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July 1, 2004
Delivering Value Through Local Relationships, Public Power Magazine, July-August 2004
| For More Information |
Tim Blodgett
Hometown Connections
303-526-4515
tblodgett@hometownconnections.com
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Update on the Activities of Hometown Connections
“I am having a great time,” said Walter R. McGrath, the distinguished public power leader who stepped out of retirement to join the Hometown Connections sales team. “Every manager I call is happy to meet and talk about what their utility needs and how Hometown Connections can help.” McGrath has tapped into such pent up demand for a local presence from Hometown Connections that within six months of coming on board he expanded his sales territory from the six New England states to include New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
Deluged in 2004 with calls about automated meter reading from Itron, billing systems from Harris, and power line communications from Main.net, to name a few, Hometown Connections has expanded its sales and marketing team. In addition to Walter McGrath, public power veteran William C. “Bill” Moss has signed on as regional sales representative in Tennessee. American Municipal Power-Ohio employees are now selling Hometown Connections products and services to the AMP-Ohio membership. And the Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association (TMEPA) has joined the network of public power organizations committed to advertising and marketing for Hometown Connections.
Hometown Connections is the utility services subsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA), negotiating lower purchase prices from industry suppliers on behalf of all APPA members across the U.S. The 16 suites of products and services offered through the company include meter reading systems/AMR, customer information software, power line communications systems, cardiac defibrillators, power plant engineering and construction, customer & employee research, and consulting in the areas of energy risk management, broadband communications, customer/employee loyalty, and business strategy development. Since its founding in the fall of 1997, more than 460 public power systems have collectively saved more than $8 million by making purchases through Hometown Connections.
At present, a network of 15 public power entities across the U.S. serve as Hometown Connections local sales or marketing representatives in 24 states. Forty percent of public power utilities currently access Hometown Connections through local marketing or sales representatives. The local sales representatives work directly with the suppliers and the public power utilities in their state or region throughout the product inquiry, sale and delivery process. The local marketing representatives help advertise and promote the products and services offered by Hometown Connections.
The 7 public power local sales representatives are:
•American Municipal Power-Ohio
•Alabama Municipal Electric Authority
•Energy Northwest
•Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia
•Crawfordsville, Ind., Electric Light & Power
•Walter McGrath (New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware)
•Bill Moss (Tennessee)
The 8 public power local marketing representatives are:
•Florida Municipal Electric Association
•Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities
•Indiana Municipal Electric Association
•Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma
•Illinois Municipal Utilities Association
•Texas Public Power Association
•Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association
•Gila (Ariz.) Resources.
Walter McGrath was the general manager of the Braintree, Mass., Electric Light Department from 1985 to 2002. He served as president of APPA in 1998-1999 and was a member of APPA’s board of directors from 1993 to 2001. “I supported the creation of Hometown Connections when I was an APPA Board member, and I am very excited about the company’s achievements,” McGrath said. “It’s so much fun to be able to step in and help a public power manager address a challenge, for everything from ordering one or two hand-held meter readers to designing and building power plants.”
Bill Moss, a former executive director of TMEPA, has joined the sales team of Hometown Connections as the sales representative for the state of Tennessee. Moss said, “I believe Hometown Connections will be a source of great value to all the public power systems in this state and region of the country. I look forward to working with them and their other representatives in helping their systems better serve their customers/owners during the coming years. Based on my initial contacts with utility officials, we agree that together we can meet the many challenges facing our industry in general and public power in particular by utilizing the products and services offered through Hometown Connections.”
Mike Vinson, executive director, TMEPA, said, “The 61 members of TMEPA serve about 70% of the electric customers in the State of Tennessee and through their relationship with TVA, have historically kept the price of energy well below the national average. They are deluged with vendors hoping to reap the benefits of such an opportunity, and it is my hope that Hometown Connections will provide many of the services and products they typically spend much of their time researching. As a local marketing representative, our association is sharing information about the ways in which Hometown Connections can serve our communities. As our industry faces new challenges, we are helping TMEPA members explore new projects, new ideas and new opportunities. We believe Hometown Connections offers an essential resource for savings and innovation.”
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, AMP-Ohio supplies wholesale power and provides technical and other services to its 90 member communities. AMP-Ohio is taking on direct sales responsibilities for the products and services offered by Hometown Connections. Since 2000, AMP-Ohio has been affiliated with Hometown Connections in an advertising and marketing capacity. Now, the organization is dedicating staff time to selling the Hometown Connections offerings to member public power systems in the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Marc Gerken, President, AMP-Ohio, said, “Through our marketing affiliation, we saw first-hand the value Hometown Connections brings to the AMP-Ohio membership. Now, as sales representatives, our staff will be trained to help AMP-Ohio members obtain valuable products and services at pricing negotiated for all public power communities.”
Tim Blodgett, president and chief executive officer of Hometown Connections, said “The early successes of Walter McGrath, Bill Moss, and the AMP-O team are testimony to their expertise and professionalism. They also demonstrate what has been at the core of our endeavor since 1997—developing personal relationships with public power officials and adjusting our offerings to suit their needs.”
A large proportion of the calls coming in to the Hometown Connections staff and sales representatives are from public power systems looking to build out their automated meter reading capabilities. Customer expectations for accurate billing and fast service, coupled with recent municipal budget challenges, are driving APPA members to focus on improving their core business practices. “We have numerous cities migrating to Itron AMR through Hometown Connections,” said Steve VanderMeer, national sales director—east region, Hometown Connections. “This trend continues to grow with public power utilities such as the Albany, Ga., Water, Gas & Light Commission; Riviera, Ala., Utilities; and the Hillsdale, Mich., Board of Public Utilities leading the way.”
As a licensed Business Associate of Itron Inc., Hometown Connections offers APPA member discounts on Itron automated meter reading products when they are purchased from Hometown Connections, plus plenty of time and attention from Hometown staff and sales representatives. “We are taking calls daily from APPA members asking for help analyzing the impact of building out their AMR capabilities to cover all electric, water and gas meters,” said Bill Smart, national sales director—west region, Hometown Connections. “Most notable has been the increase in activity within the smaller utility sector. Smaller utilities are migrating off books to AMR systems. With Itron’s recent AMR promotion, we can install an AMR system for a utility at the same cost as an electronic meter reading system. Over the past 12 to 18 months, AMR costs have fallen to meet the budget and return on investment requirements of virtually all public power systems.”
The state of Ohio is a case in point. According to Pam Sullivan, director of marketing and development, AMP-Ohio, “A number of communities in Ohio have a strong interest in AMR systems, including many of our smaller communities. Several villages are at various stages in the process of acquiring systems. The interest stems not only from the cost benefit of AMR technology, but also from the standpoint that difficult meter reading situations would be eliminated."
In addition to AMR from Itron, public power’s focus on core operations and customer service is driving the interest in new customer information systems from Harris Computer Systems. Harris is the official information systems partner of Hometown Connections, offering billing and financial management software solutions. The Harris suite is scalable in function and pricing, meeting the requirements of public power utilities of all sizes. Harris provides choice through two distinct product lines—NorthStar and Spectrum.
Multi-tiered architecture and open-ended design concepts provide NorthStar with the ability to deliver applications on multiple operating systems and databases. NorthStar can be deployed on Windows™, UNIX or LINUX and can utilize SQL, Oracle or Informix databases. Harris’ NorthStar solutions encompass all aspects of the utility industry, ranging from CIS, meter management, billing and financial applications to e-business applications. Through easy integration, customer data is leveraged in GIS, IVR, and Outage Management Systems.
Designed for single or multi service public power utilities with fewer than 5,000 customers, the Spectrum product suite provides customer information and billing system, full featured financial management system, and local government software all within an easy to use Windows™ interface.
Since the January 2004 announcement of the strategic partnership between Hometown Connections and Main.net, calls have been pouring in from APPA members interested in delivering high-speed, broadband Internet services over electric power lines. APPA members may purchase equipment, software and services from Main.net at national group pricing arranged by Hometown Connections.
Main.net is a recognized word leader in the delivery of power line communications solutions for the energy industry. Easy to install, scaleable and reliable, the Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) system from Main.net uses the utility’s existing electric power lines to deliver high-speed data through an ordinary wall socket. A utility can choose to rent access to its lines or take a more active role, up to and including becoming the high-speed Internet provider. The City of Manassas, Virginia, was the first public power utility in the U.S. to fully deploy the Main.net technology, starting in 2003.
“Because the telecommunications and cable conglomerates are slow to offer DSL, fiber-to-the-home or cable modem service in smaller, more rural communities, broadband over power lines (BPL) is addressing an important niche market among public power systems,” said Dennis Melton, chief operating officer, Hometown Connections. “To meet the demand for information on BPL from Main.net, we’re hosting briefings around the country. For example, in the Spring of 2004, 22 APPA members met at Taunton Municipal Utilities in Massachusetts and 46 members met at the offices of AMP-Ohio to learn about BPL technology and financials, the Main.net solution as compared with other broadband alternatives, deployment case studies, and other applications for BPL (including outage management and Internet-based phone systems). “BPL is a great solution for the last mile and offers municipal utilities a very cost effective way of bringing Internet services to their communities along with other utility-related services,” said Walter McGrath, Hometown Connections.
According to CEO Tim Blodgett, AMR, CIS, and BPL are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ways in which Hometown Connections is supporting public power. “The Hometown Connections team and our collection of products are growing at an exciting pace. By expanding our sales and marketing network while providing new and better products that support utility operations and customer service, Hometown Connections is helping to ensure that public power systems thrive in all regulatory and economic conditions.”
“Hometown Connections is successful because it is needs-based and member-driven, from its creation in 1997 to its organization today,” said APPA president & chief executive officer Alan H. Richardson. “It is focused on the needs of public power and advised by public power leaders who ensure that the products developed meet public power challenges, and that the suppliers understand the special attributes of public power systems and how they relate to their communities and customers.”
In 2004 and beyond, Hometown Connections will continue to expand its local sales and marketing network, as well as its suite of innovative products and services for public power communities.
Written by Susan Ryba. Ms. Ryba handles marketing for Hometown Connections.
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