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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 05/09/2019ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING May 9, 2019 – 5:30 pm 222 Laporte Ave.; Colorado Room ENERGY BOARD MEETING |05/092019 ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Chairperson Nick Michell, Vice Chairperson Amanda Shores, Jeremy Giovando, Alan Braslau, Bill Becker, Dan Gould, Krishna Karnamadakala, John Fassler, Stacey Baumgarn Board Members Absent: OTHERS PRESENT Staff Members Present: John Phelan, Marisa Olivas, Leland Keller, Neal May, Matt Weyer, Kevin Gertig, Bob Hover, Cyril Vidergar, Rhonda Gatzke Platte River Power Authority: Paul Davis, Andy Butcher, Alyssa Clemsen-Roberts Members of the Public: Nick Frances, Tim Gozar MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chairperson Michell called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Nick Frances and Tim Gozar suggested creating a policy recommendation for City Council to consider making the Zero Energy Building Code Standard a requirement for metro-district projects (large residential projects). There is not currently a set policy of requirements for metro-district applications. It asks for tax-exempt financing from the City in exchange for social benefits, ranging from affordable housing to energy efficiency. There are examples in Fort Collins of projects having great success from using the Zero Energy Home Standards, such as One Revive LLC. There are also two large developments underway that are voluntarily meeting the Zero Energy Home Standards, Waterfield (Thrive Builders) and Montava communities. Mr. Frances said this policy will help to reach the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) goals. Mr. Frances and Mr. Gozar would like to come back with a proposal to consider the policy recommendation and to get feedback from the Board. Mr. Frances and Mr. Gozar are representing a coalition of groups called Partners in Climate Action (PICA), which includes The Sierra Club-local chapter, 350 Northern Colorado, NCRES, Fort Collins Sustainability Group, League of Women Voters, and CforCE. Mr. Phelan said that the Board will look into adding the topic to a future Board Meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES In preparation for the meeting, board members submitted amendments via email for the April 11, 2019 minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. ANNOUNCEMENTS & AGENDA CHANGES None STAFF REPORTS ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING ENERGY BOARD MEETING | 05/092019 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY (Packet Item Only – No Presentation) Matt Weyer, Customer Support Specialist Mark Cassalia, Customer Support Manager (attachments available upon request) Chairperson Michell asked staff if the lower survey results were due to the roll out of Time of Day (TOD) rates. Mr. Weyer said staff has speculated that could have contributed to the lower satisfaction numbers. Mr. Michell thought it was strange that Environmental Stewardship went down in rating even though the City had pledged 100% Renewable Electricity (RE100) by 2030. Mr. Weyer said the data trends seem to fluctuate from year to year. Mr. Michell asked how the survey data is used. Mr. Weyer said that staff analyzes and disseminates the data to different groups in the Utility, and it’s up to the managers to identify issues and choose whether to act on those issues. Board Member Giovando asked if there were any anomalous results. Mr. Weyer said that it was not expected to receive a significant drop on value of services that the Utility provides. Vice Chairperson Shores said it seems as though many customers are confused about why the Utility has made some of the rate changes (such as TOD rates and the associated tiers), so it is important to share the reasoning behind the decisions in a way that is relatable and easy to understand. SOLAR CONTRACTOR NETWORK Leland Keller, Energy Services Engineer (attachments available upon request) Mr. Keller shared that the Participating Solar Contractor Network will go into effect in June 2019. The program distinguishes participating contractors as rebate-eligible and differentiates the contractors by function: sales, design, install. The program is modeled after the Efficiency Works Home program. Participation in the Solar Contractor Network requires the contractors to attend an orientation, to agree to the Network and Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) Code of Conduct, to use SEIA standard sales and pricing disclosures, to resolve customer complaints, and to file interconnection applications as required. By requiring participating solar contractors to be rebate eligible, it will improve the quality of service, transparency, the customer experience, the overall customer satisfaction with their solar purchase and rebate program. The requirement will also distinguish participating contractors, enhance the solar marketplace, improve process efficiency at the Utilities, and reduce confusion and complaints. Aligning with contractors who exemplify the same values as the City boils down to the core values of doing business: developing trust and delivering positive customer experiences through reliability, good cost value, and responsiveness. Chairperson Michell asked if the vast majority of those installing solar go through rebate program, and Mr. Keller said around 98% utilize the rebate program. Board Member Braslau asked if there were any contractors who rejected an invitation to the Solar Contractor Network. Mr. Keller said none have specifically declined, but there were a few who are unresponsive. Mr. Braslau also wondered what happens if there is a dissatisfied customer who does not complete their due-diligence regarding rebates and the Solar Contractor Network, and is now no longer eligible to receive a rebate; Mr. Keller shared that one way the Utility is trying to protect the customer is by having a signature-required acknowledgement on a “Solar Fact Sheet” that will basically state that the customer is aware that in order to receive the rebate they will need to work with one of the contractors in the Solar Contractor Network. Chairperson Michell asked if there is funding for all the rebates, and Mr. Keller said that funding for rebates will be managed in a way that as the numbers go up, the amount of funding available for each rebate will go down. Mr. Phelan added it could also mean different request for the rebate program in future budget years. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING ENERGY BOARD MEETING | 05/092019 Vice Chairperson Shores asked how the network will make things more transparent for the consumer. Mr. Keller said staff is anticipating the Solar Contractor Network will improve the quality of the proposals submitted to the Utility, which should alleviate staff’s time trying to work with contractors on administrative work. If the contractor has a habit of submitting incorrect or incomplete work, they will be removed from the active contractor list, which will reduce confusion and complaints. Additionally, each contractor estimate will come with pricing disclosures that are provided on the initial estimate and final proposal, which will help the customer while comparing quotes from multiple contractors, since they will be using the same format. Board member Becker mentioned that he spoke with some colleagues at a local solar contractor, and they said they felt the permitting forms made it difficult to go through an iterative quoting process. Mr. Keller said the way that concern has been addressed, and maybe this information hasn’t been clearly communicated to contractors, is to only require those forms at the initial proposal and the final proposal. Mr. Becker also added that the contractors felt the rebate essentially covers the cost of permitting (sometimes up to or around $1,000), and it would be helpful if there were a way to get a fast-pass to the building department. Especially in comparison with how other local cities, such as Denver, handle solar permitting ($75 flat fee). Mr. Keller said staff received similar feedback at a roundtable on March 1. Mr. Phelan said there is state legislation that caps permitting fees at $500, but there are other fees associated with the process (a percent of the value of the job) that may be getting mistaken as permitting fees. He added the discussion of adjusting City fees to promote City goals comes up regularly but is generally a non-starter from a City-wide policy perspective. Mr. Hover, Senior Manager in Electric Engineering, asked if customers can install their own system and receive rebate by meeting the technical requirements. Mr. Keller said that is a great question, but the answer is no—in order to qualify for the rebate, the system must be installed by a professional, registered installer. The solar contractor will warranty the installation for the lifetime of the system. Board Member Becker said it may helpful to additionally list where the contractor companies are located, so customers can determine if they’re local or not. LIGHT & POWER MASTER PLANNING GUIDELINE ISSUE Neal May, Electrical Engineer III, Light & Power (attachments available upon request) The purpose of the Master Planning Guidelines is to plan for projected system growth in an orderly manner. The guidelines help to identify major system improvements necessary to maintain quality service to customers and maintain standards of Light & Power (L&P) system design. Additionally, the guidelines help to identify the methods and tools used to create Planning Studies and provide a schedule to prepare project proposals for budget approval. Mr. May said prior to 2014, the planning engineer would apply a general 3% load growth expectation to the system, or apply load based on planned projects. In 2015 Leidos, a contracted consultant, did a more comprehensive load study that looked as far as 20 years in the future. L&P still uses this load study to form growth assumptions and budgets for future projects. The Leidos study was costly and L&P staff in fact did a bulk of the work to create the plan. The City’s actual growth is beginning to diverge from the Leidos plan, and the City is only five years out since the plan was completed. Mr. May said that bringing the report in house allows staff to adjust the plan as growth adjusts on a more regular basis. Mr. May explained the Electric Distribution System Design Standards that were used in the creation of the Master Planning Guidelines, such as using two transformers and ring-bus configurations in the substation designs. The main feed faults can be back-fed and load balanced between the transformers, and the ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING ENERGY BOARD MEETING | 05/092019 transfer capacity of the main feeder cables planning capacity is 50% of the emergency rating. The combination of the feeder tie arrangement and the substation modified ring bus creates a very flexible distribution system with a minimum of tie lines to other substations. The bus arrangement can supply maximum design load with the loss of one transformer or transformer bus section. Board member Becker questioned what the substation loading model would be based on to determine the max loading. Mr. Hover explained that the model is comprehensive, and it considers not only peak loads, but also the amount of Electric Vehicle Charging (EV) and Solar and Battery Storage on the system. Vice Chairperson Shores asked how far in advance would staff decide that an additional feeder would be needed, Mr. May said once the study is completed it gives staff an idea of how many years it will be before the load growth will be met. Chairperson Shores clarified there is a more comprehensive model coming with the collaboration CSU. Mr. Hover confirmed and added that the Utility has visibility to real- time SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) every day, which gives them a stronger picture of the system and helps determine if a project needs to be moved up to accommodate the load growth. Load Study Planning Models have historically been developed by using data from SCADA, feeder peaks in summer, winter, and shoulders, as well as feeder load trends. Continuing forward, load forecasts will be developed with City planning data, like parcel data and the planned growth management area, as well as spatial electric load. After the load study report is complete, engineering staff will hold a load study review meeting, at which they’ll discuss planned projects and any changes that may be necessary based on the findings of the load study report. In the future, they hope for both the L&P GIS model and the AMI data to integrate with elements in the planning model. Board member Giovando commented that historical demands aren’t always the best indicator given the current climate; how will the Utility account for things such as longer cooling seasons? Mr. Hover advised that staff reviews the peaks for each summer and winter, as well as the general historical load growth, and staff remains as detailed as possible when load forecasting while being as conservative with planning efforts. He added that the historical load growth has flattened out recently, and he believes that’s due to the energy efficiency efforts the community has put forth. INTEGRATED RESOURCES PLAN Alyssa Clemsen-Roberts., Platte River Power Authority Andy Butcher, Platte River Power Authority (attachments available upon request) The Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) establishes Platte River’s long-run trajectory for its future resource portfolio as well as the short-run action plan needed to pursue its trajectory. The IRP is on schedule to be delivered one year earlier than required, in response to regional requests to pursue non-carbon objectives by 2030. The accelerated schedule was approved by the West Area Power Administration (WAPA), with a July 2020 due date. The previous IRP did not include the signed contract with 20MW of solar power with a battery, or the 150MW wind project, which is part of the reason the new IRP was accelerated. Supporting studies consolidated within the IRP include the Generation & Technology Review, Regional Economic Impacts, and Resource Life Cycle Analysis. These studies provide additional perspectives for the decision analysis. Platte River’s modeling began in April 2019 by collecting data to measure the potential demand side management and distributed energy resources, data about the power and gas price forecasts, data for resource performance and cost estimates, and data for reserve capacity needs. Stakeholder outreach continues through and beyond the delivery of the IRP. Platte River’s staff will consolidate all third-party inputs and conduct modeling using its Aurora software, ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING ENERGY BOARD MEETING | 05/092019 which offers a full range of potential power portfolios. Rate impact studies will be conducted on the recommended power portfolios. Recommendations will be made to Platte River’s management team, board of directors and stakeholders in early 2020, and the final IRP will be delivered in the summer of 2020. Chairperson Michell said he was a little surprised that there wasn’t more said about hydrogen, especially when considering how to store the excess wind and solar power. Mr. Butcher said not to worry, there is an upcoming battery study by HDR, and they will consider hydrogen (and many other options) as a technology as they work through their study. Mr. Michell also said historically, the cost of solar has always been overestimated. Mr. Butcher said the solar industry can be difficult to keep up with from a cost perspective, because there are changing factors, such as tax credits and consistently changing technology, that are not always easy to nail down. Board member Braslau added with respect to the IRP planning process, no one really has a good handle on the cost of carbon. Mr. Butcher agreed and said Platte River is going to try very hard to not miss that mark; there are two things to consider when they address it: carbon tax, and the social cost of carbon. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Chairperson Michell said most of the Board attended the Greenest Building Super Board Meeting. Board member Becker said there is a Microgrid Symposium at CSU in August. Mr. Phelan advised the event by invitation, but Staff might be able to acquire invitations. Board member Gould said he attended the City Council meeting the previous week, and he really enjoyed the SAIDI presentation given by Mr. May. Chairperson Michell said the SAIDI numbers are included in the Board’s meeting packet every month as well. FUTURE AGENDA REVIEW The Board would like to discuss Metro Districts at the June 13 regular meeting. The Board will hold their scheduled work session on June 27 to discuss electric retail rates. ADJOURNMENT The Energy Board adjourned at 8:19 pm.