Idaho Falls Utility Board Meetings

November 8, 2018 The City Council of the City of Idaho Falls met in Special Meeting (Idaho Falls Power Board), Thursday, November 8, 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 Jim Francis Councilmember Michelle Ziel-Dingman Councilmember Jim Freeman Councilmember John Radford (departed at 8:45 a.m.) Councilmember Shelly Smede Absent: Councilmember Thomas Hally Also present: Bear Prairie, Idaho Falls Power General Manager Stephen Boorman, Idaho Falls Power Assistant General Manager Brad Cramer, Community Development Services Director Randy Fife, City Attorney Kathy Hampton, City Clerk Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 7:02 a.m. with the following items: Calendar, Announcements, and Events Update: Mayor Casper requested Council register for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association (ICUA) as soon as possible to allow adequate travel arrangements. Mayor Casper stated there may be concern for possible mismanagement of clean-up projects. Additional information will be forthcoming. She also stated there could be changes to the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project due to a change of Chair in the State legislature. Director Prairie stated a representative from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries will be present in January for an east Idaho discussion. Mayor Casper stated the Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON) will be making a presentation in January. Updates from Board Members: There were no updates. Metering: Director Prairie stated the City-wide deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) occurred in 2013. Elster Solutions LLC was awarded the contract as the meter manufacturer (it was noted Elster Solutions LLC was recently purchased by Honeywell). The bid specification included in the contract required communication notification. However, the outage management system failed to work property due to the REX2 meters as these meters would falsely relay power outages. Director Prairie stated there was a dispute with Elster Solutions regarding the meters. An agreement was reached with Elster Solutions which enabled the purchase of REXU meters at reduced price. Approximately 500 REXU meters were purchased, installed, and tested with positive results. Additional meters were then purchased and installed. However, it was recently discovered 35 of these REXU meters stopped working on the same day within a 3-4 hour timeframe. The stoppage created an error log that the IFP side software system could not detect. Elster Solutions identified this same issue several months ago at another utility; the specific cause is unknown at this time. Idaho Falls Power (IFP) is continuing to work with Elster Solutions on this issue. IFP staff is also performing analysis and is working with utility billing regarding the billing report on billing cycles. The financial impact is being calculated, additional information will be forthcoming. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Uplift Cost Billing: 1  November 8, 2018 Director Prairie stated IFP continues to work with BPA staff as well as working on a joint letter to PacifiCorp. He will be attending a meeting with UAMPS and PacifiCorp and will also be meeting with BPA administrator to hopefully settle this issue. He stated once BPA signs the new transmission agreement with PacifiCorp, IFP will officially stop getting charged for bulb transmission through UAMPS from PacifiCorp. IFP is currently paying transmission costs to PacifiCorp in the amount of $80-100k monthly as well as paying BPA. Director Prairie will be requesting reimbursement of funds paid to PacifiCorp. Future discussion will occur regarding Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and associated costs ($150-250k yearly), California Independent System Operator (ISO) expansion, and Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). BPA Transmission Rate Case Settlement: Director Prairie stated BPA transmission rate case is performed every two (2) years. He indicated BPA needed to make substantial changes, updates, and standardization to their transmission agreement, known as a tariff. The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) regulates the tariff to eliminate utility discrimination of other entities. The FERC determined there would be one agreement with the own individual utility rules and, agreements need to be consistent across the system. Network Transmission (NT) rate is proposed to increase 2.5% with new tariff/agreement. The ancillary services is increasing $7.65. If the settlement parties are in agreement, BPA will issue a Record of Decision for transmission in December but Power rates will be in July timeframe as normal. General discussion followed. The NT rate will vary by customer due to individual components, the NT rate will affect IFP rates effective October 1, 2019. Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association (ICUA) Update and Preparation for January Meeting: Director Prairie stated ICUA is a unique organization because it involves both the co-op and municipalities. The current ICUA was formed to bring the municipalities of Idaho into the organization. Assistant Director Boorman stated working with co-ops has huge value. Director Prairie stated ICUA wants to forward co-op centered issues at the 2019 legislative session including, Unclaimed Patronage Capital Bill (the unclaimed patronage capital funds could be utilized for the co-op for scholarships or low-income housing assistance for instance), and the Certified Propane Tank Fillers Bill (this would prohibit the customer from having their propane tanks filled by a leased or third-party supplier). Director Prairie stated ICUA is actively monitoring broadband (rural and municipal), small cell pole attachment (there appears to be no interest in this area from the legislature), and, the trespass bill that was passed last year (allows access onto private property to manage power lines). Director Prairie stated due to the newly-elected governor, ICUA positions could change with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council Board (needs to hold the entities accountable for fish and wildlife funds), Office of Energy and Mineral Resources Director (governor appointed, big influence on IFP), and, Energy Resource Authority & Public Utilities Commission (entity that allows lending for energy-related in state projects). Director Prairie stated he was appointed by the governor for the replacement of former IFP General Manager Jackie Flowers on the Idaho Energy Resource Authority board. He believes this appointment will be presented for senate confirmation in January during the 2019 session. Fiber Pilot Project: This item will be discussed at the December 2018 IFP Board Meeting. Strategic Plan: Director Prairie stated this plan sets the directives for IFP staff. Following review with staff, a few areas were identified that may need updated. Director Prairie reviewed the following areas needing possible changes with general discussion throughout:  Introduction and Mission Statement  Tag line - to be used on more frequent basis  Strengths - o Customer o Financial - ‘Limited customer class cross subsidization’ and ‘Low rates’ o Workforce o Reliability  Weaknesses 2  November 8, 2018 o Growth - ‘Limited yard space’ and, future discussion regarding the water tower o Customer - ‘Inter-departmental inefficiencies and continuity’ o Financial - ‘Sharing limited resources’ and, lack of backup for financial accountant o Workforce - ‘Board industry knowledge, stability and continuity, time availability’, move ‘Safety culture evolution’ to Strengths, ‘Silos’  Opportunities - add Fiber to Growth and/or Workforce o Growth o Workforce o Customer  Threats o Growth o Reliability o Workforce - ‘Governance turnover’, this refers to the current IFP Board, additional discussion will need to occur regarding continuation of the Council as the IFP Board, a board of ‘energy experts’ and/or a hybrid board o Customer - ‘Third party competition’ o Financial  Customer  Financial - consider adding an app for map data  Growth - could include Fiber  Reliability - include ‘RP3’, carbon-free  Workforce - continue to work on Succession Planning, Board self-evaluation will be forthcoming Future discussion will occur regarding potential/requested changes. Standing Reports: Director Prairie briefly reviewed a NOAA Fisheries article related to Chinook Salmon. Transmission and Distribution – continuing to work on the 161KV line with Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) Engineering – working on a service policy manual Energy Services/Customer Service – continuing to work through the potential buyouts for Happyville, although IFP is waiting to be approached from Happyville residents for this request. Director Cramer stated extending City services outside of City limits creates concerns for RMP customers. There is City policy not to extend water, sewer, and sanitation services. Director Prairie stated, per the Electric Supplier Stabilization Act (ESSA), all electric utilities are required to stay within their area (defined as City limits) to prevent poaching of other utilities. This area is regulated by State law. Some customers have been serviced due to previous projects. Mayor Casper stated customers can only be given the option to choose the power utility once they are annexed within City boundaries. Director Prairie clarified an individual customer cannot be served individually; a subdivision or group has to be all or nothing. Mayor Casper noted ESSA does not apply to fiber services. Director Prairie stated fiber has been noted as an extension of utility services. Director Cramer believes this is a key issue with the Area of Impact (AOI). He encourages a policy to stay within our area. Discussion followed regarding County standards versus City standards, the proposed boundaries of the AOI, and options for the County. Director Cramer believes the timing of discussion regarding extending City services is difficult due to the pending annexation of ~300 parcels. Mr. Fife stated the State will allow septic and well permits in close proximity to City sewer and water lines. This can create a health issue if the septic systems fail. There was consensus to schedule a future meeting regarding AOI prior to a joint meeting with the Bonneville County Commissioners. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m. s/ Kathy Hampton s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper CITY CLERK MAYOR 3