Reliability improvements rarely come from a single project. They come from sustained planning, leadership alignment, and infrastructure choices designed to perform when the system is under stress. This APPA-hosted webinar will feature Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments’ reliability journey following the 2008 Northeast ice storm, including how LELWD evaluated system vulnerabilities and invested in Hendrix Spacer Cable by Marmon Utility as part of a broader storm-hardening and overhead distribution reliability strategy.


David Ketchen of LELWD and Ted Gardner of Marmon Utility will discuss lessons public power utilities can apply when prioritizing capital investments, evaluating aerial spacer cable systems and covered conductor solutions, reducing outage impacts, and strengthening customer service during severe weather events.
 

What Attendees Will Learn: 

  • How Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments evaluated storm-related distribution system vulnerabilities after the 2008 Northeast ice storm and built a long-term reliability strategy around targeted system hardening. 
  • How Hendrix Spacer Cable by Marmon Utility supports overhead distribution reliability by helping reduce outage exposure from tree contact, severe weather, and heavily wooded service territories. 
  • Why aerial spacer cable systems and covered conductor solutions can be strategic infrastructure options for public power utilities seeking to improve storm resilience, outage performance, and customer service reliability. 
  • How public power utilities can prioritize capital investments by identifying high-risk circuits, evaluating overhead line design options, and targeting areas where improved distribution reliability can have the greatest operational impact.
  • The role of leadership alignment, board support, vegetation management, and consistent infrastructure investment in sustaining long-term reliability improvements.

Who Should Attend: 

This webinar is designed for public power utility leaders, engineering teams, operations professionals, and distribution planning stakeholders focused on improving reliability, strengthening storm resilience, and evaluating long-term overhead distribution investments.

Ideal attendees include those involved in system hardening, outage reduction, capital planning, vegetation management, aerial spacer cable evaluation, covered conductor solutions, and customer reliability performance.

Speakers: 

  • Ted Gardner, Applications Engineer - Marmon Utility
    • Ted Gardner brings more than 30 years of experience in the electric utility industry, with a strong background in distribution engineering, overhead system design, and utility equipment solutions. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Western Michigan University and began his career with American Electric Power as a distribution engineer. Over the past two decades, Ted has focused on utility equipment manufacturing, supporting utilities through technical sales, product application, and system design.
      Ted spent ten years with Cooper Power Systems as a Product Specialist in the Components & Protective Equipment Group before joining Marmon Utility / Hendrix Aerial Cable Systems, where he has worked for more than 15 years. He has held roles including Sales Engineer, Regional Sales Manager, and his current position as Application Engineer and Project Manager for Overhead Solutions. In this role, Ted works closely with utilities to develop practical, reliable overhead system solutions and brings deep, field-informed expertise to every project.
  • David Ketchen, Assistant General Manager - Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments (LELWD)
    • David Ketchen joined Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments in 2015, beginning his career with the utility as an Electrical Engineer before being promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
      In his current role, David supports the planning, operation, and long-term reliability of Littleton’s electric, water, and wastewater systems. He has helped advance infrastructure investments focused on system resilience, reliability, and service continuity for the communities LELWD serves. David is also actively involved in public power leadership and industry collaboration, serving as a Board member of APPA’s DEED program and Vice Chair of the Northeast Public Power Association Mutual Aid Committee.

Technology Requirements: 

  • Zoom Platform: You’ll need a strong Internet connection to run the Zoom platform. Visit Zoom.us/test to ensure you can join a meeting.
  • Audio: We recommend using your computer mic/audio to listen to the webinars (alternatively a call-in number will be provided).

Log-In Credentials and Recordings: 

  • Zoom Links: Zoom log-in credentials will be sent 24 hours before the start of the webinar and a reminder will go out one hour before the event.
  • Recordings: The webinars will be recorded and will automatically be emailed to attendees within a week after the event.

Can't participate in the live webinar? Register anyway to access the recording!

Following the webinar, we’ll email you a link to the presentation and webinar recording to view at your convenience. 

Questions? 

Membership@PublicPower.org

This is a sponsored educational opportunity.