Williamsburg, VA, July 8, 2008 -- The Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference (EUFMC), held from June 15-18, 2008 at the Williamsburg Lodge and Conference Center in Williamsburg, VA, attracted another record number of attendees. Fleet managers from investor-owned electric utilities in the U.S. and Canada were joined by supplier representatives at the annual conference where they took part in technical presentations and attended an equipment show.

Leading off the 2008 EUFMC was David G. DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities, who explained how his company is working to "navigate a turbulent business environment. The challenges of working to continuously improve operations," he said, "include rising energy prices and customer expectations, infrastructure investment and employee needs, regulatory scrutiny and pressure to cut costs that is greater than ever." In his keynote address, "Preparing Your Fleet for the Future" DeCampli covered the five-part balanced approach that is being applied at PPL to foster continuous improvement.

During EUFMC 2008, presentations covering the meeting's theme, "Powering Your Fleet Toward the Future" reflected the pressure on utility fleets to become more environmentally friendly, reduce vehicle acquisition and maintenance costs, lower fuel consumption, and use fleet data to measure performance and make better decisions. Among the presentations were:

* Climate Change/Carbon Footprint -- Bill Van Amburg, senior vice president, WestStart-CalStart
* Biodiesel Fuel Quality, Sustainability and Implementation into Utility Fleets -- Randall von Wedel, Ph.D., founder and principal chemist, BioSolar Group/CytoCulture International Inc.
* PHEV Technology -- Gus Sfakianos, executive vice president, Odyne Corp.
* Telematics/Aware Vehicle Intelligence -- Kyle Howard, manager, AWARE Sales, Navistar Corp.
* Washington Update -- Pat O'Connor, Kent & O'Connor Inc., legislative counsel for the National Association of Fleet Administrators
* Getting the Most Value of My Information System -- Leslie C. Rucker, Jr., national director, fleet management consulting, Maximus Inc.
* Vehicle Life Cycle Initiatives -- Tom Allen, manager fleet service, First Energy
* Different Life Cycle Costing/Modeling -- Chris Shaffer, partner, Utilimarc
*The Six Sigma Process -- William D. Kokemor, fleet director, Henkels & McCoy
* ANSI Standards -- Gary McAlexander, president, Intercontinental Equipment Co.

New at EUFMC this year was an expanded outdoor equipment display that included more hybrid units than ever before, another indication that the utility fleets are working to conserve fuel and reduce emissions. The presence of several larger construction equipment units also showed that utility fleets are being called on to focus on the rebuilding of the nation's aged electric system infrastructure.

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Wed Jul 09 06:00:00 CDT 2008