RPU BOARD MEETING MINUTES October 30, 2003

Members Present: **Mr. Hunziker, Mr. Jibben, *Mr. Utz, Mr. Landwehr, Ms. Parker

Absent: None

Also Present: Mr. Adkins, City Attorney

 

Board President Landwehr called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Mr. Landwehr introduced Board Member Susan Parker to the Utility Board and staff. Ms. Parker was chosen from a pool of candidates by the Mayor to fill the unexpired term of Paul Bourgeois who left the area to accept other employment.

 

1. Mr. Jibben moved to approve the minutes of the September 30, 2003 meeting, seconded by Ms. Parker. All voting "AYE"

 

2. Mr. Jibben moved to approve the accounts payable report, seconded by Ms. Parker. All voting "AYE"

 

* Mr. Utz entered the meeting at this time.

 

3. Mr. Landwehr opened the meeting for comments from the public. No one asked to address the Board.

 

4. Mr. Steffens, RPU Manager of Operations/Reliability, discussed RPU's request to purchase software for real-time electronic data transfers from the power system to the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP). The data is used to analyze regional system reliability and power system performance. Mr. Adkins asked about the contract for the purchase and about bidding the purchase. Mr. Steffens informed him that Telvent was the only company who provides this particular software extension for RPU's SCADA computer system, and that there was no contract for the software. Mr. Adkins then asked to review any written form of agreement from the vendor. Mr. Utz moved to approve a purchase agreement with Telvent subject to review of any vendor terms and conditions by the City Attorney, seconded by Mr. Jibben. All voting "AYE"

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Public Utility Board of the City of Rochester, Minnesota, to approve a purchase order agreement with Telvent for ICCP for Use with the RPU SCADA Computer System

 

The amount of the purchase order agreement not to exceed SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($75,000.00) and Telvent being sole source.

 

5. RPU's marketing department staff provided the following project update to the Board:

a. Ms. Julie Moenck and Mr. Jim Walters recently accepted an Award of Merit from the American Public Power Association (APPA) for the annual report.

b. Mr. Walters also said that the American Conference of Energy Efficiency is also citing RPU for its collaboration with the utilities of Austin and Owatonna (also known as the Triad) in its "Conserve and Save" campaign.

c. RPU along with 25 local and regional exhibitors recently participated in an Energy Fair at the University of Minnesota-Rochester campus. One of the items featured was a fuel cell. RPU is currently involved in a Hybrid Energy System study (HESS) of a fuel cell system with the University of Minnesota-Rochester. The 1.2 kW fuel cell is located at the RPU Service Center. Fuel cell measurements began in October 2003.

d. Ms. Patty Hanson, RPU, and Mr. Rory Lenton, Aquila, presented the Comfort Choice residential thermostat pilot project to the Board. The pilot will include 75 residential customers who are not on RPU's Partners Program. Aquila will install the devices. The customers can program the units manually or make changes to their thermostats via the Internet. The program will offer customers a means to actively participate in energy conservation.

 

6. Mr. Koshire, General Manager, provided the following report:

a. RPU's water utility workers received a safety award for working one year without lost time accidents from the American Water Works Association.

b. The preliminary budget for 2004 will be presented to the Board at its November meeting. The Board will be requested to approve the budget at their December meeting. A 2% in electric rates and 4% in water rates is being requested due to the continuing growth in the community, rising health care costs and the Highway 52 construction project.

c. Mr. Rovang distributed a photograph, which showed that the new antennas for the Baihly Water Tower would not be as small as originally described at the September meeting when the Board approved the AT&T antenna agreement. It was the consensus of the Board that no further action was required.

 

7. The management/financial reports were discussed. Staff is working with City Finance on recording the water assets on RPU's books, which will occur at the end of 2003. The change is necessary due to GASB 34 requirements.

 

** Mr. Hunziker entered the meeting at this time.

 

Mr. Landwehr asked staff to explain the status of the coal account. Mr. Koshire said that the dispatch of the units is high with all four units running. This makes it difficult to build the coal pile up. The pending agreement with the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (which has not yet been executed) states that 100,000 tons of coal are needed for the winter. Mr. Koshire said staff is working hard to increase inventory, but it will be tight again.

 

8. Other Business

 

Mr. Hunziker asked about the reference to Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) in the Operations Report. Mr. Lorber, Director of Operations, said the company approached RPU about using powerline carrier for Internet. RPU currently uses this technology for load management. RPU staff has investigated the status of the technology. Several utilities are involved with it throughout the country. RPU would like to find out more about it because it could be a potential revenue source. RPU cannot currently provide broadband service. Me. Lorber said RPU is considering allowing HBC to transmit signal to customers on RPU's lines for Internet on a test basis. While City Charter does not currently allow RPU to provide telecommunications services, RPU's role in a commercial project could be as a collector of a joint-use fee as it does for cable and telephone attachments, as a hardware provider, or as a service provider.

 

9. Mr. Hunziker moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Jibben. All voting "AYE" The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

 

Approved by the Board: November 25, 2003