American Water, a publicly traded water and wastewater utility company, announced the company will play an active role in the National Assn. of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) Winter Committee Meetings from Feb. 14 to 17 in Washington, D.C. American Water will have several expert presenters.
On Feb. 15, Jim Jenkins, vice president of regulatory & public policy, will participate in a panel titled "Smart Ways to Manage Water: The Benefits of Cloud Computing." The session will highlight recent developments in “cloud computing,” which enable water utilities to bring together various information technology systems to leverage data sharing, analysis and interoperability for the benefit of customers.
Also that day, Karla Teasley, vice president of customer service, will discuss the various factors placing upward pressure on rates and how those factors can be balanced with maintaining affordable rates for water service in a panel titled “Is the Price Right?: Maintaining the Affordability of Water Service.” Whether it is replacing aging infrastructure, addressing storm preparedness and storm damage, instituting conservation measures, implementing government mandates, utilities and their economic regulators must balance such pressures and maintain the affordability of water service.
On Feb. 16, Robert MacLean, president of California American Water and Hawaii American Water, will participate in a panel titled “Like a Well-Tuned Machine: The Role of Energy Efficiency for Water Utilities.” The panelists will discuss issues and experiences with energy efficiency.
Also that day, Nick Santillo, director of physical and cyber security, will join other leaders in a session titled “Safe and Secure: Maintaining the Security of our Water Utilities” to discuss his perspectives on the security threats faced by water utilities, how those threats are being and will be addressed, and the role of utility commissions.
Source: American Water
