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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 04/19/1995Minutes to be Approved by the Board at the May 31, 1995 Meeting FORT COLLINS ELECTRIC BOARD MEETING MINUTES April 19, 1995, 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Present: John Allum, Jeff Eighmy, Mark Fidrych, Barbara Rutstein, and Richard Smart BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Bill Brayden and Jim Welch STAFF PRESENT: Ellen Alward, Don Botteron, Al Boushee, Delynn Coldiron, Eric Dahlgren, John DeHaes, Ron King, Bob Kost, Jon McHugh, Tim Sagen, Rich Shannon, Dennis Sumner, and Doug Swartz. OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Dahl, Walter Lichtenwalter (Electric Board Candidate), Felix Lee (Director of Building Permits and Zoning), Wayne Buhhg (Director of the Larimer County Weatherization Program), Mike Sutton (Chair of the Building Review Board), and Dennis Ross. BOARD LIAISONS: Council Liaison -- Alan Apt Staff Liaison -- Don Botteron APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A Motion was made by Board Member Rutstein to approve the minutes. Board Member Allum seconded the Motion. The Motion passed unanimously and the minutes from the March 22, 1995 meeting were approved. 2. CUSTOMER APPEAL ON STREETLIGHTING: Staff was able to reach a compromise with this customer, and the appeal was withdrawn. Board Members interested in details can contact Al Boushee, or an update on this item can be scheduled for a future meeting. -1- COUNCIL WORK SESSION DISCUSSION: Rich asked for feedback from Board Members on the Council work session. Council seemed very appreciative of the work done by the Board. Board Members and staff were encouraged by the quality of the questions being asked by Council, and their substantive discussion. Chairperson Smart did a great job of stating the Board's position and summarizing at the end. This item is scheduled for the May 2nd Council Meeting, and is currently listed on the agenda as a consent item. Staff will alert Council that Chairperson Smart will be in attendance to speak on this issue, if any citizens request discussion on this item. All Board Members were invited to attend. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. 4. ENERGY CODE -- PROPOSED CHANGES: Introduction: Doug Swartz briefly reviewed some of the activity surrounding this issue. He and Jon McHugh have been working with Building Inspection, the Larimer County weatherization program, various Boards and Commissions, developers, builders, and others, on changes to the Building Code. He mentioned that residential and commercial codes have now been separated. The Model Energy Code has been used as a basis for the residential code, although work on the residential code quickly strayed from the Model Energy Code due to its confusing language, the challenge of justifying the cost of changes due to the low energy costs in this area, and the need to further explore issues around the complexity of homes and energy. ASHRAE 90.1 has been used as the basis for the commercial code. Residential Code: Work on the residential code is moving forward. Research is showing that homes are quite complex, and should be looked at as a whole system — codes tend to look at things too simplistically. Information obtained from the weatherization program experience is being used in the development of recommendations. They have firsthand knowledge of the types of residential problems people are experiencing, and have refined procedures to address these problems. Some of the problems people are experiencing include: air leakage, duct leakage, poor insulation quality, mechanical systems that work improperly, and unsafe combustion. Doug offered some insight on code rationale and the idea of putting together a comprehensive package as a way to assure that better buildings are built (ordinance + support activities). He talked about prescriptive code changes, performance testing to assure major energy systems are working properly, self inspection and disclosure, and full building analysis (Energy Score). The support activities discussed included training, educational materials, and evaluation (the State Office of Energy Conservation has agreed to help with funding for this effort on the order of $75,000 to $90,000). Doug also discussed some of the "gray issues" that are being evaluated to determine if they belong in the code or should remain training or research topics. -2- Commercial Code: Jon McHugh reported on work being done on the commercial code. He reviewed the benefits of having an energy code, and mentioned that a separate energy code for commercial buildings is necessary due to the differing loads characteristic of commercial buildings. He mentioned that commercial buildings should not be considered as "big houses." Energy requirements for commercial buildings focus around internal loads (lights, people, equipment, etc.) and cooling loads. Residential loads are quite different. Jon talked about cost-effective measures that would not pose a hardship on builders/owners if done during building construction, and emphasized the importance of providing assistance to our customers to educate them on these types of issues to avoid future lost opportunities. The cost-effective measures discussed included efficient motors, lighting efficiency and control requirements, minimum wall and roof insulation, maximum wall -window ratios, efficient mechanical equipment, and performance testing and balancing of larger mechanical systems. Next Jon discussed some recommendations on follow-up procedures, including documentation with a practical focus for non -engineers, code compliance checklists, lighting compliance software, training sessions for code compliance, and the need for additional Building Inspection staff during the transition period. General Discussion: Felix provided an overview of the process that has been used to date. He mentioned that a committee was formed nearly two years ago to work on these issues. The public review process started in January, 1995 with the development of two review committees; one for residential issues and one for non-residential issues. These committees were made up of a broad spectrum of individuals to ensure adequate expertise, and to ensure that the diverse needs and interests of involved parties were addressed. There was discussion on the politics surrounding the proposed code changes, on the possibility of making training on code issues a requirement of builder certification, and additional discussion on performance testing. There was also discussion on continuing problems being detected in homes, by the County weatherization crew, with air infiltration and heating systems. A concern of the weatherization staff is that the same problems are being found in 5 year old homes, as in 45 year old homes, indicating that these problems are "built in." Education and changes to the code should facilitate addressing these types of issues. There is a resistance to change in the building community. The intent of staff is to present code changes to the public in a proactive way, and to make compliance with the code as easy as possible. The average builder and consumer are generally not aware of the new issues being addressed in the code recommendation. Training is imperative and will be a key to making code enforcement primarily administrative. Code training is currently scheduled for this fall. A public open house on proposed changes to the Code is scheduled for April 26th, in the CIC room at City Hall. Board Members were invited to attend. A final draft of the code proposal will be circulated to the Electric Board for review before it goes to City Council. Board Members were asked to think in terms of the direction that has been received from City Council on where the City should be moving in the areas of energy efficiency and demand side management, to assure that the Code changes being proposed meet the intent of that policy direction. This issue is currently scheduled to go before Council on June 20th, but may be postponed based on other staff priorities. Felix acknowledged Mike Sutton, Chair of the Building Review Board, and thanked him for the work that has been done on code changes by his Board. PRPA/R.W. BECK -- STRATEGIC PLANNING STUDY ALTERNATIVES Rich mentioned that R.W. Beck has been retained by the Platte River Board to look at areas revealed during Platte River's business planning process that would be difficult for Platte River or the Utility to study objectively. Study Area 1 -- Looked at whether or not it makes sense for Platte River to shrink. This area studied whether or not in makes sense for Platte River to continue in the generation business, and considered the potential that the cost of power could plunge enough to make owning a power plant more of a liability than an asset. The option of selling all generation and having Platte River assume the role of a commodity broker was explored. Study Area 2 -- Looked at whether or not it makes sense for Platte River to grow. In the competitive arena, there may be added safety in size. Options explored included Platte River adding generation assets (assuming there is a need for additional generation), Platte River merging with the four member Cities and becoming a single utility, Platte River purchasing member Cities' distribution systems, and Platte River merging with other like entities, i.e., another joint action agency that has many municipal utilities that they serve. Study Area 3 -- Looked at what the competition is likely to be doing in the area of energy services and how this issue should be viewed in the future. R.W. Beck is generating write-ups on each of the issues, once discussion has been completed. The write-ups are not expected to be in depth, but will provide enough information for the Platte River Board to determine those items they want R. W. Beck to spend more time on. Staff intends to share these write-ups with the Board as they are received. There was discussion on how involved the other member cities are in this process. There was also discussion on the need for a State election or constitutional change before substantial changes could be realized. It was mentioned that bond resolutions would also have to be re-evaluated before substantial changes could take place. It was suggested that the City consider doing an analysis, similar to what is being done by R.W. Beck for Platte River, particularly with regard to the City's relationship with Platte River. There was some concern about not knowing what the effects on the City would be if Platte River implemented any of the changes currently being examined. There was some feeling that it is important to protect the interest of the Utility so that Platte River won't propose and implement something that limits the Utility's options. Board Members -4- were concerned that if separating from Platte River at some point in the future is in the Utility's best interest, a plan be in place that would enable the Utility to continue on as a separate public entity. There was some feeling that if the work done through the business planning process for the Utility shows that there are advantages for the Utility to remain connected to Platte River, this would provide the needed assurance to suggest even more cohesiveness between the two, not excluding becoming one entity. Rich mentioned that any significant issues that Platte River is considering will require many in depth discussions of staff, the Board, City Council, etc. It was also mentioned that the focus of Platte River in this process is to see what beneficial impact these issues will have for the owners of Platte River. There is no reason for Platte River to do things independently as a separate entity. Platte River is committed to making decisions that will benefit the four member cities. Rich mentioned that the Utility is also in the process of creating a business plan. As part of the Utility's business plan efforts the question of Light and Power's future relationship with Platte River will be explored. Dennis Sumner and Paul Folger are primary staff that have been assigned full-time to lead business planning efforts. Eric Dahlgren has been assigned to support this work on a half-time basis. The Utility has also hired a consultant, John Wappner, to serve as project consultant and process facilitator. John will report directly to Rich and provide process guidance to the Strategic Planning Team. Management staff, plus a couple of other employees are also involved. It is anticipated that this effort will take approximately eight months. Due to the rapid pace of change in the electric utility industry, it is likely this strategic planning process will be cyclical -- a new cycle may begin after the first effort is completed, or at least every few years thereafter. During this first round, a process will be developed and a vision created that will suggest what the industry might look like in the near future, and give direction on how the Utility plans to compete. The vision will set out the changes that are necessary for the Utility to move in its desired direction, and will set out the specifics of what these changes mean in terms of who we are as a distribution entity, as an energy services entity, etc. This first round will provide the benchmarks that can be modified in the future, as we go through the process again. With each iteration, details will be added around the areas the Utility is moving toward. In response to a question, Rich mentioned that the numbers shown on the New Rate Impact graph from Platte River's business plan are cumulative and reflect that Platte River will loose revenue if it looses customers. This has prompted discussions on whether we are going to have a centralized or decentralized approach to meeting customers' expectations. The Platte River Board has directed Platte River to hire someone with a marketing background to enable us to create a marketing plan that meets the needs of customers. There was some discussion of Thaine's participation at the Council Work Session. There was some surprise on behalf of Board Members that he was there. Rich's perspective is that Light and Power and Platte River are inseparable entities. It is critical that Thaine know everything our City Council thinks about this subject. Fort Collins City Council -5- members are Thaine's customers. He needs to be involved in any of their discussions related to this subject, if possible. This is a major change in the way Platte River has done business in the past. Platte River seems to have shifted their view of their customers and are being more attentive to the Cities. There seems to be a greater realization from Platte River and the member cities on how connected we all are. There was brief discussion on how aggressive municipal entities should become in light of this new competitive era. There was also discussion on the fact that customers are the driving force behind changes. They are demanding choices. An important role of the Board in this process will be educating the Community of the value of having a municipal utility, so that if an outside entity would come in and make an offer to buy the utility, the Community is informed and Council will be in a position to make a decision that is in the best interest for our Community. 6. AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOARD REQUEST RE: ON/OFF CONNECTION FEES UPDATE: Don briefly reviewed this issue. Staff researched the current process used for on/off connections. The process has changed since the fee structure was created. There are only a few circumstances where we actually visit the premises twice. Over a year ago, we started leaving "green" tags on customers doors, and in over 90% of the cases, these tags negate a return visit. In most cases, we are not turning meters off, only reading the meter and transferring the account to the next owner/tenant. Staff intends to report back to the Affordable Housing Task Force and will propose a decrease in this fee. There is a potential that we will offer two levels of service. Our current price fee for this is $15.87. Preliminary numbers are coming out at approximately $10.25 (based on today's prices rather than three year old prices). Staff anticipates that this will go to Council as part of the Fee Adjustment Ordinance during the'96 budget process. This gives us approximately 3-4 months to do the necessary work. At this point, an appeal to the Board on this issue is no longer anticipated. 7. PRPA DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND PRINCIPLES DISCUSSION: Rich mentioned that some follow up work has been done on the Ceres Principles that were provided by Board Member Welch. Platte River used these as the base for their proposed Environmental Policy and Principles, which will be going to the Platte River Board at their next meeting. Electric Board Members approved of this. STAFF REPORTS: EMF Study: Light and Power is currently working with CSU on basic EMF research. Four employees per week wear a fanny pack containing a meter that registers light and measures magnetic field exposure. Dennis reminded everyone that the purpose of the study is to research the 0 E effects that daylight and low frequency electro-magnetic fields have on the body's ability to produce melatonin, a hormone related to the immune system. 9. INFORMATIONAL REQUESTS: None. 10. OTHER BUSINESS: Don provided Board Members with a memo from Mayor Azari regarding 1996 City Budget Preparation. The memo is asking for feedback by May 8. This is particularly of interest for those General Fund departments that have to compete for funds. Council likes to be forewarned of the "hot issues" that will be competing for funding in October. Staff is not anticipating any "hot issues" for the'96 budget, and intends to share preliminary budget information with the Board at the next meeting. In response to a question about potential rate increases, it was mentioned that no rate increases are being projected until 1997. 11. AGENDA: Preliminary '96 Budget Information Energy Services Update Energy Code Update Update on Council Action on the Light and Power Resolution Feedback on Platte River work Overview of Light and Power's Strategic Planning Efforts ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m. Del Coldiron, Board Secretary -7-