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HomeMy WebLinkAboutENERGY BOARD - MINUTES - 05/09/2024 ENERGY BOARD May 9, 2024 – 5:30 pm 222 Laporte Ave – Colorado Room ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Marge Moore, Alan Braslau, Thomas Loran, Jeremy Giovando, Brian Smith, Erick Shenk (remote), Frederick Wegert, Wendell Stainsby, Scott Canonico Board Members Absent: OTHERS PRESENT Staff Members Present: Christie Fredrickson, Brian Tholl, Michael Authier, Travis Walker, Cyril Vidergar, Phil Ladd, Leland Keller Members of the Public: MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Interim Chairperson Loran called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS & AGENDA CHANGES None. PUBLIC COMMENT None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES In preparation for the meeting, board members submitted amendments via email for the March 14, 2024, minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. STAFF REPORTS Light & Power Operational Update (Packet Item Only) Travis Walker, Interim Director, Light & Power Mr. Walker said the Utility is working on hiring several senior manager positions within Light & Power. Board members expressed concern that the vacancies have been unfilled for so long, and thanked Mr. Walker for the extra work he and many staff in L&P have been picking up in the meantime. Chairperson Loran asked if Mr. Walker sees anything in the near term that could affect our levels of service. Mr. Walker said no, reliability is still strong and the work the Utility has been doing for the last several years has laid the foundation to continue that work. Energy Services Operational Update (Packet Item Only) Brian Tholl, Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineer Mr. Tholl went over his slides very quickly (since the Board previously reviewed them as part of their packet). Board member Stainsby asked if the Utility plans to grow the EV pilot. Mr. Tholl said yes, in the future Virtual Power Plant space, they view EVs as a long duration storage and discharge scenario. They intended to have 400-500 enrollments by the end of 2026. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING Board member Braslau feels that the City’s current leadership is undermining the original philosophy and longstanding goal of both the Climate Action Plan and Our Climate Future Plan (100% renewable electricity as a hard goal, never had been considered an “aspirational” goal) by prioritizing the semantics of being a consumer and an owner/producer. Mr. Authier said the City does have the accounting for OCF’s goals but does not have something additional around their ownership within Platte River, and it would be good to identify if there is a gap. Board member Giovando asked for clarification around the language “zero carbon” as opposed to net- zero carbon. Mr. Tholl explained for new construction, zero carbon is targeted through a performance path through each code cycle (every three years). The definitions haven’t been strongly established, they are more at the goal and policy level. 2025/2026 BUDGET OFFER SUMMARY Phil Ladd, Manager, Financial Planning & Assets Brian Tholl, Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineer Travis Walker, Interim Director, Light & Power Mr. Ladd explained that revenue projections are based on a calculation of 5% rate increase in the two budget years, which is in line with wholesale projection from PRPA. Staff recently heard it will be closer to 6.3% in the future and that will likely be passed on to the customer so the Utility can keep pace and not lose any ground in reserves. Board members discussed the cost of wholesale purchased power and community renewables and wondered about other ways to implement more solar within the community. Staff explained that many commercial buildings are not necessarily the best spaces due to roof space constraints (HVAC equipment, etc.), and the Board wondered if it would be feasible to utilize parking lots by adding covered parking with solar panels. Mr. Walker noted that it will likely look like a combination of buying less with all these ideas as we are still under contract with Platte River. Board member Giovando asked, hypothetically, if the wholesale power model was completely eliminated, is the budget sufficient to run and maintain a utility. Mr. Ladd said yes, based on the current rate structure, the utility could still operate and maintain the infrastructure. Board member Moore asked what impact some of these changes (i.e. owner Utilities becoming more self- reliant) would have on Platte River, and she wondered if they are taking that into consideration as they are making plans for their future overhead costs. Mr. Ladd also reviewed several of the offers in asset management as well as enhancements. He noted that if all the offers were to be purchased, there would be about $300,000 leftover in 2025 and $1.8 million in 2026. Some offers were scaled back because the bond money was set aside for asset renewal. Additionally, since the Utility does not have a director at this time, they wanted to leave room for the future person to have some space for their own ideas and initiatives through off-cycle appropriations. Mr. Walker added that the City Manager has been supportive of that decision. Board member Smith asked what the running total is for reserves, given this budget. Mr. Ladd said at the end of last year (2023) there was about $17 million available in reserves. 2050 TAX APPROPRIATION FOR CLIMATE ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING Brian Tholl, Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineer Last year’s November election included a sales tax initiative to fund climate, transportation, and parks & recreation, which was approved by the voters. The City will collect roughly $20 million in revenue per year beginning in 2024 through 2050. Climate-specific measures will receive roughly $5m per year of that funding (~$10 million for Parks, and $5 million for transit). Mr. Tholl explained that the 2050 tax will be treated as its own fund, and each category will pull its appropriations from that fund as dollars are accrued. He displayed a chart showing each category’s proposed appropriations and noted that any unused funds at the end of each year will be funneled it into a reserve, which can be used toward future projects. Parks & Recreation are planning to use their 2024 funding toward full time employees for expanded parks & rec infrastructure replacement. Transit is taking a similar approach, looking to revise their pay plans, operator schedules, and increase transit enforcement and support. The Board expressed concern that Transfort was being too timid in its use of these funds, leaving much of the available monies unspent for now. The climate category cuts across different departments, supporting the Our Climate Future Plan. This category includes 15 offers, as well as 3 additional elective offers. The 15 core offers include funding existing programs, such as Healthy Homes, Utilities Epic Loans, bicycle infrastructure as part of the City’s Active Modes plan, new grant programs (to offset Utility fees), funding to repair the Riverside Community Solar Garden, etc. The elective offers include funding for a grazing plan on Soapstone Prairie, a health assessment on the Poudre River, and updating trash and recycling bins in Natural areas to wildlife-safe containers. All of the climate-related offers had a set of criteria they needed to adhere to: Directly aligned with Our Climate Future, no brand new programs, possible to be executed in 2024 and to continue into future years, can help tell a powerful story about direct community benefit of the new revenue, one-time offers only (ongoing offers should be put through 2025-26 budget process), and will not disrupt or take away from other existing commitments. Board member Giovando asked if, given the scale of the funding to come, staff had considered any overly ambitious projects that may otherwise be financially out of reach. Mr. Authier noted that this first iteration is for projects that can be completed in 2024, but larger projects could certainly be considered in the future. Board member Stainsby asked how much the repair to the Riverside Solar Garden is expected to cost. Mr. Tholl said staff expects it to be about $250,000 plus an operation and maintenance budget (as per the vendor selected through the RFP process). Board members were supportive of the planned offers. They expressed interest in seeing the total cost for each project with the carbon emissions saved or quantified where possible. Mr. Tholl said the Board could write a memo of support if they are interested. The ordinance’s first reading was on May 7, and second reading is scheduled for May 21. Board member Smith moved the Energy Board draft and send memo in support of the 2050 tax appropriation for climate projects to be sent to City Council ahead of the May 21 reading. Board member Smith will draft the memo. Board member Moore seconded the motion. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING Discussion None. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 9-0. OFFICER ELECTIONS Board member Moore nominated interim Chairperson Loran for the Chairperson position. Mr. Loran accepted the nomination. Chairperson Loran nominated Board member Moore for the Vice Chairperson position. Board member Moore accepted the nomination. There are no additional nominations, Chairperson Loran declared nominations closed. Board member Canonico moved to select Thomas Loran as the 2024 Energy Board Chairperson, and Marge Moore as the 2024 Energy Board Vice Chairperson. Board member Braslau seconded the motion. Discussion None. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 9-0. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Board member Braslau said his utilities paperless bill was delivered but it went to his SPAM folder as it is now labeled as coming from noreply@kubra.com whereas it used to be labeled utilities_csd@fcgov.com. Board member Smith echoed, the same thing happened to him Staff said that is great feedback, the server that delivers the emails has not changed, but that is valuable feedback so that it can be addressed. FUTURE AGENDA REVIEW The Board’s June meeting will include a packet item to (re)introduce Platte River’s Integrated Resource Plan, an overview presentation from Mr. Vidergar about the Power Supply Agreement, as well as a discussion about virtual power plants and local consumer implementation. ADJOURNMENT The Energy Board adjourned at 7:43 pm.