Representative II Yujean Kim to Land Specialist (J) Melissa Kwong to Senior Rate Analyst Lisa Limcaco to Director, Accounting & Controller Jonathon List to Material Specialist II Shari Little to Director, Commercial Development Dejona Lopez to Senior Procurement Specialist Chris Martinez to Customer Service Representative II Art McClain to Engineering Designer III Matthew McMullen to Cable Splicer/Electrician Tiffany McRae to Supervising Customer Representative Megan Melead to Environmental, Health & Safety Specialist II Michael Merriss to Supervising Customer Representative Gilbert Millare to Design & Standards Specialist Barbara Mitobe to Engineering Designer IV Eduardo Navarrete to Line Foreman/woman Gabriela Navarro to Service Dispatcher Minhtram Nguyen to Senior Enterprise Technology Developer Charles Norton to Program Manager, Cybersecurity Lindsey Noyes to Land Agent (C) Shari Ord to Productivity Analyst (J) Edward Owen to Engineering Designer III Ryan Pedone to Construction Management Inspector III Vanessa Philadaeng to Associate Business Technology Analyst Pammy Ponenala to Productivity Analyst (J) Julliet Prasad to CIP Compliance Specialist II Abdur Rehman to Associate Distribution System Engineer Salman Saleem to Senior End User Computing Analyst Roopali Shah to Manager, Account Management & Sales Melissa Shea to Market Research Specialist Jennifer Sherman to Office Technician Jesse Singh to Office Technician Jacob Skidmore to Cybersecurity Engineer Lara Sozer to Enterprise Technology Analyst Austin Stanhope to Hydro Operator Casey Steel to Hydrography Field Technician Amber Steeves to Manager, Customer Delivery Jason Stoneburner to Lineman Tanner Thomason to Line Equipment Operator Assistant Dan Trahan to Electrician Nichole Veal to Office Technician Leilani Ventura to Strategic Account Advisor II Joseph Williams to Meter Technician Joshua Williams to Manager, Warehouse Operations Vanessa Young to Manager, Executive Office Janice Zewe to Manager, Grid Planning
Retirement
Richard Blasquez Line Equipment Operator Assistant 31 years, 4 months Willem Bos Principal Market Analyst 29 years, 3 months Raymond Burton Senior Telecommunication Technician 35 years, 2 months Eric Fritz Consulting Engineer II 33 years, 5 months Peter Fung Senior Telephone Technician 11 years, 5 months Jack Graham Engineering Designer IV 16 years, 2 months Jesus Guerra Jr. Lead Vehicle Mechanic (Fresh Pond) 34 years, 7 months Michael Hermansen Supervisor, Construction Management Inspection 11 years, 8 months Michael Hormel Manager, Information Technology 13 years, 1 month Kenneth Kehrer Line Inspector II 34 years, 6 months Kurt Keller Vegetation Management Supervisor 29 years, 7 months Jeffrey Lafazan Associate Telecommunications Engineer (J) 11 years, 6 months Stephanie Lindsay Manager, Accounting & Assistant Controller 15 years Thomas Lyons Jr. Principal Distribution Design Engineer 21 years, 3 months Blaine Matsumoto Cable Locator 30 years, 3 months Chris McLinden Senior IT Application Developer 18 years, 2 months Pamela Modisette Manager, Executive Office 17 years, 2 months Steve Nugent Forms Technician 29 years Stephen Oberson Electrician 13 years, 1 month Meleana Otuhiva Senior Office Specialist 11 years, 10 months Ronald Record Associate Instrumentation & Control Engineer (J) 30 years Scott Schafer Vegetation Work Planner 35 years, 3 months Jennie Shaw Learning & Development Specialist (J) 18 years Mark Sigl Enterprise Technology Analyst 17 years, 3 months Nancy Steele Drafting Technician 31 years, 10 months Dan Tallman Manager, Rancho Seco Assets 6 years, 7 months Mark Tenhaeff Supervising Customer Representative 30 years, 3 months David Yomogida Principal Energy Trading Specialist 12 years, 1 month
In Memoriam
Robert Bonifacini passed away on April 27. Robert was hired in 1980 and retired in 2012 as an Electrician. James Burk passed away on June 9. James was hired in 1959 and retired in 1988 as a Line Construction Supervisor. Elizabeth Brake passed away on March 5. Elizabeth was hired in 1981 and retired in 2001 as a Senior Office Specialist. Joan Christy passed away on March 17. Joan was hired in 1985 and retired in 1995 as a Senior Customer Services Office Specialist. Valerie Engel passed away on March 5. Valerie was hired in 1959 and retired in 1983 as a Computer Programmer. Simon Freeman passed away on May 12. Simon was hired in 1990 and retired in 1994 as a General Manager. Donald Hook passed away on Feb. 18. Donald was hired in 1964 and retired in 1990 as a Senior Power Advisor. Raymond Lawson passed away on Feb. 22. Raymond was hired in 1981 and retired in 2010 as a Customer Service Field Representative. Peter Manley passed away on March 6. Peter was hired in 1991 and retired in 2016 as a Senior Risk Management Analyst. Vincent McMahon passed away on April 11. Vincent was hired in 1978 and retired in 2003 as an Electrical Technician. Calvin Miller passed away on Feb. 5. Calvin was hired in 1969 and retired in 2006 as a Senior Natural Gas Specialist. Meleana Otuhiva passed away on April 5. Meleana was hired in 2008 and retired in 2020 as a Senior Office Specialist. Jerry Paiva passed away on April 19. Jerry was hired in 1980 and retired in 2002 as a Support Services Specialist. Daniel Prosch passed away on March 20. Daniel was hired in 1985 and retired in 1994 as a Senior Electrical Engineer. Gregory Rose passed away on May 6. Gregory was hired in 1974 and retired in 2001 as a Customer Service Field Representative. Alfred Sanders passed away on Feb. 11. Alfred was hired in 1980 and retired in 2010 as a Line Inspector II. Alvin Schrey passed away on Feb. 12. Alvin was hired in 1970 and retired in 1990 as a Principal Electrical Engineer. Shirley Turner passed away on May 24. Shirley was hired in 1975 and retired in 1997 as a Senior Administrative Supervisor. Jack Wheeler passed away on Feb. 4. Jack was hired in 1971 and retired in 1988 as a Principal Electrical Engineer. Earl Willey Jr. passed away on March 21. Earl was hired in 1965 and retired in 2000 as an Energy Specialist III. Harry Yeager passed away on Feb. 29. Harry was hired in 1947 and retired in 1983 as a Special Equipment Operator. Gail Zabala passed away on March 2. Gail was hired in 2000 and retired in 2020 as a Senior Office Specialist.
Retiree Activities
SMUDRO This group meets for lunch in April and September. For more information, contact treasurer and luncheon organizer, RuthAnn Takemoto at 916-363-5979, or email ohratca46@gmail.com. Retired Ladies Luncheon Women who retired from SMUD meet for lunch the third Wednesday of every month, except April and September. For lunch locations, contact Helen Zinn at 916-489-7259, or email helzi56@sbcglobal.net. SMUD Employee Association (SEA) Activities For more information about SEA events, tickets, discounts and benefits and Power Pines Campground reservations, visit the SEA website at https://seamembers.org. Retirees are welcome to participate in SEA off campus activities. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please email admin@seamembers.org.
SEA Events
SMUD Employee Association (SEA) Activities For more information about SEA events, tickets, discounts and benefits and Power Pines Campground reservations, visit the SEA website at https://seamembers.org. Retirees are welcome to participate in SEA off campus activities. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please email admin@seamembers.org.
Awards & accolades
Sacramento Business Journal - Most Admired CEO awards CEO & General Manager Arlen Orchard was honored with the the Distinguished Career category of of the Most Admired CEO awards. This honor is reserved for a CEO who's made a positive impact through their dedication and leadership inside their company and in the business community. Chartwell – Bronze in Program Marketing Best Practices award Our “Stay Well” multimedia campaign, designed to assure customers they could depend on SMUD to maintain safe, reliable power during the COVID-19 crisis, recently received this communications award. The campaign achieved 58% awareness among residential and business customers within the first month of its launch. SMUD’s Energy StorageShares SolarShares program wins multiple awards Energy StorageShares enables eligible commercial customers to invest in SMUD’s off-site utility-scale battery storage and receive a monthly bill credit. The program’s first participant is Electrify America who invested $1.3M to reduce demand charges for 12 charging sites in SMUD’s service area. • Environment + Energy Leader – Top Product award • California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA) – 1st place Best Energy Program large size utility category • Clean Energy State Alliance (CESA) – State Leadership in Clean Energy American Public Power Association (APPA) – Alex Radin Distinguished Service Award CEO & General Manager Arlen Orchard received the highest award granted by APPA for exceptional leadership and dedication to public power. Read the press release. California Climate Action Registry (CCAR) – Platinum Status in The Climate Registry SMUD was awarded The Climate Registry (TCR) Climate Registered™ Platinum status (formerly the California Climate Action Registry or CCAR) for our reporting of third-party verified greenhouse gas emissions inventory for operations in 2019. The Platinum certification is the second highest tier of recognition awarded by TCR. Rainbow Chamber of Commerce (RCC) – Corporate Advocate winner SMUD received the Business & Community Excellence Award for our corporate citizenship and key partnerships with RCC to enhance economic vitality, as well as our demonstrated practices, programs and policies that advance LGBTIQ+ leadership and equality. Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association (SVS-APA) – Local Vision award This award was given to us as a nod to our Sustainable Communities initiative and the projects and partnerships we formed to implement environmental equity and economic vitality in all our areas, with special attention given to historically underserved neighborhoods. Federal Laboratory Consortium & R&D World Magazine awards SMUD’s tool PRECISE – a real-time operation and planning platform designed to reduce interconnection time, optimize inverter settings and reduce the need for grid infrastructure upgrades developed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – was honored with a 2019 Notable Technology Development Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Mid-Continent Region and a 2019 R&D World Magazine 100 award. Healthiest 100 – Healthiest Workplace in America Top 100 list For the 5th year in a row, SMUD was recognized as one of the best-of-the-best in workplace health as one of the 2019 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. We were ranked 38 out of 100 by Springbuk, a leading-edge Health Intelligence platform. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento - Hammy & Leadership awards We were honored for our commitment to building homes and providing energy solutions for underserved communities, and for the more than 800 hours SMUD employees spent volunteering to work on residential builds. Department of General Services – Reciprocity Partner of the Year award SMUD Received the first Gold award in this new category for our commitment to small business and promoting economic development in the region. In 2019 alone, our Supplier Education & Economic Development (SEED) team awarded more than $130 million dollars in contracts.
Developing a fair and equitable solar solution for all customers On Aug. 3, 2020, our public stakeholder process to help align SMUD’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) rates with the true value of rooftop solar took a major step forward with the release of a draft independent valuation study on rooftop solar and solar + storage. The study kicks off the public outreach process. Together, the study and input from our customers will help inform the Board as it determines how to fairly compensate SMUD’s 25,000 solar customers and maintain equitable rates for the remaining 600,000+ non-solar customers. Last year, we initiated an extensive public stakeholder process to examine NEM and related issues that would help us develop a new NEM rate structure. From mid-October through January 2020, we gathered technical experts representing a diverse range of views to provide input on the components to be consider in an independent valuation study. The Technical Working Group agreed on 24 valuation criteria to be used as the basis for the valuation study analysis. In March, we commissioned a 3rd party energy consulting firm – Energy + Environmental Economics (E3) – to complete a detailed valuation study of the true costs and benefits related to SMUD customer-owned self-generation systems, such as rooftop solar, in Sacramento. The study found that while rooftop solar provides benefits, it causes rates to increase for other customers. It also found most of the environmental benefits associated with customer solar can be achieved at a much lower cost through utility-scale solar. The study found that the value of solar is 7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2020 and steadily declines through 2030, as additional solar becomes available. Through NEM, we compensate solar customers retail rates for their solar generation – 12 cents per kWh on average – creating a cost shift to non-solar customers of between $25 to $41 million each year. This amounts to $26 to $45 per customer, per year and disproportionately impacts low-income customers. That will continue to grow exponentially to $94 million or $92 per customer, per year by 2030 if not addressed. Visit smud.org/FairSolar to see the draft Value of Solar and Solar + Storage Study (VOS Study) and learn more about the results and how the value of solar has an impact on other non-solar customers. We’re now undertaking broad outreach to our customers and community stakeholders to understand what’s important to them when structuring a NEM successor rate. The Technical Working Group, VOS Study and customer and community feedback will all be used to inform our proposal for a NEM successor rate and related policies and programs. In 2021, we’ll recommend a new NEM rate structure for the SMUD Board of Directors to vote on.
SMUD is a founding member of the California Mobility Center (CMC)–an effort to support, fund and commercialize new mobility technologies including electric vehicles, autonomous transportation, battery storage, shared mobility solutions, public transit and new businesses and policy models for adoption on the international stage. This is one important way that we’re creating economic development activities, working with a wide range of for-profit, nonprofit and agency partners to make a positive impact in the SMUD service area, while focusing recruitment in our historically under resourced and underserved communities. This initiative helps tackle the very real spike in unemployment and economic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a fall job training and paid internship roll out.
California Mobility Center gaining momentum
CMC focus areas • Commercializing new, clean mobility solution faster. • Accelerating SMUD’s efforts to decarbonize transportation in the Sacramento region. • Growing retail sales with more EVs on the road. • Advancing a new industry in Sacramento with good paying jobs and economic growth. • Creating workforce development and training opportunities for our underserved communities.
Recent CMC accomplishments • Secured a temporary facility in the Power Inn corridor for the ramp-up of CMC activities. • Received CMC Board approval to start purchasing equipment to support prototyping activities. • Negotiating contracts with the first 4 clients whose businesses are focused on electric vehicle innovations, production and charging services. • Applied for funding though the City of Sacramento CARES Act, which is a federal allocation of stimulus money in response to COVID-19 to help provide jobs and job training opportunities for underserved community members that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. If awarded, the funds would help us support job readiness training, curriculum development and training contracts with Sustainable Communities partners like the Greater Sacramento Urban League, La Familia, Asian Resources Inc, California Conservation Corp, Highlands Charter Academy and Sacramento Area Vocational Academy.
Projected CMC workforce and training outcomes in the next 5 years:
300 direct jobs 2,500 indirect jobs through our partners 200 paid internships through our Pathways Program 6,500 training opportunities
Recent CMC accomplishments • • • •
