Massena Electric Department

Approved by the MEUB 5/24/2022 Page |1 MASSENA ELECTRIC UTILITY BOARD MINUTES of Monday, April 25, 2022 Town of Massena Electric Department – 71 East Hatfield Street Present: James Shaw Andrew McMahon, Superintendent Rene Hart Jeffrey Dobbins, Treasurer Richard Maginn Matt Gray, Deputy Superintendent –via Zoom Charles Raiti Margo Rochefort, Deputy Treasurer-via Zoom Eric Gustafson, Attorney-via Zoom Debra Willer, Town Liaison-via Zoom Patrick Facteau, Town Liaison Chairman Shaw opened the meeting at 1:01 p.m. 1) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the minutes of the regular meeting of March 17, 2022 as presented. Moved by Charles Raiti - Seconded by Richard Maginn - All in Favor 2) OPERATIONS UPDATE: by Matt Gray, Deputy Superintendent A. Safety: MED experienced no lost time accidents in the month of March. The number of consecutive days without a lost time injury now stands at 612 days. There were also no reportable injuries in March. As of March 31st, MED has been 294 days without a reportable injury. Lou Gabrielle with NEPPA was on-site to present an OSHA mandated, Qualified Electrical Personnel Refresher course. In addition, all MED employees attended a 6-hour Defensive Driving Course. Proof of participation will be sent to our insurance provider. B. Customer Impact Chart: MED experienced 17,273 Customer Impact Minutes throughout the month of March. The largest Customer Impact was due to a motor vehicle accident involving an MED pole. With the increase in Customer Impact Minutes, our 12-month average has increased slightly to 28,550. An increase of approximately 1,300 from last month. C. Reliability: MED Crews responded to eleven calls in the month of March. Of the eleven calls, seven calls had affected only one Customer and four calls affected more than one Customer. Six of the eight calls received contributed to the monthly CIM total. The largest Customer Impact occurred on March 6th when approximately two-hundred Customers were affected for nearly an hour due to a motor vehicle accident involving an MED pole, on State Highway 37 in the Town of Louisville. MED Crews were able to sectionalize the affected area and restore power to all but five Customers while repairs were made. The remaining five Customers were restored within 3 hours of the initial accident. The remainder of the CIM contributors in March were relatively small in scale and were mostly attributed to equipment failures.  Approved by the MEUB 5/24/2022 Page |2 D. Work Schedule: Crews are working on Belmont Street on the replacement of six poles as well as on North Raquette Road, near the airport, on the replacement of four poles. Crews have installed the necessary equipment upgrades to support the construction of the new Northern Federal Credit Union on Parker Ave Work has resumed on the service upgrades at the Massena Central School buildings with a focus on Madison, Jefferson and Nightengale Elementary. 3) FINANCIAL REPORTS: by Jeffrey Dobbins, Treasurer A. Write-Offs: RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby authorizes the write-off of bad debt totaling $3,346.41 as audited by Mr. Rene Hart. Moved by Richard Maginn - Seconded by Rene Hart - All in Favor B. Power Comparison Graph: Power cost for March totaled $703,500. Supplemental Power costs were $338,500. 10,675 MWh of incremental energy purchased. Zone D Average Energy rate was $31.70/MWh, half the price of February and a third of price for January. CES Charge over $101,000 for the fifth consecutive month. Impact to customers PPAC in May will be 1.1¢/kWh. Peak Demand was 43,300 kW, above the 5- year max. Peak set March 4th at 7:00 am. MWh purchased, over 23,630. Over 23,000 is high for March. March 2014 last time over 23,000. C. Cash Flow: The Operating Fund increased by $410,000 during March. The Operating Fund at month end was $4.6 MM. March receipts were over $2 MM, $686,960 more than budgeted. Increased sales related to cold weather and payments from LI-HEAP and other assistance programs. March expenditures totaled over $1.65 MM, $606,865 more than budgeted. The amount over budget is attributed to higher February power costs paid during March. These costs totaled $1.25 million and were $616,000 more than budgeted. D. Approval of Bills: RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the bills as audited by Mr. Rene Hart totaling $1,106,366.35. Moved by Rene Hart – Seconded by Charles Raiti - All in Favor 4) COMMITTEE REPORTS: by Andrew McMahon, Superintendent A. Personnel: 1. Staff Update: Mr. McMahon advised the board that he was aware of one case of COVID-19 amongst the staff since last board meeting. The employee had moderate symptoms and is now back to work. Approved by the MEUB 5/24/2022 Page |3 2. Apprentice Update: Both of the apprentice linemen have now taken call for the first time which is a significant milestone for each. Mr. McMahon noted that the new first class linemen are encouraged to have experienced support with them as they gain experience on taking call. 3. Summer Intern: There is one local college student who will be beginning in mid to late May. 4. Security Update: We have done some basic refresher training on dealing with difficult or dangerous customers which may become more likely as we begin shutting customers off again post COVID-19 restrictions. B. Finance & Economic Development: 1. Payment and Delinquency: Treasurer Dobbins noted that receivables greater than 90 days continued to decrease. Many customers continue to seek help through LI-HEAP. He also informed the board on a new program being administered by the PSC to assist residential customers of regulated utilities. The funds for this program were appropriated to the PSC by the State and Treasurer Dobbins intends to participate in the informational sessions scheduled over the next few days to learn more about the program. 2. Energy Efficiency Programs: Treasurer Dobbins informed the board that a customer who previously received an audit was finalizing the paper to work to apply for a credit under the commercial program. The customer had installed new lighting in parts of their facility. Treasurer Dobbins also noted that there had been no new audits since the last meeting. 3. Communication: Mr. McMahon explained that he and many of the employees are still dealing with customers who were concerned about high bills this past winter. Mr. Shaw elaborated that he has received some communications from customers regarding subsidization of high users by low users. MED implemented a winter rate in 2015 to address cross subsidization. Under this rate high users would pay for the typically high winter prices MED had to pay to meet our demand. Due to certain anomalies our regulator (NYPA) had encouraged us to suspend that rate in 2020 because the prices were so erratic. Mr. Shaw noted that this rate and many other utility practices will need to be looked at with a fresh set of eyes given the states drive towards the carbon free economy sought in the CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act). It is assumed that as we decarbonize there will be an increase in electricity used in homes and transportation (EV’s) and other segments of our economy. Proper electrical rate making will be an imperative to send the correct price signals which will result in the desired actions from our consumers. C. Engineering & Energy: 1. Cybersecurity: Mr. McMahon and Mr. Dobbins noted the continued industry awareness of potential attacks related to Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Hart noted that he saw a news report that indicated that China may also use this tense period to undertake cyberattacks. 2. NYPA iSOC: Mr. McMahon advised the board that he and NYAPP board members had a meeting with NYPA at the end of March. While there, Mr. McMahon took a tour of the iSOC facilities. 3. Forward Energy Procurement: Mr. Gustafson advised the Board that Pete Scanlon of DWGP was working through some concerns with NextEra on the ISDA agreement that is foundational to this transaction. 4. Smart Water Heaters: All 10 are in and operational.  Approved by the MEUB 5/24/2022 Page |4 5. Arbor Issues: Mr. McMahon advised that he still has had no response from Alcoa on whether they will continue to financially support our Arbor Activities. Mr. McMahon asked if the board would be willing to authorize him to spend energy efficiency funds on continuing activities similar to what we have done in the past such as purchasing trees and doing landscaping at the schools. He noted that it is a good opportunity for him to work with local students to help them understand who MED is and why energy efficiency is important. RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby authorizes spending up to $7500 on Arbor activities in the community and in particular at the local schools. Moved by Charles Raiti - Seconded by Richard Maginn - All in Favor 6. Potential Projects: NYSERDA/Climate Action Council (CAC)/Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Mr. McMahon discussed the various funding sources and the innovative nature of what is being sought under both the state and federal programs. Some of the common themes which are being sought in these programs is deep de-carbonization and resiliency. Mr. McMahon noted some of the projects he is considering would be to study a community Ground Source Heating system. He also suggested that a scaled down version of the water heater program that we have done with in recent months with NYPA. In the longer term a major resiliency project could be to remove Ash trees that have been impacted by the Emerald Ash Borer. 5) LEGAL ISSUES: by Eric Gustafson, Attorney: No update 6) UNFINISHED BUSINESS: - Mr. McMahon gave a brief summary of the NYAPP meeting which occurred the previous week. He will provide the board with a written summary. 7) NEW BUSINESS: 8) ARTICLES OF INTEREST: 9) SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Next regular meeting, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 1:00 pm. 10) PUBLIC COMMENT: None 11) EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion to move into executive session to discuss contract negotiations at 2:04 p.m., Moved by Charles Raiti – Seconded by Rene Hart- All in Favor Motion to move out of executive session at 2:10 p.m. Moved by Rene Hart– Seconded by Charles Raiti -All in Favor Motion to adjourn at 2:11 p.m. Moved by Charles Raiti – Seconded by Richard Maginn- All in Favor