The National Energy Regulatory Commission will have new reliability standards requirement beginning 2020 and Clarksdale Public Utilities is attempting to remain in compliance.
GDS Associates Inc. from Marietta, Ga., will assist with the process of remaining in compliance. The CPU board unanimously voted to hire GDS Associates Inc. during the Tuesday, Feb. 26 meeting. Money was budgeted for the 2018-19 fiscal year to hire GDS Associates Inc.
“We’re going to continue to update our programs on our NERC compliance and make sure that we’re meeting all of their standards,” said CPU general manager Curtis Boschert,
“With our production, we have to stay in compliance with the NERC standards and the liability standards. The commission, we had budgeted this fiscal year to do certain updates that had to be completed before Jan. 1. I wanted to bring that to the commission’s attention to authorize me to contact them and start that programming. We’re just trying to keep everybody trained up and keep up with the standards.”
The board also voted for personal automobile travel reimbursement rate to go from $0.54 per mile to $0.58 per mile. The rate was based on the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration mileage reimbursement rate effective Jan. 1.
It was also voted for CPU employees to have the premium reduction option and flexible spending accounts for their cafeteria insurance plan beginning March 1.
“What the cafeteria plan is, is employees can sign up for certain types of insurance,” Boschert said. “An employee pays it, but we deduct it from their payroll, like a health savings account.”
This applies to insurances such as disability, dental and vision.
“It’s something they can pay for that we will withhold from their check,” Boschert said.
Boschert also praised the CPU employees’ efforts to provide relief during the flooding the weekend of Feb. 21 and 22.
“We had all of this rain over the last week and all of our people were out working and making sure we were responding to all the customer calls, keeping the sewers running, working at the wastewater treatment plant,” Boschert said. “A lot of employees came out and worked hard.”
Boschert said the water and sprinkler system was going off at the Greenbrough Nursing Center and employees got it turned off. He added he received a thank you letter.
