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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 06/14/2001BOARD PRESENT: Guy Helme, Ginger Purvis, Barbara Rutstein, Richard Smart - Vice Chairperson STAFF PRESENT: Mike Smith, Wendy Williams, Lori Clements -Grote, Eric Dahlgren, Kim Vondy-Secretary DeEtta Carr — Staff Liaison GUESTS: Eric Hamrick - Council Liaison, Lu Fisk - League of Women Voters CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order by Vice -Chairperson Richard Smart at 5:12 p.m. Council Liaison Eric Hamrick was welcomed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Barbara Rutstein motioned to approve the minutes with several minor changes. Ginger Purvis seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Eric Hamrick stated that Council has selected two candidates for the Board and one is yet to be interviewed. New members could be in attendance as early as the next board meeting. WIND POWER: Lori Clements -Grote gave the Board a brief update on the Wind Program and shared an overhead entitled "Total Wind Production and Wind Sales." The Pilot program officially ended May 1" and almost 80% of original pioneers resubscribed. Since March, almost 50 new customers have subscribed, including two businesses. New Belgium has committed to purchasing an additional 40%. Tours of the wind site will be offered July 13, July 27 and August 10. Please call Lori Clements -Grote if interested. Electric Board Minutes June 14, 2001 Page 2 ELECTRIC BOARD WORK PLAN Richard Smart explained that the work plan is put together annually. Eric Hamrick asked if the plan includes a focus on conservation efforts. Richard responded that he felt conservation is included in Demand Side Management Activities. Eric Hamrick added that he would like to see more emphasis on conservation. He stated that he didn't think Council was aware of some of the conservation measures. He added that he would probably suggest that the Board look at the Building Code and possibly recommend changes. Wendy Williams added that building awareness through education is sometimes more effective than code revisions. With all the building that has been going on, it has been difficult to ensure code compliance. Guy Hehne brought up the issue of radon, pointing that if a home is too well sealed for energy reasons, it could be a "sick home." Homes built on a crawl space with a duct system underneath are potentially a concern as radon could be re -circulated back into the home. He would like more discussion on this issue at another meeting. ROLE OF BOARD Ginger Purvis asked that the Board discuss their role, specifically their charge "To advise the City Council on policy matters pertaining to the municipal electric system." She observed that the Board is not making progress on working through their work plan and asked for staff input as to what issues the Board should review. Ginger stated that agenda items should be related to the work plan, and should be prioritized. The Board keeps rehashing deregulation and while at one time it was a big issue, she thinks the Board should be looking at other issues. Guy Helme agreed, adding that he would like to see the Board focus on items they can do something about. He noted that he is concerned that the Board seems unsure as to what they should be doing. Mike Smith responded that he thought it would help if the Board set agendas for three or four meetings ahead of time. Richard Smart asked whether, whatever Platte River elects to do for base load, the City could have an aggressive conservation program to reduce our peak loads. Mike Smith responded that this could be included as a future agenda item. At this point, staff is looking at how air conditioners affect peak demand during the summer. This will be reviewed with the Board. Mike Smith recommended that the Board review the budget in July, as it goes to Council in October. Staff could also discuss rates. PROJECTED SUMMER USE Hand out in packet. Mike Smith stated that Platte River's goal is to build a plant with no rate impact to the member cities by selling excess power. That's what they did with Rawhide and that was how they were able to keep the rates so low. Mike noted that once Platte River comes up with a plan, he will share it with the Board. Electric Board Minutes June 14,2001 Page 3 The Board discussed the benefits of providing energy audits. Guy Helme asked whether it might be cost effective to have a couple of energy auditors on staff. Mike Smith stated that not all demand management practices are cost effective. Barbara Rutstein suggested that avoided cost should be part of the discussion, while it may cost a little more to do energy audits, it would cost a lot more to build a power plant. The July meeting will focus on the budget, rates and Demand Side Management. In August, staff will present the findings of the "New Home Study" and have a follow-up Budget Review. Election of officers will be delayed until after the new members are appointed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m. The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 15, 2001 at 5 p.m. in the Utilities Training Room, 700 Wood Street, Fort Collins, Colorado.