6.1a ERMUSR 07-11-2017 •
Elk River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
ERMU Commission Troy Adams, P.E. —General Manager
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
July 11, 2017 6.1a
SUBJECT:
Staff Updates—General Manager
ACTION REQUESTED:
No Action Requested
DISCUSSION:
• The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA)met on June
27, 2017 at the offices of Shakopee Public Utilities in Shakopee, Minnesota.
The Board discussed the rollout of Clean Energy Choice for Business, which is scheduled
for next month.
The Board reviewed the status of the renewable projects that the Agency is pursuing.
The success of MMPA's 2017 Energy Education program was also discussed. Fourth
graders from all twelve MMPA member communities participated in either the FEP tour
event or local energy education assemblies.
The Board also discussed the grand opening for Shakopee Energy Park on Thursday, July
27, 2017, beginning at 4pm. An invitation outlining the details is attached.
• I continue to work with MMPA on items related to the wholesale power provider
migration from GRE. There are many things to still be completed prior to the October 1,
2018, transfer date.
• I have spent considerable time working on governance policies for the upcoming
Commission meetings. Some of the upcoming policies have required a number of
iterations between John Miner, Peter Beck, and me largely because ERMU has
established practices. I will continue to bring these polices back a few at a time for the
Commission's consideration with the goal of completion yet this year.
• Had the quarterly meeting with Connexus Energy's CEO on June 26. We discussed
lineworker safety and the recent storm damage, the results of the legislative session, the
State Conservation Improvement Program (CIP), and other current issues.
• Had the second annual meeting with Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative's CEO on
June 28. MVEC also uses NISC billing and accounting software. They also have
Page 1 of 2
208
implemented AMI and prepaid metering. We'd discussed NISC, staffing levels and
development,the recent legislative session, and CIP. We discovered enough common
ground that it may be beneficial to meet bi-annually.
• In addition to discussing CIP with Connexus and MVEC, I had talked to Wright
Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association's CEO about it last month. And have had
conversations with East Central Energy's CEO regarding CIP. These conversations have
lead way to efforts between MMUA and Minnesota Rural Electric Association(MREA)
to put together a small joint working group to discuss CIP.
• I attended the American Public Power Association(APPA)National Conference on June
19-21. During the conference, APPA held an annual business meeting where the system
delegates voted on a number of resolutions and voted on nominations for the APPA
Board of Directors. The conference had a few excellent general sessions as well as
breakout sessions. I attended breakout sessions on: Active Shooter Preparedness and
Electric Vehicles. I was a presenter for one breakout session on communicating
reliability. Many of the general sessions focused on the changing business model and
workforce. The outgoing and incoming APPA board chairs gave very moving speeches,
as did APPA President and CEO Sue Kelly. A number of Minnesota public power
individuals took home national awards: Tony Ward,retired GM from Grand Rapids,
received the Individual Achievement Award; Tom Kuntz, mayor of the City of
Owatonna, received the Public Official Award; and Mike Willetts, MMUA Director of
Safety and Training, received the Personal Service Award. The 2018 APPA National
Conference will be held in New Orleans.
• We will be conducting a"short term"planning session on July 12. This planning session
is used to identify and prioritize projects, initiatives, and capital purchases that will roll
into the 2018 budget process. The leadership team also conducts a"long term"planning
session every January to maintain a rolling 5 year plan. The long term planning feeds into
the short term planning each year. We will use an affinity process to prioritize and
establish SMART goals for each initiative. Progress on these initiatives is tracked by
management using an initiative dashboard. The projects, initiatives, and capital purchases
that rise in priority are then approved by the Commission with the budget in December.
ATTACHMENT:
• MMPA Shakopee Energy Park Grand Opening Invitation
Page 2 of 2
209
11\14VIPA
Please Join Us
for the
Shakopee Energy Park
Grand Opening
Thursday, July 27, 2017
4:00 Tours of Shakopee Energy Park
5:30 I Grand Opening Ceremony
6:301 Evening Event at Canterbury Park
Attendees will receive an admission ticket and
concessions voucher for Canterbury Park. Ticket and
voucher will be distributed at Shakopee Energy Park.
Parking
Guest parking will not be available at
Shakopee Energy Park. Please park at Canterbury Park.
(1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee, MN 55379)
Transportation
Guests will be transported from Canterbury Park to
Shakopee Energy Park. Please meet at Canterbury Park's
main lobby/entrance for transportation services.
For more information about MMPA or Shakopee Energy Park,please visit mmpa.org
210