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6.1. ERMUSR 04-12-2011i ElkRiver --~ Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330-0430 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING Q iN Phone: 763.441.2020 Fax 763.441.8099 TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. -Director of Operations John Dietz, Chair Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Al Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12, 2011 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff U dates -Director of O erations DISCUSSION: The first week of May I will be attending an American Public Power Association (APPA) certification program for Public Power Managers. The training will be held in Austin, TX. This was a budgeted training that was postponed from 2010 and is included in the 2011 budget. The certification program includes the following required cowses: Power Supply and Integrated Resource Planning - An Introduction; Financial Planning, Budgeting and Performance -What Managers Need to Know; and Strategic Management for the 21s` Century. Due to the timing of this postponed training, I will not be attending the 2011 APPA Annual Meeting. The APPA Annual Meeting was budget for 1 staff and 2 commissioners to attend. Previously we've discussed the possibility of bringing the Conservation Improvement Program Consultant position in house as a Full time CIP/Key Accounts Person when the unfortunate day comes that Vance Zehringer retires. At this time, there is no scheduled date for Vance's retirement. However, Vance has been begun some preliminary research into potential talent for consideration. The 2011 budget included hiring a full time CIP/Key Accounts Person to overlap and train with under Vance. With the early retirements occurring at Great River Energy and other Minnesota utilities, ERMU may be able to find an experienced person. Enclosed for your reading: • March 28, 2011 Article - "Prepaying for Electricity in Ocala, Fla." • The recent MMUA Capitol Tattlers. • The MMUA Resource Page 1 of 1 Prepaying for Electricity in Ocala, Fla. Residents will have the option to pay their electricity usage similar to how they pay for gas. r ~ March 28, 2011 Opening up the electricity bill will no longer be a surprise to residents of Ocala, Fla. Set to start in May, the city will give residents (and potentially some small businesses) the option of prepaying for their electricity, according to the ~ r. In this respect, buying electricity would be similar to buying gas for your car -you only buy what you need. In the pilot, participants can figure out how much energy they have used, how much they have left, and fill up accounts by going online at anytime or contacting the utility office during business hours. In addition, customers can pop into one of 15 locations around town to buy more energy. Not only will participating residents say goodbye to late and connection fees but City Manager Matt Brower told the Star-Bannerthat he expects the pilot will encourage people to be more conservative with their energy consumption. Habits like falling asleep to the N may become a thing of the past. This article was printed from: http://www.governing.comlPrepaying-for-Electricity-in-Ocala-Fla -.html http://www.governing.com/templates/gov~rint_article?id=118783354 4/4/2011 Vol. 14, No. 5 March 11, 2011 The House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee Tuesday approved HF 72 (Beard, R- Shakopee). The bill removes the state ban on new carbon dioxide emissions from utilities, either from new in-state plants or importation of power from out-of-state plants. That same day the Senate Committee on Energy Utilities and Telecommunications approved the Senate companion bill, SF 86 (Rosen). The identical bills are expected to be approved by their respective bodies. Many observers question whether Gov. Mark Dayton will sign the bills, in their current form. A conference committee was scheduled for today (Friday) to possibly reconcile differences in the House and Senate versions of legislation which repeals the state's ban on new nuclear power plants. In a move that is perhaps not coincidence, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a study Thursday that identified five stalled energy projects in Minnesota that it said could contribute $12.8 billion in economic output and 21,100 jobs a year if they were approved. The five projects were part of a national study that identified 351 proposed energy projects in 49 states that are caught in regulatory limbo, according to the business group. Planning and construction of those projects would generate $577 billion in direct investment, 1.9 million jobs and approximately $1.1 trillion for the U.S. gross domestic product, said the Chamber. Senator Michelle Benson is convening a Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) stakeholder's meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 15th. The purpose of this meeting, according to legislative staff, is to develop "the best possible legislation that will optimize the success of CIP in Minnesota." Goals include: (1) achieving energy conservation, thereby reducing the need for utility infrastructure investments to achieve ratepayer savings and other benefits; (2) Ensuring that CIP is structured on sound business principles which will achieve real and verifiable energy savings; and (3) Focus on utilizing CIP for economic development and job creation as part of an overall energy savings process. MMUA and municipal joint action agencies will participate in the meetings. Topics are expected to include: 1) How can more job creation and economic development be achieved with CIP expenditures? Should there be more focus on business customers? 2) Is a more rigorous policy necessary to direct investments towards projects with the best rate of return in energy savings and/or economic development? 3) Why should energy savings achieved from utility infrastructure investments be treated different from savings achieved by customers? 4) Why are energy savings from a certain protect only counted for one year, and not for the iife of the project? 5) Should size of a utility and its customer demographics (number of customers, residential mix, density, etc) affect the utility's CIP obligations? If so, how should it be affected? 6) Should cooperatives, municipal, or investor-owned utilities be treated differently simply because of their differing characteristics unrelated to customer demographics? 7i Should the state of the economy in general and the economics of a particular utility (for example: its energy sales growth or decline) affect CIP obligations? If so, how should it affect it? Given the number of issues and pending legislative deadlines, CIP reform could be a multi-year process. Water issues are bubbling up to the top of legislative agenda this session. Among the water issues drawing attention is HF 135 (Hackbarth, R-Cedar). This bill would rescind the authority of city councils to regulate private wells within city limits. The bill has been passed by the House Health and Human Services Reform and Government Operations and Elections Committee (which Wednesday referred the bill to the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee). Cities asserted their authority after property owners within city boundaries drilled their own irrigation wells within municipal water utility service areas to avoid paying city utility rates (which in many cases have been driven higher by state-mandated water conservation rates). Private well drillers have used state mandated conservation rates as a selling point for their services. This has led to a serious strain on the financial viability of public water systems where it has occurred, reports the League of Minnesota Cities, and has also resulted in large increases in water use through new private wells, affecting future water availability and security of the public water supply. No action has been taken yet on the Senate companion bill-SF 64-but pressure will build if the measure continues to proceed in the House. A related bill of interest is HF 517, which limits water conservation rate structure application to public water suppliers serving more than 1,000 people in the metro area, along with other utility-related pro posa Is. The Senate Committee on State Government Innovation and Veterans Monday, March 9 passed SF 196 (Pederson, R- St. Cloud)), which would place atwo-year moratorium on new water testing rules from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and would require a study of cost-impacts of new regulations. The committee re-referred the bill back to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, which passed the bill several weeks ago. Gov. Mark Dayton March 9 announced his appointment of Senator Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paui) to chair the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Anderson served in the Minnesota Senate since 1992 and has resigned her seat. She previously chaired the Senate Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Budget Division. Sen. Anderson has been a leader in the areas of sustainable energy policy, clean water, affordable housing, family friendly workplace policies, inner city revitalization, and consumer protection and is the author of Minnesota's Renewable Energy Standard law. The appointment is official upon confirmation of the now Republican-controlled Senate. Vol. 14, No. 6 March 18, 2011 Most utilities have never considered their state-mandated Conservation Improvement Programs (CIP a jobs program. So it was with some surprise that the subject of jobs was much of the focus of a March 15 CIP 'stakeholder' meeting, held at the behest of the Senate Energy. Utilities and Telecommunications Committee. The Committee had previously discussed CIP and there seemed to be general agreement that it made sense to get people together and see if certain items could be agreed on. Perhaps reflecting the depth and complexity of the issues involved, little was decided at the meeting. It seemed that most people (including MMUA's Bill Black, Bob Jagusch and other municipal reps) left the room at least a little disappointed, and wondering where this issue will go next. Two more CIP-related bills were introduced yesterday, both in the House: HF 1189 and HF 1193 the second of which relates directly to cooperative and municipal CIP. MMUA is digesting the contents of these two bills now. The good news is that the Minnesota Office of Energy Security(OES) has signaled its willingness to work with utilities on a number of issues that the utilities feel will make CIP "sustainable' for the long-term. MMUA will keep you updated on this issue as developments occur. CIP is one issue on the table for discussion with legislators at the MMUA Winter Legislative Conference March 30-April 1. Bill Grant, formerly of the Izaak Walton League and now head of OES, will be our keynote speaker at 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 30. Grant is expected to outline the Governor's energy proposals, where the state is going, and the municipal role. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan is having repercussions around the globe. In Minnesota, the Legislature has approved two very short but very big bills (HF 9 SF 4 repealing the state's ban on new nuclear plants. The bill is now in a conference committee to resolve differences between Senate and House versions. Even those who were 'bullish' on the chances of Gov. Mark Dayton signing a nuclear bill, however, are no longer radiating confidence. The real negotiation here is not between House and Senate conferees but with the Governor's office, which wants three things: Prohibition on creation of plutonium; Rate-payer protection for construction of future facilities; Triennial reports to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on financing long-term (up to 200 years)in-state waste storage. Also passed by both houses, but in identical language, is a bill (HF7 SF86 repealing the state's moratorium on constructOn of new coal plants, or importaUOn or power into the state trom new coal plants. This proposal was given less chance of earning the Governor's signature than the nuclear bill, prior to the possibility of a nuclear meltdown in Japan. Can supporters of this bill modify it enough to earn the Governor's signature? Nobody's saying right now. Water issues continue to trickle to the top of MMUA's legislative concerns. At the top of the bucket now are two bills-HF 135 and HF 562. HF 135 would repeal city authority to regulate private wells. It has passed two committees already and is now in the bailiwick of the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. The Senate companion, SF 64, hasn't moved yet but pressure will grow if the House bill continues to progress If HF 135 becomes law, it would really complicate the second issue-manufactured housing park water sub-metering by park owners-addressed in HF 562. Among other issues, the bill mandates that water suppliers have to bill housing park owners at a residential rate. It also allows park owners to sub- meterand bill park tenants. The bill raises a host of troublesome issues for municipal water suppliers. It awaits action on the House floor. No action has yet been taken on its Senate companion, SF 406. MMUA is also working, together with allied municipal organizations, on HF 367 SF 162, which exempt municipal water laboratories from a federal certification requirement; SF 161 (Lake Pepin phosphorus standard); SF 196/HF 182 requiring a water regulation moratorium and study; HF 1002 SF 732, the 'wild rice rule' setting water quality standards for sulfates in Class 4A waters used for production of wild rice and affecting much of state. As always, a number of other issues are on our radar screen, but that's enough for now. Have a good weekend! Vol. 14, No. 7 March 25, 2011 Municipal and cooperative representatives met with staff from the Minnesota Office of Energy Security yesterday to discuss possible changes to the Conservation Improvement Program statute. Many participants felt progress was made. A number of fairly technical issues were discussed, including: counting energy savings on the utility side of the meter; spending requirements and how to determine program cost- effectiveness; the conservation potential from utility to utility based on size, customer mix, etc.; and a large customer exemption, sought by cooperatives serving ethanol plants. Senate counsel was in the meeting and taking notes. Office of Energy Security staff were fully engaged in the discussion. While noting the validity of many points raised by utilities, Bill Gr_~ OES Deputy Commissioner and former Izaak Walton League leader, noted that utilities weren't the only stakeholders in the process. MMUA favors a full and reasoned discussion of the issues, perhaps over the interim, with changes developed by a technical work group and taken up next session. But the utility industry isn't speaking with one voice and there is an undercurrent for change now. Whichever course this issue takes, we will be fully engaged in the discussion. MMUA continues to work with the League of Minnesota Cities and Legal Aid representatives on HF 562 (Sanders) and SF 406 (Limmer) that would legally authorize manufactured home park owners to sub-meter their park residents for water and sewer charges. The bill mandates that a public water supplier shall impose charges for water or sewer service to manufactured home parks at the lowest rate that is applied for service to single family homes, and may not impose more than one connection fee per metered water or sewer service that is provided to the manufactured home park. The bill is awaiting action on the House floor. The author is waiting, at least for now, for a compromise solution between the municipal and legal aid folks and the Minnesota Manufactured Housing Association. There has been no action, so far, on the Senate bill. A number of water issues remain intertwined this session, including HF 135 SF 64, which repeals city authority to regulate private wells. These bills remain where they were a week ago: The House bill has passed two committees and is now in the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. The Senate companion, SF 64, hasn't moved yet but pressure will grow if the House bill continues to progress. Likewise, no movement on the session's two big energy bills: (HF 9 SF 4) repealing the state's ban on new nuclear plants and (HF72 SF86) repealing the state's moratorium on construction of new coal plants, or importation of power into the state from new coal plants. Nuclear bills, with some differences, have been approved by both House and Senate and are in conference committee. The coal bills are identical but haven't yet moved to the Senate or House floor. Gov. Dayton's signature remains unsure on these proposals. This little missive will not appear next week. Our entire crack staff will be at the MMUA Winter Legislative Conference. Hope to see you there! Elk River Municipal Utilities 13069 Ocono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk Rivec, MN 55330-0430 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING Phone: 763.441.2020 Fax: 763.441.8099 TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Theresa Slominski -Finance Director/Office John Dietz Manager Daryl Thompson Allan Nadeau MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12, 20l 1 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates -Finance Director/Office Manager DISCUSSION: Our Customer Service Representative (CSR) that we hired in December did not work out and so we have an opening. We are running an advertisement for the CSR position in the Star News and Star Tribune for the two weekends of April 9"', and April 16`h with a resume submission deadline of April 22"d The Cooperative Resource Center (CRC) transition for after-hours phone coverage and dispatching was successful. The cutover date was March 31s` and we transitioned without incident. I received some very nice comments from GRE thanking us for the opportunity to work with them over the years, and regrets that the business relationship had to end. It is probably more challenging to deal with the change related to the early retirements for GRE than what we are experiencing in changing to CRC. We had 800 credit card payment transactions in March, up from 692 in February. March's fee should be $1,800. F11 continue to update the commission on the transaction volume and costs with the absorbed fee in place. Elk River~~ Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO; FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission David Berg- Water Superintendent John Dietz, Chair Al Nadeau, Vice Chair Da I Thom son, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12th, 20l 1 Staff U dates SUBJECT: Cost Share Pro am -Well Sealin DISCUSSION: The water departrnent has about $ 2,250.00 of grant money for the construction costs of sealing abandoned wells. This should help to seal 5 or more wells. There are also some grant funds for personnel wage to inspect well sealing sites. After discussing the topic with water staff, we feel the best option would be to have the home owner to fill out an application and get two bids from licensed well sealing contractors. We would like to see ERIvIU pay for the lesser: a) half the cost of well sealing, b) or up to four hundred dollars toward the cost of the well sealing. This cost share program would be for anyone within our wellhead protection azea (Elk River, some of Otsego, some of Big Lake Township). ERMi_J would have the jurisdiction to choose which wells are of higher priority. If a large well of great contamination concern arises, we would also have the authority to put more funding towazds the sealing of the well to ensure water safety. The Well Sealing Cost Share Program Agreement Ihaft is included and requires assistance from legal advisors to have all items ready for utilization as soon as possible, as we aze constructing reading material for interested parties currently. PID No. Abandoned Well Sealing Cost Share Agreement Contract No. Well Depth Well Diameter THIS AGREEMENT is between Elk River Municipal Utilities, 13069 Orono Parkway NW, Elk River, Minnesota, 55330, ("ERMU") on behalf of the ERMU Water Department ("DEPARTMENT")and at the address: (Name of GRANTEE) The parties agree as follows: 1. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED: a. The GRANTEE warrants that s/he is the lawful and sole owner of the property at ("GRANTEE"). and that the well to be sealed is located on the property. (sde Address) b. The GRANTEE shall allow on-site inspection of the well by ERMU or by the Minnesota Department of Health staff ("MDH"). Inspection by ERMU does not constitute approval or a guarantee as to workmanship. c. The GRANTEE shall be solely responsible for contracting directly with a licensed well-sealing contractor and for paying the contractor; or payment of the agreed amount by ERMU to the contractor with the GRANTEE paying the remaining portion is allowed if that is the agreed upon method. 2. The performance of services shall commence on or about and be completed on or before .The GRANTEE shall submit proof of filing of the well sealing report and an invoice from the well sealing contractor by 3. ERMU shall reimburse the GRANTEE or pay the GRANTEE'S contractor after completion of the work and after the GRANTEE's contractor files a sealed well report and a copy of the well record with ERMU and the MDH upon completion of the well sealing. Payment shall be made within (30) working days after the GRANTEE provides proof of the filing of the sealed well report to ERMU and an invoice from the GRANTEE'S contractor documenting the costs of the well sealing. ERMU shall pay the GRANTEE or the GRANTEE'S contractor the lesser of the following: a) fifty percent (50%) of the actual cost of the well sealing; or b) the maximum grant amount listed herein. The cost to ERMU shall not exceed a total of four hundred dollars ($400.00). The cost of any work performed by the GRANTEE'S contractor in excess of this Grant will be the sole responsibility of the GRANTEE. 4. The GRANTEE shall not be considered to be either a temporary or permanent employee of ERMU. It is mutually understood that the GRANTEE and the GRANTEE'S contractor act hereunder as independent contractors and acquires no tenure rights or any rights or benefits by way of Workers' Compensation, unemployment compensation, medical and hospital care, vacation and sick leave, severance pay, PERA, or any other rights or benefits offered to ERMU employees. 5. In accordance with ERMU'S policies against discrimination, no persons shall be excluded from full employment rights or participation in the benefits of any program, service or activity on the grounds of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, disability, marital status, sexual preference, public assistance status, ex-offender status, or national origin; and no person who is protected by applicable Federal or State laws, rules, or regulations against discrimination shall be otherwise subjected to discrimination 6. All well sealing shall be done in accordance with Minnesota Statutes governing well sealing, the rules of Commissioner of Health related to sealing of unused wells and all other applicable statutes, rules, and ordinances related to the sealing of abandoned wells. 7. The MDH will resolve any disputes as to the best method of sealing the well. 8. The GRANTEE agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ERMU and its employees from any liability, claims, causes of actions, judgments, damages, losses, costs, or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting directly or indirectly employed by them, and/or and one for whose act or omissions they may be liable in the performance or the services required by this Agreement, and against all loss by reason of the failure of said GRANTEE to perform fully, in any respect, all obligations under this Agreement. 9. ERMU requires that the GRANTEE has no current plan or intention of sale or moving from the well sealing site property, or in the near future any plan to put the property up for sale. lO.ERMU has jurisdiction to choose which well sealing projects are highest priority for assisting with the funding through the Cost Share Agreement. Elk River Municipal Utilities Authorization Notarization Required? Elk River„ Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission David Berg- Water Superintendent John Dietz, Chair Al Nadeau, Vice Chair Da l Thom son, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12 2011 Staff U dates SUBJECT: Water Quali Re ort DISCUSSION: This is the picture that will be on the cover of the Water Quality Report this year. We are always trying to generate more interest in the Water Quality Report and would like to have the citizens of Elk River get involved with next years design. We would like to have anyone 18 years and under send in a picture to be used for the 2012 Water Quality Report cover. The winner of the picture contest would be given fifty dollars and their name and picture will be included in the next Water Quality Report. ~, ~, ,~, .., Elk River~~ Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission David Berg -Water Superintendent John Dietz, Chair AI Nadeau, Vice Chair Da I Thom son, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12`h, 201 1 Staff U dates SUBJECT: '. Well Head Protection Our newly updated Wellhead Protection Plan has now included wells 7, 8 and 9 into our wellhead protection area (WHPA). These three wells were built after our WHP Plan was initially established. Each well is now up to date in our WHP Plan and Part II ofthe WHP Plan will be completed in the next yeaz. Part II requires ERMiJ to investigate and inventory wells within the WHPA. /~ Elk River -= Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk Rwer, MN 55330-0430 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING P6one:763.441.2020 Fax: 763.441.8099 TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Mark Fuchs John Dietz, Chair Line Superintendent Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: A ril 12, 2011 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff U dates Discussion: • Continue working on changing out our overhead cutouts and fuses. With this we go thru checking padmount transformers and padmount switch gear making sure nothing is leaking, the proper tags are in place, the map book matches the tags, and all the warning stickers are on the outside. • Continue working on tree trimming. • The City shop finished doing D.O.T.'s on all our trucks and trailers. We do half in February and half in March. • Diversified did our annual inspections on the bucket and digger trucks. The inspections include: Visual/ Operational, Magnetic Particle, Dielectric, Load and Acoustic Emission Testing. • Repaired two faults on secondary underground services. We purchased a secondary fault finder last year and have used it for about a year. • Finished working on a street light count in Da}~ton, Otsego, Big Lake Township and Elk River. We verify the size of the fixture and location. We also put this in the map book. Elk River .~ Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETLNG TO: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission FROM: Wade l.ovelette John Dietz, Chair Superintendent of Technical Services Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair AI Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: A ril l2, 201 I AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: SUBJECT: 6.1 Staffll dates-Su erinlendent of Technical Services DISCUSSION: The following is a summary of projects and/or updates over the past several weeks: • In March, [he locating department had a total of fifty-five locate tickets. Three of those were "emergency" locates. • Staff has been using the thermal imaging camera to detect "hot-spots" in our primary electrical equipment on the power distribution system. There were a few areas in Station 14-3 that were "hot spots" and the Line dept had to switch out two feeders to clean up some connections. • The Metering department continues with weekly and monthly substation checks, and doing the monthly power bill. The meter change-out program is still continuing as time permits. • I[ was Sam's last lime to read meters last month as he retired. Staff has been helping out with the meter reading. • Home Energy Audits are slowing down for the year. Outdoor temperatures are getting too warm for the level 3 audits. • The Security Systems department had a total of 74 phone contacts, 12 personal visits, 12 systems quoted, 10 sales made, 10 installs completed and 21 service calls for the month of March. • Power plant staff did the monthly run on the engines. Everything went well. Web deflections and megging was performed on the engines and everything appears normal. All [he engines are in good running condition. • Staff has been busy monitoring the lake level at [he Orono dam. All three gates were frozen shut. The Elk River Fire department helped by spraying water on [he gates and was able [o get two of them to open. This allowed the lake level to drop to a more normal level. One meter tech and one lineman attended a substation school in Shakopee last month.