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HomeMy WebLinkAboutElectric Board - Minutes - 02/20/2008Fort Collins Utilities Electric Board Minutes Wednesday, February 20, 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, Vice Chairperson Dan Bihn, Jeff Lebesch, John Harris, Tom Bamish, and Steve Wolley Absent John Graham City Council Liaison Wade Troxell StaffPresent Brian Janonis, Patty Bigner, Tom Rock, DeEtta Carr, Dennis Sumner, Bob Micek and Olivia Brown Guests Fred Kirsch with Fort Collins Community for Sustainable Energy and Eric Sutherland Meetine Convened Chairperson John Morris called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. Citizen Participation None Minutes of January 16, 2008 Vice Chairperson Dan Bihn motioned to approve the minutes from the January 16, 2008, meeting. Board Member John Harris seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Chair and Vice Chair Elections Vice Chairperson Dan Bihn motioned to retain John Morris as Chairperson of the Electric Board. Board Member Tom Barnish seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Board Member Bamish motioned to retain Dan Bihn as Vice Chairperson. Board Member Harris seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Chairperson Morris encouraged the Electric Board to start the meetings promptly at 5:30 p.m. Electric Board Minutes Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Page 2 Governor's Energy Office ENERGY STAR® New Homes Grant Patty Bigner, Customer and Employee Relations Manager, announced that Fort Collins Utilities received approval from the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) on one proposal submitted. The Utilities received a $25,000 matching grant to support the branding effort for ENERGY STAR New Homes. Because most builders do not limit their work to just Fort Collins, this is a Northern Colorado grant. The first step is to recruit surrounding municipalities and other utilities to participate in the grant for a more coordinated approach. The other grant application the City expects to receive is for Home Performance with ENERGY STAR for Existing Homes. The goal is to include 100 homes per year. Details regarding advertising and eligibility guidelines have not yet been worked out. Participating in this grant will allow the City to develop collaborative efforts with other utility providers as well. Vice Chairperson Bihn commented that the effort will contribute toward the Electric Energy Supply Policy goal to reduce carbon emissions in addition to lowering electric usage. Ms. Bigner also announced the introduction of the program for load control on air conditioners. Postcards are being mailed to customers, and the hope is to install approximately 500 units this year, with funding for 1,000 total. Participating customers will receive a $20 credit on their electric bill over four months in the summer. This credit is in addition to the $4.16 monthly credit participating customers receive for the hot water heater load control program. A pilot program for air conditioners was tested last summer, with approximately 50 customers. Very few people noticed a difference in their comfort as a result of the air-conditioning load control device. Board Member Barnish asked if there are any grants from the Governor's Energy Office that would allow for an expansion of the LED program in order to reduce electric usage in applications that require many hours of illumination each day. Board Member Jeff Lebesch responded that current LED technology does not lend itself to efficient area lumination the way fluorescent lighting does. Ms. Bigner mentioned that the residential lighting program that offers price reductions on energy -efficient lights will expand to be year round starting in April. Chairperson John Morris suggested adding compact fluorescent light reliability to a future meeting agenda. Ms. Bigner said Doug Swartz, Energy Services Engineer, is researching the issues of reliability and disposal and would like to present on those issues together when his research is complete. Routine Updates PRPA — Dan Bihn Because PRPA's Board meets one week after the Electric Board, there are no new approved minutes available at this time. Climate Task Force — Jeff Lebesch The Climate Task Force (CTF) has completed deliberation on a set of measures to meet the rigorous 2010 carbon reduction goal for the City. The CTF has recommended implementation of 100 percent residential smart metering within five years. The evidence Electric Board Minutes Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Page 3 shows that people respond to instantaneous energy usage reading with conservation. Smart meters also open up the possibilities for tiered rate structures that will further encourage conservation. CTF is recommending the following tiered rate structure at the residential level: 3.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for less than 500 kWh/month, 7.9 cents for 500-1,000 kWh/month and 19.7 cents per kWh for over 1,000 kwwmonth. A Fort Collins Utilities Rate Analyst provided a revenue -neutral model for the tiered rate structure. The current average rate is about 7 cents. Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) purchases have been recommended to meet the 2010 carbon emission reduction goal. There was some debate between those who say the money would be better spent investing in infrastructure to meet long-term carbon reduction goals and those who believe REC purchases provide the most carbon reduction for the money available in a short -time frame. Board Member Lebesch recommended holding the RECs discussion as a future agenda item. City Council Liaison Troxell mentioned that City Council also has discussed the possibility of a future work session on this issue. Board Member Lebesch quoted another measure that is being recommended by CTF: "Analyze raising electric rates two percent and use that money for incentives for on the ground renewable photovoltaic, thermal solar and ground source heat pump projects." Chairperson Morris stated that he is not opposed to the idea but wants low-income households to be taken into account if an increase is considered. Board Member Lebesch said one of the objectives of the updated Electric Energy Supply Policy is to maintain the cost of electric bills through conservation, even if rates are raised. The Climate Task Force recommendations go for the first reading before City Council Work Session on Tuesday, Feb. 26. There will be a public information session at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27. CTF may make changes based on public comments received, and it may go through another City Council Work Session before being voted on by Council. The issue of funding has been discussed but not resolved. CTF recommendations could be accepted in their entirety or be open to line -item veto. Board Member Barnish said as representative of the Electric Board, he would like protection for low-income households to be incorporated into the tiered rate rather than see an across the board rate increase. Energy Supply Sub -Committee Update — Dan Bihn and Jeff Lebesch Vice Chairperson Bihn reported that the committee updating the Electric Energy Supply Policy is taking a systems approach. They are creating a policy that directs decision making for both near term and mid-century visions. They are also looking at local economic development, investment in local capacity and energy efficiency. There was some discussion on renewable energy mandates and RECs. The Electric Energy Supply Policy has evolved since the last version in 2003, based on new information and technology. There will be a report on the schedule for updating this policy next month. Chairperson Morris thanked the committee for their efforts. Electric Board Minutes Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Page 4 Capital News —Steve Wolley The legislature is not accepting any more bills this session, so there is no new legislation to report. Board Member Wolley will continue to monitor the legislation that has already been released by subscribing to the Capital News e-mail distribution list. City Council Liaison Troxell talked about a bill that was recently discussed in a Transportation and Energy Committee hearing that deals with HOAs and the ability for residents to install wind and solar equipment. City of Fort Collins Land Use Code already states that HOAs cannot prohibit things like clotheslines and photovoltaic systems on residents' homes. Other Business DeEtta Carr, former Staff Liaison, asked if the Electric Board had an interest in holding a joint meeting with the Water Board. Chairperson Morris stated it would be beneficial only if there was a specific need or agenda item. Executive Director Brian Janonis suggested that it might be more beneficial to have a joint meeting with the other PRPA cities. Meeting with PRPA partners is an item on the Electric Board's 2008 Work Plan. Ms. Bigner suggested inviting the Governor's Energy Office as a guest speaker and holding the meeting during Public Power Week in October. Ms. Carr announced that the new Boards and Commissions Manual is available online. Chairperson Morris also announced the Board and Commission Members' Training on March 26. He recommended all those who have not yet participated in a training to attend. Chairperson Morris reviewed the Electric Board 2008 Work Plan and progress made on specific items. He requested a staff report about partnerships and collaborations, and a presentation on future wind energy supply and cost by John Bleem on next month's meeting agenda. It was suggested that Green-e Certification, the Energy Supply Policy Report and the annual update be on the April agenda. It was suggested and agreed upon that the Electric Board meeting be rescheduled from March 19 to March 12 because of Spring Break. DeEtta Carr distributed hats and water bottles with the Fort Collins Utilities logo to Electric Board members. Future Agenda Items 21 st Century Utility Initiative Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m., following a motion by Vice Chairperson Bihn to adjoufn. � IL4 / Olivia Brown, Interim Staff Liaison