Robert Spelman ([email protected]) is supervisor of underground distribution standards at Pepco Holdings Inc. His team is responsible for the specification of distribution equipment, the development and review of construction standards, the analysis of underground equipment failure analysis and the governance and oversight of distribution equipment preventative maintenance programs. Spelman holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from James Madison University and a master’s degree in power systems engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is a registered professional engineer in the District of Columbia.