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5.2 ERMUSR 03-09-2004 -h% Elk River Municipal Utilities 322 King Avenue phone: 763.441.2020 Elk River,MN 55330 Fax:763.441.8099 February 23, 2004 To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission John Dietz Jerry Taale James Tralle From: Bryan Adams Subject: Distribution Reliability Standard The state legislature in 2001 initiated the Minnesota Energy Security and Reliability Act. This legislation requires electric utilities to adopt distribution reliability standards. MMUA through their Energy Services sub-committee, has developed municipal utility distribution reliability standards. They consist of a long version for the larger municipal utilities and a shorter version for the smaller municipal utilities. Attached is the long version of this standard with certain sections in italics which staff feels can be deleted. The final document is somewhere between the long and short version of MMUA's documents. Much of this information is already presented to you in the normal course of our monthly commission meetings. Staff recommends adopting the proposed distribution reliability standard without the italics sections. This commission may choose to include more information depending upon how much information you desire. ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY STANDARD (long version) [Note: text below that is bracketed [ ] is explanatory and should not be included as part of the rule adopted by the utility] SAFETY STANDARDS Reference: Minnesota Rules. part 7826.0300 When constructing new facilities or reinvesting in existing facilities, Elk River Municipal Utilities shall comply with, at a minimum, the National Electrical Safety Code. Elk River Municipal Utilities shall make best efforts to comply with all regulations promulgated by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and by the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Elk River Municipal Utilities will strive to follow the recommended practices of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. and the American National Standards Institute on electricity metering and standard voltage ratings for electric power systems and equipment. ANNUAL SAFETY REPORT Reference: Minnesota Rules,part 7826.0400 Elk River Municipal Utilities will file an annual safety performance report with its local governing body. The report will include summaries of all reports filed with OSHA and the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry during the calendar year. The report will also include a description of all incidents during the calendar year in which an injury requiring medical attention or property damage resulting in compensation as a result of downed wires or other electrical system failures occurred and all remedial action taken as a result of any injuries or property damage described. The report will be available for inspection upon request in accordance to the data privacy act. DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY STANDARD To gauge its reliability in accordance with state law and in comparison to other utilities, Elk River Municipal Utilities will track information on outages of five minutes or more and annually compile statistics on System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). Elk River Municipal Utilities may also keep more detailed data for its use. ANNUAL RELIABILITY PERFORMANCE REPORT Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.0500 Elk River Municipal Utilities will submit a report of its reliability performance report to its local governing body annually. The report shall include at least the following information: A.) the utility's System Average Interruption Duration Index or"SAIDI" for the calendar year. SAIDI means the average customer-minutes of interruption per customer. It is determined by dividing the annual sum of customer-minutes of interruption by the average number of customers served during the year. B.) the utility's System Average Interruption Frequency Index or"SAIFI". SAIFI means the average number of interruptions per customer per year. It is determined by dividing the total annual number of customer interruptions by the average number of customers served during the year. C.) the utility's Customer Average Interruption Duration Index or"CAIDI" for the calendar year. CAIDI means the average customer-minutes of interruption per customer interruption. It approximates the average length of time required to complete service restoration. It is determined by dividing the annual sum of all customer-minutes of interruption durations by the annual number of customer interruptions. D.) Elk River Municipal Utilities will note in its report unusual events, such as severe storms. E.) Elk River Municipal Utilities will adopt an action plan, sought by its local governing body, for remedying any failure to comply with its own locally- set reliability standards. The local governing body shall set reliability performance standards in the form of numerical values for the SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI. These standards will be filed with this report and will remain in effect until new standards are filed or if changes are made in another proceeding. F.) Elk River Municipal Utilities will track each interruption of a bulk power supply facility that impacts the local distribution system during the calendar year. Elk River Municipal Utilities will compile SAIDI, SAIFI and CAIDI indices including interruptions of bulk power supply, and a separate SAIDI, SAIFI and CAIDI report on interruptions due solely to local distribution system causes. G.) Elk River Municipal Utilities will diligently attempt to obtain detailed explanations from bulk power suppliers (generation and transmission companies) in regards to bulk supply interruptions and steps that have been taken or will be taken to prevent future interruption. H.) Elk River Municipal Utilities shall inform its local governing body of any major service interruption. Major service interruption means bulk power supply or an interruption of service at the feeder level above which affects 500 or more customers for one or more hours. The information will include the location and cause of the interruption, the number of customers affected, the duration of interruption, and the best estimate of when service will be restored. The report must include the steps the utility took to restore service and any operational changes made, is considered, or intended, to prevent similar interruptions in the future or to restore service more quickly. The utility may call the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (651-296-0406) regarding any significant interruption caused by a bulk power supply facility. I.) To the extent technically feasible, Elk River Municipal Utilities will track circuit interruption data, including identifying the worst performing circuit, explaining why the circuit is in last place, and describing any operational changes the utility has made, is considering, or intends to make to improve its performance. J.) Elk River Municipal Utilities will track all known instances in which nominal electric service voltages on the utility's side of the meter did not meet the standards of the American National Standards Institute for nominal system voltages greater or less than voltage range B. K.) Data on staffing levels, including field employees responsible for responding to trouble and for the operation and maintenance of distribution lines. For small utilities: an explanation of maintenance and emergency response agreements if the utility employs no qualified electric system personnel, or if it occasionally has no on-call personnel on duty. Any other information the utility considers relevant in evaluating its reliability performance over the calendar year. To the extent technically feasible, the utility will compile its SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI for the past five years. If this information is not available, the utility shall explain how it has been tracking reliability for the past five years together with reliability data for that period of time. If the utility has implemented a new reliability tracking system that makes comparisons between historical and current data unreliable, the utility shall explain this in the report. RELIABILITY STANDARDS Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.0600 The governing body of Elk River Municipal Utilities shall adopt its own locally-set reliability performance standards, in the form of proposed numerical values for SAIDI, SAIFI and CAIDI. These standards shall remain in effect until changed by the governing body. CUSTOMER NOTICE OF PLANNED SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.0800 Elk River Municipal Utilities shall give customers the most effective actual notice possible of any planned service interruption expected to last longer than 20 minutes. For any planned interruption expected to exceed four (4) hours, the utility shall provide, if feasible, door-to-door household visits 12 to 72 hours before the interruption. Planned service interruptions will be scheduled at times to minimize the inconvenience to customers. METER READING FREQUENCY Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.0900 Elk River Municipal Utilities shall attempt to read all of its meters monthly. REPLACING MALFUNCTIONING METERS Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1000 The utility shall replace a malfunctioning meter within ten calendar days of receiving a report from a customer questioning its accuracy or within ten calendar days of learning in some other way that it may be inaccurate. A meter testing fee may be applied per local utility rules and regulations. KEEPING SERVICE CALLS Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1100 The utility shall keep service call appointments and shall provide as much notice as possible when an appointment cannot be kept. A service call appointment is kept if the worker arrives within a four-hour period set by the utility and clearly communicated to the customer. CALL RESPONSE TIME Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1200 Calls to the office during regular business hours shall be answered within four rings. After hours emergency calls will be answered by 763-241-3796 or if there is no answer, call Sherburne County Dispatch at 763-241-2540 and have them page the Elk River Municipal Utilities on-call personnel. ANNUAL SERVICE QUALITY PERFORMANCE REPORT Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1 300 Elk River Municipal Utilities will file an annual service quality performance report with the local governing body. The report shall include at least the following information: 1. Reporting Meter-Reading Performance Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1400 A detailed report on the utility's meter-reading performance, including, for each customer class and for each calendar month: A. The number and percentage of customer meters read by utility personnel B. The number and percentage of customer meters self-read by customers C. The number and percentage of customer meters that have not been read by utility personnel for periods of six to 12 months and for periods of longer than 12 months, and an explanation as to why they have not been read D. Data on monthly meter-reading staffing levels 2. Reporting Involuntary Disconnections Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1500 A detailed report on involuntary disconnections of service, including,for each customer class and each calendar month: A. The number of customers who received disconnection notices B. The number of customers who sought cold weather rule protection under chapter 7820 and the number who were granted cold weather rule protection C. The total number of customers whose service was disconnected involuntarily and the number of these customers restored to service within 24 hours D. The number of disconnected customers restored to service by entering into a payment plan. 3. Reporting Service Extension Request Response Times Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1600 A report on service extension request response times, including,for each customer class and each calendar month: A. The number of customers requesting service to a location not previously served by the utility and the intervals between the date service was installed and the later of the in-service date requested by the customer or the date the premises were ready for service. B. The number of customers requesting service to a location previously served by the utility, but not served at the time of the request, and the intervals between the date service was installed and the later of the in-service date requested by the customer or the date the premises were ready for service. 4. Reporting Emergency Medical Account Status Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.1800 Elk River Municipal Utilities shall reconnect or continue service to a customer's residence where a medical emergency exists or where medical equipment requiring electricity necessary to sustain life is in use, provided that the utility receives from a medical doctor written certification, or initial certification by telephone and written certification within five business days, that failure to reconnect or continue service will impair or threaten the health or safety of a resident of the customer's household. The customer must enter into a payment agreement. 5. Reporting Customer Deposits Reference: Minnesota Rules,part 78261900 The number of customers who were required to make a deposit as a condition of receiving service. 6. Reporting Customer Complaints Reference: Minnesota Rules, part 7826.2000 A report on complaints, including date and customer class, that needed governing body action to resolve.