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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 08/12/2021 ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING August 12, 2021 – 5:30 pm 222 Laporte Ave. – Colorado Room ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Jeremy Giovando, Alan Braslau, Marge Moore, Steve Tenbrink, Dan Gould, Sue McFaddin Board Members Absent: John Fassler, Bill Becker OTHERS PRESENT Staff Members Present: Adam Bromley, Christie Fredrickson, John Phelan, Cyril Vidergar (remote), Tim McCollough, Rhonda Gatzke. Brian Tholl Members of the Public: Rick Coen (remote), TJ Loran MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Board member Giovando called the meeting to order at 5:32 pm PUBLIC COMMENT None APPROVAL OF MINUTES In preparation for the meeting, board members submitted amendments via email for the July 8, 2021, minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. ANNOUNCEMENTS & AGENDA CHANGES None STAFF REPORTS (attachments available upon request) Billing System Project Update Adam Bromley, Director, Operations & Technology, Light & Power Staff is currently engaged in plans for immediate, intermediate, and long-term approaches to target specific areas around the billing system project. In the immediate future, staff will continue to work with Platte River Power Authority and the City of Longmont in maintaining the current system that is Hansen/Banner. Staff amended the current Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to extend it a year and have committed to do a follow up Service Agreement with Platte River. Intermediately, the Service Agreement with Platte River will have more detail for the exit of the partnership between the City of Longmont, Fort Collins Utilities and Platte River to provide more predictability for all partners than the current IGA has. Longmont is either very close to issuing an RFP ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING (request for proposal) or already has done so, to develop a new billing system for their utility services. They were writing the RFP in such a way that Fort Collins Utilities could use their process if that is what staff chooses to do. Staff expects to develop this Service Agreement over the next six months to a year, and it will allow the Utility to work toward a new billing system. Over the long-term, Utilities will need to update or upgrade the current billing system. To meet the procurement code requirements; it will need to have a competitive process for whatever path the Utility takes. Staff is planning on starting the process next year once some of the current issues are worked out. Board member McFaddin wondered how Connexion plays into this issue. Mr. McCollough said that the City is pursuing a Plan B option to support Connexion services in the short term. ENERGY SERVICES PROGRAMS UPDATE Brian Tholl, Energy Services Supervisor (attachments available upon request) Mr. Tholl explained that staff is working to frame the programs Energy Services offers between Big Moves and Next Moves from the Our Climate Future (OCF) Plan. The OCF has several teams working under the umbrella of the plan, who each carry different responsibilities to ensure completion of tasks and goal achievement. The Executive Team will evolve as leadership is brought on board, and generally will help sponsor activities and initiatives within the OCF. The Strategy Team is composed of active staff, with a focus on proposed governance model and developing additional tools for Next Moves implementation teams (e.g. equity lens review). The Next Moves team is also composed of active staff, who will focus first on consistent documentation of OCF Tactical Plan next moves. The Performance Measurement team is an ongoing staff team. The reimagined Community Advisory Committee is planned to launch in Q4/Q1. The OCF has a total of 13 Big Moves, which were adopted by council, and they all fit within four categories: Better Together, Live Better, Resource Better, and Breathe Better. Energy Services’ primary focus is within Big Move 6 (Efficient, Emissions Free Buildings) and Big Move 12 (100% Renewable Electricity). Within each Big Move there are several Next Moves, and staff has aligned current programs and steps to help the community reach the goal of the big and next move. Big Move 6 has five Next Moves in progress or in development: EEFB1 aligns with the Peak Partners Portfolio; EEFB2 aligns with IECC 2021 adoption; EEFB3 algins with Epic Homes, Efficiency works, and partnerships with the County, State, and Excel; EEFB4 algins with technology training and education with builders, trades, and the community as well as incentives; and finally, EEFB5 aligns with future programs designed to reach historically underserved people within our community. Board member Braslau commented that solar water heating seems to have disappeared from the radar in these plans. Board member Giovando wondered, specifically for items that have approaching deadlines, if there are plans in place to make sure those items remain on track. Mr. Phelan said items that are part of the critical path will keep things moving, but the two-year refresh cycle will also help keep staff informed of progress. Mr. Tholl showed the remaining next moves that are not currently in progress and identified examples that are policy efforts the Board can help influence, including EEFB7 and EEFB8. (Explore adding performance energy standards to the Building Energy & Water Scoring program; Explore residential ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING Home Energy Score point of listing requirement) Board member McFaddin noted EEFB2 would also be a good item for the Board to get involved in (develop an energy performance path for new construction to zero carbon building by 2030). Mr. Tholl and Mr. Phelan agreed and noted that initiative is already in progress (not that the Board cannot continue to support), but the other two have not yet started and could use the extra support. Big Move 12 has six Next Moves: RE1 aligns with the potential addition of a utility scale solar project; RE2 aligns with the Black Hollow Solar Project; RE3 aligns with ongoing incentives and integration with solar programs; RE4 aligns with residential distributed solar, commercial pipelines, and sustainable financial rates and models; RE5 aligns with the shared energy billing system project, metro districts, and new and existing multifamily developments; and finally, RE6 aligns with seeking funding opportunities with affordable housing partners. RE4 (continue to implement distributed solar programs) is the item the Board can influence through policy recommendations. Board member McFaddin asked if the Board can influence Platte River to update their Integrated Resource Plan more frequently since they are on a different schedule (every four years as opposed to the City’s two-year cycle). Mr. Phelan said the best path would be to communicate that with the City’s representatives on the Platte River board. Board members expressed concern about Platte River’s absence at Energy Board meetings. Staff advised that the Board needs to maintain communication through the proper channels, but that doesn’t mean they will not attend Board meetings at all, they just won’t be attending routinely. DRAFT DER STRATEGIC PLAN John Phelan, Energy Services Senior Manager Tim McCollough, Deputy Director, Utilities Light & Power (attachments available upon request) The DER (Distributed Energy Resource) Strategy Committee is composed of two representatives from each of Platte River’s owner communities, as well as two representatives from Platte River, a project manager, and a consultant from SEPA (Smart Electric Power Alliance). Board member McFaddin asked who will replace Ms. Clemsen Roberts on the committee since she will be leaving Platte River. Mr. McCollough said another Platte River staff member will step in until her position is filled. The need for a DER strategy for Platte River and the owner communities became evident in 2019 and a committee was formed to begin the process late that year. The first few months were focused on developing goals for the project, developing a plan to achieve them, and selecting a project consultant to support the strategy development. Work to develop the strategy was delayed a few months by the COVID-19 pandemic, but work kicked off in June 2020 with a goal of completing the strategy by June of 2021. The committee met monthly to work on the strategy and held workshops facilitated by staff from SEPA to develop this strategy. DERs include a broad group of technologies and program solutions that are evolving rapidly. While there are some similarities among different types of DERs, each type of DER will likely require a different approach or solution: interconnection standards, programs, incentives or electric rates, forecasting/monitoring/control technologies, or technology partners/providers. Our solutions will need to be thoughtful and will need to consider customer, owner community, and Platte River’s perspectives, and the solutions will need to adjust as DER technologies and the electric systems’ capabilities and needs evolve. Board members wondered if all four communities all had the same goals. Mr. Phelan explained that the ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING communities have different goals but are sometimes closely related; for example, the City of Fort Collins has a goal of 100% renewable electricity, whereas Platte River’s goal is 100% non-carbon. The goals of the DER strategy include: a shared vision for DER integration, guiding principles for integrating DERs, a framework that considers benefits and costs of DERs across the electric system, a coordinated approach to securing customer and system data, and improved outcomes for DER integration. The DER strategy provides a path to achieve these goals. It was important to the committee that they hear from customers, citizens, and businesses about their interests and concerns relating to DERs. Therefore, the committee built stakeholder engagement into the strategic planning process. Committee members have held four stakeholder sessions (virtual workshops) over the last year, each two hours in length and included time for the committee to present the strategy as well as time for structured feedback and questions. When asked about the primary importance of DERs, most stakeholders indicated that they are important to support the collective achievement of a 100% noncarbon resource mix. A distant second place for other DER benefits were the ability to increase grid resilience, grid efficiency, and to provide other customer benefits. Stakeholders placed a high value on collaboration among owner communities and Platte River for DER solution implementation, yet some stakeholders were hesitant due to concern regarding owner community independence and ability to achieve their differing goals. The DER strategy includes components that provide guidance to our collaborative solution development. Solution development begins from a motivation, idea or need for a solution. An example of this could be that customers that are interested in adopting rooftop solar and batteries and utilities need to accommodate and account for that adoption. Another example of a need for solution development could be a community goal to reduce emissions from home heating by promoting conversion to efficient electric heat pumps. It’s important to consider how these changes will affect electric loads in the future. The DER strategy vision is: “To integrate DERs into the electric system through collaboration and coordination between the owner communities and Platte River to provide value to all customers.” The guiding principles behind the strategy are to maintain system reliability and utility financial sustainability, enhance environmental responsibility and customer experience; implement safety practices in all facets of DER planning, operations and customer programs; maintain physical and cybersecurity of grid assets, privacy of customer data; facilitate deployment of DERs across all customer groups to provide benefits to all; provide consistency, transparency and flexibility among Platte River and the owner communities; and employ common processes, best practices and innovation. DER integration will require greater coordination between planning, programs, and operations, as well as among the owner communities and Platte River. Cross-functional teams of utility staff provided input for the development of the strategy and will continue to guide its execution. Functions such as integrated resource planning, transmission and distribution planning, retail and wholesale rate design, DER program development, DER monitoring, and control and dispatch were all grouped under the different focus areas (Planning, Programs, and Operations). Each of these functions and focus areas has elements that fall within one or more owner communities’ purview and under Platte River’s, and so each team includes members from the owner communities and Platte River. The teams will focus on developing coordinated, common DER solutions wherever possible, but also will focus on working with, understanding, and ultimately integrating individual owner community DER solutions. The Committee anticipates that these teams will begin meeting regularly starting in the next several weeks and that they will begin making progress in executing on this strategy. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING Board member Tenbrink asked if DERs are a critical component to zero carbon. Mr. McCollough said they are key, but depending who you ask you may get different answers. Storage and flexible loads are necessary as utilities move away from dispatchable loads, while DERs are not the only solution they are a key strategy. Board member Braslau said DERs are not just critical but essential, but that may not be the opinion of some of the other communities. Mr. McCollough said he does not share that same perspective based on staff interactions, but there may be policy barriers. Board member Tenbrink asked if the committee members fully understand all the technology, especially as it scales up, to be able to fully implement DER. Mr. McCollough said it’s his opinion that the technology is not the primary barrier, but rather the programmatic components, such as integration of the system and customer participation. TOP TEN ENERGY PRIORITY CHECK IN (attachments available upon request) The Board discussed their current list of submitted Energy Priorities and worked toward identifying how they would like the document to look at its completion. They also discussed how their priorities relate to the Our Climate Future plan, and how they can use the plan’s Big Moves, Next Moves, and Tactical plan to stay involved with the policy influencing those items. Ultimately, they hope this will be a document they can use to shape their work plans, their interactions with other Boards and Commissions, the public, and with City Council. The Board will need to spend more time working on these items and will utilize a future meeting to continue their discussions. AUGUST WORK SESSION PLANNING Board members are curious about the following items as they pertain to Community Solar in Fort Collins: what are the limits, how to be more innovative, there seems to be high demand and not enough options, the basic structure and what investment sources flow toward solar, and what financial tools and resources are available. Mr. Phelan said he hopes to invite someone from the Colorado Solar & Storage Association (COSSA) to help answer some of the broader-reaching concerns and questions. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Ms. Fredrickson notified the Board that all Board & Commission vacancies will close tomorrow, August 13. She also advised that the Boards and Commissions representative from the Clerk’s Office, Elizabeth Blythe, will be leaving the organization at the end of the month. Board members discussed Alyssa Clemsen Robert’s upcoming departure from Platte River and would like to send a letter of appreciation for her leadership. The Chair and Vice Chair will seek help from Board member McFaddin to draft the letter. Other Board members noted that City Council does have a greater sense urgency for the climate emergency than perhaps than their published priorities express. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING FUTURE AGENDA REVIEW Tour of the renovated Supervisory Control Operations room will be postponed while staff completes their move-in. The September meeting will include presentations around the 2022 City Budget, 2022 Rates and Fees, and an overview of the Light and Power Utility. The Board will utilize their October meeting to complete their Energy Priorities, and hopefully use those to shape their 2022 Work Plan, which is due in November. ADJOURNMENT The Energy Board adjourned at 8:10 pm.