HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 07/09/2015Energy Board Meeting Minutes
July 9, 2015
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Fort Collins Utilities Energy Board Minutes
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Energy Board Chairperson City Council Liaison
Peter O’Neill, 288-4562 Ross Cunniff, 420-7398
Energy Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison
Phil Friedman, 493-2959 Lisa Rosintoski, 416-2432
Roll Call
Board Present Chairperson Peter O’Neill, Vice Chairperson Philip Friedman, Board Members
Michael Doss, Greg Behm, Stacey Baumgarn
Board Member Margaret Moore joined the meeting at 5:33 p.m. after minutes were approved.
Nick Michell joined the meeting at 5:34 p.m.
Board Absent: Board Members Peggy Plate, Darrin Johnson
Staff Present Lisa Rosintoski, John Phelan, Cyril Vidergar, Paul Sizemore, Lance Smith, Josh
Birks, Katherine Martinez
Guests Kevin Jones, John Fassler
Meeting Convened
Chairperson Peter O’Neill called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Approval of June 4, 2015 Minutes
Board Member Michael Doss moved to approve the June 4, 2015 minutes as written.
Board Member Greg Behm seconded the motion.
Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously.
Vice Chairperson Phil Friedman, and Board Members Greg Behm and Stacey Baumgarn abstained
due to their absence at the June meeting.
Public Comment
None
Staff Reports
(Attachments available upon request)
Energy Policy Boards & Commissions Feedback
The City’s new Chief Sustainability Officer will attend the next board meeting.
Utilities Customer Connections Manager Lisa Rosintoski presented a summary of the Energy Policy
presentations she, Chairperson Pete O’Neill, and Energy Services Manager John Phelan gave to
various City boards and commissions, as well as a timeline outlining next actions. Among the
comments were:
Senior Advisory Board: one in five residents will be senior citizens who will stay home and turn up
the heat; convenience of public transportation is very important to the senior population;
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July 9, 2015
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suggestions included Transfort and MAX advertising geared toward seniors; user-friendly
technology for increased awareness of bus schedules; Demand Response doesn’t work well for
them because they’re home; they’re not opposed to alerts, but want to maintain control of the
thermostat; focus on how to retrofit older homes for energy efficiency; Utilities should provide a
listed of trusted contractors.
Affordable Housing Board: how to measure utilities costs, affordability, consider cost of
construction with regard to constructions requirements, City incentives related to fees and
development, support infill, etc.; concerned about “code creep” including more complexity with
diminishing returns; adding more insulation doesn’t work; need a performance-based approach.
Development fees related to infill are no different for greenfield as they are for brownfield. This
board resonated with staff and Energy Board’s ideas for encouraging more efficient transportation.
Chamber of Commerce – Local Legislative Affairs Committee (LLAC): need to provide details on
how much it would cost to implement goals associated with Energy Policy; suggestion that a
member of the business community serve on the Energy Board, which the Chamber understands is a
City Council decision. Ms. Rosintoski explained that the City budget is the trigger to implement the
Energy Policy. She mentioned that she received two public comments on the Energy Policy via
email regarding retrofitting homes for energy efficiency, and growth just outside our community
and its effect on transportation.
Economic Health Strategic Plan
(Attachments available upon request)
Economic Health Director Josh Birks summarized the Economic Health Strategic plan that was
accepted June 2 by City Council. Due to scheduling difficulties, he was not able to present it to
Energy Board before the Council meeting. Birks stated the plan is a living document and expects it
to be fine-tuned over the next several years as discussion continue on the interplay between the plan
and Energy Policy. A strategic plan was completed in 2012 and staff revisited it to align the plan
with the City’s values and its “triple bottom line” approach. Other reasons included the fast pace of
changing industries, climate change, community buildout and how it influences the local economy.
The strategic plan is an attempt to address “why”: community prosperity (employment opportunities
exist across the income and education spectrums; close the skills gap; diversify employment
opportunities; enhance business success; more work ready employees), regional issues. The
Economic Health and Social Sustainability department work together. Plan themes include Grow
Our Own (having a great economy, great place to live, achieve targeted infill and redevelopment
with efficient and effective processes, balance land uses, investment in infrastructure, preserving
Fort Collins’ unique qualities). The Climate Economy: help businesses adapt in place and face
challenges related to climate change and climate adaptation; using land we have, raising awareness,
engaging the business community, and increasing innovation.
Think Regionally: a region that partners to address economic issues that extend beyond municipal
boundaries, enhance partner collaboration, preserve regional character; 38,000 people come to
Larimer County to work every day and 45,000 leave the county to work. In contrast, Fort Collins is
a net importer of employees on a daily basis, more come in than leave. Broaden the Scope: Labor
force consists of three main groups (Primary employers: more than 50% of sales outside; Support:
essential services; Services: low wages and low multipliers). Manage Growth: Growth
Management Area. “Plan Fort Collins” is a shared community vision of what we want our
community to look like.
Discussion Highlights
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A board member inquired what percentage of total workforce leaves Fort Collins and comes
in. Fort Collins has nearly 90,000 employees in its population and substantial moving
around occurs. Mr. Birks mentioned the labor force study on the City’s website contains the
exact number and that he would forward the link: http://www.fcgov.com/business/pdf/2014-
09-30-Fort-Collins-labor-study-FINAL.pdf
A board member commented the builders and service sectors make the community.
A board member inquired how to diversify our economy and wondered if this is something
City staff thinks about. Mr. Birks replied yes, and listed investing in industry clusters, Clean
Energy, water innovation, bioscience, and technology. He stated that the qualities that make
Fort Collins unique – beers, bikes, and bands – involve industries that are attracting
innovative talent, which is one of the City’s key diversification strategies; they’re selected
because the businesses are engaged; it’s no longer the case as in 2001 when one industry’s
economic downtown negatively affects the whole city.
A board member inquired how staff defines economic health and what metrics are used. Mr.
Birks stated issue-identifier metrics help identify what issues are coming up, such as the
employment rate and the number of jobs created compared to population growth.
A board member commented that Fort Collins is approaching buildout; seeing the
population stabilize is preferable to having high population and high traffic. Quality of life
includes how many people are employed in decent jobs. Mr. Birks replied that one metric
showed 55% of residents live and work in Fort Collins. In contrast, Boulder has about two-
thirds of its residents leave every day for work. He is searching for a metric that measures
income inequality and the number of graduates who find employment locally. Statistics
come out every 10 years after the census, which isn’t often enough for staff’s purposes.
A board member commented wanting a mix of different industries (manufacturing, services,
education); each will have its own benchmarks for energy intensity. Mr. Birks commented
that a few years ago some companies identified Fort Collins for possible data centers and
asked for incentives; City staff politely declined to offer such incentives and the companies
left quickly; while staff was mindful of the need for such centers, they knew this community
could do better than 10 jobs on 120 acres.
A board member inquired how the Smithsonian Museum chose Fort Collins for its
innovative cities exhibit. Mr. Birks replied that Fort Collins is being recognized for its long-
time innovative, entrepreneurial spirit.
A board member commented that it would be interesting to review each sector, such as how
close people live to the university or hospital, and are there certain sectors that import more
of their employees, then focus strategic planning on transportation, for example. Mr. Birks
replied this can be done with a combination of census and other data. A board member who
works at CSU mentioned that the university mapped where employees lived and how far
they are from bike trails, bus stops, etc.
A board member commented on remote workers who work from home if the company is
based in Fort Collins or outside Fort Collins, and inquired whether they were considered in
the statistic. These workers represent low energy usage because they don’t have a commute
or space at an office building. Mr. Birks replied that commuting data is inferred from
employee and employers’ zip codes, and staff would need to conduct surveys; the
information is not obtained from readily available data.
A board member inquired about essential services. An example is Hexel came to Windsor
because they followed Vestas, which makes wind turbine blades. If Hexel hadn’t been there,
Vestas would have gone outside Weld County. Mr. Birks stated the Economic Strategic
Health Plan includes an index of all companies: finance, real estate, insurance; not just
supply chain products.
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Utilities Strategic Financial Plan
(Attachments available upon request)
Strategic Financial Planning Manager Lance Smith explained strategic financial planning involves
adding context from an operational perspective: how Utilities will pay for operations and projects.
Each utility has a strategic financial plan that addresses what each will encounter: operations and
maintenance costs, what kind of rate adjustments are necessary to raise revenues, what debt to issue,
and maintaining financial resiliency. Mr. Smith stated reserves exist for each utility (Water,
Wastewater, Light & Power), and staff is developing capital improvement plans for each.
The plan includes financial analysis, risk assessment, and recommended financial
policies/strategies. An important component is the Asset Lifecycle Management Plan that lists
major assets for each utility, asset demographics, asset conditions assessments, and a “cradle to
grave” perspective. For example, electricity cables installed in the 1980s are about 30 years old;
Utilities will need to replace some. A detailed replacement strategy will help staff determine the
level of reliability expected in the future, and will include examining asset performance,
maintenance and replacement costs, and how much money to keep in reserve. For the next budget
cycle, staff will write budget offers for specific replacements, such as $5 million to replace cable,
and if that designated money is not spent, it will get carried over to be used for that specific
designation in the next budget.
Color key for plans status graphic on page 8:
Green: staff has completed
Red: staff is starting to work on
Pink: staff has been working on this but it’s still too early for results to be discussed
White: staff has done this in the past and is updating now to have reasonable expectations
once the analysis is finished
Next steps for the 2015 strategic financial plan include: for water and wastewater services, include
Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in the financial modeling; for stormwater, update CIP cost
estimates; for Light & Power (L&P), develop CIP and prioritize improvements, Lifecycle
Management plans for assets, Identify non-lapsing appropriations for the 2017-18 Budgeting for
Outcomes (BFO) cycle.
Discussion Highlights
A board member inquired if Light & Power had a strategic financial plan. Mr. Smith replied
that in the past, L&P’s plans depended on the knowledge, several years in advance, of the
need to construct substations, which required land; L&P saved money for these projected
projects and paid cash for everything; a more formal plan now analyzes how long substation
transformers will last, how much they will cost, maintenance, replace them as they fail;
since most infrastructure is underground, workers will be essentially rebuilding the entire
system, which has been built out over the past 30 to 40 years.
A board member commented on the City’s’ great reputation for reliability, but has concerns
about the future. Mr. Smith replied that staff will complete a Capital Improvement Plan by
the end of the year, ahead of the 2017-18 budget cycle.
A board member inquired whether the wet utilities have this plan in place. Mr. Smith replied
that wet utilities do have a Capital Improvement Plan. Staff developed asset management for
wet utilities and also L&P. Now that major projects such as Advance Meter Fort Collins
have been completed, staff is working on completing asset management plans.
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A board member expressed concern about “business as usual,” not just how will we pay for
X watts of solar but evaluating what we’ll need in a few years. Mr. Smith replied that staff is
analyzing where we’ll need new substations, recognizing the Climate Action Plan (CAP),
and reviewing where we are today; staff recognizes the need for more modeling, and has
consultants to assist.
Ms. Rosintoski explained that with the CAP in place, staff knows what we have and what
we need to do; understands modeling for loads and maintenance of assets, and on top of that
more modeling for future scenarios such as distributed generation. Right now, staff is
reviewing how circuits are loaded, their capacity, and how to serve load or redistribute it.
Mr. Phelan commented asset management started with the wet utilities and is moving to
L&P to develop a more formal, clear structure.
A board member inquired about the current mindset and whether we’re using good
judgement. Mr. Smith replied that the goal is to be more precise and detailed about money
anticipated for certain projects to increase transparency.
2015 Energy Policy Revision and City Council Memo
(Attachments available upon request)
Energy Services Manager John Phelan summarized the timeline to complete the draft Energy Policy
and present it to City Council. Public comment and presentations to boards and commissions have
been completed. He reviewed a summary of comments from various groups including City and
Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) staff, boards and commissions, and the public/stakeholders.
Mr. Phelan mentioned that the Energy Board’s August meeting packet will include a red-lined
version of the draft Energy Policy for board members to review.
Chairperson Pete O’Neill presented the red-lined draft memo to City Council and board members
agreed on additional revisions including the following: mentioning Environmental Services Director
Lucinda Smith and FC Moves Program Manager Paul Sizemore as staff involved in developing the
Energy Policy; delete the word “being” so the following sentence reads “…and the challenges to
security and privacy created by smart grid technology.” And revise the following sentence to “We
also recognized the local economic opportunities of the changes in the energy business…”
Board Member Margaret Moore moved to approve the memo to City Council with revisions.
Board Member Phil Friedman seconded the motion.
Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously.
Discussion Highlights
Board comments included: increase mention of safety, reliability, and affordability;
acknowledge external regulatory impacts, e.g. ozone.
A board member agreed that the City’s goals for lower greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions
poses a revenue concern. Mr. Phelan commented that it’s about being more transparent; the
City wears two hats representing itself and also as a partner and one of four member cities
that own Platte River Power Authority (PRPA). Mr. Phelan stated the other three cities don’t
have goals related to ghg emissions. PRPA aligns with the City of Fort Collins’s goal of
20% ghg reduction.
A board member commented we have a responsibility as a partner in PRPA.
A board member inquired if we tried to merge the two into one metric, it hides the issue of
excess sales outside of the member cities; it doesn’t make that point clear about generating
extra energy and selling it on the market. Ms. Rosintoski commented for awareness that
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PRPA will presents its Integrated Resource Plan at the August board meeting, and show how
the City’s goals affect it and what costs are involved.
A board member inquired about the target and whether it aligns with PRPA’s target. Mr.
Phelan replied that PRPA and the City both have a goal of 20% reduction by 2020. By 2030,
the goals begin to differ.
Regarding diversification (solar, wind, natural gas), Mr. Phelan asked the Energy Board
whether the policy should define types of generation, and a board member replied that it
should. A board member disagreed.
Another board member commented that if the Energy Policy is too specific, then it would
lock the policy into language that would need to be revised in a few short years if a more
efficient technology comes to prominence. A board member commented that leaving types
of generation open would allow room for innovation. A board member agreed it’s best to not
restrict the Energy Policy to certain types of generation that might fall out of favor soon.
A board member commented that lack of specificity leads to a lack of action. A board
member commented that the Energy Policy is not meant to be an implementation plan.
Board members clarified that consensus is to leave the policy unspecific regarding types of
generation.
A board member commented that there’s no point in mentioning impacts of external
regulations because it’s understood the City would comply with whatever the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires. Another board member argued that it’s
necessary to mention this topic because of how this would impact the policy.
A board member commented that the City’s budget drives implementation of projects
related to the Energy Policy.
A board member commented the policy includes mention of costs, such as utility billing and
ability of residents to pay, and cost of construction.
Ms. Lucinda Smith commented that very few houses use wood-burning as their sole energy
source, although it does cause air pollution during winter and summer.
A board member mentioned Rocky Mountain Institute’s summer newsletter, which contains
an article about “load defection” (versus “grid defection”): people stay connected to the grid
and also use a combination of roof-top solar and storage.
In reply to comments that the Energy Policy doesn’t mention water, a board member
mentioned that the drinking water delivery system in Fort Collins is gravity-fed and uses
relatively low energy.
A board member suggested including how code affects construction costs.
Citizens and stakeholders pointed out a conflict regarding the terms “carbon neutral” and
“fossil fuel free;” different terms are used in the Climate Action Plan (CAP) and Energy
Policy. A board member commented that carbon neutral is a fuzzy term and fossil fuel free
is specific, and also pointed out that some people have a problem with the term “clean
energy.” Another board member commented that it doesn’t matter because the meaning is
close.
A board member commented that the CAP and Energy Policy should use the same terms if
the two are to align. Another board member suggested using “carbon neutral” as the base for
achieving “fossil fuel free.” Other board members agreed.
A board member commented that it will ultimately be up to City Council what language the
policy uses.
Board Member Reports
Last month Board Member Stacey Baumgarn attended an awards ceremony in Washington,
D.C. on behalf of Colorado State University, which received the U.S. Department of
Education Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Award
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(http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/index.html). CSU is one of only nine
postsecondary institutions in the U.S. to be recognized. This was the first time the program
was open to colleges and universities. Baumgarn commented that the recognition indicates
true progress in CSU’s sustainability program.
Mr. Baumgarn also mentioned that he was scheduled to take a rooftop tour of CSU’s 6 new
solar PV arrays, recently installed through Fort Collins Utilities Solar Power Purchase
Program (SP3)
http://www.fcgov.com/utilities/img/site_specific/uploads/Solar_Power_Purchase_Guideline
s.pdf, which encourages the installation of new local solar systems on behalf of all Utilities
customers. To put the growth of solar in perspective, in 2009 when CSU installed its first
solar array, an 18.9 kW system, it was the biggest array in Fort Collins at the time. Today,
CSU has installed 6.7 megawatts on its campuses. Mr. Baumgarn stated that when it comes
to five-year plans, a lot of progress can happen in a short amount of time.
Board Member Greg Behm mentioned the decreasing cost of solar energy, indicated in bid
by Austin Energy of less than 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Board members also briefly
discussed the fact that Warren Buffet’s company, NRG Energy, increases prices 3% each
year.
Chairperson Peter O’Neill commented on an article in IEEE Spectrum, magazine of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), on the 50th anniversary of Moore’s
law, which listed how fast various things have changed, such as semiconductor efficiency.
Board members briefly discussed invitations to two upcoming events (1) the July 15
presentation by the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC), hosted by the Transportation
Board. RAQC was formed in 1989 to address the “brown cloud” of Denver along with other
pollutants including ozone. In 2004 the North Front Range was added to the ozone non-
attainment region with Denver. In 2013 RAQC was given the formal responsibility for
ozone planning for the North Front Range; members from this area were added to the
council. Anticipated changes in the Federal Standards for ozone will likely have impact on
Larimer County along with the rest of the region; (2) a July 29 super-issue meeting on
broadband for all City boards and commissions.
New Business
None