Massena Electric Department

Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Page |1 MASSENA ELECTRIC UTILITY BOARD MINUTES of Thursday, February 20, 2025 Town of Massena Electric Department – 71 East Hatfield Street Present: James Shaw Andrew McMahon, Superintendent Richard Maginn Jeffrey Dobbins, Treasurer Rene Hart Matt Gray, Deputy Superintendent Charles Raiti Margo Rochefort, Deputy Treasurer Mark Ryan Patrick Facteau, Town Liaison Eric Gustafson, Attorney Kristy Baker - excused Chairman Shaw opened the meeting at 1:01 pm 1) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the minutes of the regular meeting of January 21, 2025 as presented. Moved by Charles Raiti- Seconded by Richard Maginn - All in Favor 2) OPERATIONS UPDATE: by Matt Gray, Deputy Superintendent A. Safety: MED has not had a lost time injury since June 8th, 2022. The number of consecutive days without a lost time accident now stands at 968 days. As of January 31st, 2025, MED has been 225 days without a reportable injury. MED experienced a reportable injury on June 20th when an Employee cut their forearm while stripping wire. The Employee is currently working with no lingering effects from the injury. B. Customer Impact Chart: MED Customers experienced 81,824 Customer Impact Minutes (CIM) throughout the month of January. This is the largest Customer Impact in the last 13- months and is largely due to a prolonged outage on circuit 2303 that occurred on the twenty second. With this abnormally high level of customer Impact minutes our 12-month average has also increased to its highest level in the past 13-months and is now at 20,664. C. Reliability: MED Crews responded to fifteen calls throughout the month of January, with five calls contributing to our monthly CIM total. Of the fifteen calls received, three calls affected no Customers, seven calls affected only one Customer and five calls affected more than one Customer. The largest Customer impact was due the previously mentioned Circuit 2303 outage that occurred when a primary tap failed in the vicinity of the Sewage Treatment Plant on East Orvis Street. Initially this issue only caused a third of the Customers served by 2303 to lose power however once the cause of the outage was found it was determined that the safest way to replace the defective component was to de-energize the entire circuit. The outage was taken and the tap was replaced. Once Crews finished the repair and re-energized circuit 2303 it was found that St Hwy 420 South was still without power due to an overloaded fuse on St Hwy 420 in the  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Page |2 vicinity of Gladding Road. Crews were able to increase the fuse size to handle the cold load pickup and power was fully restored. In all this outage affected 877 Customers for twenty-four minutes, 112 Customers for 1-hour 35-minutes and 318 Customers for 2-Hour 31 Minutes. The other CIM contributors were the result of minor issues that occurred during a wind event on the twenty seventh as well as a failed transformer that affected 10 Customers for forty-two minutes on Richards Street. D. Work Schedule: MED Crews are continuing to address poles in need of replacement on Roosevelt Road and State Highway 37C. Crews continue to address issues that have been found as a result of the infra-red scanning program. To date the majority of issues found have been routine and easily remedied. 3) FINANCIAL REPORTS: by Jeff Dobbins, Treasurer A. Write-Offs: RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby authorizes the write-off of bad debt totaling $3,294.11 as audited by Mr. Rene Hart. Moved by Rene Hart - Seconded by Richard Maginn - All in Favor B. Power Comparison Graph: Power Costs were over a $1.7 MM for the month. January Peak Demand was 43,440 kW. January peak is typically over 40,000 kW, 5-year max was 49,330 from 2022 and min on graph was from 2023. MWh purchased, over 26,100. Very Similar to last year, 5-year min and max were from 2023 and 2022 (max 29,100 MWh). Power costs have been over $1 MM during previous years. 5-year max was from 2022 and total over $1.9 MM. Supplemental Power costs were over $1.1 MM for January. 11,940 MWh of incremental energy purchased. Zone D Average Energy rate was over $97.35/MWh (additional graphs show comparison). Transmission related expenditures totaled $286,750, up from Dec. and compared to Jan. 2024. Impact to Customers - Base PPAC for Feb of 3.3¢/ kWh, Supplemental PPAC of 9.2¢/ kWh. Both are higher than previous years (supplemental highest since implementing this charge). Treasurer Dobbins distributed some additional graphs showing Incremental Energy purchased during the months of December 2024, January 2025 and thus far in February. The graphs for each month show the impact temperature had on daily usage by the Department and on the cost of incremental power. During December hourly incremental energy purchases were over 12,000 MWh during each hour of the month. The average price paid also exceeded $60/MWh, more than double the amount paid for December 2023. Usage and costs for January were even higher, due to the cold temperatures experienced throughout the month. Over 14,000 MWh of incremental energy was purchased during each hour of January. During January the average price was close to $99/MWh, double the amount paid in January 2024. Due to the high usage and cost for the month, total power costs exceeded $1.6 million. The highest total for the Department since 2014. February’s usage and costs continued to be higher than previous years due to continued cold weather. Through the first half of the month hourly incremental power purchases remained above 14,000 MWh and the cost per MWh was over $80. This usage was up over 20% compared to the previous February and the costs was nearly 3 times the $27/MWh paid in February 2024.  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Page |3 C. Cash Flow: The Operating Fund decreased by $881,660. Decrease was more than projected. Receipts and expenditures were both lower than projected. The Operating Fund balance at month end was $6.4 MM. January receipts were over $1.2 MM. Expected receipts are based on bills issued during the previous month. Bills due in January were issued in December. Those bills were lower than projected due to a mild Nov. Due date from usage is ~ 2-months. February receipts expected to be higher since billings are based on colder weather in Dec. and early Jan. Interest revenue remained higher than budgeted and included sale of treasuries held by the Department. January expenditures totaled over $2 MM for the month, this is roughly $140,000 less than budgeted. RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the bills as audited by Mr. Rene Hart totaling $2,237,136.36. 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 the staff would be advertising for summer help this year. Mr. McMahon also noted that we are working on doing training to stay compliant with department Policies that require refresher training. B. Finance & Economic Development 1. Energy Efficiency Programs: i. Commercial update: Treasurer Dobbins reported that two audits were performed by commercial customers. The audits identified lighting upgrades at each facility. Both customers have completed the work, and one has already submitted a credit application that was reviewed by the Finance Committee. RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the commercial energy efficiency credit in the amount of $3,735.50. Moved by Charles Raiti – Seconded by Rene Hart- All in Favor ii. Residential update: Interest by residential customers in making efficiency improvements picked up since the January meeting. Treasurer Dobbins noted that the increased interest was primarily due to cold temperatures and higher bills over the past two months. The previous two winters were very mild and customers were not interested in making improvements. With several days of below 0 temperatures, and higher power costs, customers are starting to look at ways to reduce their electric consumption. Treasurer Dobbins also reported that more customers have expressed interest in the Attic Insulation approved by the board in the fall. The initial mailing resulted in only a couple of customers interested in participating. After receiving their recent heating bills, additional electric heating customers in the areas identified have called to participate. So far 4 audits have been performed. The Finance Committee approved work at 3 of the locations audited. Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Page |4 iii. Weatherization Kits: Deputy Treasure Rochefort reported that staff had stopped handing out kits and that over 450 kits were handed out since November. 2. S&S Software Upgrade (Cloud servicing etc.): S&S continues to work on issues related to the Financial Management portion of the software. Due to these issues, additional testing has been delayed. Treasurer Dobbins noted that the expected go-live of the new system has also been pushed out. A final go-live date has not been set, and the delay is unfortunate, but making sure the system is working properly now should help to minimize issues after the transition occurs. C. Engineering & Energy 1. Cybersecurity: Treasurer Dobbins reported there were no incidents or issues since the last board meeting. He did update the board on recent changes made by SLIC, the Departments internet service provider (ISP). As part of Slic’s recent build out, changes made to their network required Massena Electric to update some firewall configurations and other cybersecurity settings. The work was performed on Monday February 17th. The updates required a network shut down to make the necessary changes and test the changes with some of the third party vendors that need access to our networks. The 17th was a holiday for the Department, so making the changes on this day did not affect operations or impact staff. The work was completed in a couple of hours and there have been no issues since making the changes. 2. EAB extra work CR 40: Mr. McMahon informed the board that PTS is making good progress on the work the board approved on CR 40. Mr. Putney thought the work would be done soon and below the do not exceed number. Mr. Putney also informed MED that the trees are showing signs of instability. Mr. McMahon asked the board that if the extra work on CR 40 comes in below the do not exceed number, that the balance of the funds be used on Ash trees in other places in the service territory. Mr. Raiti asked if there was another location with a high density of Ash trees that we would focus on. Mr. Gray responded that CR 40 was unique and it would be more one of projects. Mr. McMahon said there is still no word on the state ash grant. RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the motion to modify previous approval of $50,000 to remove Ash Trees on County Route 40, to include any location up to $50,000.00. Moved by Mark Ryan – Seconded by Charles Raiti- All in Favor 3. NYSERDA Projects: Mr. McMahon reported that PON5896 was delayed a month by NYSERDA. Our project is in good shape, but as we were putting in the final details, we had some roadblocks with the states website which others did as well. As a result, we will submit this project in mid- March. The Estimated cost for the 2305 project is around $1.2 million. MED’s portion of this project will be approximately $300,000. The PON5737 project is being finalized for a full system technical analysis. We continue to work on this. 3. Grant Funding, Federal and State: MED was originally approved for PACES grant funding to support the AMI project. These funds are held at RUS and have been put on hold by executive order. This Grant would amount to approximately $500,000-$1 million. 4. AMI Procurement Update: Mr. McMahon reported that staff is still struggling with Eaton to finalize this contract.  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Page |5 5. Tree Power Program: Nothing to report. 5) LEGAL ISSUES: by Eric Gustafson, Attorney: Mr. Gustafson had no remarks for open session. 6) UNFINISHED BUSINESS: History of MED: Mr. McMahon noted that staff and Elijah Winfrey are working on finishing touches and hope to release in July. St. Lawrence Tour: I have advised NYPA, that any of the dates they proposed in May are acceptable. I will get back to the board to finalize which date is chosen. 7) NEW BUSINESS: We have received word from Altec that they will have a bucket and a digger ready for delivery to us in the latter half of this year. The prices they provided are consistent with what we had budgeted for the vehicle last year and this year. We will be interacting with Altec and with the engineering committee to finalize details and pricing. RESOLUTION: The Massena Electric Utility Board hereby approves the motion to purchase a Digger Truck and one Bucket Truck in 2025. Moved by Mark Ryan – Seconded by Charles Raiti- All in Favor 8) ARTICLES OF INTEREST: 9) SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Next regular meeting scheduled March 20, 2025 10) PUBLIC COMMENT: 11) EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion to move into executive session at 2:15 pm. Moved by Charles Raiti – Seconded by Richard Maginn - All in Favor Motion to move out of executive session at 2:25 pm. Moved by Mark Ryan – Seconded by Rene Hart -All in Favor Motion to adjourn at 2:25 pm Moved by Mark Ryan – Seconded by Rene Hart - All in Favor Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Customer Impact Customer Minutes Top Quartile 12-Month Average 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 Page 7  Page 10 Power Comparison Dec-2023 to Jan-2025 Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 kW Supplemental NYPA Actual kW Purchased vs. Monthly Min & Max 55,000 50,000 2020- 2024 Max kW 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 2020 - 2024 Min kW 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 - Dec-23 Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 MWh Actual MWh Purchased vs. Monthly Min & Max Supplemental NYPA 30,000 27,500 2020 - 2024 Max MWh 25,000 22,500 20,000 17,500 2020 - 2024 Min MWh 15,000 12,500 10,000 7,500 5,000 2,500 - Dec-23 Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 Total Power Costs vs. Monthly Min & Max $2,000,000 NYPA CES Transmission & ISO Supplemental $1,800,000 2020 - 2024 Max $ $1,600,000 $1,400,000 $1,200,000 $1,000,000 $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 2020- 2024 Min $ $200,000 $- Dec-23 Jan-24 Feb-24 Mar-24 Apr-24 May-24 Jun-24 Jul-24 Aug-24 Sep-24 Oct-24 Nov-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 % NYPA MWh 58% 56% 59% 62% 70% 83% 75% 75% 76% 90% 88% 78% 56% 54% % NYPA $ 26% 17% 25% 29% 37% 39% 34% 33% 32% 41% 39% 36% 16% 10% PPAC $0.008 $0.015 $0.012 $0.009 $0.006 $0.010 $0.013 $0.011 $0.012 $0.009 $0.007 $0.010 $0.019 $0.033 Supp PPAC $0.019 $0.045 $0.020 $0.014 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.000 $0.016 $0.052 $0.092 CES $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.003 $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.004 $0.005 $0.004 $0.004  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Average MWh Purchased / Hour December Incremental Energy Temperture 18 48 16 41 14 34 12 27 10 20 8 13 6 6 4 -1 2 -8 0 -15 1-Dec 4-Dec 7-Dec 10-Dec 13-Dec 16-Dec 19-Dec 22-Dec 25-Dec 28-Dec 31-Dec 2024 MWh Low Temperature Average Temperature Average MWh Purchased / Hour December Incremental Energy Average $/MWh 18 $135 16 $120 14 $105 12 $90 10 $75 8 $60 6 $45 4 $30 2 $15 0 $- 1-Dec 4-Dec 7-Dec 10-Dec 13-Dec 16-Dec 19-Dec 22-Dec 25-Dec 28-Dec 31-Dec 2024 MWh 2024 $/MWh 2023 $/MWh 2022 $/MWh Daily $/MWh  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Average MWh Purchased / Hour January Incremental Energy Temperture 20 40 18 34 16 28 14 22 12 16 10 10 8 4 6 -2 4 -8 2 -14 0 -20 1-Jan 4-Jan 7-Jan 10-Jan 13-Jan 16-Jan 19-Jan 22-Jan 25-Jan 28-Jan 31-Jan 2025 MWh Low Temperature Average Temperature Average MWh Purchased / Hour January Incremental Energy Average $/MWh 20 $300 18 $270 16 $240 14 $210 12 $180 10 $150 8 $120 6 $90 4 $60 2 $30 0 $- 1-Jan 4-Jan 7-Jan 10-Jan 13-Jan 16-Jan 19-Jan 22-Jan 25-Jan 28-Jan 31-Jan 2025 MWh 2025 $/MWh 2024 $/MWh 2023 $/MWh 2022 $/MWh Daily $/MWh  Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 Average MWh Purchased / Hour February Incremental Energy Temperture 22 40 20 34 18 28 16 22 14 16 12 10 10 4 8 -2 6 4 -8 2 -14 0 -20 1-Feb 4-Feb 7-Feb 10-Feb 13-Feb 16-Feb 19-Feb 22-Feb 25-Feb 2025 MWh Low Temperature Average Temperature Average MWh Purchased / Hour February Incremental Energy Average $/MWh 22 $180 20 $160 18 $140 16 $120 14 12 $100 10 $80 8 $60 6 $40 4 2 $20 0 $- 1-Feb 4-Feb 7-Feb 10-Feb 13-Feb 16-Feb 19-Feb 22-Feb 25-Feb 28-Feb 2025 MWh 2025 $/MWh 2024 $/MWh 2023 $/MWh 2022 $/MWh Daily $/MWh  Page 11 Approved by the MEUB 03/20/2025 MASSENA ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 31, 2025 BUDGET vs. ACTUAL MONTH YEAR TO DATE over/(under) over/(under) ANNUAL ACTUAL BUDGET ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET 1 OPERATING FUND 2 BEGINNING FUND BALANCE 7,329,378 0 7,329,378 7,329,378 3 4 CASH RECEIPTS: 5 RECEIPTS FROM CUSTOMERS 1,189,784 (375,516) 1,189,784 (375,516) 15,114,600 6 REIMBURSED WORK 0 (3,800) 0 (3,800) 45,000 7 RVRDA CONSULTING FEE 2,500 0 2,500 0 30,000 8 INTEREST REVENUES 22,414 4,314 22,414 4,314 217,200 9 TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS: 1,214,699 (375,001) 1,214,699 (375,001) 15,406,800 10 11 CASH EXPENDITURES: 12 SALARIES & WAGES 159,412 (2,588) 159,412 (2,588) 2,106,000 13 HEALTH INSURANCE 78,328 (19,472) 78,328 (19,472) 586,800 14 FICA & NYS RETIREMENT 304,254 (4,046) 304,254 (4,046) 442,700 15 Salaries & Employee Benefits 541,995 (26,105) 541,995 (26,105) 3,135,500 16 17 NYPA POWER 161,640 3,940 161,640 3,940 2,003,800 18 SUPPLEMENTAL POWER 642,253 135,153 642,253 135,153 3,576,200 19 ISO/TRANSMISSION 170,520 (26,480) 170,520 (26,480) 2,247,000 20 CES 81,523 3,523 81,523 3,523 793,200 21 Power & ISO 1,055,936 116,136 1,055,936 116,136 8,620,200 22 23 CONTRACT SERVICES 15,939 (2,361) 15,939 (2,361) 219,000 24 CONSULTING SERVICES 1,822 (9,578) 1,822 (9,578) 137,200 25 LEGAL SERVICES 14,624 (3,976) 14,624 (3,976) 223,600 26 FINANCIAL SERVICES 0 0 0 0 34,400 27 NYS SALES TAX 65,179 3,179 65,179 3,179 595,000 28 REAL ESTATE TAXES 144,931 12,831 144,931 12,831 628,700 29 POSTAGE 3,850 (1,350) 3,850 (1,350) 62,400 30 TELEPHONE 6,351 (1,249) 6,351 (1,249) 91,200 31 CONSUMER REFUNDS 5,030 830 5,030 830 50,000 32 INSURANCE 135,931 (13,269) 135,931 (13,269) 225,800 33 OTHER OPERATING EXP. 66,859 4,359 66,859 4,359 612,600 34 Paid to Suppliers & Vendors 460,516 (10,584) 460,516 (10,584) 2,879,900 35 36 MATERIALS & SUPPLIES 36,178 (14,022) 36,178 (14,022) 602,400 37 DEBT SERVICE 0 0 0 0 0 38 Contrib. to Depr Fund/Capital Exp. 1,735 (205,265) 1,735 (205,265) 2,484,500 39 CONTRIB. TO INS FUND 0 0 0 0 0 40 CONTRIB. to Post Retire. Hlth Ins Fund 0 0 0 0 0 41 ENERGY EFFICIENCY 0 0 0 0 50,000 42 Utility Investment & Other Activities 37,913 (219,287) 37,913 (219,287) 3,136,900 43 44 TOTAL CASH EXPENDITURES: 2,096,359 (139,841) 2,096,359 (139,841) 17,772,500 45 46 ENDING FUND BALANCE 6,447,717 6,447,717 (235,160) 4,963,678 47 48 CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE: (881,660) (881,660) (2,365,700) 49 Monthly Change 50 DEPRECIATION FUND BALANCE: 1,259,404 3,232 51 LIABILITY & CASUALITY FUND BALANCE: 941,332 0 52 POST RETIRE. HLTH INS. FUND BALANCE: 1,698,534 6,123 53 ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND BALANCE: 89,459 (304)