6.1.A ERMUSR 04-14-2020UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:FROM:
ERMU Commission Troy Adams, P.E. –General Manager
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
April 14, 2020 6.1a
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
TheBoard of Directors of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) met on
March 24, 2020, by teleconference and WebEx. Commissioner Stewart and I were both
able to participate.
The Board discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the preparedness of MMPA’s
operations during this unprecedented time – all office-based employees transitioned to
remote working with no disruption in service. The economic effect of the virus on
MMPA and its members was also discussed.
The Board discussed a KEYC television news piece from March 10 highlighting the visit of
a German project manager with local Le Sueur officials at the Hometown BioEnergy
plant. In the piece, the Hometown BioEnergy project was held up as a model for local
power generation.The video can be accessedthrough this link:
https://www.keyc.com/video/2020/03/10/minnesota-partners-with-germany-better-
sustainability-use-renewables/
The Board discussed the status of the renewable projects the Agency is pursuing.
Participation in MMPA’s residential Clean Energy Choice program increased over
February, with another 38 new customers signing up for the program. Customer
penetration of MMPA’s Clean Energy Choice program for residential customers is at
3.4%.
The Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce (ERACC) Government Relations Committee
met on April 8 via Zoom. The committee discussed conducting electronic Q&A sessions
with our legislators. The committee also discussed COVID-19 related issues including
property tax deadline extension considerations and real estate impact.
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TheMinnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) Government Relations
Committee has continued to hold Friday conference calls. MMUA made the switch to
video conferences on Friday, April 10. The committee’s discussions have been focused
on COVID-19 related legislation and the impacts to operations.
On April 8, several managers from the leadership team participated in a webinar
presentation for a potential advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) vendor.
Staff has continued to work with our consultant on information needed for the cost of
service study. Although initially planned for presentation to the commission in April, the
presentation has been rescheduled for the May commission meeting.
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