HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 03/24/2004City Council Liaison
Ray Martinez
Staff Liaison
Leslie Mooney 416-2703
Fort Collins Utilities Electric Board Minutes
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Electric Board Chairman Electric Board Vice Chairman
Alison Mason 493-1295 Jeff Lebesch 221-0543
Roll Call:
Board Present
Vice Chairperson Jeff Lebesch, Board members Tracy Babst-Wiedenbrug, Dan Bihn, Jassen
Bowman, John Harris and Lisa Skolds
Absent: Chairperson Alison Mason
Visitor: Rick Cohen
Staff Present:
Patty Bigner, Bill Bray, DeEtta Carr, Eric Dahlgren, Suzanne Jarboe Simpson, Leslie Mooney,
John Phelan, Tom Rock, Gary Schroeder, Mike Smith, Dennis Sumner, Doug Swartz and
Wendy Williams
Meeting Convened
Vice Chairperson Jeff Lebesch called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Board member Dan Bihn made a motion, seconded by Board member Lisa Skolds to approve the
minutes of the January 21, 2004 meeting as written. The motion passed unanimously.
Introduction of New Board member
Vice Chairperson Lebesch asked new Board member John Harris to introduce himself to the
Board.
John stated that he is a professional engineer and currently works for Calpine Corporation which
is an independent power producer. He previously spent nine years working in Phoenix and six
years with Public Service in New Mexico so he has approximately 20 years experience in power
generation. He earned his degree from New Mexico State University.
Electric Board Meeting Minutes
March 24, 2004
Page 2
The Board members each gave a brief description of their backgrounds.
Demand Side Management Presentations
John Phelan, Energy Services Engineer, gave the new members of the Board a brief update of the
City's demand side management programs. He then introduced speakers Jim Parks from
Sacramento, California and Mathew Northway from Eugene, Oregon to the Board. They both
manage demand side management programs in their respective cities.
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Jim Parks, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency and Customer Research and Development, gave
some history of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). SMUD has around a 900
square mile service territory and is governed by a seven member Board of directors who are
elected by the voters of Sacramento. They are a summer peaking facility which generates
approximately 2800 mega watts during the summer months. He stated that SMUD's original
energy efficiency budget was approximately 3.7% of 1994 revenues and each dollar spent on
energy efficiency brought $2.11 back to the community. He highlighted Energy Star lighting for
residential customers, the shade tree and refrigerator recycling programs as some of the programs
offered to conserve electricity.
Board member Tracy Babst-Wiedenbrug asked how they marketed their programs. Jim replied
that they use radio, newspapers, flyers, rebates, retailers and training with salespeople to promote
energy efficiency appliances. They also use some measurement verification techniques to
convince customers to use more efficient appliances.
Board member Bowman asked how the solar hot water program works. Jim stated they have had
a program for many years where they offer financing and have contractors install the solar hot
water system in customer's homes. He said they have about five to ten per year and are ready to
quit doing the installations but still offer financing.
Eugene Water and Electric Board
Mathew Northway, is the Energy Management Service Department Manager for the Eugene
Water & Electric Board (EWEB), a municipal utility separate from city government. It was
founded in 1911 and is owned by the citizens of Eugene and is governed by a five member
citizen's board. He described the history of the utility up until the present. Approximately 5% of
revenues are spent per year on demand side management programs, with savings of
approximately $103,000,000 in wholesale power bill savings since 1982. He stated that they
focus on the cost effectiveness of each program. Ideally, the goal is to recover the money back
within the year, but sometimes it takes two years or more to see a return on the investment.
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Electric Board Meeting Minutes
March 24, 2004
Page 3
Board member Tracy Babst-Wiedenbrug asked Mr. Northway what demand side management
programs he would recommend implementing first in Fort Collins. He replied that home
retrofitting, new home construction and solar or renewable resources would be a good start and
would reap the most savings.
The Board thanked both speakers for their presentations.
Other Business
Vice Chairman Jeff Lebesch reminded the Board of the retreat scheduled for April 6, 2004 at
5:30 p.m. at New Belgium Brewing Company.
The next regular meeting will be held on April 21, 2004 at 5:00 p.m.
Adjourn
Board member Jason Bowman made a motion, seconded by Board member Lisa Skolds to
adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
COJO
DeEtta Carr, Executive Administrative Assistant
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