FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2005
CONTACT: Jennifer Neville, 720-962-7054, neville@wapa.gov
Western recognizes Phoenix resident for exceptional service
LAKEWOOD, Colo.—Phoenix resident Bill Neu will receive Western Area Power Administration's highest honor at a ceremony June 1 at Western's Desert Southwest Regional Office, in Phoenix, Ariz. Western's Administrator Mike Hacskaylo will present Neu with Western's Exceptional Service Award during the ceremony.
"I congratulate Bill Neu for making outstanding contributions to Western. He exemplifies the values we have outlined in our People Goal by serving his customers and peers with great dedication. His multiple accomplishments remind us of the wide reach our organization has in our industry, our service territory and our nation," Hacskaylo said.
As lead electronics engineer in the Protection and Communications Maintenance organization at DSW, Bill Neu is recognized for his expertise with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems, remote terminal units and digital communications technology. He is an integral part of assuring that Western's standards for communication and SCADA are maintained.
During his career, Neu has participated in many difficult projects involving development of project scope, design and installation requirements for the DSW Communications "backbone." He is one of our pioneers in implementing and applying improved technologies to increase power system reliability. Currently, he's examining use of satellite data transmission as a lower-cost alternative to our traditional microwave or line leasing programs.
Neu has worked on many major projects and made several contributions to Western's communications field, including saving manpower and increasing power system reliability for RTU system upgrades. He also devised a new standard RTU interface rack, which saved about 80 percent of construction time. This process improvement saves Western about $144,000 each year.
Neu started his Federal career with the U.S. Air Force in 1965 as an aircraft radio repairman. In 1982, he joined Western's Desert Southwest team as an electronics engineer. Since 1999, he's been DSW's lead electronics engineer.
He is actively involved with his family, church and several community outreach programs on a daily basis. He supports his seven grandchildren in their education, sports and scouting activities. He donates many hours to community service through his church to provide food for the needy, as well as helping out as the church's bookkeeper.
He also enjoys playing racquetball. Neu and his wife, Diane, have three children—Michael, Donald, and Susan—and seven grandchildren—Robert, Matthew, Stephen, Scotty, Daniel, Amber and Joshua.
Western Exceptional Award recipients:
Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of power from hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy.
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