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Energy Board Minutes
August 4, 2016
Fort Collins Energy Board Minutes
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Energy Board Chairperson City Council Liaison
Pete O’Neill, 970-223-8703 Ross Cunniff, 970-420-7398
Energy Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison
Nick Michell, 970-215-9235 Tim McCollough, 970-305-1069
Roll Call
Board Present: Chairperson Pete O’Neill, Vice Chairperson Nick Michell, Board Members
Stacey Baumgarn, Greg Behm, Phil Friedman, Alan Braslau (via WebEx), and Lori Nitzel
Staff Present:
Tim McCollough, Pablo Bauleo, John Phelan
PRPA:
Paul Davis
Members of the Public:
Rick Coen
Meeting Convened
Chairperson Pete O’Neill called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Announcements and Agenda Changes
None
Public Comment
None
Approval of July 7, 2016 Board Meeting Minutes
Amendments to the July 7, 2016 minutes were made by the Board Members and the minutes
were accepted as amended.
Staff Report
PRPA Capacity, Load Segments, DSM Impact
Pablo Bauleo, Energy Services Engineer
Paul Davis, PRPA
Pablo Bauleo presented peak day comparisons and reports.
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August 4, 2016
June was unusually hot, but in comparison to June 2012 (year of mountain fires) usage is
relatively flat.
Mr. Davis said the Craig units are typically run for surplus sales, but were used to meet the peak
demand in June. Rawhide has a lower marginal cost than the Craig units and is generally
dispatched first. Board Member Behm inquired about the ownership and cost of utilizing wind
energy. Mr. Davis said that PRPA does not own any wind energy; it is all purchased from wind
farms located in Medicine Bow, WY, Silver Sage, WY and Spring Canyon, CO.
Vice Chairman Michell inquired about the time it takes for turbines to come online. Mr. Davis
said it takes 10-20 minutes.
In reviewing the data, a question was asked about the forecasting process of determining usage
needs. Mr. Davis responded that forecasting is done a day in advance and then watched hourly.
It can be adjusted in real time as needs fluctuate and cloud coverage is also factored into the real
time decisions regarding generation dispatch.
How did Demand Side Management (DSM) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) help with
peak usage? The peak of 659 could have been well over 700 without these programs.
Platte River and Fort Collins Systems Peak Comparison – June 21, 2016 and July 22, 2016
Seasonal residential load profile reflects a change from winter to summer
Fort Collins was 46% of PRPA peak usage
Over the last 25 years Fort Collins has reduced PRPA coincident peak share by 3%.
It has been estimated that 65-70% of homes have air conditioning (AC) and of this percentage,
75% are running AC on hot days.
Peak solar energy production is typically at solar noon with temperatures hotter and warmer
around 5 p.m.
Chairperson O’Neill observed from a graph Mr. Bauleo presented that people with solar have a
higher average evening peak than those that don’t.
Vice Chairperson Michell asked if the demographics are different for those people utilizing
community solar vs. those who have rooftop solar. Mr. Bauleo and Mr. Phelan both responded
that this demographic analysis has not been completed.
Mr. Phelan said the Home Energy Neighbor Comparison is based on the closest 100 homes with
equal square footage and the same type of heat source
(Attachments available upon request)
Platte River Power Authority Efficiency Works Update
Paul Davis, PRPA
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Common Energy Efficiency (EE) Programs started in 2002 as part of a five-year Integrated
Resources Plan and have continued and grown since then.
EE programs provide “line of sight” support of multiple initiatives outlined in Platte River’s
Strategic Plan, such as the following: Safety, Financial Stability, Employee Engagement,
Exceptional Customer Service, Improved Collaboration & Communications, Resource
Management, Technological Innovation, Operational Excellence, and Compliance Assurance.
Among the EE program goals is to ramp up over the next five years. Additional goals are
outlined in the presentation slide.
In addition to evaluating lighting sources to reduce energy consumption, PRPA is looking to
different sources for additional savings. Two examples of consumer products that could save
energy include the following:
High efficiency window air conditioning units
High efficiency appliances
Mr. Phelan said that the City is working with Energy Star and will be working with Retail
Product Platform (RPP) in 2017. RPP retailers provide a report of specific energy efficient
products being sold and then receive a rebate specific to those products.
Midstream Cooling Incentive Program – new pilot program that kicked off this week (8/1/16) for
the commercial market segment
Rebates that are directed to 10-20 HVAC distributors
Rebates for high-efficiency air conditioning have been offered directly to customers for
years, but have seen limited use by customers. A common challenge was that some
customers may wish to buy high-efficiency air conditioners, but distributors may not
stock them, resulting in a delay that would be unacceptable for most customers.
Rebates are intended to encourage distributors to stock and sell more high-efficiency
equipment.
Working with Energy Solutions (consulting) as the program implementor, who is also
working with Xcel Energy in its Colorado service territory.
Colorado Springs Utilities may also choose to participate.
In response to Mr. Baumgarn’s question regarding consumer knowledge of the rebates, Mr.
Davis said that they may or may not be aware at the time of purchase. However, HVAC
distributors are encouraged to sell higher efficiency units. In some cases customers may actually
have to wait longer to purchase a standard-efficiency unit if distributors choose to stock fewer of
them Letters will also be sent to consumer thanking them for purchase and thereby alerting them
to rebate or discount, which will keep distributors accountable.
(Attachments available upon request)
Light and Power Budget – Budget for Outcomes offers
Tim McCollough, Light and Power Operations Manager
There are 115 Budget For Outcomes (BFO) offers on the table from Utilities.
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Round 2 of the BFO Timeline have been completed, and Utilities has made recommendations to
the Budget Lead Team (BLT), which is made up of City Manager Darin Atteberry and his direct
reports. After the BLT reviews all BFO offers, they will create the City Manager’s
Recommended Budget that will be presented to City Council.
Light and Power anticipates $2.8M in unspent revenue after expenses in the next budget cycle
that can be used for capital improvements and enhancements. Reserves and additional revenue
through rate increases are additional possible funding sources for additional needs.
Light and Power offered $25M in capital improvement projects and enhancement offers in this
BFO cycle.
Mr. McCollough presented the top capital improvement projects outlined by staff. These
recommendations have not been approved by the BLT.
Mr. McCollough stated that in addition to the $12M in reserves being considered to be utilized to
fund the capital improvement projects, a rate increase is also being considered.
Discussion ensued around clarity of the budget, use of reserves and rate increases in 2017 and
2018 to fund the capital improvements.
Mr. Phelan and Mr. Baumgarn suggested that when reviewing the individual initiatives that they
are evaluated with the CAP initiative measurements in mind which are:
1. Direct
2. Enabling
3. Beneficial
Mr. Baumgarn said it would be useful to know which of the BFO offers are CAP related or if
they fall below the line.
Board Member Reports
None
New Business
None
Future Agenda Review
Mr. O’Neill proposed a Special Work Session be conducted on August 25, 2016.
Lindsey Ex volunteered to facilitate August 25
th
meeting.
Agenda would include:
Review overall strategy
Review what questions public is asking
Review messaging & communications*
Roles for Energy Board
Next steps
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*Mr. McCollough said that he is talking with the City Attorney’s Office to clarify what Energy
Board’s public messaging and communication role can be with the public and is awaiting an
answer.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:11 p.m.
Submitted by Tamara O’Dell, Temporary Administrative Clerk, Fort Collins Utilities
Approved by the Board on September 1, 2016.
________________________________ ______________
Angel Anderson for Tamara O’Dell Date
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9/2/2016