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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 12/05/2013Energy Board Meeting Minutes December 5, 2013 1 Fort Collins Utilities Energy Board Minutes Thursday, December 5, 2013 Energy Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Greg Behm, 226-6161 Ross Cunniff, 420-7398 Energy Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Peter O’Neill, 288-4562 Steve Catanach, 416-2622 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson Greg Behm, Vice Chairperson Peter O’Neill, Board Members Stacey Baumgarn, Nick Michell, Peggy Plate, Margaret Moore, Britt Kronkosky, and John Graham Staff Present Steve Catanach, John Phelan, Lucinda Smith, Lance Smith, and Harriet Davis Guests John Bleem, Rick Coen, and Eric Sutherland Meeting Convened Chairperson Behm called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Public Comment Eric Sutherland expressed his concerns about the Advanced Meter Project and the letters sent to customers explaining the process with replacing their existing meters. Mr. Sutherland feels the City is “bullying” customers by forcing them to have their mechanical meters replaced with the new meters. Mr. Sutherland also suggested that Section 26 of the City Code be reworded to replace the reference to “mechanical meters.” Approval of November 7, 2013 Minutes Board Member Baumgarn moved to approve the minutes of the November 7, 2013 meeting with corrections as outlined below. Board Member Moore seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Yeas: Baumgarn, Behm, Graham, Michell, Moore, O’Neill, and Plate. Nays: None. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. The November minutes will be revised with the following changes:  Changed “Smith” to “Jones” under “Guests” on page 1.  Changed the word “completing” to “competing” in the “Highlights from the discussion” section on page 5. * Board Member Kronkosky was not present during the roll call. Staff Reports  Light and Power Operations Manager Steve Catanach addressed the concerns raised by Mr. Sutherland. The code reference to mechanical meters will be addressed. Utilities staff is Energy Board Meeting Minutes December 5, 2013 2 currently replacing meters. Three options will be offered, including a manually read non-AMI meter for an $11 per month fee. Approximately 450 customers who refused installation of the new meters were contacted with phone calls and letters. Of the 450 customers, 47 customers still refused to have their meters replaced. These customers were sent a legal letter regarding the City’s right to maintain their equipment. The letter also stated that failure to allow access to the meter can lead to disconnection of service. Of the 47 customers, 15 gave no response and were sent a notice of termination. Since then 5 have been resolved. There are currently 9 customers refusing to allow access to the meters. Utilities staff will work with Neighborhood Services regarding these customers.  Energy Services Manager John Phelan gave an update on the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). SWEEP recently awarded the “Energy Efficiency Leadership Award” to the City of Fort Collins Utilities for its “highly effective energy efficiency programs that are exceeding energy savings goals.” Review of Tiered Electric Rate Impacts on Residential Customers (Attachment available upon request). Strategic Financial Planning Manager Lance Smith presented information on this item. Rates  Began in February 2012  Designed to be revenue neutral – compared to the alternative flat seasonal rate increase for 2012 Mr. Smith presented a graph showing the summer residential rate structure for flat and 3-tiered rates. What happened in 2012?  Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) changed to a seasonal rate structure  Adopted a 3-tiered, seasonal rate structure in 2012  Moved residential customers with gas heat off of residential demand rate  High Park Fire (increased air conditioning load since customers could not open their windows during and after the fire event)  Extreme heat combined with ongoing drought Limitations of analysis  Limited residential demand meters in 2012  Limited study period under tiered rates  Weather normalization does not account for High Park Fire Was it revenue neutral? Mr. Smith presented a graph showing gain and loss by month for tiered rate structure over the flat rate structure. Why was excess revenue generated in 2012? Mr. Smith presented a graph showing residential customer bill distribution for June through August (2011-2013). Did customers use more or less electricity? Mr. Smith presented a graph showing 2011-2013 summer residential energy use with weather normalized. There was increased use in June and July for 2012. Energy Board Meeting Minutes December 5, 2013 3 Did customers impact the peak demand for electricity? Mr. Smith presented a graph showing the contribution to coincident peak. The coincident peak is the contribution to the single highest hour coinciding with the PRPA peak. Mr. Smith noted April was very low. Mr. Smith presented a graph showing summer (June, July, and August) electric history for total residential and small commercial use. Mr. Smith also presented a graph showing summer electric history for total residential and small commercial use for coincident peak load factor. Tiered Rates Summary  Was it revenue neutral? Yes, to within 1 percent in 2012; to within 0.03 percent in 2013.  Did we see any change in customer behavior? Yes, in some customers.  Did customers use more or less electricity? On average slightly more.  Did customers impact the peak demand for electricity? This is difficult to say beyond that these customers are using more energy and their contribution to the coincident peak is increasing slightly faster than their energy consumption is increasing. Mr. Smith presented a graph showing the average residential utility bill for water, electric, wastewater, and stormwater for 2011-2013. He also presented a graph showing annual cooling degree days from 1890-2012. This shows an increase during that time period. Highlights from the discussion:  A board member inquired about the O-power program. Is this factored in as well? Mr. Smith stated this was not taken into account since only half of the customers received this report in 2012.  A board member inquired about the goal with the tiered structure regarding reducing electricity. Mr. Smith stated there were assumptions regarding the expected results.  A board member inquired about Council’s response. The item is scheduled for City Council next Tuesday, December 10, 2013.  A board member inquired how this compares to alternative rate structures for driving conservation. Mr. Smith stated Utilities hopes to present a pilot program on Time of Use (TOU) rates next summer. Mr. Catanach reiterated that staff wants to implement the proper rate. Staff hopes the pilot program will provide enough data to determine this.  A board member feels there should be more education on the tiered rate structure.  A board member inquired about the underlying purpose of the program. Mr. Catanach stated it is multi-tiered, but the greenhouse gas goal is at the top level. This then drives energy reduction and conservation.  A board member inquired about population growth within the City and suggested this should be part of the presentation.  A board member suggested there should be a clear definition of what staff is trying to demonstrate with the presentation.  A board member inquired about the purpose behind tiered rates. The board member feels promoting conservation is a good idea; however, he does not feel tiered rates can achieve this.  A board member suggested there should be fewer graphics in the presentation when it is presented to City Council. Energy Board Meeting Minutes December 5, 2013 4 Draft 2013 Annual Report Chairperson Behm asked for feedback from the board members on the 2013 Annual Report. He will work on a draft of the report and send to the board members for review. This will be approved at the January meeting. Proposed 2014 Meeting Schedule (Attachment available upon request). The 2014 meeting schedule was presented to the board. The board will continue to meet on the first Thursday of each month, with the exception of the January meeting. Due to the holiday season, this meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2014. The board members also discussed changing the July meeting due to the holiday. This will be discussed in 2014 after new members are appointed. Update on City Energy Policy Revisions (Attachment available upon request). Mr. Phelan presented information on this item. Updates to Boards and Commissions (Environmental Services Director Lucinda Smith, Mr. Phelan, and Mr. Catanach)  Staff made presentations to the Air Quality Board, the Natural Resources Advisory Board, the Transportation Board, and the Economic Advisory Commission.  The Air Quality Board feels comfortable with City Council setting a greenhouse gas reduction goal.  The Economic Advisory Commission would like to understand costs and impacts before setting a goal.  The Natural Resources Advisory Board and the Transportation Board were both happy to see the approach and the synchronization with PRPA, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and the Brendle Group. Board Chairs meeting (Chairperson Behm)  This meeting consisted of board chairs from the Energy Board, the Air Quality Board, the Natural Resources Advisory Board, the Transportation Board, and the Economic Advisory Commission.  Chairperson Behm attended this meeting on behalf of the Energy Board. He presented an overview of the RMI report.  A large portion of the conversation focused on the subject of transportation, vehicle miles traveled, and the contribution to the City’s energy usage.  A second meeting will be scheduled for early 2014.  Ms. Smith stated the Transportation Board would like to focus on the social aspects of transportation. The board would like to promote alternative modes of transportation and mobility choices to various demographics, with a goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled.  Mr. Catanach stated staff will request that a Transportation Department staff member attend future Energy Board meetings to be part of the discussions. PRPA/RMI meeting with Utilities staff (Mr. Catanach)  Utilities staff met with PRPA and RMI staff on Wednesday, December 4, 2014.  RMI approach is similar to PRPA’s strategic planning. Energy Board Meeting Minutes December 5, 2013 5  Evaluate alternative future resource plans and identify CO2 reductions and net costs over time, in order to inform future planning decisions.  Differences in analysis Schedule  A meeting with City staff, the Brendle Group, and RMI has been scheduled for Friday, December 20, 2014. This meeting will align the greenhouse gas scenarios.  Council Greenhouse Goal Work Session is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11, 2014. Staff would also like to ask Council for alignment with PRPA’s Integrated Resource Plan.  Boards and Commissions  Energy Board (Thursday, January 9, 2014 and Thursday, February 6, 2014)  Transportation Board, Natural Resources Advisory Board, and Economic Advisory Commission (Wednesday, January 15, 2014)  Air Quality Advisory Board (Monday, January 20, 2014) Discussion  Vision (“Support Fort Collins social, environmental, and economic health through clean energy systems and efficient end-use consumption.”)  Motivations  Fort Collins energy policies, systems and services support citizens and businesses to thrive, accomplished through integrated energy solutions which reflect the community’s values regarding greenhouse gas reduction, pollution prevention, and energy independence. This policy supports reductions of the community’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy use to in accordance with the city greenhouse gas goals. Energy related greenhouse gas emissions reflect both the quantity of use and sources of energy for electricity, thermal end- uses and transportation.  The current community greenhouse gas goals are a reduction of 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. Mr. Phelan presented graphs showing Fort Collins Electricity Forecast and Carbon (2005-2020) with a 10 percent Renewable Energy Standard (RES) versus a 20 percent Renewable Energy Standard (RES). These graphs showed various scenarios for solar and wind. Highlights from the discussion:  A board member likes seeing transportation included in the energy policy discussions.  A board member inquired about FortZED scenarios and strategies. Mr. Catanach stated this is a specific goal for a district; however, these feed toward the overall goal.  A board member suggested that “highly reliable” should be part of the vision listed above.  The board members and staff discussed the various scenarios as shown in the graphs presented.  Staff asked for feedback on the energy policy. A board member would like to see another draft of the policy. The board member feels the policy should include economic principles on subsidies.  A board member would like to see the rate impact with the various scenarios.  A board members and staff discussed potential rate increases related to meeting the renewable energy standard.  A board member inquired about the impact to Xcel’s ratepayers in regards to meeting their renewable energy standard (30 percent by 2020). Mr. Phelan stated Xcel is meeting their standard with multipliers. Also, costs have been offset with less expensive resources.