Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 01/16/2008Fort Collins Utilities Electric Board Minutes Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Electric Board Chairperson City Council Liaison John Morris, 377-8221 Wade Troxell Electric Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Dan Bihn, 218-1962 Olivia Brown, 221-6700 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson John Morris, Dan Bihn, John Harris, Steve Wolley and Jeff Lebesch Absent John Graham and Tom Bamish Staff Present Brian Janonis, Patty Bigner, Terri Bryant, Dana Leavitt, Tom Rock, Ellen Switzer, Dennis Sumner, Eric Dahlgren, Brad Burke, Kraig Bader, Doug Swartz, Norm Weaver, DeEtta Carr and Olivia Brown Guests Mike Gebo, Building Codes Services Manager and Eric Sutherland Meetin¢ Convened Chairperson John Morris called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Citizen Participation Eric Sutherland of Fort Collins questioned the value of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in addressing climate change, renewable energy and reducing resource depletion. He encouraged the Electric Board, Fort Collins Utilities and Platte River Power Authority to continue the discussion of the cost benefit analysis of RECs. Minutes of December 5, 2007 Board Member Steve Wolley motioned to approve the minutes from the December 5, 2007, meeting. Board Member John Harris seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously. 2006 International Building Code — Amendments Mike Gebo, Building Codes Services Manager with Neighborhood and Building Services, presented on the 2006 International Building Code (IBC). He is proposing that the City adopt the 2006 IBC and the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to replace the current code, the 1997 Uniform Building Code with local amendments that were adopted in 1998. The State of Colorado has mandated all jurisdictions adopt at least the 2003 IECC by July 2008. Electric Board Minutes January 16, 2008 Page 2 Adopting the 2006 IECC will conserve energy and keep City code in compliance with state law, because it actually exceeds the 2003 IECC. He shared a handout that compares the current commercial energy code to the 2006 IECC. This code increases insulation values and decreases Watts allowed for general illumination. Another significant change from the current building code is the promotion of fire -suppression systems (sprinklers) rather than fire -resistive construction, which only delays the spread of fire. When asked by Utilities Executive Director Brian Janonis about the possibility of adding local amendments to the new code, Mr. Gebo said he believes it will be relatively easy to do if the need arises. A committee comprised of architects, engineers, developers, Larimer County Building Department, Poudre Fire Authority, Building Review Board members and City staff convened in August 2006 to review the IBC. The committee members agreed to amend the IBC as little as possible for consistency across jurisdictions along the Front Range. Board Member Steve Wolley supports the adoption of the 2006 IBC and IECC, but wants Fort Collins to continue to adopt local amendments as needed in order to be on the cutting edge of energy conservation. This code establishes a minimum standard that must be met by all builders; LEED° (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited builders can differentiate themselves in the market based on higher standards. Mr. Gebo has presented to the Affordable Housing Board, Commission on Disability, and Planning and Zoning. He will also present to Natural Resources, Building Review Board and Air Quality before the upcoming City Council work session. After Mr. Gebo's presentation on the 2006 International Building Code to the Electric Board, Board Member Steve Wolley motioned to support adoption of the new code. Board Member Jeff Lebesch seconded the motion, and it was unanimously passed by the Electric Board. Fall Lighting Program — Preliminary Results Energy Services Engineer Doug Swartz reported on the 2007 Residential Lighting Program. The program began as a pilot in 2005, with full-fledged implementation in 2006. Interestingly, Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) adopted the Fort Collins program and has expanded it to all four of the PRPA owner -cities in 2007. The goal is to try to change habits on both the supply and demand sides. The program was open to all retailers interested in participating and included both locally owned and big box retailers. The annual program kicks off near the beginning of October and runs through mid -December. Typically, the Utilities offer a discount of $.50 to $2 per compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), with a focus on ENERY STAR® bulbs for easy recognition and uniformity in standards. LED holiday lights were also discounted and turn -in events for old, but still working conventional light strings, offered an additional $2 coupon for a new string of LED lights. In-store promotions and educational events offered an opportunity for consumer education. Energy Services Administrator Tiana Jennings made weekly visits to stores to establish standards for the stock, promotion and sales reporting, which is key to the success of the program. Customer demand, retailer confidence, local stock and variety of products offered have all increased. All retailers sold out of the LED holiday lights, including those who had no incentives. The retailers' CFL bulb sales were boosted, too. Even after the incentives ended, the Electric Board Minutes January 16, 2008 Page 3 promotional displays stayed up. One of the local retailers credits this program with an increase in overall business, and another retailer converted a portion of its display lighting to CFLs. The program as a whole costs between a penny and a penny and a half per kilowatt-hour (kWh) saved using conservative assumptions, so it is a very cost-effective DSM strategy. Program costs went down this year because of PRPA's contribution of $133,000 to pay for the CFL incentives and some of the marketing costs. Fort Collins Utilities contributed $51,000 for the LED incentives and marketing for both programs. At this point, the program has helped retailers sell approximately 250,000 bulbs. Plans for the 2008 programs are in progress, and market research may help to make decisions for the program beyond 2008. PRPA just adopted the program, and already are considering a year-round discount program with periodic promotions. Poudre Valley REA is considering joining the program, which would address, to a certain extent, the people who don't live within city limits but have been getting the benefit of the Utilities incentives. Although CFLs last years longer than incandescent bulbs, they do contain small amounts of mercury. Customers are beginning to ask about safe disposal, so Fort Collins Utilities developed a brochure to address the issue. EPA regulations and liability limit the options for disposal. The Latimer County Landfill takes CFLs but is not that convenient for customers. There is a recycling drop-off site in town, but it is unattended, so it is not appropriate for CFL drop offs. Another possibility is to encourage retailers to serve as drop-off sites for used CFL bulbs. The incentive to retailers would be increased foot traffic and the opportunity to become an "environmental hero." The environmental regulations make this a complicated issue. Governor's Energy Office Applications Staff members Doug Swartz, Norm Weaver and Patty Bigner presented information on several initiatives that the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) has introduced to try to accomplish their goals. These programs are open to cities, counties and municipal utilities, but not investor -owned utilities. The GEO will leverage money and provide leadership to get the initiatives going. There are four programs the City of Fort Collins is interested in applying for, including three grants and one partnership. The grants would be for ENERGY STAR New Homes, Insulate and Seal projects and Residential Solar Rebate programs. The partnership would establish a Carbon Fund. GEO will provide up to $25,000 for each grant, if it is matched with money (staff time doesn't count). The deadlines are tight, and the turn -around time for some of the proposals is a matter of weeks. A. ENERGY STAR New Homes — Doug Swartz This program would put a label on a new house, saying it meets ENERGY STAR's standards. ENERGY STAR has very high brand awareness and it would greatly reduce the burden on consumers to research many different standards from different sources. The program would be a multi -year commitment. The Utilities would start by soliciting regional partners. The first year would establish the program's foundation, and the production could begin the following year. Many details still would have to be worked out. B. Insulate and Seal projects — Doug Swartz GEO proposes a 20 percent rebate, maximum $300 per insulation and sealing job ($150 from GEO, $150 from utility), and the homeowner must use an eligible insulation contractor who has gone through a half -day training. Utilities' proposal raises the training standard and proposes tying the I&S program with the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. There is also the idea Electric Board Minutes January 16, 2008 Page 4 to collaborate with gas providers since insulation and sealing generally reduces gas consumption more than electric consumption. C. GEO Solar Grants — Norm Weaver The Utilities has formally responded to the GEO request for interest. This grant would be $25,000 from GEO matched with Utilities' funds to initiate solar rebates for residential customers. Solar electric initiation is expensive, so $50,000 won't go far for the typical rebate levels likely to be offered. The idea is to gather community response, with the desire to create a sustainable program that could be funded after the initial GEO grant has ended. D. CO Carbon Fund — Patty Bigner The idea behind the Colorado Carbon Fund is to offset energy use by investing in a GEO- managed voluntary carbon offset fund. The state would do the administrative piece and local entities would be the "face" of the fund, helping to "brand" it, market it and recruit membership. GEO is looking for local program partners, so the City has formally submitted an interest form for this program, with the goal of a mid -year start date. Not all the details are sorted out yet, but the idea is to determine what energy use or travel you want to offset, calculate the carbon used and invest a set amount in Colorado projects with transparent carbon reduction. Regional Collaboration Mr. Swartz presented on the idea of regional collaboration between utilities in Colorado. This idea is more abstract than the other things he presented on, but it will influence how programs are delivered in the coming years. In Colorado, there are 57 electric utilities. Xcel serves more than half of the market; Fort Collins Utilities serves only 3 percent of the residential customers in the state. The Utilities are seen as leaders in the areas of energy efficiency and renewables, but utilities that have in the past ignored these issues are suddenly very interested in them. As Mr. Swartz mentioned earlier in the meeting when discussing the Utilities' residential lighting program, other utilities are adopting similar programs. Collaboration can be beneficial because markets don't end at city limits or service territories. It provides the opportunity to promote a unified message and obtain savings with economy -of -scale when negotiating with product suppliers and retailers. Collaborating also allows utilities to invest in shared infrastructure (training, supplies) and to share costs and benefits. There are some impediments to collaboration, including control, culture, vision, goals, motivations and resources. However, collaboration on similar programs will help prevent confusion for customers, retailers, suppliers, builders, trades and real estate agents. The Governor's Energy Office initiatives will provide some opportunities to collaborate. There was a conference this past fall called the Colorado Utility Exchange, which brought program -level people together to discuss this idea. Collaboration may not be easy, but it will be essential in the future. Green Building Roadmap This presentation was added to the meeting's agenda. Dana Leavitt, Green Building Program Manager, gave an overview of the City of Fort Collins' Green Building Roadmap, which will facilitate integration of energy code, water conservation, stormwater and development review. Mr. Leavitt is a new staff member at Utilities. He works half time at Utilities and half time at Development Review. Green Building Definition: Green buildings are designed, constructed and operated to provide maximum benefit to people, prosperity and our planet. Green buildings Electric Board Minutes January 16,2008 Page 5 demonstrate a reduced carbon footprint, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste minimization, resource -efficient materials, pollution prevention and improved indoor air quality to conserve natural resources and improve environmental quality —both indoors and out. Green -building practices extend these concepts to the entire built environment for the life cycle of new and existing buildings, the surrounding sites and transit interconnections. The Green Building Roadmap process started approximately 14 months ago. There is good community support, and while the City strives for leadership in many ways, programs and efforts are scattered. There are 45 programs and services related to green building, found in several different departments. The Roadmap project sought guidance from City staff and community stakeholders, conducted a survey of other key cities and organizations, as well as the existing City services and programs. The project used LEED as the research benchmark, although it may not be the green building reference point in the future. Roadmap recommendations were to remove barriers, encourage innovation, reward success and further develop internal capacity. Short-term, mid-term and ongoing objectives were developed for each recommendation. The plans for 2008 are to develop a Green Building Team, create a supporting Web site linked to the various existing programs on the City's site and research City code related to green building. The executive summary and full report from the Green Building Roadmap are available by e-mail from Mr. Leavitt and will be available by download from the Planning Web site within the week. Board Member Dan Bihn encouraged Mr. Leavitt to push for implementation of the Web site within less than six months. The Board expressed approval for the green building effort. Routine Updates PRPA — Dan Bihn DeEtta Carr offered to e-mail the PRPA November Board meeting minutes to all Electric Board members. Climate Task Force — Jeff Lebesch The Climate Task Force has been trying to solidify the list of recommendations for carbon reduction for the City with an eye on the 2010 deadline. Some measures have been approved and will go before City Council, including the ideas of. 1. establishing a local carbon offset fund; 2. raising electric rates by 2 percent and using the funds for on -the -ground renewables, such as solar PV and solar thermal; 3. having a relatively major, but short-term increase, in REC purchases because of the 2010 deadline, with the goal to put that toward wind energy purchases; and 4. having a community -wide climate challenge (e.g. challenging residents to add an average of two CFL lamps per household). Measures that are still up for discussion include: 1. tiered electric rates, which would be a major leverage piece to encourage conservation; and Electric Board Minutes January 16, 2008 Page 6 2. Smart Metering, which has somewhat less support in the Task Force but does approach the Electric Energy Supply Policy's goal of trying to reduce peak demand. The Task Force is also searching for sources of funding for their recommendations. They have come up with a solid set of recommendations and have the opportunity to increase awareness for climate change action. Energy Supply Sub -Committee Update — Dan Bihn and Jeff Lebesch Board Member John Morris suggested this update be moved to next month's agenda. Capital News — Steve Wooley A bill was introduced in the State Legislature that would direct municipal utilities serving 5,000 or more customers to invest 1 percent of sales revenue in the first year and 2 percent in subsequent years in conservation and energy -efficiency programs. The City is already in line with this bill. Mr. Janonis mentioned that Representative Randy Fisher contacted him and asked if Fort Collins supports the bill, to which he responded "yes." Other Business 2007Annual Report — Finalize Board Member John Morris asked for comments on the Annual Report. The Board supported its approval. PRPA's Community and Environmental Report Copies were shared with the Electric Board. Mr. Janonis reminded the Board of the State of the City Address, Tuesday, Jan. 29 at City Hall. All Board Members should have received an invitation in the mail. The Mayor will likely mention the 2l't Century Utility Initiative, a cooperative effort dealing with sustainable utilities. Mr. Janonis offered to report more about this topic next month. Future Agenda Items Energy Supply Policy Sub -committee report Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m., following a motion to adjourn by Board Member Dan Bihn Olivia Brown, Interim Staff Liaison