6.1.a. ERMUSR 08-09-2016 Elk River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Troy Adams, P.E.—General Manager
John Dietz—Chair
Al Nadeau—Vice Chair
Daryl Thompson—Trustee
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
August 9, 2016 6.1a
SUBJECT:
Staff Updates—General Manager
DISCUSSION:
The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency(MMPA)met on July 26,
2016 in Anoka, Minnesota.
Construction continues to move ahead on MMPA's 46 MW Shakopee Energy Park project. The
project remains on schedule for a Q2 2017 in-service date.
Moody's and Fitch both maintained their bond ratings for MMPA. Each rating agency also
improved their rating outlook for MMPA from stable to positive.
The Board discussed the status of MMPA's renewable contracts for both wind and solar power.
The Board received MMPA's 2015 annual report, which can be found on the Agency's website,
www.mmpa.org.
MMPA held its annual dinner meeting with elected officials and city and utility staff after the
Board meeting. More than 90 people attended the meeting.
• The Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association(MMUA)Executive Leadership Development
Program Request For Proposal due date was July 22. The committee has begun the review
process and will be setting up interviews in late August and early September. The selection will
be made no later than September 30.
MMUA held their preliminary 2016-2017 budget review on July 28.As a result of unforeseen
expenses relating to the weather during the Lineworkers Rodeo,MMUA is projecting a budget
shortfall of$35,000.The big tent, heating, and tent flooring all contributed to this shortage. The
MMUA board is looking to the membership to help with the shortfall.
The MMUA board has also authorized the development of a Municipal Utilities Action Fund.
This is a state political action fund made possible through statute the will help municipals gain
access and exposure for political advocacy. This will be introduced to the membership at the
Summer Meeting in August.
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• The management team conducted our annual short term strategic planning on July 13. The work
product is used to establish and prioritize projects and initiatives that end up in the capital
projections and budget.
• The new leadership from Connexus Energy met with ERMU on July 20 regarding their differing
interpretation on provisions of our 2015 Electric Service Territory Transfer Agreement. I also met
one-on-one with their CEO on July 25 regarding this and other items. I have a meeting scheduled
with their new VP of Power Supply&Business Development on August 9.
• I met with representatives from Connexus,MMPA, and Great River Energy(GRE)on July27 to
discuss the 2018 ERMU wholesale power transition from GRE to MMPA. Interconnection,
MISO zonal pricing and agreements,NERC requirements, distributed generation and load
control, SCADA and substation communication,the Landfill gas-to-electric generation facility,
the ERMU diesel/natural gas power plant, and emergency interconnection with Connexus were
issues identified than require additional coordination.This group will be meeting quarterly to
work through these issues.
• We have been working with Connexus and Wright/Hennepin Electric on electric vehicle strategy.
This has proven to be very positive and hopefully leads to continued positive exchange of ideas
for mutually beneficial planning. On July 15 we visited an electric vehicle charging station with
Connexus staff in Blaine.
• On July 28 ERMU closed on the purchase of the MacGibbon property at 1437 Main Street.A
short term lease through September 30 was drafted and executed by the current tenants. The
property management company that ERMU contracts to oversee our other rental properties will
be managing the short term lease and transition for us.
• I conducted interviews with Theresa Slominski for the accountant position on July 18 and 19.
• On July 22, staff met with Dave Berg regarding the cost of service study. The work product will
be done on schedule for use in the 2017 budgeting and rate setting process.
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