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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 02/17/2002City Council Liaison Electric Board Chairperson Electric Board Vice Chairperson Eric Hamrick Alison Mason 493-1295 Jeff Lebesch 221-0543 Staff Liaison Secretary DeEtta Carr 221-6702 Vicki Mesa Roll Call Board Present: Alison Mason -Chairperson, Jeff Lebesch-Vice Chairperson, Guy Helme, Barbara Rutstein, Richard Smart and Linda Stewart Staff Present: Dave Agee, Patty Bigner, Bill Bray, Lori Clements -Grote, Eric Dahlgren, Sharon Held, Bob Hover, Suzanne Jarboe -Simpson, Bob Kost, Tom Rock, Tim Sagen, Gary Schroeder, Mike Smith, Dennis Sumner, Bill Switzer, Ellen Switzer, Wendy Williams and DeEtta Carr Visitors: John Bleem, PRPA; Dan Bihn, Sixth Dimension, Inc. and Gary Estes Meeting Opened Chairperson Alison Mason called the meeting to order at 5:16 p.m. Minutes Barbara Rutstein made a motion to adopt and approve the minutes as amended. Richard Smart seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion Mike Smith opened the meeting and outlined the various issues to be discussed. He explained that 15-minute presentations would be provided on the following topics: • Reliability - Generation Transmission • Reliability - Distribution • Rates a Demand Side Management • Wind Program/Wind Energy John Bleem, Platte River Power Authority, gave a brief explanation of generation and transmission reliability. He spoke of how dry weather affects resources. He stated another resource would be needed by the year 2010 or 2011 and spoke of what would happen if we were to lose a resource. He reported on our shaft sharing agreement with Craig and stated another Electric Board Minutes February 27, 2002 Page 2 gas turbine may be needed to serve as a back up and expressed the need to investigate resource options. He reported that Rawhide ranks number one in industry standards and commented that all Platte River resources are 95-97% reliable. He stated that reliability is critical to Platte River gain -sharing goals are set and if the goals are not met there is no profit sharing. He spoke about the Wind resources, noting that wind is not a firm resource. He mentioned that wind is only available 30-35% of the time and is difficult to predict. Bill Bray spoke of reliability from the standpoint of the distribution system. He reported that the City's power outage's average less than 60 minutes which nationally the average time is around 90 minutes. Fort Collins is also below the national outage average. He briefly highlighted underground construction, reporting that we began converting from an overhead to an underground system in 1989 due to increased public safety concerns. He stated that overhead systems do not perform as well as underground because of their susceptibility to storms. He spoke of the importance of using quality materials and reported on the need to monitor equipment failures for replacement. He talked of the importance of maintaining adequate substation capacities and of the need to anticipate future load growth to ensure that we have the resources when needed. Bill Switzer spoke of rates and how Fort Collins rates compare to other Utilities, how the Utility is regulated, and how rates are designed. He stated the Utilities rate objectives are to be simple, accurate and cost effective and that rates are monitored by the City Council. He spoke of various rates, commenting that for the most part the residential class is very predictable. He explained how customers are charged and talked about the coincident peak rate. He stated that Fort Collins' rates are competitive. They are at the low end of the price scale, and are fair and reasonable. Gary Schroeder reported on demand side management activities. He clarified that demand side management means everything on the customer side of the meter including conservation, efficiency and load management. He spoke of the Hot Shot Program and reported that there are approximately 2,000 customers. He explained ZILCH loans (zero interest) and how they are used to help customers make their homes more energy efficient by installing windows, insulation, furnaces etc. He spoke of the Energy Score Program, noting that energy scores were performed on approximately 80 homes last year, many of them to qualify for the ZILCH program. He spoke of the numerous demand side management programs the Utilities offer, and reported that one project they are currently working on is providing energy code support for the Building and Zoning Department. Lori Clements -Grote gave a brief report on the history and the progress on the Wind Power Program. She explained that the program is subscription based, with customers paying a premium price. She reported that currently there are approximately 800 residential customers and 29 commercial subscribers. Electric Board Minutes February 27, 2002 Page 3 John Bleem responded to questions and stated that if TOT3 is constrained then turbines would have to shut down and stated that TOT3 constraints account for less than a 10 percent loss of electricity production from the wind turbines. He stated that a pilot program with Western Power Authority which will be renegotiated next year. He stated that if the wind program werer to be expanded, new turbines would be sited northwest of Rawhide. Barbara asked about the maximum number of turbines at one site. John stated that the current contract allows for two more. The contract guarantees delivery until 2024, but does not guaranty the price. He stated that the site has transmission constraints. Barbara asked how many turbines could be added at Rawhide. John said that it was speculated a dozen turbines could be added, but noted that the demand is currently down. He stated that they should have a number by the third quarter of this year. Guy asked when a decision to grow had to be made. John stated that staff proposed to the Platte River Board to purchase one combustion turbine and consider building a turbine over the next year or so. The Platte River Board needs to make a formal decision. Mike Smith stated that the Board needs to consider the risk of constructing a gas turbine on the site, because of the cost. John stated we will have enough of a purchase equivalent in 2006 to purchase one combustion turbine and it would take five to six years to construct the turbine. Alison asked about programs for alternative energy supply and how aggressively Platte River is looking at such options. Barbara asked what would happen if Platte River were told they could not build another fossil fuel coal fired plant. John responded to questions regarding no future fossil fuel fired plants. He said that the cost and liability of such a course of action would be great. He stated that distributed generation is very expensive right now and talked of possible hydro projects. The Board discussed the reasons for the power shortages in California stating that deregulation contributed to those outages and shortages. John briefly explained aggregated rates and costs and stated that incremental capacity is lower and incremental energy is higher. He stated that costs are approximately $500 a kW to buy a gas turbine, $1200 for a wind turbine and $1500 for coal. Electric Board Minutes February 27, 2002 Page 4 Richard asked for information regarding the different costs for the different resources. Bill Switzer stated that cost of service varies each year. Staff and the Board discussed the numerous ways that it has tried to inform and involve the public in conservation measures. Dennis Sumner spoke of the difficulty in judging peak times and of the amount of time it takes to educate customers so that they become aware of their costs. He stated that education effort has been very aggressive and that some customers are very aware and monitor their peak. He stated that some commercial customers have shifted their work hours to adjust their rates. John Bleem stated that Fort Collins is very aggressive in providing pricing incentives to large customers. Mike Smith stated that most of the savings passes through Platte River Power Authority before it gets to us. Dennis Sumner stated that the Hot Shot Program saves the City $100 per year per customer but savings to the customer are limited. Mike Smith stated that the Design Assistance Program has a lot of merit, however, changing attitudes and the habits of residential customers is very difficult and commented that Building Inspection has added additional staff. Gary Schroeder reported that Natural Resources has received a grant to hold a sustainable design workshop. He spoke of the schools that have been constructed with design assistance standards and noted that the Poudre School District has a sustainable design guideline, which he thinks may be the first in the country. He stated the average elementary school use is $.42 per sq. ft. per year for air, gas and electric and the new schools are projected to be at $.30. He stated the cost to build was not more expensive using the design program. Richard questioned how we could achieve no additional CO2 growth in the next twenty years? John Bleem spoke of the technology expense in testing the possibility of achieving no additional CO2 growth in the next 20 years. He responded to questions regarding growth curves noting that they appear to have slowed down since the economy has slowed down. He stated they would know more after the summer months. Barbara suggested that the Board read the Water Board Resolution to help them understand what was being asked of them. Mike Smith responded to questions regarding E-mail messages and suggested all E-mail correspondence be sent to DeEtta, Wendy, Mike, and Bob. Electric Board Minutes February 27, 2002 Page 5 Alison reported that she spoke to the people at Public Technology, Inc. and was told of grant funds available to pay expenses for either staff or a Board member to attend an upcoming conference in Arizona. Mike Smith stated that staff would call SMUD and provide the Board with information. He commented the Natural Resources Department might have additional information and he would check with them. He stated that he would look into subscriptions for Public Power Weekly for all Board members. It was decided that the Board would meet Monday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m., to brainstorm various ideas and the following dates were set by the Board to meet: March 20th April 17th May 1 st June 5th June 26th Adiournment The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. DeEtta Carr, Electric Board Liaison