Loading...
6.1. ERMUSR 07-17-2012 �1 Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E. —General Manager John Dietz—Chair Daryl Thompson—Vice Chair Al Nadeau—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates —General Manager DISCUSSION: The 2012 MMUA Summer Meeting will be held August 20-22 in Brainerd, MN. This event was budgeted for 2 staff and 1 commissioner to attend. ERMU is working with Mi-Tech on a fiber project in Elk River for a company called Zayo. They are looking to attach to a number of our poles. The opportunity presented itself for partnership and cost sharing and had directed Mi-Tech to contact the City of Elk River. Based on some cost saving suggestions by Mark Fuchs, our Electric Superintendent, we are currently working out details for a cost sharing project with Zayo that will include the City of Elk River and Sherburne County that will provide a fiber network connecting many of the public buildings in Elk River. We will also be looking at designing to accommodate future fiber communications to our substations. I've completed the American Public Power Association's (APPA) Public Power Manager Certification Program and am only one of a handful nationally to do so. I was recognized at the APPA National Convention and presented with a plaque in front of thousands of our professional peers. As part of the certification program, I was required to write a report on managing of polarities. APPA has now published my report nationally and I have also been published through the instructor's newsletter nationally. This is the first report from a participant in this program that APPA has published. I was also asked to speak to the most recent class in this program during the May APPA Spring Education Institute which was held in Minneapolis. It has been a nice honor to receive the recognition and has created an opportunity to share Elk River Municipal Utilities' story to a national audience of industry professionals. In that past I've provided articles covering Bolder, CO, and their desire to create a municipal electric utility. Attached is a recent article Boulder Explores The Path to Municipalization from the June 2012 APPA Public Power magazine that provides an update on their progress. Also attached is an APPA Public Power's Role In the Electricity Industry brochure. ® P01EIEI 01 Page 1 of 2 INATUREJ Reliable Public Power Provider POWERED T O $ E 0.V E I I III I i i . I I i I I I I I 4 I u I 7hS CRY of Boulder,ONO.,6s attempting to mrunnrrnfiCfiPa 06RG 6ts 80ectPU�s8masoOG uo�I�®IP G5 Of msBn �®rrs rrSrxn Sna My Photo courtesy of BouUer Ex bres � !i the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau. �I I The ��t to Municipla u'1�1tion BY 01rent SaurCserr Last November, Boulder, Colo,, took a critical first step on the path to creating a municipally owned electric utility, but not for the usual reasons. The underlying concern was not the reliability of electric- ity service, nor rates, nor even affordability. Rather, it was environmental commitment; morespecifi- cally, the community's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol that the city signed in 2002. o Over the last decade, Boulder has made great strides in energy consumption in the residential sector and installing solar photovoltaics, But as city lead- ers came to realize while discussing whether to renew a 2B 20-year franchise with Xcel Energy, the carbon emissions i associated with electricity consumption in Boulder were � 1 largely beyond their control, Moreover, carbon emissions AWYES.nrfi i would, at best, decrease very slowly in future years because of their supplier's long-term commitr ` to coal, In fact, Xcel's, fuel mix is more than 60 percent coal and the utility brought a new 700-i /iVV coal-fired unit on line less than two years ago, 94 Public Power June 2099 PublicPowerMedia.org i I i "We take climate change seriously and environmental quality,"said Driskell. "That's grid, among other innovations. "How could what we did was precedent-setting," said a false tradeoff.We can envision the sustain- we sign off on a 20-year franchise when we Shaun McGrath, former mayor and City able future we want and then work to cre- don't know what the energy world will look Council member, and now co-chair of Boul- ate it. We are not going to passively accept like in 5 years or 10 years?"said Driskell. der Clean Energy Business Coalition. "We what business as usual might deliver." He Boulder had hoped for a win-win sit were the first city in the United States to vote pointed to the community's strong plan- ation; namely, to negotiate a new, possibly to leave an IOU [investor-owned utility] in ning framework and methodical approach shorter, franchise with Xcel that would in- order to pursue clean energy goals." to achieving its goals. Underscoring this elude a number of side agreements allow- L% �eoscr of commitment, the city's comprehensive plan ing the city to achieve its goals for reducing Boulder is an anomaly in many ways. It is a opens with two pages describing its sustain- greenhouse gas emissions.Xcel declined,say- liberal-leaning city in a conservative-leaning ability principles. ing the franchise should be a legal template state, a center of high technology and en- The Climate Action Plan tax, has been for right-of-way access, that any side agree- trepreneurial activity in a historically agri- a "smashing success," said Ken Regelson, ments would need to be separate documents Ycultural region, and because of a cluster of founder of EnergyShouldBe.org and a for- linked to but not integral to the franchise national laboratories, hosts one of the high- mer policy consultant with Colorado's So- itself;and that 20 years was the only term it est concentrations of climate scientists in the la-r Energy Industry Association. With help would consider. Xcel indicated that some of world.The National Oceanographic and At- from a U.S.Department of Energy grant,"we the things Boulder wanted to do would not r mospheric Administration is located there, audited 4,000 homes last year, institut- be possible, given the regulatory construct as is National Center for Atmospheric Re- ed a concierge program to make it easy of the state. The Public Utilities Commis- search,the National Institute of Science and and affordable to install energy-efficiency sion would have a hard time granting Xcel Technology,and the University of Colorado. measures,and instituted minimum standards permission to treat Boulder differently than Further, the National Renewable Energy for all rental property in the city by 2019. its other customers. "This is a concept that Laboratory is just 20 miles down the road, Arguably, we have one of the highest per- Xcel falls back on frequently;that they would in Golden,Colo. capita installations of rooftop solar in have a hard time under state law carving out "There is no debate here about whether the nation." a special exception for Boulder, even if the climate change is real and whether human Out of frrana Mse—The issue of carbon city paid for it,"said Huntley. activity is contributing to that. It's a given," emissions came to the fore with the pend- As Xcel sees it, city-by-city exceptions said David Driskell, executive director of ing renewal of Boulder's 20-year franchise are not practical."Whatever we put together community planning and sustainability for with Xcel in 2010. Every 20 years, discus- for Boulder we have to be able to offer it t Boulder. "The debate here is about what to sion of the pros and do in response." cons of creating a f Boulder's environmental consciousness municipal utility had is part of the draw for new high-tech com- been brought up aridI panes, and energy technology is one of the fiercely debated, but t city's strategic advantages for economic de- this time there was Sv" velopment, he said. Throughout the state, an entirely new head Boulder is both admired for its technical of steam, an environ- leadership and held in disdain in conserva- mental imperative to I Live circles as representing "25 miles sur- reduce greenhouse rounded by reality," a badge the iconoclastic gas emissions, cou- community of 100,000 proudly trumpets in pled with new and - advertisements on city buses. exciting opportuni- Boulder's environmental ethic goes back ties in energy innova- _ to its founding in the late 1800s,when citi- tion. "The concept Sam Weaderr Qoouyerr Eaffl,torres0dlent,and CEO oV Coal Snevey zens set aside open space in reverence to of a 20-year fran- one.,convened)ew cove t(as ua and gov,2err SdAaorry their stunning natural surroundings, nestled chise gave a lot of gvoulp to ei3po®rre the ffeasObEfty o4 BouNerr°s mmunucgoaio zpysuemmo against the front range of the Rockies. In the people in the com- Photo by Ken Regelson. I 1960s Boulder created one of the first open- munity pause. it seemed like such a long all of our other 130-plus communities in space taxes to stop urban sprawl, and 40 time considering all the emerging technology Colorado," said Jerome Davis, regional vice years later, in 2006, passed the first carbon and change,"said Sarah Huntley, communi- president of Xcel Energy in Colorado, "We tax in the United States as part of a strategy cations coordinator for the city of Boulder. have to operate from a statewide perspec- to meet environmental goals. "The City Council did not want to tie the tive. Moreover, a franchise agreement has This strategy, captured in the Climate city's hands for 20 years." never been about the supply mix or genera- Action Plan, channeled resources to energy There was ongoing talk that the cost of tion. No one city can dictate what's best for efficiency programs and supported the city's solar was falling,the smart grid was opening the rest of the cities. That's why we have core belief in a sustainable future. "We have up new possibilities for integrating distribut- PUC." 4 a strong belief that sustainability is not a ed generation,and computer advances were As Boulder sees it, the state regulatory trade off between economic vitality and portending new and better control of the construct leaves the city out in the cold, Public Power June:2N 2 PublicPowerMedia.org 15 Oo UH dd so kqd oOrrt@'Q� &(A) F&M W) � i with very little say over the generating mix Importantly, the city remained less focused shorthand as three D's. "What became that will be used to serve the city over the on the means—whether through municipal- was the community's desire to democr, next 20 years, or over rates, or ambitious ization or some new future agreement with decentralize,and decarbonize the energy i programs to expand the use of renewable Xcel—than on the end goals. tem," said Driskell. "We see distinct ad energy. QasO aei;:llft®Shortly after the deci- tages in bringing decision making clost Uncomfortable with a 20-year lock and sion to operate out of franchise,the city held home so that we can bring our comma limited say,the City Council voted not to put a series of public meetings, titled, "Boulder values to bear.And we see the advantage Ij the franchise on the ballot when it came up Matters,"to sort through the issues and find a highly distributed supply system that Y PP Y Y for renewal in 2010. What they did put on consensus on community goals. In terms of draw on the new capabilities of a smart the ballot, however, was a financial mecha- the subset of issues surrounding Boulders to integrate and manage multiple source nism to let the franchise expire without "Energy Future"a clear set of goals emerged. energy close to home. In the long term. jeopardizing city services. The franchise fee First and foremost was the pursuit of clean want to reduce our dependence on exte i Xcel historically paid to the city was more energy. This was at the heart of the com- sources of supply to the maximum ex than$4 million/year."This would have been munity's vision. Second, there was a strong feasible." a big hit on the city budget,"said McGrath. commitment to ensure reliability would not With the large talent pool available "So the city put on the ballot a so-called`oc- be jeopardized; with large customers, rang- rectly or indirectly through the national 1 cupational tax' to replace the franchise fee." ing from IBM to the national labs, the busi- high-technology companies,and the uni It passed by 70 percent and was in effect a ness community said they could not afford sity,localization would also allow Boulde replacement in kind; it would be added to a blip. Third, competitive rates; the citizens capitalize on its expertise for economic the bill, collected by Xcel, and returned to wanted to start from a position of rate parity velopment. "We want to become a cente t the city in lieu of the franchise fee. Because with Xcel. "In summary,"said Huntley, "the innovation, able to export advanced ene I; this type of pass-through already existed for community's goals came down to the three technology to the rest of the world," the franchise fee, from the customer's point R's:rates,renewables,and reliability." Driskell. "If we stop buying our power ft of view,it was a wash. From the city's point However, the equally powerful concept outside sources, we can keep the mone) of view,this provided critical breathing room of"localization" also emerged in support of the community and invest it locally in 1 to explore options and consider next steps. Boulder's energy future, referred to in local ter energy management, advanced tech I. I 1 I offers I �I. most economical r vaftage test equipment available. • 'l/ II: For all your testing needs HIGH VOLTAGE I I� VLF Patent#US 6,169,406 Th .,,:,.,r_ , - o 3output taps i ;1 Uprc f ,im F:or1„agr,g 011 F`Al'Hine+ 0 5/10/20 kV o 9/18/36 kV : 1000 Us ad for high voltage AC 0oldleatinyafcahles 3200Ieuies°1600 joules O' k f and generators/motors - joules o u e o Models from 25 Whe-200 Wac •� ° 400 mA burn i ,i o Built In arc reflection filter ` >;.•a a° o Load ratings from 0.4µF-50µF ° Radar � o Sine wave output Q6 o Tan delta testing option , i ° Years of proven design experience r i v °Nearly half the size of others t „ wt — -' One piece shielded cable Twfce the powerandfeatures- „ -T� r, output up to 50 kV smaller size-lower cost }h ^nd °Mostruggeddesign ° 10 mA continuous duty °Guard/Ground circuit " y °Anti-static meters ° Built in HV megohmmeter 1%input line regulator I °10 IcVac-300 Wac # p 9 ti 60/120 kVac @71 A I l l ° Anti-static,transit protected meters ° Durable packaging 60 kV°100 kV 0-200 kVac @6kVA 1+ ° 37.5 kVdc-300 kVdc t h ISO 9001:2008 G�EtaG'e C°hL'TNOIC 31 County Rt.7A>Copake,NY 12516°Tel.:(518)329-3275°Fax:(518)329-3271°E-Mail:sales @hvinc.com°Web: i f 9P Public Power June 2092 PublicPowerMedia.org I3 �I ogy and green jobs."Boulder customers cur- future. They used a tool called Homer En- porting electricity as needed, but we di' rently pay Xcel more than $100 million per ergy, a spin-off model from NREL, that has want to do that initially because we wantel j' year for their power. Visionaries regard this been used in numerous countries and many to see what the native behavior of our systen as a potentially powerful revenue stream for diverse situations to model generation mix. would be." :I local renewable development and entrepre- "Homer Energy was originally designed "What we found was that we could run neural activity. for islands,for microgrids,but it has become system at rate parity with Xcel using a gen Rfl®o7eUng the new eys era—In the more and more sophisticated," said Weav- eration mix of 40 percent renewable and 6( first half of 2011, the city undertook two er. "You can put in any kind of generation, percent natural gas,"said Regelson. "This it parallel efforts to model the feasibility of a specifying heat rate,fuel cost,and emissions; itself could reduce greenhouse gas emission; more self-directed electric utility, one with and in the case of renewables,historic wind by two-thirds. If Xcel keeps raising rates the the freedom of action of a municipal util- and solar data for 8,760 hours during the way they have over the last four years, wf ity. The city hired consultants to look at year.You give it the options,ask it to test all think we can get to 60 to 70 percent renew- an earlier feasibility study by R.W. Beck to possible combinations, and come up with ables at rate parity.It comes down to the face see if it still applied. It did, and the analy- the least cost system." that the price of renewables continues to fall sis showed that the city could create its own Weaver and his team began with an all while the price of coal is going up." utility with an average decrease in rates of 7 natural gas system to establish a base line A c0ose vote—The models were en- to 10 percent. for emissions reduction, which resulted in couraging and the city's goals were clear; The second—and in some ways more an immediate 50 percent decrease in car but a true determination of rate parity rigorous—study of renewable potential was bon emissions from the current mix. "Once would require accurate assessment of initial undertaken by a citizen's group that came we got that in line, we just began to walk capital costs. Estimates of these costs var- !' to a similar conclusion. Sam Weaver, presi- down the carbon emissions constraints. ied greatly, with Xcel and the city far apart dent and CEO of Cool Energy Inc.convened First, we brought in wind and took that to on their initial figures. The cost of acquiring j an all-volunteer core team of six to eight a natural saturation point, then we brought the distribution system would be a matter individuals and a larger advisory group of in solar,and finally storage. We could make of negotiation with Xcel or condemnation around 35 people to explore scenarios of the the model even more sophisticated by im- proceedings in the state courts; the cost of n E At Revere,we engineer controls for an incredible range of power applications.From 15 kV switchgear to bulk tl; , material handling and complete motor control centers for I municipal,industrial and energy applications. Controll yQuuir systems. r . Conntlroll you it business. ! NAES-the dead gng pvouMerr of serrWces to the i Ipowerr cgenr va-don 6ndustkrryo NAES is growing its business by delivering innovative arud gift, customer-centric services to the generation industry. When ' r'' I , safety,compliance,quality,reliability,schedule,and efficiency make a difference,look to NAES. Energy PeopleMal<ingEnargyFacilitiesWork -- Contact NAES at 4 25.961 A700 or email sales @naes.com www.naes.corn Follow us on Linkedin,Facebook and Twitter @NAESCorp IS Public Power dune 2012 PublicPowerMedia.orcg i p @LoUd srf REpkmo f Iha Path �@ WMnodp&R&&Tafi� Ii t : physical separation would involve engineer- tric utility.The second asked for a temporary city would go forward only if rates wou' 1 ing studies; and the issue of stranded costs increase in the occupancy tax to provide comparable to Xcel's at the time the utilitl would be an issue requiring a determination $1.9 million per year to ca out the nec- formed. The idea of"off-rams became q g P Y nY p „ at the federal level by FERC. However,such essary studies and to hire legal counsel to important selling point.If costs proved to studies could not be carried out without a pursue the key cost issues at the state and as prohibitive as Xcel indicated, the muni resolution of intent by the voters. federal levels. palization process would come to a halt. In 2011, the Boulder City Council put "The issue we put to the voters was sim- Public discussion was intense. "I deb the issue of potential municipalization to ply `do you want us to move forward in ed representatives speaking for Xcel in pt the voters. Two hard-fought measures ap- our exploration of this option or not?"' said lic forums seven times," said Weaver. "X, peared on the November ballot. The first Huntley. The authorization to issue bonds made it an issue of cost and told the vot rr authorized the city to issue bonds to acquire to acquire Xcel's electric distribution system initial costs would make it prohibitive. the Xcel system and start a municipal elec- would be contingent upon the cost,and the argued the start-up costs in our model wf reasonable." "We still don't believe Boulder can de r ` J I the way they describe it,"said Xcel's Jeror Davis. "We don't believe they can have b. 's ter rates or reliability than us, and have j c I C_J much higher renewable mix. We've nei believed that." ` Although Xcel outspent the local adv cacy groups 10-to-1, the measures passe The vote to charter a local utility was 52 pi r< ` ' cent in favor, 48 percent opposed, and t vote to use tax dollars for engineering ar legal fees was even closer. ` The pathway 4arrwavdl will be c — plex and protracted and will not necess lead to municipalization. "Our anticipati( { has always been it will be a three- to fi-v �. year process," said Driskell. "This year i are focusing on getting our legal teams J place,hiring an executive director of ener, strategy and utility development a tw I year position—updating our Climate Actic Plan,developing an Energy Action Plan,at preparing for a vote in November 2012 extend the carbon tax that we have used _. _, fund [demand-side management] and e . the ergy efficiency programs over the past ft and ''• energy projects. years." Two legal battles loom.One is at the sto As part of a global organization level,a relatively routine condemnation pr utility-scale with plants across cess that could be avoided if Xcel is willing , bring ,. negotiate.The two sides are said to be abo of experience „ expertise to $50 million apart in terms of estimated val - o of Xcel's assets,but the spread for initial n every proj gotiation is another matter. Stranded costs will likely be the me contentious long-term issue. "We consi ered the issue of stranded costs when developed our initial cost model and 0 city determined at that time that we not owe Xcel anything. Boulder's posita 858.521.3300 Toll free:888.903.6926 wwwenXco.com is that Xcel should not have made inve: �,,, ments with any expectation that ratepaye )ur community would be its customers ' ,eyond the term of the previous franchise," said Driskell. Weaver's assessment is more philosophical. "Stranded assets may be a concept whose time has passed. I believe the last stranded asset determination was in the late 1990s,part of the deregulation pro- cess. What if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission comes back and said there are no stranded assets any more?There's lots of interested speculation out there." The longer-term battle is about to be joined."What we are seeing at present,"said McGrath,"is that Xcel is really not interested in trying to negotiate a settlement. They in- tend to fight both of these—condemnation and stranded costs—with a lot of resources. We expect a tough fight.' — Xcel also sees little hope for negotiation , 01 1 o EPC Et BOP construction for wind, solar, now that the vote has passed, but for dif- and transmission ferent reasons. "They had a good campaign message, namely to keep all of Boulder's o Ability to provide full turnkey solutions, options open and to use the vote to exert I including construction financing leverage on Xcel to negotiate," said Davis. o In-house expertise in design,engineering, "But we have to consider what 130 other cit- construction, and operations would do if we began a new process at point. As we told them, this vote does - Self-performance capabilities mean not open negotiation;it closes negotiation." N projects are on time and on budget The problem from Boulders point of c Full range of development services, view is that Xcel, a well-run company op- including wind Et solar resource erating within a highly structured model optimization It assistance with financing of utility regulation, offers limited options. Even though it is considered by many to o 5,700 MW of renewable energy since be an industry leader in terms of renewable 1997, including 500 miles of transmission energy,it faces in Boulder a community that r lines(single B;double circuit, up to 345kV) wants to go further and faster than Xcel,and ' o Experience in the U.S. and Canada wants a say in its own destiny. "We don't have a problem with Xcel so much as a problem with the existing regu- I Contact us to learn more about how we lated monopoly model and its ability to meet i can make your renewable energy project our community's energy goals,"said Driskell. ' a success! "The question is whether the existing util- ity model can adapt to deliver the future we want. We see the future being focused on energy management, in which utilities help customers use less of their `product.' That switches the focus from energy as a commod- ity to energy as a service. "As for the path to municipalization,we'll Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. see. Our focus has always been about the 11101 W. 120th Ave. I Suite 400 anals, not the path, per se. We are looking Broomfield,CO 80021 1 303.439.4200 r way forward that gives us the greatest ° acKibility to respond to the changing ener- gy world and to achieve our environmental goals."R Public Power June 20 92 PublicPowerMedia.org 21 °� American Public Pawer Association i �1 i�'i� � ° ems �� � ��� �l�v� � �� � �'��r'i�.• 'i� ;�tl�uil Public Power's Role In the Electricity Industry A Few Public Power Facts low cost What are public power's unique benefits? ■ Public power is customer-focused. Public power means that customers have a voice in decisions 10♦ made by their utility. col-I U01 ■ Public power costs less. On a national basis, �le private power residential customers pay average electricity rates that are about 13 percent more than those paid by public power customers. Beyond that,consumer-owned utilities are also committed to helping customers reduce their consumption to What is public power9 further lower their bills. Public power is one of the oldest forms of electric utility ownership in the U.S. Public power utilities are • Public power is a good neighbor Consumer-owned not-for-profit local institutions that provide electric- electric utilities are committed to conservation, environmental stewardship,and safety. Public power ity as an essential public service at a reasonable cost. utilities work to meet the needs of long-term com- Public power utilities are supported by customer rev- munity goals. enues, not taxes. In fact, public power utilities provide substantial payments in lieu of taxes to state and local a POhlic Dower IS ICA1111e Consumer-owned utilities' governments. rates pay for maintenance and reinvestments in important infrastructure needs. Who does public power serve? , e Public power utilities serve about 15%of the nation's electric customers—close to 47 million Retail Electric Rates, 204Q Americans receive their power from over 2,000 , cooperates community-owned electric utilities. investor-owned 12 Public power utilities serve small communities 11.9 ® Publicly owned as well as large cities such as Los Angeles,San 10 110.7 Antonio and Memphis. 110 a O XF Every state except for Hawaii has a public 3 s ; power utility. Three million businesses receive their power �, s � 4=; from a publicly-owned electric utility. So who is in charge of public power utilities? �N Public power utilities are owned and accountable to 2 the people they serve. 0 The governance structure for each utility varies. Residential commercial Some are governed by the city council and others are controlled by a utility board whose members may be elected or appointed by the city council or mayor. A Few Electricity Indust ry Facts • Three different types of ownership structure: Percent Share of Electric Customers • Publicly-Owned Utilities By Utility Type,2010 (includes state,county,municipally-owned 4.4% utilities and public power districts) • Cooperatively-Owned Utilities a Investor-Owned Utilities Power Marketers Cooperatives Investor-Owned Utilities Publicly Owned Utilities 6&.2% Utility Functions Energy Eff iciency The use of energy efficiency continues to be an • ; There are three core functions of utilities: genera- important tool for the industry. It conserves energy tion of electricity, transmission of electricity, and and lowers customers'bills. distribution to customers.Some utilities own and operate their own generation and bulk transmis- Ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and demand re- sion;others do not.Those that do not own genera- sponse programs in the U.S. saved enough electric- tion or transmission facilities will purchase these ity to power almost 10 million homes in 2010. products and services. Electricity Generation 4 Different regions of the country use various fuel Key Industry Challenges=Rising Costs: mixes to generate electricity. a Environmental regulations and other US Electric c,(-rieratiort by Fuel Type,2009 environmental policy Generation,in thousands of megawatt-hours w Building new transmission infrastructure, Coal 1,847,290 44.8% especially for renewables Natural Gas 999,010 24.2% a Natural gas supply and infrastructure Nuclear 806,968 19.6% Development of new cyber-security policy Oil 37,061 •9% Siting and financing of new nuclear Other 180,028 4.4% generation Water 254,702 6.2% Integration of variable energy resources Source:Energy Information Administration Form EIA-923. such as wind and solar Electricity Demand • The demand for electricity continues to grow. According to the U.S. Energy Information Adminis- tration, electricity demand is going to increase by 23%by 2035. What Is the American Public Power Association? t T he American Public Power Association (APPA) Key Contacts: is the national trade association for the more Sr.Vice President, Government Relations than 2,000 public power utilities in the United Tel: 202.467.2931 States. Email:jnipper @publicpower.org Organized in 1940,APPA works closely with its members, representing their interests and advocating Joy ui<<< .Vice President, Government Relations for equitable policies in the legislative and regulatory Tel: 202.467.2954 areas.APPA provides critical analysis and industry data Email:jditto @publicpower.org to its members, Congress, government agencies, and other important audiences.APPA also provides forums for representatives from our member utilities to discuss issues and strategies to protect and advance the future of the public power industry. For more information on APPA s policy positions and activities,visit our website at www.publicpower.org. American Public Public Power t ARMWAMIN< Association www.publicpower.org ,,� ®• .�.. Coo. . 9�` O-a 76 I / a y ' a� v Gzh..Q e i ' Gam'• . xA 5,t ,. { . i 7 G 4 • —:—: Elk River ..�.� Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Theresa Slominski —Finance Director John Dietz, Chair Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates • DISCUSSION: We had 1601 credit card payment transactions in June, compared to 1438 in May. The fee for June should be $3,602.25. As a follow up to our Customer Expectations list of Respect, Innovation, Knowledge, Education, and Communication mentioned last month, we will be including a survey in the bills this month. We are looking for customer feedback on the importance of these items, and how we are doing on providing them. We will also have the survey available on the website for those customers who would prefer to complete it online. We have had some customers come in to purchase garbage stickers and wanting to use their credit card to be able to do this. Many people don't carry cash or checks and use a checking account debit/credit card for purchases. Unfortunately, we don't have this capability with our system. Customers can pay their bills with a credit card but the smaller miscellaneous transactions we are not set up for. The City has agreed to be able to complete these transactions for us since that is exactly what they are set up for. The customer will still have to walk down the hall to the City to complete the transaction but it is more convenient than having to leave the building in search of an ATM machine and then return to purchase a $2.00 garbage sticker. It is our hope that in the future we would be able to accommodate these types of transactions as well, when our billing software has incorporated this technology into the Point of Sale (POS) system we use. POWEINAOi W: Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E Elk River ~� Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River,MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING FROM: TO: David Berg—Water Superintendent Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission John Dietz, Chair Daryl Thompson,Vice Chair Allan Nadeau,Trustee AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: MEETING DATE: 6.1 July 17, 2012 SUBJECT: Staff Update • DISCUSSION: rotection program for the safety of our Elk River Municipal Utilities has started a backflo lace for a number of years,the Minnesota customers. Although the regulations DH)has recently o verify that public water suppliers have a Department of Health (MDH) number of them to be sure they We have several locations that have never been checked. Elk River Municipal program m place. good n Utilities does have a program,but we will need to inspect a g prevention have are u to date with backflow checks and that locations department require and ERMU water department o P something installed to meet code. The City building s ould be i inspections. al our ether to identify potential locations where RP� eshould be installed and to also are working tog communicate with water users so that we have verification o we will be following the rules set by the Minnesota Department of Health. joint efforts, anies to get bids,this looking at fully resurfacing the Freeport Tower. f e a engineering companies year' We are g since it was built. Currently we are talking 0113.o This project should cost somewhere between way we may start the process by April skirting and paint. $700,000 to $900,000 for sandblasting, P wEe URE • RRA3 POWERED TO SERVE 0 powelov d Public • Elk River Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River,MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Mark Fuchs John Dietz, Chair Line Superintendent Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Al Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates • DISCUSSION: • Finished converting Meadowvale Rd. from 2400 volts to 7200 volts now working on installing new wire on Upland Ave and converting it from 2400 volts to 7200 volts. • Had two new house services. • Continue going through 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. • Installed three new street lights for the City of Otsego. • Started working on Stn and Irving rebuild. • Had to switch out and bypass the feeders on West Bank 1 and West Bank 2 substations so we could get the SCADA installed. • Had a few single phase transformers fail because of the heat and had to move some load off the north substation because the it was too heavy. • MMUA called and asked if we could gave mutual aid to Grand Rapids after a storm went through that area. Scott and Grant worked up there July 3,4, 5 and 61n R■ - P0WEeE0 sr NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider POWERED T o S E R V E • Elk River M Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Wade Lovelette-Superintendent of Technical John Dietz, Chair Services Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: • Staff Update • The Locating department had a total of 357 locate tickets for the month of June, two of them being emergency tickets. On June 13th,the locating staff implemented online live ticket management so there are no more paper tickets. • In June, the Security Systems Department had a total of 86 phone contacts, 20 new systems quoted, 12 system sales made, 13 installs completed, 25 service calls made and 20 personal visits. We also sold our first videofied system. • The Meter shop completed changing residential electric meters to radio read meters. We still have some commercial left. • The power plant staff did the monthly run of the generators. They all ran good. Engine #3 is running clean (no smoke issues) since the injectors were rebuilt. • R�- P�0WF0E0 ® r 3 NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E • Steve and Jeff have been helping out with underground projects doing the boring. • West Substation SCADA is on line. , IV P 0 W I R f 0 81 3 [NATURE 1 Reliable Public Power Provider P O WE RE D To S E R V E Elk River Municipal Utilities is celebrating its 65th anniversary of being a municipal electric and water utility. Officially, the"Elk River Public Utilities" was first created on July 11, 1947 when the Village of Elk River adopted a resolution creating a Water, Light, Power and Building Commission and appointed its first three members: V.B. Skellinger, Otis Nickerson, and C.F. Meyers. Power had been supplied to the community for some 30 years prior. The Elk River Power and Light Company was established in 1915 and was then acquired by the Village of Elk River in 1945. Thanks to the vision of the(then) Village of Elk River, we exist to today as our company mission states "To provide our customers safe, reliable, cost effective and quality long term electric and water utility services." We look forward to another 65 years of serving community as public power and water! Attached are the handwritten minutes from that July 11, 1947, special meeting of the Elk River Village Council when the Utilities Commission was created. P 0 V E R E R R 1 Page 2 of 2 NATUR EI Reliable Publics Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E Elk River .M Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O.Box 430 Elk River,MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Theresa Slominski—Finance Director John Dietz, Chair Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates DISCUSSION: We had 1601 credit card payment transactions in June, compared to 1438 in May. The fee for June should be $3,602.25. As a follow up to our Customer Expectations list of Respect, Innovation, Knowledge, Education, and Communication mentioned last month, we will be including a survey in the bills this month. We are looking for customer feedback on the importance of these items, and how we are doing on providing them. We will also have the survey available on the website for those customers who would prefer to complete it online. We have had some customers come in to purchase garbage stickers and wanting to use their credit card to be able to do this. Many people don't carry cash or checks and use a checking account debit/credit card for purchases. Unfortunately, we don't have this capability with our system. Customers can pay their bills with a credit card but the smaller miscellaneous transactions we are not set up for. The City has agreed to be able to complete these transactions for us since that is exactly what they are set up for. The customer will still have to walk down the hall to the City to complete the transaction but it is more convenient than having to leave the building in search of an ATM machine and then return to purchase a$2.00 garbage sticker. It is our hope that in the future we would be able to accommodate these types of transactions as well, when our billing software has incorporated this technology into the Point of Sale (POS) system we use. PONE0E0 01 '.® INATUREI Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E Elk Riv*r ;:t:-_ Mu nicipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission David Berg—Water Superintendent John Dietz, Chair Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Update DISCUSSION: Elk River Municipal Utilities has started a backflow protection program for the safety of our customers. Although the regulations have been in place for a number of years,the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)has recently begun to verify that public water suppliers have a program in place. We have several locations that have never been checked. Elk River Municipal Utilities does have a program, but we will need to inspect a good number of them to be sure they are up to date with backflow checks and that locations that require backflow prevention have something installed to meet code. The City building department and ERMU water department are working together to identify potential locations where RPZ's should be installed and to also communicate with water users so that we have verification of their backflow inspections. By our joint efforts, we will be following the rules set by the Minnesota Department of Health. We are looking at fully resurfacing the Freeport Tower. It has been almost twenty-seven years since it was built. Currently we are talking to a couple of engineering companies to get bids, this way we may start the process by April 2013. This project should cost somewhere between $700,000 to $900,000 for sandblasting, skirting and paint. R � PONEAED 81 3 © INATUREI Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D To S e a v e Elk River Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Mark Fuchs John Dietz, Chair Line Superintendent Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Al Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates DISCUSSION: • Finished converting Meadowvale Rd. from 2400 volts to 7200 volts now working on installing new wire on Upland Ave and converting it from 2400 volts to 7200 volts. • Had two new house services. • Continue going through 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. • Installed three new street lights for the City of Otsego. • Started working on 8th and Irving rebuild. • Had to switch out and bypass the feeders on West Bank 1 and West Bank 2 substations so we could get the SCADA installed. • Had a few single phase transformers fail because of the heat and had to move some load off the north substation because the it was too heavy. • MMUA called and asked if we could gave mutual aid to Grand Rapids after a storm went through that area. Scott and Grant worked up there July 3, 4, 5 and 61h R P� 0 w E R E o e r 3 INAWRE1 Reliable Public Power Provider P o w E R E o To S E R V E Elk River . Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Wade Lovelette-Superintendent of Technical John Dietz, Chair Services Daryl Thompson, Vice Chair Allan Nadeau, Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Update • The Locating department had a total of 357 locate tickets for the month of June, two of them being emergency tickets. On June 13th, the locating staff implemented online live ticket management so there are no more paper tickets. • In June, the Security Systems Department had a total of 86 phone contacts, 20 new systems quoted, 12 system sales made, 13 installs completed, 25 service calls made and 20 personal visits. We also sold our first videofied system. • The Meter shop completed changing residential electric meters to radio read meters. We still have some commercial left. • The power plant staff did the monthly run of the generators. They all ran good. Engine#3 is running clean (no smoke issues) since the injectors were rebuilt. R� PWr3 e B1 i��► �� Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D To $ E R E • Steve and Jeff have been helping out with underground projects doing the boring. • West Substation SCADA is on line. ' PAI� ' PONEREO 81 3 ' Reliable Public NATURE Power Provider P O W E R E D To S E R V E Elk River Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330 (763) 441-2020 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Tom Sagstetter—Conservation and Key John Dietz—Chair Accounts Manager Daryl Thompson—Vice Chair Al Nadeau—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: July 17, 2012 6.1 SUBJECT: Staff Updates • DISCUSSION: • Provided an Energy City tour to a group of 3 people from Germany. This was a request from the U.S. State Department. Toured the Elk River landfill, landfill gas to electricity, Great River Energy RDF facilities, and Haubenschild dairy and methane to electricity facility. • Responding to customer issues with Cycled AC program. • Working with Jennie on marketing sell sheets for C&I rebate programs and testimonials for energy savings. See draft of lighting sell sheet in packet information. • Elk River landfill and gas plant tour for 2 Cub Scout packs. • Working with Tri-County Community Action Program to develop low income contract for program delivery. • Three commercial irrigation customers have turned in applications for the new water conservation program. • Repackaging Project Conserve with a more focused look at low-income customers. All customers are eligible, but marketing efforts will be focused on low-income. Reduce the time commitment to participants and focus more on low or no cost actions that homeowners can implement. . i� PONEflEO ® 1 R r 3 NATURE Reliable Public© Power Provider P O W E R E D T o S env e Elk River POWERED Municipal Utilities TO C waste Less emro�, save wre oloLhars Commercial Lighting - New & Retrofit Lighting accounts for more than 40% of commercial sector electricity consumption in the United States. Designing and implementing an efficient lighting system in your business will help you achieve tremendous savings. Get started now and improve your bottom line - today! Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) can give you the advice you need to get started. The result will be recommendations for cost effective solutions that will save you money and improve your lighting system. Value for Your Business • Lighting system paybacks often range from one to four years. Some projects can achieve payback in under one year depending on AAA circumstances.With return on investment (ROI) ranging from 5-25%* • Improve safety and reduce energy usage • Increase system control with energy-saving occupancy sensors • Improve employee productivity and sales by enhancing lighting quality in work stations and retail areas Ashley Furniture LED Lighting • Reduce cooling loads - less waste heat is given off by new technology Who Can Participate7 lamps and ballasts Any commercial or industrial member can apply. Offices,retail,and production space warehouses are the largest contributors to commercial lighting energy use.** • What You'll Receive Rebates ranging from$1 - $125 per lamp/fixture are available to members who purchase and install energy-efficient lighting in existing buildings. Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) light levels are recommended. What You Need to Do rElkk rono Parkway • Check with ER.NIU to verify funding availability and *payback and ROI vary by project x 430 program parameters r,MN 55330 "Sources:America n Council for 763-441-2020 • Installation must be complete before funds will be Energy-l?fficient Economy, 3-441-8099 Department of Energy 2002 • Itemized invoices from equipment vendors must accompany rebate application .I P t A E A E 8 " r � A�'UR� P—,,,, To SE.VF Good investments are hard to find - focus on lighting and improve your bottom line BEAUDRV CASE STUDY R Ashley Furniture's sales floor featuring TS Florescent and LED Down lights. • Invoices must itemize labor charges,quantity and price of the equipment installed • Invoices must include manufacturer and code numbers for the installed equipment • ERMU reserves the right to conduct inspections • The maximum rebate amount is limited to 50%of the project costs Contact Us For any questions,please contact ERMU at 763 -441-2020 for more information and assistance in getting these rebates and incentives to bep improveyour bottom line-today! contain Florescent and high-intensity discharge lamps amounts small of • the environment • placing the lamps in the garbage is To learn how to lawfully dispose visit www.earth9l torg or call the MN Pollution Control Agency at 11 ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES EDUCATION/ SEMINAR REPORT DATE ��z-Ul Z� EMPLOYEE NAME TITLE OF EDUCATION/SEMINAR ORGANIZATION SPONSORING EDUCATION/ SEMINAR DATES ATTENDED LOCATION �� � WHY DID EMPLOYEE CHOOSE TO ATTEND �Ac,tn,e 7'i1�lCt,!'l Gf C 01,c-i' �2 5' 4► ►�u . �rik.L Wu sf WHAT INFORMATION WAS LEARNE BY ATTENDING etcl- 0-n.-1 V-0 4� 1 /K 46X" oYL-a- ral-Az_ ar" s�e�2-al a�'z�3 WAS INFORMATION CONVEYED TO SUPERVISOR AND CO-WORKERS AND TO WHO SIGNATURE