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March 11, 2010 | Three AECI employees at New Madrid Power Plant receive Excel AwardsContact : Nancy Southworth 417.885.9246 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Associated Electric Cooperative presented the following New Madrid Power Plant employees with Excel Awards at its 17th annual recognition awards ceremony March 10: Bruce W. Hill, Russell A. “Rusty” Rice and Larry D. Swilley. The recipients of these awards were nominated by their peers for excelling in their work at the power plant, which is owned by Associated. Hill, boiler maintenance specialist, Dexter, was honored with the 2009 Excel Award for Employee of the Year in a Technical Field. As a former welder at the plant, Hill is responsible for planning the repairs and upgrades to the plant’s nearly 40-year-old cyclone-fired boilers. For example, in 2009, he planned millions of dollars of boiler repairs, as well as scaffolding, insulation and lagging work. A nominator said, “Bruce is in constant contact with contractors during outage periods to see that projects are moving forward. He is able to redirect crews to get the best bang for the company’s dollar.” Rice, environmental coordinator, Sikeston, received the 2009 Excel Innovative Action Team Award for his role on a team that also included employees from Associated’s headquarters and Thomas Hill Energy Center. He was responsible for onsite coordination of a test late last year at New Madrid in which refined coal was used to reduce mercury emissions by about 90 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by about 20 percent. A nominator praised the team for finding an innovative and low-cost way to improve environmental performance while maintaining Associated’s position as the low-cost wholesale provider of electricity for rural electric cooperative members. “Were it not for their perseverance and willingness to think out of the box, this opportunity would never have been realized,” said the nominator. Rice is responsible for the plant’s regulatory compliance for air, water, hazardous waste, spill control and other environmental issues. Swilley, yard operations superintendent, Portageville, received a 2009 Excel Innovative Action Team Award for his role on a New Madrid and Associated headquarters team that responded to the ice storm of January 2009 in southeast Missouri. Swilley and the team were recognized for overseeing the replacement of more than 50 miles of 345-kV transmission line in about 17 weeks. Swilley helped set up a staging site where construction materials were picked up or stored. A nominator said, “This group of folks worked like a team is supposed to work. They stayed focused on the objective of rebuilding the system by June 2009.” Note: Photos of Excel recipients available electronically. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 875,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members, including its “Take Control & Save“ energy efficiency program, www.TakeControlAndSave.coop. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V Released: 11 March 2010 |
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