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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 01/17/1996r Council Liaison: Alan Apt Staff Liaison: Don Botteron Chairperson: Mark Fidrych Phone: 490-7240 (W) 223-7140 (H) Vice Chair: Jeff Eighmy Phone: 491-5784 (W) 223-9487 (H) A regular meeting of the Fort Collins Electric Board was held on Wednesday, January 17, 1996, in the Light and Power Training Room, at 700 Wood Street, Ft. Collins. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: JeffEighmy, Mark Fidrych, Len Loomans, Barbara Rutstein, and Jim Welch BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Brayden and Richard Smart STAFF PRESENT: Ellen Alward, Don Botteron, Delynn Coldiron, Eric Dahlgren, John DeHaes, Suzanne Jarboe - Simpson, Ron King, Jon McHugh, Tom Rock, Rich Shannon, Dennis Sumner, Lilly Tellez- Garcia and Steve VanderMeer. OTHERS PRESENT: None BOARD LIAISONS: Council Liaison -- Alan Apt Staff Liaison -- Don Botteron 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes were amended to add Board Member Welch to the listing of absent Board Members. A Motion was made by Board Member Eighmy to approve the Minutes as amended. Board Member Loomans seconded the Motion. The Motion passed unanimously and the amended Minutes from the November 29, 1995 meeting were approved. 2. GOVERNANCE: Rich mentioned that a study session regarding governance has been scheduled with City Council for February 27th. Electric Board members were invited to join. In lieu of a Recommendation, Rich has prepared a number of questions addressing governance issues that he anticipates will be forwarded to the Charter Review Committee for consideration. The results from Board discussions on desirable governance characteristics and the information obtained by researching alternate governance models, were used as the basis for these questions. The purpose of the study session on the 27th is to get direction from City Council on whether or not the list of questions clearly identifies the major issues that should be addressed by the Charter Review Committee, and whether or not there are any other issues Council wants to include for consideration by that Committee. Rich asked Board Members for feedback on the information he would be sharing with Council. Board Members liked the introductory material that was presented. It was suggested that there be greater emphasis on the role of the Utility and more detailed information regarding the changes that are occurring in the industry. Board Members had no changes or suggestions to the questions and thought they adequately covered the major issues that need to be addressed. There was some discussion about the roles of the Charter Review Committee and the Electric Board regarding the deregulation issue. The Charter Review Committee will be looking at several issues, not just deregulation. There was some concern that they will not have adequate time to "get up to speed" on the industry and the changes resulting from deregulation. Board Members considered whether or not it makes sense to send the Charter Review Committee information outlining various governance options with a recommendation from the Board on the governance option that seems to make the most sense for the Utility. There was some uncertainty about when or if this should be done. At this point, it is not clear whether or not the Charter Review Committee will address individual issues as a whole, or break into smaller subcommittees, etc., but it is anticipated that they will rely heavily on the expertise of the Electric Board when they begin studying the governance issue. There was some question as to whether the role of the Charter Review Committee will involve actually determining the appropriate form of governance for the Utility, or will only involve making recommendations to Council for necessary charter changes that would allow for a change in governance structure, based on a recommendation from the Electric Board. There will be opportunity to get clarification —from Councilon the role of the Charter Review Committee at the study session scheduled for the 27th. Board Members will readdress the issue of sending a recommendation to the Charter Review Committee sometime after the Council study session. Board Members briefly discussed how they wanted to proceed with this issue. It was suggested that a good way for Board Members to obtain first-hand knowledge on how alternate governance structures function, would be to attend board meetings from entities that have alternate governance structures, i.e., Poudre Fire Authority; Eugene, Oregon -2- 0 0 Utility; Colorado Springs Utility, etc., and spend some informal time with their board members to obtain feedback on what works, what doesn't, etc. Board Members will explore this suggestion further, and plan to devote a majority of the next meeting to defining the Board's role in the governance process, to determining the direction the Board is headed on this issue, and to developing goals and necessary process procedures that will facilitate obtaining those goals. YEAR END REPORT: Board Members reviewed the draft Annual Report. They had no suggested changes and thought it accurately reflected the activities of the Board. Board Member Rutstein made a motion to approve the Annual Report as submitted. Board Member Eighmy seconded the Motion. The Motion passed unanimously and the Fort Collins Electric Board Annual Report for year end December 31, 1995, was approved. 4. WIND POWER UPDATE: Dennis briefly reviewed the Memorandum that was sent to Board Members regarding Green Resources Update. He made a correction to the paragraph on Solar Energy on the cost of the proposed solar system -- should state the installed cost would be $6 per Watt, or $12,000 for a 2 kW system. Due to business difficulties at Kenetech, they have postponed the project we were considering for the foreseeable future. However, Platte River continues to be responsive to our desire to be able to offer renewable resources to our customers, and is researching alternative projects. Dennis will provide the Board with updates as they become available. Board Members are interested in getting more information on pricing structures for green power, and how the numbers are affected if the resource is firmed by gas, etc. Staff has done a lot of follow up work with Platte River on the figures that were presented to the Board earlier related to the Kenetech projects. Board Members were interested in seeing the revisions that were made as a result of the follow up work. Board Member Welch will work with Dennis to determine how best to present this information. Board Member Welch has been doing some work with the Utility Photovoltaic Group (UPVG). He noted that a national initiative is forming to promote photovoltaic manufacturing. The intent is to provide and install roof -top solar systems for $6 per peak Watt. Dennis explained that there is also a three-way cost sharing arrangement that is being explored where an outside funding source would pay for $2 per peak Watt, the Utility would pay for $2 per peak Watt, and the participant would pay $2 per peak Watt.** Board Member Welch supports this technology and would like for the Board and staff to explore this issue to see whether or not it makes sense for the Utility to participate in this project. It was suggested that it might be beneficial to set up,a couple of demonstration sites in Ft. Collins. -3- Staff will explore this issue further and will get a sense of timeframes, costs, etc., and will report back to the Board. "Note: Since the meeting, Dennis has obtained updated information. The manufacturer involved in this initiative is Solarex, a business unit of Amoco/Enron Solar. The intent is to offer 2,000 Watt and 4,000 Watt systems at $6 per Watt. It is anticipated that UPVG would offer to provide $1 per Watt funding, local utilities would provide $1 per Watt funding, and participants would pay $4 per Watt for the PV systems. 5. STAFF REPORTS: Jon McHugh gave a presentation on the DSM Quarterly Report that was provided in Board packets. Items of note included: A. Commercial/Industrial Lighting: Lighting Design Review: This project has now moved from pilot stage to formal implementation. A marketing brochure has been completed and the initial target market will be project managers who submit their projects for conceptual review at the City Planning Department. CLIP incentives/loans are available for those customers who have participated in a Lighting Design Review. This program can also be used in support of other lighting efficiency programs and funding sources that are available. CSU Occupancy Sensor Study: The pre -installation study has been completed which measured the amount of time the lights were on in fifty rooms, including classrooms, bathrooms and conference areas. One-third of the 50 sensors have been installed. A lot of useful information has been collected regarding ease of installation of the sensors, energy savings realized, and the impact sensors have on people with hearing aides. City Facilities Lighting: A policy has been implemented to replace existing magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts, when they fail. A present worth analysis showed this to be the lowest cost option for the City. Staff is also working on a proposal for cost -sharing with other City departments interested in lighting quality upgrades. B. Commercial/Industrial Lost Opportunities: Integrated Building Design: Staff has been involved with a number of projects, including the City Stormwater Facility, the CSU Environmental Learning Center, the Neenan Company new headquarters building, the Front Range/Fort Collins Joint Use Library, and the Value Plastics facility. Future projects may include the Latimer County Courthouse, the Downtown Civic Center and Light & Power's Building C remodel. ME 0 • Commercial Building Code: The new City Energy Code was adopted on December 5, 1995. Enforcement will begin on July 1, 1996. Staff will be assisting the Building Department with creating user guides, compliance check lists, etc. Training workshops will also be developed. Residential Building Code: The Residential Energy Code also passed. A $90,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Energy Conservation was awarded to the Building Department to help put together user guides, training, and house testing. C. Large Customer Energy Audits: An Energy Audit was completed for Symbios Logic. It identified potential cost-effective conservation savings of $56,000 per year savings on energy and water costs. The modifications suggested by the report will decrease their energy consumption by 1 million kWh per year, and will reduce their energy demand by 125 kW. Their consumption of water will be reduced by 6.9 million gallons. Woodward Governor is scheduled for an energy audit sometime in January, and Hewlett-Packard sometime in February. D. Large C/I Peak Clipping: This program remains on hold pending Platte River rate changes. Anheuser-Busch has funds available to expand their peak shaving program, but, this program is also on hold pending Platte River rate changes. E. Demonstration Projects: Light & Power contributed $900 in additional to the $94,000 Community Development Block Grant for high performance glazing upgrades at the DMA Plaza. F. Platte River Large Customer Needs Assessment: Jon has been working with Platte River to help develop a plan for servicing our large customers. Loss of any of our large customers would impact all of Platte River's member cities. A survey of our large customers found that they value additional energy and customer services. All member cities have been encouraged to provide as many services as seems appropriate. Platte River is supporting these efforts. We are starting to see some great results from the pilot programs that have been implemented. It is gratifying to know that our customers appreciate these added services. Staff is working on some new DSM programs and will share these with the Board in the future. Board Members offered cudos to staff for all their efforts!! 6. INFORMATION REQUESTS: None -5- 7. OTHER BUSINESS: Deregulation Infommercial Board Members viewed the infommercial that was produced regarding electric utility industry deregulation. This infommercial is being aired on Channel 27 at various times throughout the day. Agenda: City Council Study Session --Board's role/Process recommendation Renewable Energy Resources --Selection criteria Telecommunications Policy Introduction Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m. Delym Coldiron, Board Secretary in