Loading...
Public Utilities 2021/08/25CITY OF ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD MINUTES August 25, 2021 The agenda, including the Teleconference Notice, having been posted on Thursday, August 19, 2021, the Regular Meeting of the Public Utilities Board (Board) was called to order by Chairperson J. Seymour at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, in the Gordon Hoyt Conference Center, 2nd floor, Anaheim West Tower, 201 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, California. Board Members Present: Chairperson J. Seymour, Vice -Chairperson V. Baroldi, A. Abdulrahman, N. Campos Kurtz, R. Gaona, M. Lee, R. Bhalla Board Members Absent: None. City Staff Present: D. Lee, P. Starr, D. Ballin, M. Moore, J. Lonneker, B. Beelner, J. Lehman M. Avelino -Walker, M. Seifen, A. Nguyen, C. Pereyra Guest(s) Present: Michelle Chavez, Intern; Jacob Fano, Intern; Intern; Alfred Sangalang, Intern; Jack McGrath, Intern; Adrian Flores, Intern AGENDA ITEM 1. PUBLIC COMMENTS. ACTION TAKEN There being no oral public comments and no submitted public comments pursuant to the Teleconference Notice, Chairperson J. Seymour closed the public comments portion of the meeting. 2. OATH OF OFFICE: NEW PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD MEMBER ** DISTRICT 5 — MITCH LEE D. Ballin, Deputy City Attorney, administered the oath of office to the newly appointed Board member. The Board welcomed and congratulated M. Lee. ITEM # 01 2021 -54 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 23, 2021. * 4. PRESENTATION: ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON INTERNSHIP COLLABORATION. M. Avelino -Walker, General Services Manager, summarized Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) Internship Program, which is done in collaboration with California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). M. Avelino -Walker indicated that APU and CSUF established and received City Council approval for the program approximately three years ago. M. Avelino -Walker noted that since then, thirteen students have participated in the program. M. Avelino -Walker then introduced five of the current student interns. The interns gave a presentation about their experience participating in this program and the work groups that they were assigned to. Lastly, the interns gave an overview of the types of projects they were involved in. The Board expressed their appreciation for the student interns' presentations and participation in the APU program. 5. UPDATE ON FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COVID-19 RELATED CUSTOMER ARREARAGES. J. Lehman, Interim Assistant General Manager — Administration and Risk Services, provided an update on the arrearage programs which assist customers with past due bills. J. Lehman indicated that the state programs enacted by both Assembly Bill (AB) 135 and AB 148 to cover past due bill amounts accrued during the period from March 4, 2020 to June 15, 2021 and are at least 60 days past due. J. Lehman noted that these programs are not income -dependent, and do not require that the customer apply for the program. J. Lehman explained the contrast with the federally run programs which require a customer to apply and to prove that they meet the low-income thresholds. The Board asked a series of questions including additional details on the metrics of customers in arrears. J. Lehman and B. Beelner provided additional information and explained that 52% of the arrearage amount was from residential customers, and that 87% of 2021-55 Vice -Chairperson V. Baroldi moved approval of the Minutes of the Public Utilities Board Regular Meeting of June 23, 2021. R. Gaona seconded the motion. MOTION VIA ROLL CALL VOTE CARRIED: 6-0. ABSTAINED: 0. ABSENT: 1 (R. Bhalla). the 94,450 accounts due were residential customers. D. Lee added that the full program parameters are being developed so the amount of recovery has not yet been determined. The Board will be updated on a regular basis as to the status of the funding, and the number of accounts impacted. 6. PRESENTATION: UTILITIES SUCCESS INDICATORS, JANUARY 1— JUNE 30, 2021. C. Pereyra, Utilities Analyst, presented an update on the Utilities Success Indicators (USI) for the reporting period of January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. C. Pereyra reported that APU accomplished its target of 85% customer satisfaction. C. Pereyra noted that overall customer satisfaction for Anaheim Anytime surveys was 91 % and that 87% of call center phone survey respondents indicated that the reason for their call had been resolved. C. Pereyra then discussed the water system reliability with the Board. C. Pereyra noted that the water infrastructure remained strong and that maintenance performance fell short of its target due to staff supporting critical field activities. C. Pereyra indicated that APU staff would monitor the metric to ensure that inspections occur on all hydrants and valves by the end of the three-year cycle. C. Pereyra went on to discuss electric reliability with the Board. She noted that APU met two of the three targets; outage duration fell short of the top national quartile but came in favorably compared to neighboring utilities. C. Pereyra explained that a large number of the outages during the reporting period were related to metallic balloons and older underground cable failure that were directly buried without protective conduits. Finally, C. Pereyra described how APU rates remain competitive compared to other agencies. She mentioned that despite increased costs as well as arrearages, APU has remained fiscally prudent and continues to identify state and federal funding to assist customers in arrears. 7. QUARTERLY STATUS REPORTS ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, MASTER AGREEMENTS, GENERAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS, AND SPOT BID AWARDS. J. Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services went over the electric division dashboard and provided a brief overview of capital improvement projects, including highlights of automated metering, undergrounding, and customer expansion projects. M. Moore, Assistant General Manager — Water Services discussed the completion of water utility projects, highlighting the award of the groundwater treatment project. M. Moore then provided a brief overview of projects that are currently being worked on. M. 2021-56 Moore indicated that the Linda Vista project was completed under budget. 8. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC SYSTEM ITEMS. J. Lonneker made the Board aware of two significant power outages within the past month requiring extensive repairs before power could be restored to customers. J. Lonneker indicated that each outage resulted from the flashover of cable damaging adjacent equipment requiring multiple crews and contractors to make repairs. J. Lonneker noted that APU continues to invest annually in aging cable replacement and have completed replacement of approximately 80% of direct buried cable. 9. UPDATE ON WATER SYSTEM ITEMS. M. Moore provided an update on the Water Supply. M. Moore indicated that the local groundwater basin is in healthy condition; however imported water storage is in poor condition. M. Moore noted California is in a state of emergency for drought conditions; however, Anaheim and southern California are not yet in a state of emergency due to supply investments made in prior years, but could face mandatory restrictions in the near future. M. Moore discussed the historic drought conditions in the State Water Project and in the Colorado River which have been widely reported in the news this summer. He mentioned that the Lake Oroville hydro turbine plant has been taken offline because water levels are too low to operate. M. Moore indicated that recent forecast by the federal government indicates the Colorado River will be at a Level 2 shortage that will impact California's imported water in 2023. He made the Board aware that this is the first time the Colorado River will reach Level 2. M. Moore went on to explain that APU is constantly looking for innovative ways to improve operations and efficiency. M. Moore discussed four new technologies that water services is currently piloting. He described one technology, in pilot phase, is an online large meter calibration system. M. Moore indicated that the technology includes sensors attached to the meter that collect data and compare to the actual meter read. Furthermore, the device communicates the data through a cellular network and provides a weekly report to APU staff with a list of meters that are inaccurate and causing revenue loss. M. Moore mentioned that fifty meters are being piloted and the cost -benefit of the program will be completed in Spring 2022. 10. UPDATE ON FINANCE & ENERGY RESOURCES ITEMS. B. Beelner, Assistant General Manager — Finance and Energy Resources, discussed the monthly finance dashboard with the Board. B. Beelner indicated that the year to date electric revenue 2021-57 through July, 2021 was 17.3% above budget ($5.8M). The positive budget variance was driven by increased economic activity driving up retail revenue, coupled with higher than normal wholesale energy prices allowing for higher than forecasted wholesale revenue. Electric costs for the fiscal year to date fell below budget by 6.2% ($1.9M) causing a net positive budget variance of $7.7M. B. Beelner then mentioned that year to date water revenue was 3.4% ($0.3M) below budget due to lower than projected water sales most likely as a result of customer responses to drought conditions. Consequently, water supply costs also fell below budget causing operating costs to come in below budget by 9.9% ($0.7M) causing a net positive budget variance of $0.4M. B. Beelner then discussed the monthly Power Supply Dashboard. He mentioned that with higher than normal natural gas prices due to extreme heat conditions in the western United States, APU did not run its gas units to full capacity. B. Beelner also mentioned that due to the high gas prices wholesale energy prices were much higher than normal, more than double the same period the prior year, allowing for the increased wholesale revenue. B. Beelner then mentioned to the Board that APU will issue an RFP in September 2021 for a 50 Megawatt (MW) battery energy storage project to replace the lost capacity and energy previously provided by the Kraemer Power Plant. B. Beelner indicated that he will discuss the project in more detail at the September board meeting when he presents APU's renewable energy strategy and how battery storage fits into that strategy. B. Beelner then discussed a Reimbursement Resolutions approved by the City Council on August 24, 2021. B. Beelner mentioned that these Resolutions are solely meant to comply with IRS regulations, and allows APU to reimburse itself for any capital costs incurred from a future bond issuance. B. Beelner noted that this does not obligate APU or incur indebtedness in any way. B. Beelner explained these Resolutions were to come before the Board in July for recommendation, however, the July Board meeting was cancelled due to a lack of a quorum. B. Beelner indicated that the Resolutions were time sensitive and needed to be approved in August so APU would have maximum reimbursement flexibility if bonds are to be issued in the future. 11. UPDATE ON ADMINISTRATION & RISK SERVICES ITEMS. J. Lehman discussed the Internal Compliance Plan with the Board and shared that all programs were in compliance, and there were no violations during this period. J. Lehman also provided highlights from the report. J. Lehman then shared an update on legislative activities, including that while this has been an eventful legislative session, many of the 2021 -58 bills introduced have become two year bills and will not be heard again until next session. J. Lehman then highlighted three of the legislative bills that APU is following with industry partners. Lastly, J. Lehman went over the safety metrics and shared that APU was meeting its targets and that the statistics were very similar to last year with the exception of COVID-19 related illnesses and a shoulder injury that resulted in restricted work duties. She indicated that the metrics help APU monitor the safety program and proactively identify areas that may require further attention. 12. ITEM(S) BY SECRETARY. D. Lee, Public Utilities General Manager, discussed the upcoming events memo and APU Senior Brochure with the Board. D. Lee shared with the Board the items scheduled for the following Board meeting include: • Public Hearing — Underground District for Wildfire Threat Zones • Water Reliability Presentation • Renewable Strategies Presentation • Customer Information Systems Agreement • Student Engagement Activities Agreement D. Lee shared photos of events including tree planting event at Schweitzer Elementary, the annual 4th of July event at Peralta Park, a water sustainability tour for a Girl Scout Brownie troop, a dedication event of electric buses at the Anaheim Elementary School District headquarters, a community event to support a family with a young daughter battling cancer, and a water tour for students from Magnolia School District. 13. ITEM(S) BY BOARD MEMBERS. V. Baroldi indicated a resident shared they were having trouble reaching the trash company. Staff indicated they will reach out and assist this customer. A. Abdulrahman thanked staff for their efforts and meeting. R. Bhalla indicated it was great to see everyone in person and thanked APU staff for their hard work. R Gaona also thanked APU staff for their hard work during these difficult times. N. Campos Kurtz thanked staff for keeping utility rates low for residents and customers. 2021-59 Staff will contact the city's Public Works Department to address the customer's request for solid waste pickup. M. Lee indicated he was impressed with all the presentations discussed at the meeting. 14. ADJOURNMENT: (NEXT PUBLIC HEARING/REGULAR MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 AT 5:00 P.M.) Respectfully st mitted, r l Dukku Lee Public Utilities General Manager N. Campos Kurtz moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 6:51 p.m., to the Board's Public Hearing/Regular Meeting date of September 22, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. R. Bhalla seconded the motion. MOTION VIA ROLL CALL VOTE CARRIED: 7-0. ABSTAINED: 0. ABSENT: 0. * 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. 2021-60