Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative’s Engineering Manager Steve Kahle recently completed an intensive program in electric utility management with the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program (MIP) is a series of workshops offered by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin. The program guides participants through all facets of the electric utility industry, including the many changes occurring around the nation. Kahle is one of only a few electric utility managers that will graduate from MIP this year.
MIP participants go through three 10-day sessions designed to challenge and educate participants in new, innovative management techniques. Participants leave with a better understanding of what consumers want and how to ensure they get it.
By also covering the unique principles that govern the operations of electric cooperatives, the program helps the co-op analyze other business ventures it may want to enter, as well as enhancing the core organization.
Only rural electric cooperative CEOs and top-level management participate in the program. This allows greater emphasis of study on management challenges and the aspects of consumer-ownership that cooperatives enjoy. Participants learn focus on member value as part of day-to-day decision making.
Kahle has completed one of the most exclusive educational programs in the nation for electric cooperative management.
