Idaho Falls Utility Board Meetings

April 12, 2023 The Idaho Falls Power Board of the City of Idaho Falls met Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the Idaho Falls Power Boardroom, 140 S. Capital, Idaho Falls, Idaho at 7:45 a.m. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Announcements: There were present: Mayor Rebecca L Noah Casper Board Member Michelle Ziel-Dingman Board Member Tom Hally Board Member Jim Francis Board Member Jim Freeman Board Member Lisa Burtenshaw Board Member John Radford (joined via Zoom at 7:50 a.m.) Also present: Bear Prairie, Idaho Falls Power (IFP) General Manager Stephen Boorman, IFP Assistant General Manager Josh Roos, IFP Chief Financial Officer Richard Malloy, IFP Engineering and Compliance Manager Randy Fife, City of Idaho Falls Attorney (left meeting at 9 a.m.) Linda Lundquist, IFP Board Secretary Mayor Casper called the meeting to order at 7:47 a.m. Calendar, Announcements, Events and Updates Mayor Casper reviewed the April announcements and upcoming events. Assistant General Manager (AGM) Boorman explained that the safety trailer demonstration is designed to exhibit the hazards and potential dangers of electricity and said that local contractors, public works employees and IFP employees recently attended the demonstration. General Manager (GM) Prairie added that the trailer is also taken to schools and said he will make city officials aware the next time a demo event is scheduled. GM Prairie talked about the Fearless Leadership training that was rolled out to all utility employees over the past year and is culminating with a training/luncheon at the Mountain America Center. Mayor Casper said she expects more international visitors as the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) continues their research projects. GM Prairie announced the annual Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) will be holding their annual conference in May where carbon capture presentations will be a topic of interest to utilities, especially those who are required to reduce their carbon emissions in the coming years. Board Member Radford gave updates on the status of local and national bills under consideration and mentioned that the United States (U.S.) House is considering a fossil fuel production bill. Board Policy No. 2 – City Council Acting as IFP Board GM Prairie invited Board Member Francis to review the proposed edits to the policy. There was a discussion over the roles of board members versus council members, board agenda setting, director evaluation process, appropriate topics for work sessions versus board meetings (Both are publicly held meetings.), and the desired outcome of IFP Board meetings. GM Prairie pointed out that when the utility applied for its bond rating, Fitch was very impressed with the Board’s policies; specifically identifying a payment in lieu of taxes policy and formal practice where services for transfer are based upon actual metrics and said he believes that helped the utility to obtain a AA credit rating and noted the rating is the best in the country for a utility of its size. Mr. Fife suggested including the city attorney and human resources department’s input for any resolutions that get brought forward as a result of discussions surrounding director evaluation  April 12, 2023 Unapproved process changes. GM Prairie said he will continue to collect comments to Board Policy No. 2 as they come in and bring back an updated draft for further review and discussion. Board Policy No. 4 – Utility-Wide Market Based Compensation Annual Policy Review GM Prairie reminded the Board that the policy is always reviewed in the wage adjustment period and pointed out there were no issues with the contract negotiations. He gave a general overview of the recent meetings and said that the wages are benchmarked and reacting to last year’s wages and pointed out the scale for the entire utility will move up four point five percent (4.5%) in May following policy and data from the Milliman survey from the previous year (2022). 2023/24 IBEW Agreement Review GM Prairie said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker (IBEW) Local 57 union contract was passed. He reminded the Board that the annual negotiations usually surround the following topics: insurance changes/costs, health retirement accounts, positions and titles changes/additions, clerical and general language clarifications to the contract. He pointed out that wages were put in place for five years (adjusted annually per policy and contract) as previously agreed to and noted that the utility is entering into its fourth year of such agreement. GM Prairie pointed out that the Milliman survey solved most market proxy disagreements and has lowered the wage-temperature within the utility. He reviewed the summary and mentioned his focus is on adding depth to power supply and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract management. Board Member Freeman commented that it’s obvious the union has a good working relationship with the utility from the turnaround vote. It was moved by Board Member Freeman and seconded by Board Member Hally to approve the 2023/24 IBEW Agreement and give authorization to the Mayor to execute the contract. The motion passed unanimously with Board Member Radford voting electronically. The Board commended GM Prairie on maintaining a good working relationship with the union and for the work done on this year's agreement. Electric Vehicle Charging Discussion Mr. Roos gave a brief history of the utility’s growing fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) and presented the needs/reasons for several types of chargers that have been installed at IFP, the city’s airport, Snake River Landing, downtown Idaho Falls and Walmart. He explained the usage grid and made cost comparisons on charging stations as well as types/brands of chargers. GM Prairie noted that manufacturers are testing different minerals for improved batteries. Mayor Casper said the industry’s goal is to get the charge time to below 12 minutes, but that technology could be up to ten years away barring significant new technology. Mr. Roos explained that the utility is exploring point-of-sale software that will be compatible with all charging stations in the city and mentioned that while the technology is advancing at a fast pace, the utility wants to be the leading experts in the field for the state. Board Member Hally commented that EV charging is still in the adoption stages in Idaho, including Boise. Mr. Roos reviewed potential charging costs and pointed out that it is very affordable to charge at home versus on the road in hotels, fueling stations, shopping centers, etc., and pointed out that it’s still less expensive to purchase fuel than to pay for a full charge at Walmart’s fast charging station in Idaho Falls. GM Prairie pointed out the cost for an 8-port fast charging station is about $250,000 or more. He explained that the next steps are understanding point-of- sale technology and applications that accept and communicate to enable payment based charging. He said he will continue to meet with other city directors and business owners about EVs. Board Member Francis asked if billing for city charging would be managed by IFP and GM Prairie said it makes sense as another way to sell electricity. Board Member Radford said that the U.S. Department of Commerce is going out for bids on charging also. Hydrogen/Peaking Plant Update  April 12, 2023 Unapproved Mr. Malloy reviewed INL’s proposed net zero grid drawing, including the IFP peaking plant project and noted that the drawing is a high-level concept and compact to show all the elements of a proposed research center/micro grid, but in reality would be more spread out across the property’s acreage. GM Prairie added that there is an option to purchase an additional small piece of land to square off the property if needed/desired. He explained that the cost to buildout a high pressure natural gas line is similar to the cost of building out high voltage power lines. Mr. Malloy said there are companies who may be able to use the hydrogen output of the 10 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer and said that General Electric (GE) is interested in working with IFP and the INL. He pointed out that the site is a long-term vision and that INL has received some upfront funding. GM Prairie said he is trying to get INL to think in the longer-term and added if we build the right facilities that additional grants and collaboration projects could follow. He said if the project is going to get built that it will likely be an Idaho Energy Resources Authority (IERA) project that will bond out and added that he and Mr. Malloy will be touring another aeroderivative plant the following week in Utah. Board Member Francis said he could see it would make sense to purchase additional land if the INL is committed and Board Member Hally commented that it’s possible once the INL is ready that the land will cost more and pointed out if IFP buys now, the land could always be sold in the future. GM Prairie reiterated that the city has a peak energy need and the INL has a research need with the burning of hydrogen at a peaking aeroderivative turbine supplied by GE. He offered that if the land/space were purchased up front, it could always be leased back to INL and that he could develop a rate package for them. Board Member Hally asked about long-term gas contracts and GM Prairie said that gas contracts can run up to 15 years, and noted that he hasn’t seen generation under $80 megawatt-hour (MWh) in the region. Mr. Malloy reviewed the timeline and explained that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air permits could take 6-8 months and noted that the hope is that GE will give IFP a good deal on the demonstration turbine for IFP to own after the INL project is over. Board Member Freeman asked if there has been any public outreach and GM Prairie said the website has been updated and that he is open to a press release and hosting an open house. There was full support from the board to continue to proceed with the project. Board Member Francis commented that he felt the 2019 Carbon Resolution was working toward the concept of net zero because the police station was all electric and Mr. Malloy pointed out that in order to get to net zero, you need to research what will work for the situation. GM Prairie reiterated that he is happy to design rates that meet INL’s net zero goals but cautioned that he won’t socialize the cost with the rest of the utility’s customers for an individual customer’s specific energy supply desires. Strategic Plan and Capital Plan Review and Discussion GM Prairie reviewed the IFP Strategic Plan and noted updates that include: maturing the fiber network, hydro relicensing, technology, billing software limitations, office and yard space challenges, workforce and load growth. He proposed to experiment with other templates/formats that simplify and synthesize the information better. AGM Boorman stated that the capital improvement plan (CIP) process needs to ensure that IFP’s infrastructure meets strategic goals. He explained that the process is planning, collaborative, iterative and is built on prior year’s CIPs. He reviewed the current workplan spreadsheet and summary sheets which are designed to capture the scope and cost of each capital item. GM Prairie said the utility has been following a memo-type template used throughout the city, though it was adapted to IFP’s needs. AGM Boorman pointed out that some information is similar to other departments while other things are different such as: IFP’s capital items are funded out of rates, IFP doesn’t typically have many grants, and most capital projects are completed with inhouse labor. He explained that it’s difficult to execute a capital plan perfectly and gave various disruptive events that can derail a plan and added that some projects don’t get done and moved to the next year’s plan, while other projects unexpected or not may present themselves. AGM Boorman announced that the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) grant had been submitted and stated that the next budget won’t reflect grant funding but explained that it may need to be reopened if awarded.  April 12, 2023 Unapproved There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m. s/ Linda Lundquist s/ Rebecca L. Noah Casper Linda Lundquist, BOARD SECRETARY Rebecca L. Noah Casper, MAYOR