HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Read Before Packet - 7/10/2018 - Memorandum From Mike Beckstead, Lisa Rosintoski And Dan Coldiron Re: July 10 Adjourned Meeting Agenda Item 1 - Ordinance 093, 2018 Appropriating Prior Year Reserves In The Light And Power Fund, The WaUtilities
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222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
970.212.2900
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utilities@fcgov.com
fcgov.com/utilities
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: July 9, 2018
TO: Mayor Troxell and Councilmembers
FROM: Mike Beckstead, Chief Financial Officer
Lisa Rosintoski, Utilities Deputy Director Customer Connections
Dan Coldiron, Chief Information Officer
THROUGH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager
Kevin R. Gertig, Utilities Executive Director
RE: July 10, 2018 City Council Adjourned Meeting Agenda Item 1, First Reading of
Ordinance No. 093, 2018 Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Light and Power
Fund, the Water Funds, the Wastewater Fund and the Storm Drainage Fund for the
Utilities Customer Information Billing System Project
At the July 2 Leadership Planning Team meeting, City Council requested further information on the
added July 10 City Council meeting agenda item Broadband Billing System Appropriation. The
specific questions with responses are detailed below.
Question 1: The company chosen for the project and should include information about their track
record and response times.
RESPONSE:
Open International LLC (Open) is a business and operations provider of Customer Information
Systems and Operational Support Systems (CIS/OSS) in the utilities and telecommunications sectors,
thus a comprehensive, integrated solution platform for both utility and broadband services, that
includes customer billing (https://www.openintl.com/product-open-smartflex/).
Open is an LLC registered in Florida and the company is owned by the Corredor Security Trust, a trust
organized in the State of Florida, which acts as the holding entity for the interest in all of Open’s
affiliate companies. Open was founded in 1987 by William Corredor, who graduated as a Computer
and Electrical Engineer from Purdue University. Mr. Corredor has lived in Miami since 1999, and
Hernando Parrott, President of North America, has also lived in the U.S. since 1999 as well. Open is
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headquartered in Miami, Florida, with sales, solution consultants, and future research and development
office in San Francisco, California. Open’s product development center is located in Cali, Colombia.
The Open solution platform is branded as “Smartflex,” since it is a multiservice, flexible, highly
configurable, modular, and natively integrated platform used to provide billing, customer service and
field service functionality for utility and telecommunication services.
The Open platform provides an integrated solution to automate the commercial, technical, and
operational areas of utilities and municipalities that offer electric, water, wastewater, telephone, and
broadband services. Key milestones and accomplishments that demonstrate “track record and
responsiveness”:
1987 – Company founded
1997 – Over 40 municipalities using Open in South America
2000 – Largest customer Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM), is one of the largest utilities
companies in Latin America, with revenue over $5 Billion USD, serves over 20 million
customers across seven countries with a uniquely comprehensive offering of all Utilities
(Energy, Water, Gas, Waste Management), Pre-paid Electricity, Pre-paid water.
2009 – Added second largest community access television (CATV) provider in Latin America
with over 6 million customers
2018 – Officially launched Open products in North America in April
In 1999, Open won an award for the implementation of the Operational Support System (OSS)
with the largest service provider in Colombia, and the unified Customer Management, Billing
and OSS solution for the incumbent telco service provider of Ecuador.
In 2002, Open was recognized as a leading CIS provider for utilities, municipalities, and
telecommunications service providers in South America. Significant milestones included
contracts for managing all the subsidiaries for Promigas, a large natural gas distribution group
with over 3 million customers.
In 2005, Open unveiled “Smartflex”, representing its fifth product generation, and expanded to
several additional countries in South and Central America, including Ecuador, Brazil, and
Costa Rica.
In 2005, Open was not only a landmark in company sales, but more importantly, the TM
Forum, (TM Forum is the global industry association that drives digital transformation of the
communications industry through collaboration) a global standard billing association
recognized in more than 195 countries, awarded Open with the “World’s Best Billing
Implementation” recognition for its EPM project.
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In 2006, Open’s Innovation and Development Center received the Carnegie Mellon’s
Capability Maturity Model Integration level IV rating. This achievement, based on the most
rigorous standards in the industry, recognizes Open’s quality processes and methodology in
software development. Also in 2006, Coopelesca, a Utility service provider in Costa Rica,
deploys Open Smartflex in order to introduce Broadband and CATV services to its customer
base.
In 2007, Open successfully implemented “Smartflex” covering the Broadband, CATV and
Telephony services for America movil / CLARO for five countries in Latin-America.
In 2009, as Open launched its sixth generation of products, the company was selected to
implement a billing and customer solution for Cablevision, the second largest CATV provider
in Latin America, with over 6 million subscribed services. Open’s portfolio also included
solutions for waste management sector, and the installation base at this point spanned 15
countries.
In 2010, Liberty Global, the World's largest international TV and broadband company, through
its subsidiary VTR, the largest CATV service provider in Chile, selected and implemented
Open’s solution for its new wireless business.
In 2011 through 2012, Open began a relationship with the Veolia group, the most significant
water distribution company in the world with operations in five countries in North and South
America. As they manage new operations in the region, Open’s CIS has become their standard
customer management software.
In 2013, in conjunction with the release of the seventh product generation, Sempra Energy
(based in San Diego, CA) selected Open to implement its full CIS and Field Service suite
throughout their five subsidiaries in Chile.
In 2017, AES (a US-based electric generator and distributor) selected Open’s Field Service
solution for their subsidiary in El Salvador. The powerful and agile workforce solution
manages over 300 field crews in AES and almost 1,000 service crews at Energuate, a company
of the IC Power group, in Central America.
In summary, the level of success that Open has experienced in South America has positioned the
company to enter the North American market for solid success with launch in April 2018 at Customer
Service Week, a non-profit educational conference company that serves utility professionals at
electric, gas and water/wastewater utilities across North America and around the world. Open has
been planning the North American launch for the past three years, ensuring a solid product solution.
Through the design of industry solution best practices, utilization of modern and robust underlying
technology, rapid continuous improvements, and a fundamental focus on a close and long-term
partnership with clients, whom Fort Collins Utilities staff has consulted with, Open is resourced and
committed to support Fort Collins towards replacing the current 18-year old Customer Information
System and creating the Operational Support System. Also, Open has confirmed they have over 500
engineers to support their product and customers across all countries, and Open has been training the
U.S. team. In addition, Open has partnered with a specialized utility services company, Milestone
Utility Services, to assist with product localization and services (https://www.musiusa.com/). Fort
Collins worked with Milestone previously on its billing system.
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Question 2: Cost of the system and what is covered.
RESPONSE:
The total estimated cost of the CIS/OSS is $9.5 million, and includes:
Total Mandatory Modules Licensing
Customer Information System
Web Self-Service
Batch Scheduling
Reporting/Dashboards
Warranty
Maintenance/Service Agreement
Customer Self Service
Broadband
Mobile Workforce
Total Implementation Services
Project Management 100% Dedicated
Software Installation
Fit or Gap Analysis
Configuration
Modifications (Design, Develop, Test)
Interfaces (Design, Develop, Test)
Data Conversion
Client Report Hours
Regulation enhancements
Application/System/Performance Testing
Core Team Training
End User Training (Train the Trainer)
Parallel Testing
Conversion Testing
Acceptance Testing
System Go-Live Activities
On-site Post Go-Live Support
Utilities Information Technology Support
Data Conversion
System Infrastructure/Hardware
System Infrastructure/Hardware - Maintenance
Integrations with geographical and asset management systems
Staffing assignments to support backfill for day-to-day operations
External Project Manager
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Project Admin
Space - 117 N Mason as vendor and staff centralized implementation facility
Office Equipment - monitors, printer/copier, docking stations, tables, etc.
Office supplies, food, employee recognition
The funding being requested is $6,297,001. In addition, $2.3 million was previously appropriated in
the 2017-18 budget cycle to support current utility needs, and the broadband appropriation has already
been made to fully fund the purchase and implementation of the new billing system.
Question 3: Has CIS/OSS been managed through the City’s capital plan?
RESPONSE
The CIS has been in the initiating and planning phases of project management since 2015, and
therefore reflected in the Utilities Capital Infrastructure Plan, and the Long-Term Financial Plan.
Broadband OSS was managed as part of the Broadband Feasibility Assessment capital estimate costs,
that included integration with CIS.
Question 4: Best practices for billing systems/Broadband; should include what Longmont and other
municipalities are doing for Broadband (speak to best practices).
RESPONSE:
As part of the 2016 CIS evaluation, Utilities explored industry trends in new billing and service
platform technology, changing customer preferences, and, with Platte River Power Authority, formed
a CIS evaluation team to understand the owner cities’ timelines for replacing their Customer
Information Systems.
The 2016, Utilities evaluation recognized, due to the current 18-year old CIS system, options in the
marketplace were robust and cost-effective, especially strong in the Tier 2 market, which are utilities
of 50,000-500,000 customers. Typically, Tier 2 utility CIS Solution RFPs achieve between eight (8)
and fourteen (14) total RFP respondents, offering as many as eight (8) or more distinct CIS
Solutions/options. This analysis was accurate, as Utilities received eight proposals for the CIS/OSS
solution.
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The table below lists several industry trends for a CIS/OSS solution:
Significant Electric and Water Industry Trends
Trend Included
Account for changing regulatory or legal requirements. Including changes
to tariffs.
Better understanding of customers and their varied interests and
preferences.
Customer choice – having the ability to choose program options.
Customers have higher demands of their service providers.
Perform in the best interest of the customer to streamline operational costs
while providing enhanced services that assist in efficiency and conservation
investments.
Flexible billing display and output options
Increased focus on cyber security
Based on Navigant Research, Navigant Consulting, Inc.,
(https://www.navigantresearch.com/newsroom/utility-billing-and-customer-information-systems-
transformation-is-a-4-billion-market-opportunity) overall, the utility industry is experiencing a large
number of CIS systems that are 10 to 20 years old and designed for simple regulatory billing
standards. However, with smart grid technology achieving a stronger influence, the selection of more
robust CIS systems that can handle data feeds from smart meters, time-of-use (TOU) and real-time
pricing (RTP), demand response (DR) programs, and the sheer volume of data that is generated from
the smart grid systems, replacement is necessary in order to provide customers data for usage, cost,
and investment decisions. Also, based on Utilities 2017 statistically valid Customer Satisfaction
survey results, customers expect to access, pay and track their utility and broadband services from any
device.
The collaboration, led by Platte River, of the owner cities’ evaluation of CIS brought common
understanding on where each city was on replacing their existing CIS, and in the case of Longmont the
OSS, and how each city manages their functionality preferences. The conclusion was each city had
varying timelines and utility services that did not align optimally for joint CIS/OSS partnerships.
Fort Collins learned from the City of Longmont they chose to manage two billing systems, since a
comprehensive, integrated solution did not exist at the time they launched their broadband system, and
their preference was not to replace their utility billing system as they had recently managed a
significant upgrade to the Banner system. In addition, their customer support is provided by two
separate teams. In early 2018, the City of Loveland selected their new CIS system vendor, which does
not include a comprehensive broadband billing system; however, the new CIS can reflect imported
broadband charges for billing, payments, and delinquency processing.
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Originally, as part of the 2016 CIS evaluation, Utilities believed we would have to manage a similar
approach to the City of Longmont, as no integrated CIS/OSS platform existed to support five utility
services. Fortunately, at the end of the CIS evaluation, and as part of understanding the integration of
broadband services, Open was identified and presented their comprehensive, integrated solution.
Recognizing this, Utilities issued an RFP giving preference to a comprehensive, integrated solution;
which is a single system.
Utilities received eight responses, with two vendors offering differing platforms to an integrated
solution. The first was Open, one system developed and designed to cover the requirements of
multiple utilities, and the second vendor’s solution was two operating systems that were integrated on
a data level through a customer interface.
Attachment:
2018 April 19 - Energy Board Minutes
CC: Lori Clements, Senior Manager Customer Care and Technology
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Energy Board Minutes
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Energy Board Minutes
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Fort Collins Utilities Energy Board Minutes
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Energy Board Chairperson
Nick Michell, 970-215-9235
City Council Liaison
Ross Cunniff, 970-420-7398
Energy Board Vice Chairperson
Amanda Shores, 408-391-0062
Staff Liaison
Tim McCollough, 970-305-1069
Roll Call
Energy Board Present: Chairperson Nick Michell, Alan Braslau, John Fassler, Vice Chairperson Amanda
Shores, Stacey Baumgarn, Bill Becker, Krishna Karnamadakala, Jeremy Giovando, Greg Behm
Water Board Present: Chairperson Brett Bovee, Vice Chairperson Kent Bruxvoort, John Primsky, Jim
Kuiken, Andy McKinley, Jason Tarry, Becky Hill, Lori Brunswig, Phyllis Ortman
Late Arrivals: None
Energy Board Absent: None
Water Board Absent: Mike Brown, Steve Malers
Others Present
Staff: Tim McCollough, Christie Fredrickson, John Phelan, Cyril Vidergar, Kevin Gertig, Lisa Rosintoski,
Marisa Olivas, Jeremy Call, Teresa Schmitz, Carol Webb, Daylan Figgs, Jason Graham, Lucas Mouttet,
Matt Weyer, Chris Donegon, Mark Kempton, Leland Keller, Brian Tholl
Platte River Power Authority: Paul Davis, Alyssa Clemson Roberts, Christine Mikell (Enyo), Pat Conners
Members of the Public: Joe Piesman
Meeting Convened
Chairperson Bovee called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Public Comment
Joe Piesman, Chairperson of the Land Conservation & Stewardship Board, shared they recently sent a
memo to City Council regarding the proposed transmission line that could cross Meadow Springs Ranch
(MSR). Mr. Piesman wanted to share the Board’s interest in the MSR’s current and future conservation
value. Mr. Piesman added that if or when the Wastewater biosolid program ends the Land Conservation &
Stewardship Board is interested in what is going to happen to MSR.
Approval of March 8, 2018 Board Meeting Minutes
The March 8, 2018 Board Meeting Minutes will be approved at the May 10, 2018 regular Energy Board
Meeting.
Announcements and Agenda Changes
None
[5:35] Staff Reports
Utilities Executive Director Update
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Kevin Gertig, Utilities Executive Director
(attachments available upon request)
Mr. Gertig gave an update on the Utilities’ accomplishments and what is to come for the fiscal year of
2018. Utilities has continued the journey of a culture of safety. This culture of safety has brought positive
changes to the organization, with a reduced injury rate and overall improved safety. This is not only a
culture of safety at work, but includes maintaining work/life balance. Carol Webb, Water
Resources/Treatment Options Manager, is a leader on this endeavor and facilitates several trainings. The
Utility operations face several dangerous challenges; if everything is properly engineered, employees are
thoroughly trained, and there is a culture of safety a safe environment can be maintained. The goal is zero
injuries.
Mr. Gertig moved to discussing the Utilities’ water future. Mr. Gertig stated that in Northern Colorado
there is a challenge of how to best progress in the future, given the amount of water storage in the area.
This question leads to others on water conservation and the type of conservation programs that are in
place. There has been outreach not only in Fort Collins, but to other organizations in neighboring utilities.
The water future looks good for Fort Collins in terms of water rights and seniorities, but there is the issue
of when, not if, Fort Collins will have a drought.
Mr. Gertig then touched on the Asset Management Program. Last month a go-live was launched for
Maximo, the computer maintenance system (CMMS). Individuals in the field can now use an iPad to
enter data and reach a 21st century methodology in terms of asset management. Coy Althoff is the fulltime
Asset Manager and there is a data scientist that works alongside Mr. Althoff. The Utility is moving at a
quick pace with a positive trajectory on renewable energy. There are plans for an additional 150
megawatts of wind and additional solar on a large scale. Mr. Gertig said if anyone was interested in
further details there will be a City Council Work Session held on May 8, 2018. The Climate Action Plan
continues work on sustainability. Mr. Gertig encourages everyone to look at the metrics online
(fortcollins.clearpointstrategy.com). Mr. Gertig said it is one thing to talk about climate action and
renewable energy, but it necessary to see the data and evaluate how well the Utility is following the
statistics.
Mr. Gertig touched on progress with Broadband. There are four positions currently being advertised.
Space for the new employees is being made at The Utilities Administration Building and at The Utility
Service Center. The network operations center (NOC) will be located at The Utility Service Center. Light
and Power (L&P) operations for the supervisory control system are in motion. There is more information
on Broadband at https://www.fcgov.com/broadband/. Mike Beckstead, Chief Financial Officer, is the
interim director on this project, and he has been working closely with Darin Atterbury, City Manager.
A goal Mr. Gertig has is to accelerate the Development Review Process, and a redesign of the program is
underway to streamline the process. The current process is slow regarding the means one can precede
with development review (i.e. building permits, erosion control, etc.).
Mr. Gertig touched on a few tech advancements. One is L&P’s future installation of an advanced
Geographic Information System (GIS), replacing the current system. For major construction projects, Mr.
Gertig mentioned work on Walnut Street, a significant project for the Water sector with L&P’s assistance
on the conduit. Another major construction project currently underway is the duct bank for Harmony
Road, a much-needed project for circuits, high tech, and loads happening in that area.
Mr. Gertig is proud of the progress that Mr. McCollough has made on the inventory and on project
management. Every vault in the city is underground and many points have gone unchecked, unless there
was an outage. L&P has started to systematically check vaults and terminations with a 64 percent
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inspection progress rate so far. Achievements for 2017 include the Chlorine Contact Basin, Ultra-Violet
Disinfection System, and Erosion Control. The Chlorine Contact Basin had been in the planning stages
for 20 years; Mr. Gertig said at times the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) takes a while to
integrate. It serves as the central contact for the city, and maintains reservoir levels. More information can
be found online. Before ultra violet disinfection, chlorine and sulfur dioxide was used to disinfect the
waste water. Mr. Gertig presented a graph of the number of erosion control inspections done in Fort
Collins (2008-present). There is currently construction and permitting in progress to minimize erosion
throughout the city. Mr. Gertig moved on to Water Quality Services’ work on Upper Cache la Poudre
Monitoring Sponsorship, which looks at sediment and Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) contribution to
the water. Mr. Gertig said that although not many citizens are aware of the program, it is intricate to water
quality. Mr. Gertig shared a graph of the trajectory of annual water demand, and said Fort Collins is
fortunate with decent water shed compared the rest of Colorado. Utility’s 90 Day lookout includes
Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) and a Time of Day (TOD) rates implementation. Mr. Gertig said without
smart meter infrastructure the Utility would not be able to do this.
Water Treatment Facility Power Supply Process and Update
Mark Kempton, Water Production Manager
(attachments available upon request)
Mr. Kempton was present to give updates on the Water Treatment Facility (WTF) Power Supply Process,
a project approved from the 2017 BFO. The project is to convert the power supplier at WTF from Xcel to
L&P. Until recently the plant was in Larimer County, outside of Fort Collins’ city limits so it fell outside
of L&P’s service area. The facility is served by two separate overhead powerlines. Overhead powerlines
are very susceptible to outages. WTF can experience several outages a day and can be caused by things
such as high winds or snowstorms. Outages range from an hour to outages lasting 13 to 14 hours straight.
City Council (Council) approved a budget of 1.3 million to build an underground powerline from the
L&P service area. This will not serve as a substation, but as a connection from Mulberry Road and
Overland Drive to the plant. The goal of all this is to increase reliability, provide better customer service,
and solve communication barrier currently present between Xcel and the WTF. WTF is moving towards
renewable energy. A micro hydro turbine will be installed towards the end of 2018.
Mr. Kempton showed a graphic of the purposed path of the powerline. L&P discovered a duct bank
already in the ground on Rampart Road, saving WTF a lot of negotiation time and money with Colorado
State University (CSU) as the power line route falls on CSU’s property. WTF worked with CSU to renew
the lot easement that had expired, and it is now WTF’s perpetual easement. WTF is in the design and
construction phase. They are staking out the alignment and coordinating with CSU to produce a final
design by June 2018 with a completion date in September 2018. This process also included extensive
negotiations with Xcel about how L&P will take over this plot of Xcel’s service area. Negotiations
resulted in a reasonable abandonment cost and involved implementing a 1978 annexation agreement with
Xcel. WTF eventually annexed the plant into the City on March 2, 2018, allowing L&P to extend their
service area and take over from Xcel.
Board Member Bovee asked if Solider Canyon Water Plant is serviced by Xcel and should the plant
experience the same outage as WTF, is there a service line to help sell them power. Mr. Kempton said
WTF has let them know about the annexation and gave an option for Soldier Canyon to be involved or
not. Soldier Canyon chose not to, but they can be annexed into the City easily. Mr. McCollough
commented that in the discussions with Xcel, Xcel was cautious about the possibility of more surrounding
parcels annexing. At this point this is only isolated to the WTF. If Soldier Canyon wanted they would
have to go through an annexation petition and a petition to buy capacity into the system, like L&P. L&P
would have duct bank capacity to potentially serve Soldier Canyon, but it would have to be done under
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the same process. Mr. Bovee asked if that would vary on an emergency basis. Mr. McCollough responded
that it would not change without going through the process mentioned before.
Mr. Kempton started to discuss the PV Solar Array on WTF’s site. It is owned by a third party whom
have an agreement with Xcel and WTF pays back credits on a monthly electric bill. WTF is working with
L&P to accept the Solar Array into their system as well. Board Member Primsky asked how big the
conduit will be. Mr. McCollough said it will be five inches. Mr. Primsky also wondered about the amount
of electricity WTF uses. Mr. Kempton mentioned that a lot of the WTF plant is gravity driven: There is
very little pumping, and most of the flow that passes through the plant is driven by gravity. Compared to
most plants WTF has a small electric footprint. The micro hydro WTF is planning to install will produce
roughly a third of WTF’s power consumption when it is up and running.
Chairperson Michell wondered when power goes out for a water treatment plant what sort of economic
cost/problems are incurred. Mr. Kempton noted that there are two types of power outages. A Blip power
outage is when power disappears for minute and comes back again. Those cause an upset to WTF’s
process and operation but they are manageable. For longer term outages, WTF has several large diesel
generators on site that automatically turn on when power has been out for longer than two minutes. The
generators can run for three to four days. Mr. Michelle asked since electricity was going to come from
the City if it is costing WTF less money. Mr. Kempton confirmed the cost is slightly less.
Roundhouse Renewable Energy’s Transmission Line over Meadow Springs Ranch
Jason Graham, Water Reclamation and Biosolids Manager
Christine Mikell, Founder and President Enyo Renewable Energy (Enyo), LLC
(attachments available upon request)
Jason Graham manages the Mulberry Water Reclamation Facility, the Drake Water Reclamation Facility,
and the Meadow Springs Ranch (MSR) Water Reclamation Facility. MSR is a 26,000-acre ranch on the
boarder of Wyoming. Christine Mikell shared that her company, Enyo Renewable Energy (Enyo), was
formed in 2016. Between Enyo and MAP Renewable Energy there is a shared interest of 12 percent of all
operating wind projects in the United States. Enyo began developing the Roundhouse Wind Project in
2016, about the same time the City was finalizing the Climate Action Plan. Platte River in August of 2016
released its request for proposal (RFP) for wind of 50-75 megawatts. Enyo submitted a proposal to Platte
River and was short listed. Through those negotiations and given the value of the project, Platte River saw
fit to increase the size to 150 megawatts. The Roundhouse Renewable Energy is a 150-megawatt project.
150 megawatts can power 80 percent of the homes in Fort Collins and 40 percent of the homes in Larimer
County with clean energy. The commercial operation date (COD) that the project would start generating
power is by the end of 2020. It is a 21.5-year contract. The location of the project is both on private and
state land in Wyoming. The delivery point is to Platte River’s Rawhide Substation. The output will be
delivered directly into Platte River’s transmission system through a high voltage transmission line.
To build that transmission line in addition to getting an easement from the City, Enyo will also need to go
through Larimer County’s 1041permitting process. A benefit of the project includes decreasing Fort
Collins’ emissions by 10 percent. Ms. Mikell presented a map of where the project would be located.
Enyo chose this location because of the nodal value for wind power. Enyo, in collaboration with the City,
has been working on narrowing down possible transmission routes that would be least impactful. Ideally,
Enyo wants to look at routes where there is already land fragmentation. MSR is already fragmented with
infrastructure. Enyo needs to determine three proposed routes and identify them with the City and use the
Energy by Design process to see which is least impactful.
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Board Member Karnamadakala asked what Ms. Mikell meant by the term fragmented. Ms. Mikell said
what she terms as fragmented is open space that has infrastructure crossing through it (i.e. transmission
lines, railroads, and the old highways). Enyo has looked at areas that have been impacted already to see
what features and species are there and try to find a route that would limit impacts to natural species.
Ms. Mikell showed a proposed schedule of the project. In the Spring of 2018, they will conduct a site
study and map route possibilities. In the Summer of 2018, Enyo will choose one route and begin resource
surveys with biologists walking the route to determine where the natural and cultural resources are
located. During the summer there will also be public outreach and preparation of the 1041 application.
Enyo plans to return in the Fall of 2018 to share results with the boards of the City. Enyo will go before
Larimer County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners in the Winter of 2019. At
that point Enyo will come before the Water Board for a recommendation of easement. The 1041 and
easement is for the transmission line, but the wind farm will be in Wyoming. That is subject to a separate
set of regulations requiring an Industrial Siting Permit from the State of Wyoming and collaboration with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services on surveys related to sensitive species. The input from all agencies
will inform Laramie County of its progress. Board Member Braslau asked if the timeline run concurrently
for the transmission line easement and wind farm construction. Ms. Mikell verified it would.
Board Member Brunswig asked why the Water Board would oversee recommending easement. Carol
Webb, Deputy Director of Utilities and Water Board Liaison, answered that the Water Board will have a
formal role in the process since the easement will cross property owned by the Waste Water Fund. Board
Member Giovando wondered if 21.5 years was a short term for a contract. Mr. Giovando did not know if
this was standard or an adequate time frame. Pat Connors, Vice President of Power Supply with Platte
River, said the typical term is 20 years for a Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). It is necessary to go
out 20 years to get the economy to scale and to spread the cost over many years. Platte River does have
the ability to extend the contract at some point, but they want to make sure the price is attractive enough
to avoid a significant rate impact on Platte River customers. Mr. Connors explained that the reason there
is half a year included is because Platte River wanted the contract to end on the first of June; it is the
standard contract year-end-date for energy markets. Mr. Giovando then asked if the contract already
included an option to extend. Mr. Connors said they have a right to first offer on the contract, but there is
not a right of first refusal to automatically extend because of the tax credits associated with the project.
Mr. Connor shared an option that was negotiated was to own the transmission line. The transmission line
will carry the 150 megawatts of wind, but could be capable of up to 500 megawatts of power
transmission. Before the project goes commercial in December 2020, Platte River has the option to own
the transmission line. The next option to purchase the transmission line is five years later. Board Member
Becker asked if Enyo owns the transmission line assets. Mr. Connor responded that Enyo will own it if
Platte River does not exercise the option to own. Turbines are also owned by Enyo, so Platte River is
paying a price to Enyo per megawatt hour.
Mr. Becker wondered what the service life of a wind turbine is. Ms. Mikell said it is anywhere from 25-
30-year life span. Mr. Becker said if the life of the turbine is 25-30 years why not make that the contract
term. Mr. Connor answered that sometimes there is maintenance or turbines being replaced before
reaching the end of the 25-30 years life span. There is a hope that the price will continue to drop, so they
did not want to lock in the contract for the remaining years. Mr. Becker asked where Platte River’s cost
was to get this project in place versus the joint venture. Mr. Connor answered that Platte River’s only
obligation is to pay the PPA price. Enyo will build the transmission line and connect the turbines.
Mr. Michell asked who gets to decide which route the transmission line takes and the building costs. Mr.
Connors said it is a balance between Enyo and the City, but if certain restrictions are put on the
transmission line Enyo can choose to not go forward with the project. Daylan Figgs, Senior
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Environmental Planner of the Natural Areas Department, said there is a process called Energy by Design
that uses biological, cultural, scenic, and recreational value to make thoughtful decisions about where
impacts are placed or avoided for the region including Meadow Springs Ranch, Soapstone Prairie, and
Red Mountain Open Space. It helps choose the least impacted route and builds in mitigation to offset the
impacts. The goal is to avoid highly sensitive areas. The route selection is based on what is least
ecologically and socially impactful. Board Member Bruxvoort asked if all reasonable routes go through
MSR. Mr. Figgs confirmed they did, as other routes that are available fall into a cost point. Mr. Bruxvoort
then asked how many entities involved in the easement process, outside of the City. Mr. Figgs answered
that Fort Collins is alone in granting the easement of the property. Energy by Design includes entities
such as state and local governments, non-profit organizations, Fish and Wildlife Services, Parks and
Wildlife Services. For the Roundhouse project the transmission line will cross MSR and a few private
land owners. Mr. McCollough added that between Council, the County, the state of Wyoming, and the
Wyoming industrial siting process all decision makers must agree for the project to go through.
Board Member Braslau asked what the future is for the use MSR for biosolids. Mr. Graham said the
current plan is to continue MSR production of biosolid applications. MSR produces a Class B biosolids,
so it is only good for land application. With the acreage of MSR it is a cost-effective way to utilize the
space. Mr. Graham said for the next 10 years that will be the direction for biosolids. Board Member
Primsky asked who may object to this project. Mr. Figgs said if the route is carefully picked out and
includes a mitigation offset approach that makes sense hopefully not a lot of people would object.
Mr. Primsky wondered since much of this depends on federal tax credits, if there was a forecast on the
continuation of federal tax credits considering the $22 trillion national debt. Mr. Connors replied that the
tax credits are a big part of the project. When the federal government last extended the tax credit it was
the first time they planned to phase them out (from 100 percent, 80 percent, 60 percent, eventually to 0
percent). Due to that phase-out, the tax credits are unlikely to be extended, and if it is extended it will be
at a much lower level. Platte River thought this was the last good opportunity to receive tax credits with
the Roundhouse project coming in service in 2020, which is also the last year of full tax credit at full
value.
Board Member Ortman asked if the easement permission can be negotiated for a price. Ms. Webb said
she did not believe so, but she did add that there are opportunities to negotiate the easement to mitigate
and restore for the impacts of the easement itself. Board Member Bovee asked why they are looking to
approve the easement before starting in Wyoming. Ms. Mikell said it was good to go to the entity that will
permit the wind project, Wyoming, with the necessary easements and a PPA in place to show the matter is
being taken seriously. Mr. Michell shared that the Energy Board is thrilled with the Roundhouse project
proposal and are on board to support it.
Board Member Terry asked how aggressive the schedule is, especially if there are major hiccups. Ms.
Mikell said on the wind project side there are two years of wildlife surveys that need to be completed.
One is almost complete and the other should be done by the end 2019. Construction would ideally begin
in 2020. There is some flexibility with the schedule regarding easement, industrial siting, and the 1041
application. Ms. Mikell estimated about six months of wiggle room, if the project hits a bump in road. A
150-megawatt project can be built within six-seven months, and the transmission line may take a month.
Enyo will take the risk if they miss the date, the PPA price remains the same for Platte River.
Mr. Primsky asked if the entire transmission line will be above ground. Ms. Mikell said that where the
wind project is located the turbine to turbine line will be underground, but from the substation to Rawhide
it will be above ground. Mr. McCollough added that building an underground high voltage transmission
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line is about ten times the cost to building overhead. It is furthermore less reliable to go underground at a
transmission level. A fault that may happen underground takes more time, effort, and money to repair.
Utilities Affordability Portfolio Update
Lisa Rosintoski, Customer Connections Manager
Pete Iengo, Utilities Program Coordinator
(attachments available upon request)
Pete Iengo explained that in the start of 2014 the Utility went through a comprehensive process to
evaluate what role should be played in the space of Utility affordability. The result of that related to
administration, rates, funding, efficiency, conservation, as well as education. The strategy is built around
energy and water efficiency opportunities, and financial support opportunities. Since the portfolio was
conceptualized in 2015, recommendations for an Income-Qualified Assistance Program (IQAP) has been
given to Council. On April 17, 2018 Council unanimously approved the first reading of the IQAP. IQAP
is an efficiency program that leverages bill discounts to rollout strategies and agendas related to energy
efficiency and conservation.
Mr. Iengo presented the current existing suite of programs including Colorado Affordable Residential
Energy, Larimer County Conservation Corps Energy and Water Program, Solar Affordability Program,
Medical Assistance Program, and Payment Assistance Fund. IQAP falls under the listed potential
efficiency programs. Other potential efficiency programs are On-Bill Financing 2.0, Expanded Larimer
County Conservation Corps, Building Energy Scoring and Income Qualified Rebates. For On-Bill
Financing 2.0 Fort Collins was recognized as a champion city through Mayor Bloomberg’s Challenge and
was awarded $100,000 to focus on addressing the split incentive with landlords and their low and
moderate-income tenants related to efficiency upgrades. The Income Qualified Rebates concept relates to
incentivized rebates for low-income customers to make energy efficient purchases. The average
assistance per household has more than doubled in recent years. This is related to bringing a Medical
Assistance Program online, an increase in rates, and some policy changes. The Payment Assistance Fund
is expecting eight-times increase in funding since 2015. The Payment Assistance Fund is available for
emergency assistance to low-income customers. This was achieved through a strengthening in
partnerships and the abandoned property policy on the City level. Abandoned property related to utilities
is allocated to the Payment Assistance Fund once a year. IQAP will be introduced in October of 2018. For
the next two years data will be gathered to see how well the IQAP concept works. The gathered
information and recommendations will be brought to Council in 2020. Time of Day (TOD) Rates will
also be implemented in October of 2018. IQAP will be an opt-in process where the customer will need to
make an indication that they want to participate. It will be funded from reserves during the early phases,
and there will be recommendations to Council on the best way to fund in the long term.
Mr. Michell was curious why Council is ok with the IQAP currently, as two years ago they rejected the
idea. Lisa Rosintoski replied that City Council gave them feedback during a work session. They also met
with certain council members one-on-one and a stakeholder group. Through that collaboration they
remolded the program as it is presented today. Council wanted to be diligent that this was not a program
that went on forever; it has very specific criteria. Council also wanted to make sure the conservation of
this program fit a utilities purpose.
Board Member Shores asked what was meant regarding funds from the abandoned properties. Mr. Iengo
replied that the City has a public noticing process on abandoned property. For the Utility that means
dollars abandoned on accounts for several years. Rather than adding the abandoned properties related to
utilities into the general fund it was pushed towards the Payment Assistance Fund. Mr. Giovando asked
what is the percentage coming from abandoned properties. Ms. Rosintoski said since this is a first for the
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Utility, the first influx of cash was $81,000. There is not an estimate for annual percentage. Other funds
for the Payment Assistance Fund are donations or matching dollars from established partnerships.
Mr. Michell wanted to keep focus that the end means of the IQAP is to enable households to reduce their
consumption and not just for assistance. Ms. Rosintoski said that audits are not required at this point, but
as the program begins there will be a better understanding of the facilities that low-income customers are
staying in, whether they are an owner or renter, and the condition the facilities are in. The Utility can
promote audits through existing state programs. Payment Assistance Fund will be phased in for three
years.
Board Member Baumgarn is concerned about the customer experience. Just because someone needs
assistance with a lower utility cost does not mean they have all the opportunities to make the adjustments
accordingly. Mr. Baumgarn stressed that with a co-benefit goal of reducing consumption, which may or
may not happen for various reasons, it is important to not turn around and be punitive. Mr. Baumgarn
does not want customers to feel singled out or put through a process just because they are low-income.
Mr. Baumgarn is uncomfortable with the idea of customers not receiving assistance because they fail to
meet the performance measures put upon them. Mr. Bovee said there are going to be strings attached to
any income qualified assistance program. It is critical to keep the strings attached, so they reach the goals
or at least show an effort at conservation, that will hopefully ultimately lower the customer’s bill. Mr.
Iengo said the goal is to reach a process that is reasonable to the customer, while also meeting the
conservation need.
Utilities Customer Satisfaction Survey
Lucas Mouttet, Customer Accounts Manager
Matt Weyer, Customer Accounts Analyst
(attachments available upon request)
Lucas Mouttet walked through the 2017 Customer Satisfaction Survey results. The survey was
undertaken during October of 2017 to early November of 2017. There was a total of 600 residential
responses, 200 commercial responses, and 13 key account responses. Mr. Mouttet started by showing
national satisfaction survey trends. Residential satisfaction is on rise due to pricing and perceived quality
to customers. Commercial satisfaction is also on rise due to payment options and communications from
the utilities. Water quality is a big focus for customers and utilities. It was found frequent communication
and good conservation programs help to increases satisfaction. The most important factors for all
customers were quality and reliability, it then varies based on residential versus commercial customers.
Mr. Mouttet shared the Fort Collins Community Survey results which show benchmarkable data to
national and Front Range utilities. Customer satisfaction has remained stable for the past 10 years, with a
5 percent increase from 2016 to 2017. A main reason for the satisfaction increase between 2016 and 2017
was due to controlling cost and value services. Other reasons included availability of efficiency programs,
environmental stewardship, and infrastructure security. Mr. Mouttet went into further detail of service
area ratings; he noted there may be an education gap on survey questions in which customers answered as
neutral (i.e. storm water related). Mr. Mouttet sees this as an indicator that the Utility needs to do more to
help customers understand. Mr. Mouttet noted there is a larger percentage of discontent found when
looking at price satisfaction. The Utility is working on tying information from the customer satisfaction
survey to metrics for utilities. For example, Mr. Mouttet showed a graph correlation of survey results for
timeliness satisfaction and the Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). There was not as
much of a correlation found when looking at power quality satisfaction and Momentary Average
Interruption Frequency Index (MAIFI). This could be due to many different variables. Mr. McCollough
added that the Utility does have power quality and power transient issues and there is work being done to
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fix the index and data around large commercial and residential impacts. Residents were presented
questions on TOD rates and whether they would support being charged more for energy use during peak
periods of the day, when it costs more to generate energy. Over a third of customers agreed with TOD
rates, a quarter did not agree, and the remainder were neutral. Mr. Mouttet shared that the survey found
that renters are generally more interested than owners in conservation programs. Renters are also more
worried about accuracy of bills and quality customer service. Owners are more likely to contact the City,
pay for preventative maintenance, and support TOD rate structure.
Mr. Michell asked Mr. Mouttet what he may expect to happen to customer satisfaction when TOD is
rolled out. Mr. Mouttet said he believes it will impact the overall customer satisfaction, but it will level
out in a couple years. Mr. Mouttet thinks it is important to reach out to the community to provide them
with information in a timely way. Mr. McCollough added that when it came to the pilot program, across
the board there was a 2.5 percent reduction in energy use. If customers are cost cautious they should see a
reduction in cost, so it could have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Mr. Michell wondered how
much of the public used the Utility web portal. Ms. Rosintoski replied there may be a population of
12,000 customers that use it or have accessed it, but only around 2,000 use it on a regular basis.
Adjournment
The Water Board meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) Draft Offers
Tim McCollough, Light and Power Operations Manager
Brian Tholl, Energy Services Supervisor
(attachments available upon request)
Mr. McCollough mentioned there are several offers going into the draft budget, and he wanted to
highlight that the presentation is only in the draft stage as it is being refined. There are other initiatives
across the City that may be jointly funded and be added to Light & Power (L&P) fund, coming from the
same pool of revenues that these offers are anticipated to hit. L&P does have an obligation to submit final
offers by Wednesday April 25, 2018.
Mr. Becker commented on the amount of various substation projects proposed (i.e. adding feeder to an
existing conduit, re-conduit, and re-trenching, etc.). Several budget offers show that since feeders are at
95 percent or 100 percent, loading on the hottest day, caused Mr. Becker to wonder if any alternative
projects, such as battery storage projects, energy efficiency projects, and demand response projects had
been considered. Mr. McCollough replied that the short answer is yes; there are opportunities for both
short-term and long-term to replace certain aspects of electric capacity with the mentioned type of
distributed resources. Battery storage or solar, for example, can have beneficial impact on feeders. Mr.
McCollough does not see in the short-term, or at least the current budget cycle, there being a replacement
for that capacity. On a long-term scale, as storage becomes more affordable and adopted more frequently,
along with programs and systems in place that asset can be used to reliably shave peak events.
Mr. Becker expressed concern that L&P is blindly following the “utility path” by adding conduit, versus
addressing the issue at hand. Mr. Becker believes it becomes a circular argument between not needing
demand response at early stages but then having to reverse steps in the future, and stated that the circular
logic gets locked in place with such a presented budget. Mr. McCollough said he understood the
feedback, but pointed out that copper in the ground is also one of the items that allows L&P to host
additional distributive resources. The ability to place a large solar insulation or a large battery storage
insulation, if it becomes a grid asset, must be connected by copper. Board Member Becker mentioned the
Brooklyn/Queen’s project, a massive infrastructure project that was avoided through storage efficiency
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and demand response, and said there is a mindset shift that needed to start from the top down. Board
Member Braslau also added that perhaps there needs to be a demand component included with residential
rates, as there is presently for commercial rates.
Regarding the Carpenter Road Duct Bank, Mr. Michell asked staff if putting two miles of duct bank in a
natural area to get to an annexation, a multi-million-dollar project, was unwise. Mr. McCollough said this
is a value L&P needed to consider as an organization and as a community. L&P has no electricity
capacity in the region whatsoever; the electric capacity stops at the intersection of Timberline and
Carpenter Road. There are parcels currently at Interstate-25 and Highway 392 that have started annexing
into the City that allow L&P to carry over (and include in service territory), but copper must be placed
first before bringing on customers. If the annexable parcels, current zoning, and average loading in that
zoning are added together, two reliable circuits would have to be built for long-term capacity (about a six
million dollar outlay of 2017 dollars). When it develops, L&P will get capacity fees back, an estimated
$1-$2 million range of recoverable electric capacity. The value proposition is to either continue the
history of the Utility by continuously taking over service territory in such annexed areas, or make a shift.
Mr. McCollough said there has been a precedent of other water utility service within the city limits, but
there has yet to be a precedent of having other electricity utilities (outside of a temporary basis).
Mr. Becker asked if there was precedent for a joint pick with L&P having a conduit and feeder from the
Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association (PVREA) substation where L&P oversees billing and PVREA
provides the energy. Mr. McCollough said the Carpenter Rd. line parallels an existing PVREA feeder.
Board Member Giovando asked if there was a request to extend the service in that area. Mr. McCollough
said no, based on municipal code, L&P has an option to start serving but does not have to, but it becomes
a choice by L&P to start serving, they must give notice to the utilities currently serving the area that they
are going to take over, which starts the annexation clock. For PVREA there is an agreement in place that
L&P will pay 10 years of service right’s fees to PVREA for taking those customers on, even customers
that are not there yet (future customers). L&P pays capital costs of building its own infrastructure
Mr. Becker commented that the Core Renewable Energy offer’s policy goal of 2 percent local distributed
renewable generation by 2020 seemed too low. Mr. Becker wonders if that should be aimed around 40
percent instead [towards local solar]. Mr. McCollough reminded the Board that the two percent goal was
quoted in the 2015 Energy Policy. If the Utility were to move in an all distributed solar direction and not
build transmission lines the following should be considered:
• The blended price of all the renewable energy under Tariff 7 is 2.5 percent over our retail rate.
• The first SP3 purchases are at $0.18 & $0.15, and current SP3 projects are coming in at well over
our wholesale energy rate.
• Residential solar capital cost is on average 3.85 per watt. On a levelized cost of energy (LCOE)
basis, that is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour cost, so the net metered rate prices L&P holds are adding
to the overall energy blended cost.
Mr. McCollough does not believe in the short term that will save customers money or even save on long-
term infrastructure costs.
Mr. Keller, who runs the Residential Solar Rebate Program, commented that perhaps the cost band of
solar can be narrowed by posting data online so every prospective customer has access to that
information. Creating this transparency could ensure customers get the lower price. Mr. McCollough said
the question of solar pricing and rebate amount is an active conversation happening at the staff level. It is
necessary to determine what effect this is it going to have on energy goals and the CAP framework goals.
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Mr. Baumgarn wondered about the overall healthiness of the budget, the likeliness of enhancements, and
what Mr. McCollough and Mr. Tholl were most excited about in the budget offers. Mr. McCollough
explained the budget is broken up into different sections, ranging from core offers to capital
enhancements. The core offers can be looked at as “business as usual”, that includes offers 8.1 through
8.9. L&P is projecting revenue based on a 5 percent revenue/rate increase; based on available reserves,
there is not a lot of money that is going to be put on table this cycle. However, Mr. McCollough is excited
about the Cable Waste Reduction offer. This will allow L&P to bring in copper or aluminum in much
larger reels. Currently, cable is purchased on reel sizes containing a length of cable that is a compromise
between efficiency and the availability of materials. If the length of large diameter cable left over on a
reel after it has been issued to a job is less than is useful, it is often recycled as scrap metal. Depending on
the length of the cable needed for projects in any given year, between 18-29 percent of the cable is
wasted. An estimated 20 percent loss for medium-voltage cable purchased in 2017 yields approximately
68,000 feet due to short reel lengths – a value of almost $200,000. The solution to this problem is to
purchase cable on much larger "master reels" from our manufacturers and issue carefully measured
lengths tailored to each job, rather than issuing reels with standardized lengths. This is something that
could be monetized potentially to outside utilities needing cable reel storage. Mr. McCollough is also
looking forward to the Supervisory Control Operation Center (SCO) Remodel. This remodel would bring
technology upgrades, a runway needed for future control systems, and creation of a facility L&P can be
proud of. L&P would also need an advanced electric model to enable fault anticipation.
Mr. Tholl is most excited about FTE Conversion to Classified-Energy Code Compliance Specialist and
the Energy Efficiency Enhancement for Energy Services. The Energy Efficiency Enhancements are both
cost effective and critical to reach 2019/2020 Energy Policy Goals. Mr. Tholl also mentioned the Bring
Your Own Thermostat offer. This offer is low cost and allows L&P to begin to control products the
community are seeking out.
Mr. Michell commented he had thought the offer for the Electric Distribution Training Field was
approved years ago. Mr. McCollough said it was indeed approved years ago but the Training Field was
funded from a lapsing fund. After running into a few issues with development to build the facility that
caused delays, the lapsing fund disappeared. Delays included bike path design issues and environmental
issues that got in the way. L&P does not currently have the funds to complete the facility. He clarified the
offer is not for a building, but a field for training purposes such as pole rescue, bucket truck rescue, vault
rescue, climbing on poles with de-energized apparatuses, overhead line construction, transformer
connections, and locating underground facilities. Board Member Baumgarn noted there is a big safety
component to approving this offer. Mr. McCollough mentioned this offer is 100 percent funded by Fort
Collins’ Utilities. It is important to re-train the line workers with a risk of injuries happening, especially in
older demographics of 55-years-old and up.
Adjournment
The Energy Board meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.
Approved by the Energy Board on May 10, 2018
________________________________ ______________
Board Secretary, Marisa Olivas Date
6/22/2018
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