Idaho Falls Utility Board Meetings

August 9, 2018 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Meeting (Idaho Falls Power Board), Thursday, August 9, 2018, at Idaho Falls Power Conference Room, 140 S. Capital, Idaho Falls, Idaho at 7:00 a.m. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Announcements: There were present: Mayor Rebecca L. Noah Casper Councilmember Thomas Hally Councilmember Michelle Ziel-Dingman Councilmember Jim Freeman Councilmember Jim Francis Councilmember Shelly Smede (departed at 8:15 a.m.) Councilmember John Radford (arrived at 7:14 a.m., departed at 9:45 a.m.) Also present: Bear Prairie, Idaho Falls Power Director Pamela Alexander, Municipal Services Director Randy Fife, City Attorney Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 7:02 a.m. Mayor Casper stated modifications have been made with the agenda, this will allow Councilmember updates from additional power-related conferences/meetings, proposed action items, and standing reports related to Idaho Falls Power (IFP). Mayor Casper stated there is conflict with the IFP Board Meeting scheduled for September 13. Following brief discussion there was consensus to reschedule the IFP Board Meeting to September 27. Mayor Casper recommended Councilmembers attend the Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association (ICUA) and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) meetings if possible as she believes these meetings are valuable and beneficial. Updates from Board Members: Councilmember Hally stated there were notable presentations at the recent ICUA Annual Meeting. One particular presentation was related to relocation of fish and seals. Councilmember Hally stated there was an additional presentation related to electric vehicles. Councilmember Francis stated a portion of the Volkswagen (VW) settlement will be allocated to charging stations on secondary U.S. roads. Update: Fiber Pilot Project and Resolution: Director Prairie stated a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) has been distributed for design of the fiber to the home pilot project. A fiber hut has been ordered and will be located off Rollandet on current Parks and Recreation (P&R) property. An agreement between P&R and IFP has been tentatively made for the use the property. This location is in close proximity to current fiber backbone as well as natural gas infrastructure. The fiber hut will allow the open access network, which will bring fiber to individual homes. Director Prairie stated 10-15 fiber huts would be need to be strategically located around the City to allow fiber to all residents. Brief discussion followed regarding the structure and security of the hut. Director Prairie stated mailers will be distributed to pilot project customers in the near future with subsequent public meetings. He noted IFP will only be installing fiber infrastructure, IFP is not planning to offer internet services. He indicated there will be excess capacity in the infrastructure to allow other internet service providers to utilize the extra capacity not needed for electric metering and electric customer automation. General comments followed. Director Prairie stated a resolution has been drafted regarding fiber services. Councilmember Dingman believes a resolution is a good faith tool. Councilmember Radford concurred. Mayor Casper requested all Councilmembers review/edit the draft resolution for future approval. 1  August 9, 2018 Proposed Changes to Disconnect Policies and Procedures: Director Prairie stated under the current process, residents can be 75 days delinquent on their utility bill before being disconnected. Payment arrangements can be made, although arrangements can vary with individual customers. In some instances, the delinquent utility bill can become a substantial amount and therefore, can be very difficult to collect. Director Alexander believes a policy needs to be established. Director Prairie reviewed the proposed disconnect protocol for residential delinquent accounts with general comments throughout. He indicated payment arrangements would be replaced with a payment extension. Payment extension includes: all customers have the option to set up payment extension; payment extension must be requested prior to disconnection; customers may request up to three (3) payment extensions within a twelve (12) month period; and, extension has no terms or conditions except: if extended account is not paid in full prior to billing #3 printing, the account will be disconnected. Director Prairie stated the utility service has been separated between Utility Billing and IFP staff regarding disconnects. Director Alexander indicated there are approximately 600 accounts in some form of delinquency. Brief comments followed regarding energy assistance agencies. Director Prairie stated in the event of a manual meter disconnect, the meter will then be replaced with a remote meter. There will also be a $25 disconnect fee, versus the current reconnect fee. Director Prairie reviewed proposed disconnect protocol for non-residential delinquent accounts. Proposed protocol includes the late fee increased to 4%; $50 disconnect fee as well as $50 reconnect fee; and, no payment extensions for non-residential. Director Prairie reviewed Cold Weather Disconnect (regardless of time of year), stating the general rule will be a temperature above 30 degrees Fahrenheit. He also reviewed Medical Exemptions. He stated all information related to the disconnect policies and procedures will be widely distributed. This item will be included on the September 27, 2018 City Council Meeting agenda to be effective October 1, 2018. Councilmember Radford prefers a review of this policy after one (1) year. Mr. Fife noted a lot of time and effort has been spent on this issue by several staff members. Presentation: Proposed Changes in Fees, Rates and Customer Classifications for FY2019: Director Prairie stated the Commercial Demand Charge has increased to become more in line with actual charges. Additional proposed changes include:  Small Industrial and Large Industrial rates are being collapsed into one (1) rate  Residential Transfer Customer will not change, although any transfer from Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) will increase the IFP utility bill for approximately seven (7) years  Short-term Suspension with Notice has increased from $12 to $25  Maximum Security Deposit fee was unknown, this fee has been removed  High Density Load Rate (including Distribution Connection Fee, Credit Risk Deposit, Demand Charge, Energy Charge, and Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)) has been added as a new fee. This fee relates to crypto mining. Future discussion will need to occur regarding these customers as this is a large financial risk on other customers. These rates/fees will be effective October 1, 2018. Issue Briefing: Micro Cell Pole Attachments: Director Prairie stated locations for large cell towers in certain areas is difficult to attain, the next generation is the micro cell pole attachments for 4G. He noted 4G should not be confused with 5G as he believes the 5G information is not currently factual when people state it is ready for deployment. He stated 5G is not being deployed currently and micro cell is needed for the current 4G networks. Director Prairie reviewed pole attachment examples, with and without collaborative City input. He also reviewed large cell and micro cell infrastructure and connections. He indicated the usage of data is outpacing the network. Senate Bill (SB) 3157 amendments will apply shot clocks with “deemed granted” provisions, and non-discriminatory access to State and local right-of-ways (ROW), poles, street lights, and other street furniture. These amendments would apply to public power poles. Director Prairie stated American Public Power Association (APPA) is opposing SB 3157. He briefly reviewed the APPA opposition. He also stated discussion will need to occur regarding the infrastructure for micro cell pole attachments. Standing Reports: Generation – Dispatch is assisting with the Duck Race scheduled for August 11. 2  August 9, 2018 Transmission and Distribution – temporary employment has been offered to four (4) individuals for a groundman position to help with the fiber pilot project. Operations Technology – continue to work with outage management system. Engineering – continue to work with RMP on 161kV line (formally known as North Loop Project). Engineering is also working on a tree trimming contract, a new contract will be forthcoming regarding line clearance. This item will be discussed at a future Council Work Session. Energy Services – continue to work on Energy Vehicle services, these vehicles were displayed at Community Night Out. Energy Services also continues to work with billing/Cayenta. Administration – Stephen Boorman has been hired as the new Assistant General Manager (AGM). Mr. Boorman will begin September 10. Membership Concerns – UAMPS will be forthcoming. Brief comments followed regarding Public Power Council (PCC); Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC); Northwest RiverPartners (NWRP); Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association (ICUA); and, American Public Power Association (APPA). There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:56 a.m. s/ Kathy Hampton s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper CITY CLERK MAYOR 3