HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 05/01/2002City Council Liaison
Eric Hamrick
Staff Liaison
DeEtta Carr 221-6702
Electric Board Chairperson Electric Board Vice Chairperson
Alison Mason 493-1295 Jeff Lebesch 221-0543
Secretary
Vicki Mesa
Roll Call
Board Present: Alison Mason -Chairperson, Jeff Lebesch-Vice Chairperson, Dan Bihn, Barbara
Rutstein, Richard Smart and Linda Stewart
Board Absent: Guy Helme
Staff Present: Dave Agee, Bill Bray, Suzanne Jarboe -Simpson, Bob Kost, Tom Rock, Tim Sagen,
Mike Smith, Dennis Sumner, Bill Switzer, Ellen Switzer, Wendy Williams and DeEtta Carr
Visitor: Carrie Daggett, Assistant City Attorney
Meeting Opened
Chairperson Alison Mason called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.
Electric Rules and Regulations and the Electric Construction Policies Practices and Procedures
Ellen Switzer gave a brief presentation regarding changes to the Electric Service Rules and
Regulations, which establish conditions of service for electric customers. She stated the Electric
Construction Policies Practices and Procedures outlines the guidelines for the installation of electric
systems for all construction, new development, redevelopment as well as remodeling.
She clarified for the Board that it was their responsibility to advise Council on policy matters and
requested feedback from the Board on the changes.
The following Sections were reviewed and discussed between the Board and staff.
General Comment: Barbara Rutstein commented that she did not like the "FCU" abbreviation used
to refer to the Fort Collins Utilities in both the Electric Service Rules and Regulations and the Electric
Construction Policies Practices and Procedures. She suggested it be changed and other board members
concurred.
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ELECTRIC SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS
Section 8.8.2 Lien on Property. Barbara asked if the intent of the changes to this section was to allow
a property owner the right to terminate a tenants (consumers) electric utility service even if the
consumer was not in arrears. Ellen confirmed that it was drafted to allow the property owner to
terminate the service at any time. This was proposed because of the lien ordinance under
which the owner is financially responsible for all utility service to their property.
Barbara stated she opposed the revision, noting that she did not believe a landowner should
have the right to terminate a tenant's service. She stated that service should only be terminated
if there was an outstanding balance.
Assistant City Attorney Carrie Daggett, responded to issues raised by Barbara Rutstein stating
unpaid balances are ultimately the responsibility of the landowner and that their property would
be subject to a lien. She emphasized that the City should not get involved in landlord/tenant
disputes, stating there are laws in place to protect tenants.
Wendy Williams reported that there is no method currently in place to inform property owners
when utility bills are being accrued against their property, ultimately resulting in a lien against
the property.
Carrie stated that there is a requirement in the proposed draft to require the Utilities to notify
the customer of record when the property owner terminates the service.
Dan Bihn suggested that Section 8.8.2 be revised to include that a consumer be at least one
month in arrears.
10.6 Foreign Power and 10.2. Investment Recovery for Stranded Facilities. There was confusion
about these two sections and how they differed. Ellen explained that section 10.2 was an
attempt to recover the costs of the Utilities' distribution system in the event a customer with
multiple facilities tried to bypass our distribution system and provide their own distribution
between their facilities. The intent is to protect other rate payers by not allowing distribution
costs to be bypassed. 10.6. deals with preventing another utility from delivering power directly
to the customer. Neither section was intended to be permissive. Staff agreed to rewrite these
sections to clarify. Dan asked if recovery for renewables could be included in the lost revenue
calculation of 10.2. Mike Smith stated that staff is looking into how to include this within the
rates.
11.2.2. Parallel Generation for Customer's Use. Clarification: This section is intended for larger
power generators. Because of the all requirements contract with Platte River Power Authority,
the Utilities is not permitted to purchase energy from generators, however, PRPA permits us to
purchase small amounts on a pilot basis.
11.8. Discontinuity of Deliveries. Clarification: The right to discontinue deliveries is intended for a
parallel generator who generates excess power. If the Utilities has a contract with the generator
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to deliver power they are producing, the Utilities may have a safety or operational need to
discontinue that delivery.
11.3.5. Delivery to a Purchasing Utility. Clarification: The tariff mentioned is not the tariff Platte
River uses to bill the city. Mike stated that PRPA has multiple tariffs.
8.6. Errors. Clarification: The draft policy states that the City will not back bill customers. It
states that if the error is in favor of the customer, the City will reimburse for up to six years but
will not bill a customer for a billing error made by the Utilities that has resulted in underbilling
a customer.
General Comment: Jeff Lebesch asked how difficult it would be to change the Rules and Regulations
if they are later found to conflict with the Energy Policy being developed. Ellen stated that we
could request changes to the Rules and Regulations at any time by going back to City Council
with another ordinance.
CONSTRUCTION POLICY PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
4.1 New Development and Redevelopment. Clarification: Staff confirmed that only one copy of
the plat is now required.
4.2. Modifications to Capacity. Clarification: This would occur in an area where the system had
been installed before we charged development fees or if the property had been annexed by the
City.
6.1 Ganged meter sockets. Barbara asked if the meter sockets needed to be UL approved. Staff
replied that in order to be Utilities approved that they would also have to be UL approved.
13.6.3 Locate Policy. Clarified: State law requires that if markings are clearly visible they have 30
days to excavate. This changes the current language to read 30 days instead of 72 hours in
compliance with State law.
Mike Smith identified the Boards two major issues:
• Change FCU (Fort Collins Utilities) to Utilities
■ Tenant/Owner Issues
Staff agreed to address these concerns and revise the policies to comply with the Electric Board's
recommendations before they were submitted to City Council.
Barbara made a motion to adopt the recommended rules and regulations with the changes identified by
Mike. Richard Smart seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Mike asked if the Board wished to see the revisions before they were sent to Council. The Board
agreed to review the revisions by e-mail.
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Deliberative Polling
Dan Bihn gave a presentation on Deliberative Polling which is a technique to determine informed
public opinion. The essential question is, "What would the target population think if they were given
an opportunity to read about, discuss, and ask questions concerning the issue under consideration?"
The key difference between deliberative polling and standard opinion polling is the difference between
raw opinion and informed opinion. The key difference between deliberative polling and focus groups
is the ability to extrapolate the results as they refer to the larger population.
He questioned if this procedure could be used in Fort Collins with three factors to consider:
• What does the community want?
• How much are we willing to pay?
• How should it be paid for?
Dan responded to questions from the Board and clarified the entire process took approximately nine
months in Texas to complete. It has not been applied at the municipal level.
The Board adjourned into the work session.
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DeEtta Carr, Electric Board Liaison