Public Utilities 2018/12/19CITY OF ANAHEIM
PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD
MINUTES
DECEMBER 19, 2018
The agenda having been posted on Friday, December 14, 2018, the Regular Meeting of the Public
Utilities Board (Board) was called to order by Chairperson E. Medrano at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday,
December 19, 2018, in the 11 fl' Floor Large Conference Room, Anaheim West Tower, 201 S. Anaheim
Blvd., Anaheim, California.
Board Members Present: Chairperson E. Medrano, Vice -Chairperson J. Seymour, A. Abdulrahman,
R. Nelson, V. Baroldi, V. Ramirez
Board Members Absent: J. Showalter
City Staff Present: D. Lee, L. Quiambao, M. Moore, B. Beelner, A. Kott, G. Bowen,
J. Lehman, P. Oviedo, J. Lonneker, B. Fruchter, M. Seifen, A. Kanzler,
J. Wei, A. Shaikh, A. Markis, S. Boodanian
Guest(s) Present: Council Member Stephen Faessel, District 5
AGENDA ITEM ACTION TAKEN
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS. There being no public
comments, Chairperson E.
Medrano closed the public
comments portion of the
meeting.
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC J. Seymour moved approval
UTILITIES BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 28, 2018. * of the Minutes of the Public
Utilities Board Meeting of
November 28, 2018. V.
Baroldi seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1 [J. Showalter].
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3. PRESENTATION: UPDATE ON GRANT APPLICATIONS
FOR WATER PROJECTS.
M. Moore, Assistant General Manager — Water Services, discussed
the process of applying for a grant and the steps taken to receive
grants for water projects. M. Moore indicated that the grants assist
with offsetting the costs, which benefits ratepayers. M. Moore
presented four projects that the Anaheim Public Utilities Department
(Department) is currently working to design and construct. The
Department has received over $4 million in grants and will apply for
an additional $4 million.
M. Moore recognized Aladdin Shaikh, Principal Civil Engineer, for
his work and dedication in overseeing the grant application process
for the Department's water utility.
4. PRESENTATION: ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UPDATE FOR FISCAL
YEAR 2017/18.
A. Kanzler, Senior Program Specialist, presented the Department's
Community Engagement update for Fiscal Year 2017/18 to the
Board. A. Kanzler highlighted energy efficiency, water
conservation, income qualified bill assistance, and student
engagement programs. He further discussed the Department fee
waiver assistance to customers whose homes were damaged by
Canyon Fire 2. Lastly, A. Kanzler indicated that the Department
reached its energy and water efficiency targets for the Fiscal Year
2017/18.
5. PRESENTATION: FLEET VEHICLE OVERVIEW.
J. Wei, Electric System Planning Manager, gave a presentation on
the Department's 173 fleet vehicles including different class types
of vehicles, the types of fuels used, and the general age of the
Department's vehicles. J. Wei explained the City's vehicle
replacement criteria the additional factors that are considered
before vehicles are replaced, and the consideration of operational
needs against budgetary impacts.
J. Wei made the Board aware of the Department's efforts on fleet
electrification and the drawbacks of compressed natural gas and
hydrogen fuel vehicles. J. Wei also compared the City's and the
Department's last five year vehicle replacement annual budget and
number of vehicles purchased. He discussed the scheduled
replacement for the current fiscal year and described the steps
taken to minimize costs for the vacuum excavator truck, but that
the used vehicle has been unreliable for the water maintenance
crew, requiring its replacement. Lastly, J. Wei reported that the
Department recently donated two salvaged bucket trucks to Puerto
Rico for use in its recovery from Hurricane Maria.
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The Board inquired about the feasibility of purchasing used diesel
vehicles due to the operational needs of the Department, and J.
Wei discussed current rules and regulations on replacing public
fleet vehicles and the types of fuels allowed that discourage such
purchases outside of first responder vehicles.
6. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC SYSTEM ISSUES.
J. Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services, shared
with the Board that a resident reported a streetlight fixture had
fallen to the ground in the east Anaheim area near an intersection,
which is in close proximity to a school. J. Lonneker indicated that
the streetlight fixtures in this area were originally installed by
neighborhood developers in the late 1980's. J. Lonneker noted that
a troubleshooter is investigating the cause to determine if this was
an isolated incident or if repairs to other fixtures will be needed.
7. UPDATE ON WATER SYSTEM ISSUES.
M. Moore provided an update on the Department's water supply
dashboard. M. Moore indicated that water storage levels are at low
levels, but that it is still early in the rainy season. He stated that
the State is closely monitoring water supply conditions to
determine if mandatory measures are necessary.
M. Moore mentioned the Department has been involved with local
high schools and inviting students for several tours of water
facilities and presentations over the past month. In addition, the
Department has visited two high school classrooms where students
are participating in the upcoming Solar Boat contest in May. M.
Moore explained that the students from both schools are designing
and building a boat to compete against other high schools.
M. Moore provided an update on the Lenain Water Treatment
Plant project. He indicated that the plant is currently not operating
due to construction. He made the Board aware of the water level at
the Walnut Canyon Reservoir, which will remain low until spring
2019 due to the construction but that it will be back to normal
levels before summer. The reservoir still has sufficient water for
fire fighting purposes.
Lastly, M. Moore mentioned that the new City Council members
re -appointed Council Member Stephen Faessel, District 5, as the
City's representative on Metropolitan Water District Board and
appointed Council Member Jordan Brandman, District 2, as the
City's representative on the Grange County Water District Board.
The Department will work closely with both representatives on
important water supply programs for both agencies.
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8. UPDATE ON FINANCE ISSUES.
B. Beelner, Assistant General Manager — Finance and
Administration, discussed the monthly dashboard with the Board
indicating that electric revenue for the fiscal year to date (YTD)
November 30, 2018 was 6.5% above budget ($13.1M) with electric
costs coming in above budget as well by 4.3% ($7.1M) causing a
net positive budget variance of $6.OM. B. Beelner mentioned that
electric costs have trended higher due to higher than expected
wholesale power costs driven by higher natural gas prices. He then
mentioned that the YTD November 30, 2018 water revenue was
1.8% ($0.7M) below budget due to cooler than expected
temperatures driving lower outdoor water use. B. Beelner
indicated that water costs were below budget by 6.1% ($1.8M)
causing a net positive budget variance of $1.1M.
B. Beelner then discussed the recent increase in interest rates by
the Federal Reserve Board (Fed). He mentioned that the Fed's
interest rate increase of approximately 0.25% would increase debt
service costs for the electric utility by approximately $125,000 per
year; however, he also mentioned that interest earnings on the
Department's cash reserves would increase by approximately $1
million per year so that the increase is a net positive for the
Department. B. Beelner also discussed the recent yield curve
inversion and how these inversions tend to signal a forthcoming
recession and that the Department would watch this very closely as
it prepares its Fiscal Year 2019/20 budget.
9. UPDATE ON POWER SUPPLY ISSUES.
G. Bowen, Assistant General Manager — Power Supply, provided
the Board with an update on the Department's Power Supply
Portfolio for the month of November. G. Bowen noted that the
Kraemer facility has been performing well since coming out of its
major unplanned outage earlier in the year, with its availability
nearing one hundred percent for the last few months.
G. Bowen also shared with the Board that the Department received
recognition from the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District Board
for the installation of a solar carport at Esperanza High School. G.
Bowen also presented photographs illustrating the weekly timeline
of the facility being built at Esperanza High School.
G. Bowen discussed with the Board that the City's Economic
Development team won the Orange County Business Council's
award for Business Retention and Expansion and that the
Department was a runner up for the Sustainable & Green
Development award.
Lastly, G. Bowen mentioned that the Department participated in
the 24th Annual Nutcracker Tree Lighting event on Saturday,
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December 8, providing one set of LED holiday lights to replace old
incandescent lights and noted that over 30 residents signed up for
Home.Utility Checkups during the event.
10. UPDATE ON ENTERPRISE RISK AND COMPLIANCE.
J. Lehman, Chief Risk Officer, gave an update on the Wholesale
Energy Risk Management (ERM) Program's Quarterly
Compliance report. J. Lehman indicated that all transactions were
within the authorized transaction limits during this period. J.
Lehman shared that the ERM program provides an efficient
framework to allow the Department to conduct timely transactions
while ensuring interests are protected and risks are minimized.
J. Lehman then provided a memo summarizing recent safety
surveys as requested by the Board. She shared that while these
surveys help demonstrate that the safety program is perceived as
effective and meeting safety needs, which is corroborated by the
Department's safety statistics, the surveys also provided staff with
the opportunity to share thoughts on areas of improvements. J.
Lehman indicated that this feedback was reviewed and
incorporated into the safety program as appropriate. J. Lehman
provided examples of how this feedback was being used to further
strengthen the safety program by improving information sharing on
incidents, concerns, and safety process improvements between
divisions and departments. She also shared that the Department
was engaging in more hands-on training and provided examples of
cross -divisional training. J. Lehman said that surveys are a helpful
tool in the safety program and would be conducted again in 2019.
J. Lehman provided an update on legislation that had been
introduced already as part of the two year (2019 to 2020)
legislative session.
Lastly, she explained how the Department disposes damaged
transformers in order to meet regulatory requirements.
11. ITEMS) BY SECRETARY.
D. Lee shared with the Board the items scheduled for the following
Board meeting include:
• Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan
• Rates and Rules Presentation
• Consulting Services for Cap and Trade Verification
• Cal State Fullerton Internship Program
D. Lee presented photographs of the student mentoring program
and the final presentation given by participants from Katella High
School.
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D. Lee reported that he attended the dedication event for an interim
emergency shelter at Orangewood and State College, and thanked
staff members for quickly providing utility services. S. Faessel
commented on the Department's role in assisting on citywide
initiatives, such as smart city and homeless shelters.
12. ITEM(S) BY BOARD MEMBERS.
A. Abdulrahman stated he appreciated an article forwarded on
Southern California Edison's rate actions.
R. Nelson mentioned he participated with Cops 4Kids Program with
Anaheim Police Department and delivered gifts to low income
residents.
E. Medrano requested that the Department recognize staff members
who have volunteered through the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Minority Caucus at a future Board meeting.
13. ADJOURNMENT: (NEXT REGULAR MEETING ON
JANUARY 23, 2019, AT 5:00 P.M., IN THE 111 FLOOR
LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM, ANAHEIM WEST TOWER,
201 S. ANAHEIM BOULEVARD, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA).
Dukku Lee
Public Utilities General Manager
J. Seymour moved approval
to adjourn the Regular
Meeting at 6:39 p.m., to the
Board's Regular Meeting
date January 23, 2019 at
5:00 p.m. A. Abdulrahman
seconded the motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 6-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 1 [J. Showalter].
* Indicates item(s) that will be forwarded to City Council for action upon recommendation by the
Board.
** Indicates item(s) that will be forwarded to City Clerk and City Council for informational purposes.
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