Underground Distribution Systems: Virtual Series

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Timing

September 23 – November 6, 2025 (9 sessions)
Noon – 4 p.m. Eastern

Each course consists of real-time Zoom sessions, held from Noon-4 pm Eastern. There will be two 15-minute breaks in each session.

Unable to make the live sessions? Recordings will be made available (automatically to those who register) within a week after the last session takes place.

Delivery Method/Learning Environment

These courses are Group Internet based offerings (via Zoom) and combine real-time presentations, breakout sessions, in-class examples, live polling, real-world examples, Kahoot quizzes, Q&A and group discussion. The courses are applications-oriented and focus on learning by doing.

Series Overview

Underground distribution continues to be the installation method of choice in many applications on public power systems. This series of two in-depth virtual courses begins with a comprehensive overview of the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of underground electric distribution systems. Then, in the second course, learn how to improve your utility’s policies, standards, and practices for underground distribution and hear about current and emerging industry trends. Earn PDH credits for attending live sessions!

Underground Distribution Series September 23 – 25, 30; October 1 – 2 (6 sessions)
Advanced Underground Distribution Systems November 4 – 6 (3 sessions)

All events will be recorded and attendees will automatically receive access to the recordings (accessible for 90 days).

Who Should Attend?

Designed for electric utility engineers, designers, technicians, and field personnel who are responsible for, or who make decisions concerning, distribution systems, as well as those involved in the management, planning, construction, and operations aspects of distribution systems.

These courses are conducted at a practical level and are appropriate for degreed engineers and engineering technicians, as well as non-degreed high school graduates with a general knowledge of the electric utility system.

Course Level

Course levels range from basic to intermediate as you progress through the training. See individual course descriptions for more details.

Prerequisites/Advance Preparation

No prerequisites; some advance preparation including attending a short orientation session before each course.

Technology Requirements

Computer: Each attendee needs to work from their own computer, to fully participate in the discussions and exercises.
- Contact Academy@PublicPower.org if you are participating as a group in a conference room.
Zoom Meeting Access: You’ll need strong Internet access to run the Zoom meeting platform.
Audio/Webcam: You will need to enable computer audio to listen and speak (alternatively a call-in number will be provided) and you will also need a webcam, so you can fully engage in the small group breakout sessions and group discussions.
Download the Kahoot! App: The instructors will be using Kahoot during (and after) live sessions and will provide you with the game PIN number needed for each quiz. Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and download the free Kahoot! app on your phone.

Accreditation

Continuing education credits (CEUs and PHDs) will be provided for each course. See individual course pages for details.

Instructors

miner Lead Instructor: R. John Miner, P.E., is an accomplished executive manager and educator with over 50 years of experience in the electric utility industry. He is president of Collaborative Learning, Inc., of Austin, Texas, and has been an APPA instructor for more than 35 years and an instructor for the University of Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Before forming his own company, he worked as C.O.O. for the Austin, Texas, Electric Utility Department (Austin Energy), General Manager of Rochester Public Utilities in Minnesota, and as an assistant professor at the University of Houston. John earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering (with honors), and a Master of Science degree in engineering science, both from the University of Toledo. John is a Senior Life Member of the IEEE and is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Texas and Minnesota.

Thomas Black, P.E., is an accomplished executive manager, consultant and course instructor with more than 35 years of experience in the electric and gas utility industries. In addition to working with Collaborative Learning, Tom’s experience includes employment with both municipal and investor-owned utilities across multiple jurisdictions in Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. He teaches a variety of courses on technical topics and also has extensive executive level experience in managing electric and gas utility systems, including serving as chief energy officer and energy delivery general manager. Tom has also served on the boards of RMEL (now Alltricity Network) and the Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Tom DeBell, P.E., is an independent consultant and course developer and instructor for Collaborative Learning with experience in the electric, water, telecommunications, and gas utility industries. Tom recently concluded a successful 34-year career with Riviera Utilities, a municipal utility in Foley, Alabama. Transitioning from this extensive career in November 2023, Tom founded an executive and leadership coaching company. During his tenure at Riviera Utilities, Tom held various pivotal roles, including engineering and management positions, culminating in his role as President/CEO. In his engineering roles, Tom developed line construction specifications, designed transmission and distribution lines, including both overhead and underground distribution, and collaborated closely with construction crews on major line projects. Tom also specialized in the design and construction of electric transmission and distribution substations, conducted system coordination studies and implemented cascading protection schemes.

eric Erich Schoennagel, P.E., as cultivated over 45 years of experience in the electric industry. He is a former manager and engineer with CenterPoint Energy and managed the Transmission Project Engineering group. Erich served for 15 years as a member advisor and chairman of the Underground Transmission Task Force for the Electric Power Research Institute until his retirement from CenterPoint Energy. There he directed research related to underground transmission and superconductivity. He was a board member of the annual TSDOS symposium, and a former member of the American Concrete Institute 336 committee related to foundation design and construction.

Questions?

Registration/Billing: Registration@PublicPower.org
Schedule/Content/Accreditation: A cademy@PublicPower.org

Held in partnership with:

Collaborative Learning, Inc.

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Registration

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Registration Fees

Registration is for individual access. If you have multiple people interested in attending, group discounts are available.

	Members*
Bundled Series (Save $200) Includes both courses.	$2,390
Individual Courses
Underground Distribution Systems	$1695
Advanced Underground Distribution Systems	$895
*Non-member rates are double the member rates.

Group Discounts

Save money when your organization registers five or more people for the same class or the bundled series. The larger your group, the more you save!

Registrations must be submitted on the same order (at the same time) to qualify for the group discount; discounts cannot be retroactively applied to previous orders.

If you need assistance, contact Registration@PublicPower.org.

Number of registrants	Individual Courses (per person, per class)	Bundled Courses (2 classes, per person)
1-4	n/a	n/a
5-9	$50	$100
10-14	$100	$200
15-24	$150	$300
25+	$200	$400

Cancellations/No-Show/Refunds/Substitutions

All events will be recorded and attendees will automatically receive a copy of the recordings, in case you can’t attend live.

Registrants who cancel in writing at least 7 days before the first day of a course are entitled to a refund of their registration fee, minus a $100 cancellation fee. Registrants who cancel after that will not receive a refund, but attendee substitutions will be allowed for this event only. Registrants and no-shows who do not cancel at least 7 days before the course start date are responsible for the full registration fee and are not entitled to a refund.

Cancellation deadlines:

Underground Distribution Systems Virtual Series (both classes): Cancellations must be received on/before September 16
Underground Distribution Systems: Cancellations must be received on/before September 16
Advanced Underground Distribution Systems: Cancellations must be received on/before October 28

Cancellation requests should be made through your My.PublicPower portal, or addressed to: Registration@PublicPower.org.

Questions?

Registration/Billing: Registration@PublicPower.org
Schedule/Content/Accreditation: Academy@PublicPower.org

Accreditation

Earn While You Learn!

Participate in virtual programs to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for this course.

Requirements for Successful Completion: Virtual

Registration is for individual access, so each person participating must register. If you have multiple people interested in attending, group discounts are available.
Individuals are required to attend and actively participate in 90% of each live session and complete an online evaluation after the last session in a course.
- Attendance: Individuals must attend at least 90% of each live session (based on electronic timestamps in Zoom).
- Participation: Active participation in class will include engagement activities such as: polling/check-in questions, Q&A, and group discussions.
- Activities vary by class: Information on participation will be provided the day before (and during) class. Participation is tracked electronically.
- Online evaluation: Each person must complete an online evaluation after each course concludes.
Partial credit cannot be given for partial attendance.
Attendance is monitored by an APPA staff member during the event, through an online report log, and upon review of the post-event evaluation data
Completion certificates will be available within two weeks of the last session in a live event (for those who meet the requirements) through your APPA member portal (access instructions will be provided).
Virtual sessions are recorded (attendees automatically receive access to recordings within a week of the last session), though continuing education credits can only be given for attending live events. Recordings will be accessible for 90 days after the last session.

Guidelines for group participation in virtual events

If a group is participating in a conference room together, we recommend each person still logs in individually from a laptop to ensure attendance and participation requirements are met (as noted above).
If individual log in is not possible, the organization must designate one person as the main point of contact. Email Academy@PublicPower.org in advance of the virtual event noting this information:
- The person who will record attendance and participation in the room throughout the class (we can provide a sample attendance tracker).
- Submit the attendance record to APPA within 2 business days of the conclusion of a virtual event.
- Ensure each person fills out the required online evaluation

Accreditation Bureaus

Continuing Education Units (CEUs): The American Public Power Association is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. For information regarding certification status, attendance requirements and obtaining attendee transcripts, contact EducationInfo@PublicPower.org. Verify our IACET Accreditation.

Professional Development Hours (PDHs): The American Public Power Association’s educational practices are consistent with the criteria for awarding Professional Development Hours (PDHs) as established by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Course eligibility and number of PDHs may vary by state.

Questions?

Registration/Billing: Registration@PublicPower.org
Schedule/Content/Accreditation: Academy@PublicPower.org

Additional Information

Format and Log-In Information

These Group Internet based classes will be offered on the Zoom meeting platform.

Communication

24 hours after registering: You’ll receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of registering, which contains some preliminary information.
24 hours before the event:
- You’ll receive your Zoom log in link the day before the first session in a course (sent from the APPA Academy’s Zoom account <no-reply@zoom.us>)
- You’ll also receive a final logistics email 24 hours in advance of the first class.
  - If you don’t receive this, email Academy@PublicPower.org

Course Access and Materials

Zoom Links: Zoom log in credentials will be sent out 24 hours before the start of the first session in a class.
Course Materials: Attendees will receive access to course materials the day before each session through the "Documents" section of their My.PublicPower.org user portal.
Recordings: All sessions will be recorded and can be accessed through your user portal as well (within a week of the last class in the program), in case you can’t attend the live versions. Recordings will be accessible for 90 days after the last session. Note: Continuing education credits can only be issued for attending live sessions.

Technology Requirements

Computer: Each attendee needs to work from their own computer, to fully participate in the discussions and exercises.
- Contact Academy@PublicPower.org if you are participating as a group in a conference room.
Zoom Meeting Access: You’ll need strong Internet access to run the Zoom meeting platform.
Audio/Webcam: You will need to enable computer audio to listen and speak (alternatively a call-in number will be provided) and you will also need a webcam, so you can fully engage in the small group breakout sessions and group discussions.
Download the Kahoot! App: The instructors will be using Kahoot during (and after) live sessions and will provide you with the game PIN number needed for each quiz. Go to the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) and download the free Kahoot! app on your phone.

New to Zoom?

If you haven't participated in a Zoom meeting before, please download the Zoom web client from the Zoom Download Center. This will enable you to access all of the Zoom tools and functionality vs. using the web version. Then, visit Zoom.us/test to ensure you are able to join a meeting.

If you are not able to download the Zoom web client, you can still participate via your Internet browser. We recommend using Chrome for the best results.

Privacy and Security

The American Public Power Association takes your privacy and security very seriously. For this reason, we have put the following security measures in place for this course: