| ABC`s of Electrical Systems
Pricing | This course provides a basic survey of electric utility operations, from generation at the
power plant to distribution to the end-use customer. Topics covered include methods of
generation, high voltage transmission, distribution methods, electrical terminology, and
usage measurement through metering and billing. Emphasis is placed on how to improve
business transactions for the customer that you will be handling. This is a basic overview course targeted only for the non-technical employee or board member. This is a NASBA approved class. The instructional delivery method is “group-live.” You will receive 7 CPE credits in the Communications field of study. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE Credits have been granted based on a 50- minute hour. The program level is Basic. There are not any prerequisites for this course.
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| Budgeting, Finance and Accounting
Pricing | This course covers the accounting and financial functions of a utility system. Participants study basic accounting practices and procedures; including balance sheets, income and operating statements, plant accounting, performance ratios, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This is a NASBA approved class. The instructional delivery method is “group-live.” You will receive 14 CPE credits in the Finance field of study. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE Credits have been granted based on a 50- minute hour. The program level is Advanced. There are not any prerequisites for this course.
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| Internal Controls and Fraud Protection
Pricing | This course covers the accounting and financial functions of a utility system. Participants study why employees commit Fraud, Reporting Requirements, and the importance of COSO. The second half of the day will cover applications related to Internal Controls. “The Big Three” will be discussed extensively. Other topics include Inventory Loss Prevention, Financial Statement Fraud, and Ethics. Participants will work with others to review and solve Fraud Specific Case Studies from local power companies. This is a NASBA approved class. The instructional delivery method is “group-live.” You will receive 7 CPE credits in the Finance field of study. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE Credits have been granted based on a 50- minute hour. The program level is Basic. There are no prerequisites for this course.
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| Introduction to Pricing and Rate Design
Pricing | We are facing a changing marketing place of exploding technology in metering, demand and energy control, efficiency, smart homes, smart appliances, distributed energy resource (DERs), and customers looking for greater control and more effective customer interfaces through apps, social media, and other innovations. Understanding pricing of electricity and how it fits into this new world, the basis for existing pricing, and how it needs to change to meet the new realities of a competitive environment at the distribution level is more critical than ever.
This 2-day course lays the foundation for understanding the fundamental principles of rate design and pricing, now and going forward. We start by examining fundamentals of the generation system and how it works, types of generation and costs, and how units are dispatched. We then look at how these costs are categorized and assigned to demand, energy, and other costs for pricing purposes.
Next we look into how rates are designed to recover these costs while meeting a number of pricing goals and objectives. This includes an examination of goals and objectives, determining costs and revenue requirements, costing by season and time-of-use, coming up with billing determinants, and designing rates by revising existing rates and creating new rates. We also look at pricing challenges created by DER (such as solar) and other alternatives to the traditional grid and how we are responding.
We then examine and discuss actual wholesale and retail rates, and how these were designed in light of the goals and objectives to be met, and where we go from here.
The course also includes an Appendix with terminology and acronyms that we use in the industry, as well as other pertinent information for reference.
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| Legal Review for the Accounting Professional
Pricing | Legal Review for the Accounting Professional provides a more detailed look at legal issues that accounting professionals face at electric utilities. The class will focus on the latest changes in the law including updates on wage and hour litigation, the preservation of documents and other evidence in liability lawsuits, and employment law. The class will also focus on the essentials elements contained in good contracts, how to read a contract and to review other aspects of business management that impact LPCs every day.
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| Time Management
Pricing | Master time and you master the bottom line – whether that bottom line is financial margin or accomplishments not measured by money saved but time well spent. Everyone’s relationship with time is different. Therefore, strategies vary from person to person. In this class, you will assess your own challenges and discover multiple methods for conquering time issues and choose the right ones for you. Methods include the use of technology to get organized and cut out unnecessary steps, effective techniques for handling interruptions, habits of successful time managers, and more. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE Credits have been granted based on a 50- minute hour. The program level is Advanced. There are not any prerequisites for this course.
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| Utility Accounts Classification & Principles
Pricing | This course will train you on classifying transactions/ activities within the TVA/FERC account system. It will also give you insight into the “big picture” of the business and how each small job is related and benefits the end result. Students are given the opportunity to record journal entries and prepare basic financial statements. After completion of this course, you will gain a better understanding of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and their Uniform System of Accounts. CUA. This is a NASBA approved class. The instructional delivery method is “group-live.” You will receive 14 CPE credits in the Accounting field of study. In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE Credits have been granted based on a 50- minute hour. The program level is Intermediate. There are not any prerequisites for this course.
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| Work Order, Inventory & Plant
Pricing | This class will introduce you to the work order system and how it operates in a utility. This course is encouraged for all utility employees to gain a better understanding of co-worker’s responsibilities and a work overview of the entire process. You will get the opportunity to go through a manual work order closing step by step and actively participate in the entire process from the work request to the work order closing to the completion of plant units and costs closed to Electric Plant in Service. Students must have completed Utility Accounting Principles and Classification to enroll. This is a NASBA approved class. The instructional delivery method is “group-live.” You will receive 7 CPE credits in the accounting field of study. The program level is advanced.
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