6.1f ERMUSR 07-10-2018 Elk River
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
ERMU Commission Tom Sagstetter—Conservation&Key Accounts Manager
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
July 10, 2018 6.1f
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
• Utility staff provided city staff with meter data to use for a building analysis project that
is part of climate smart municipals. This is the first test data which will be loaded into the
Iserlohn software to compare similar buildings operation characteristics.
• The Chevy Bolt is making a lot of tours and is impressing folks with is looks and
sportiness. Our Chevy Bolt has a real name now, it's Eddie. Eddie has attended various
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency(MMPA) and Minnesota Municipal Utilities
Association(MMUA) events and has received great reviews. Please let me know if you
want to take it for a spin.
• Commercial rebates have been coming in fast the past few weeks. This year we should
easily achieve our energy savings goal. We are fortunate to have some very large new
commercial construction and remodel jobs going on this year. Based on energy savings
and spending, the 2018 commercial rebate program will be ending in July. The residential
programs will continue for the rest of the year.
• In the month of June,the level two charger downtown had 9 sessions, and provided
customers with 58 kWh of green energy. The new charger in the ERMU/City Hall
parking lot had 6 sessions and provided customers with 118 kWh of green energy. The
DC fast charger at the Coborn's fuel station has had 5 sessions and provided 67 kWh of
green energy to customers.
• Staff provided one Energy City tour at the Landfill Gas Plant; 20 students were in
attendance.
• Staff also presented at the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference in St. Cloud
on the results of the Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment(FleetCarma Study) and a
summary of all the EV initiatives that the City and ERMU are working on including:
public charging stations; time of use rates; in home rebate program; and developing
regional partnerships.
• As Part of the EV/ER Power Your Future program implementation and promotion,
ERMU staff has spoken at many public events and worked with other key stakeholders
around the state to promote EVs and the need for charging infrastructure. On June 22,
2018 The Winona Daily News published an article about how the City of Winona is
evaluating EV options for their fleet. Winona is receiving a grant from Xcel Energy to
complete a FleetCarma Suitability Assessment. ERMU staff worked with Xcel Energy to
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provide information and experience on how they could offer a similar program to the
cities they serve. A copy of the article is attached.
ATTACHMENT:
• Winona Daily News Article—An electrifying opportunity: Winona investigates replacing
gas-powered city vehicle with electric alternatives—June 22, 2018
Page 2 of 2
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An electrifying opportunity: Winona investigates replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric alternatives... Page 1 of 5
https://www.winonadai lynews.com/news/local/an-electrifying-opportunity-winona-i nvestigates-
replaci ng-gas-powered-city-vehicles/a rticle_c6d75 987-be2e-5446-88ca-O148a49c2aO4.html
[FEATURED)
An electrifying opportunity: Winona investigates
replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric
alternatives
Tobias Mann Winona Daily News Jun 22,2018
haps://www.w inonada ilynews.com/news/local/an-electrify in4-mpottun ity-winona-investigates-replacing-gas-po... 7/3/2018
An electrifying opportunity:Winona investigates replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric alternatives... Page 2 of 5
ter,
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Electric vehicles are the way of the future, John Howard, sustainability
coordinator for the city of Winona, said.
This month, the city began a yearlong study into the viability of adding electric
vehicles to the city's fleet.
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Using data loggers plugged into the dashboards of 20 city vehicles, FleetCarma,
the company hired to complete the study, will collect usage data from the
vehicles. This data will include how often the vehicles are used, the average
distance traveled, fuel economy, time spent idling and more.
"The overall objective is to find out which of our vehicles would be good
candidates for electric vehicles,"Howard said. "I am excited to see this move
forward."
Thanks to a grant from Xcel Energy, the $13,660 study will come at no cost to
https://www,winonadailynews.com/news/locallan-electrifyinipilportunity-Winona-investigates-replacing-gas-po... 7/3/2018
An electrifying opportunity:Winona investigates replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric alternatives... Page 3 of 5
the city.
According to Howard, electric vehicles have the potential not only to make
Winona more sustainable by cutting energy consumption,but they could save
the city a considerable amount of money in fuel and maintenance costs.
"They are much more energy efficient," he said. "Maintenance on electric
vehicles is a lot easier.
"It tends to save money in the long term."
Winona isn't the first community to participate in the study.
Earlier this year the Elk River City Council voted to lease a Mitsubishi
Outlander Hybrid and purchase a Chevrolet Bolt electric car for the municipal
utility after receiving the results of a FleetCarma study conducted on 20 sedans,
SUVs and trucks.
According to Tom Sagstetter, the conservation and key accounts manager for
Elk River Municipal Utility, the study provided them the information they
needed to make an educated decision.
"Elk River is known as energy city, so we try to be on the leading edge of new
technology, but we also want to make sure we are spending money wisely,"he
said.
According to the results of the study, Sagstetter said, 85 percent of the time
vehicles were driven fewer than 50 miles and no more than 100 miles in a day.
That's well within the range of electric vehicles available today.
Sagstetter said it was ultimately the cost savings that lead to the decision to
purchase one vehicle and lease the other.
https://www.winonadailynews.cam/news/locaUan-electrifyin# portunity-Winona-investigates-replacing-gas-po... 7/3/2018
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"Depending on the vehicle, the total cost of ownership savings ranged from
$3,000 to $15,000," he said, adding that the fuel savings was the biggest benefit
•
over a conventional vehicle.
Sagstetter said based on an average cost of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, the Bolt
cost just pennies per mile.
• Y
Introducing an electric vehicle to the city's fleet would require the installation
of the infrastructure to support it—namely charging stations.
Howard said the city is already looking at installing charging stations in
locations downtown.
He said later this year the city will apply for a grant from the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency, which could help to offset the cost of installing
chargers.
"Fifteen percent of those funds are being allocated toward electric vehicle
infrastructure," Howard said, adding that installation of chargers could ease the
adoption of electric vehicles in the region.
"I've gotten a few calls from a few electric vehicle owners asking about how
they can get down here," he said.
https://www.winonadailynews.com/news/locaUan-electrifying-importunity-winona-investigates-replacing-gas-po... 713/2018
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While the study will provide insights into the viability of the electric vehicles,
Howard said the city is under no obligation to purchase one.
"There are certainly budget constraints to replacing any new vehicles, but as
our fleet ages and needs to be replaced, we may look at electric options," he
said. "I think the data will be more useful for more than electric vehicles.
Howard said the study might find that a vehicle isn't being used enough to
justify replacing it or that a large SUV or truck could be replaced with a smaller
more efficient vehicle.
Tobias Mann covers crime and government in Winona County.He can be reached at 507-453-3522 or at
tobias.mann@winonadailynews.com
Tobias Mann
Reporter
E
haps://www.winonadailynews:com/news/local/an-electrifying portunity-Winona-investigates-replacing-gas-po... 7/3/2018