‘Electricity 101’ Workshop Educates Community on El Paso Electric

Effort aims to prepare prospective talent

El Paso, Texas – El Paso Electric (EPE) hosts the first ever ‘Electricity 101’ Academic Partnering Workshop bringing together local educational institutions to get an inside look at power generation, distribution and transmission. The ‘Electricity 101’ academic workshop aims to better prepare educators to help develop local, prospective applicants for jobs available at EPE.

“An integral part of developing safe, clean and reliable energy for our region is ensuring that we have a well- prepared, sustainable workforce,” said EPE Vice President of Human Resources Victor Rueda. “As a native El Pasoan, I understand the power of hiring local talent, so any effort to prepare applicants is an initiative worth pursuing.”

‘Electricity 101’ was originally developed by EPE’s Human Resources Department as a component to new hire orientation for all incoming employees to better understand the technical side of the utility. This partnership with our community educators will help instructors understand how to effectively mold curriculum that will better ensure graduates’ transition into job placement and career development, particularly with EPE.

“We have maintained a successful high school and college internship program that offers students direct application to what they have learned in school,” states EPE Vice President and Spokesperson Eddie Gutierrez. “This new workshop further strengthens the foundation of EPE’s internship program where instructors can adapt curriculum to technical job applications like those offered here.”

Local universities, collegiate programs and trade schools were offered the invitation to attend the inaugural academic workshop, open to instructors.

“There are many cross-applications to what our education program offers our students to the technical and business needs of El Paso Electric,” shares Western Tech Main Campus President Mary Cano. “This workshop will allow us to do a more effective job at crafting curriculum that suits the utility’s needs while meeting the education rigor for our students.”

The workshop included an overview for power generation and transmission, EPE’s renewable energy efforts, including tours of a power plant and a substation. In smaller groups, attendees received an inside look at power transmission and generation design components, meter testing, construction maintenance and EPE’s diverse fleet and the purpose of each vehicle.