Public Utilities 2021/10/27ITEM # 01
MOTION CARRIED: 4-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 3 (Chairperson
J. Seymour, R. Bhalla &
R. Gaona).
4. APPOINTMENT OF THREE MEMBERS TO THE AD HOC
SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS AWARD SELECTION
COMMITTEE.
Dukku Lee, Public Utilities General Manager, mentioned that up to
three Board Members will be needed for the ad hoc Sustainable
School Award Selection Committee. Two schools will receive a
Sustainable School award based on the evaluation criteria of
campus improvements and education curriculum. The winning
schools will receive 30 Chromebooks for their students. Vice -
Chairperson Baroldi appointed Board Members M. Lee and N.
Campos -Kurtz, who volunteered to be part of the selection
committee. He asked that staff contact Chairperson J. Seymour and
see if he would like to also join the committee.
5. PRESENTATION: 2020 ELECTRIC SYSTEM RELIABILITY
REPORT.
Jared Martinez, Interim Operations Manager, presented the Electric
System Reliability report for 2020. He first gave an overview of
Anaheim Public Utilities' (APU) electric system and discussed how
reliability performance is measured across the industry. J. Martinez
also discussed APU's historical reliability and the five-year
sustained outage trend. J. Martinez presented a summary of metrics
which show that APU is in the 1 st Quartile (top 25%) of all Public
Owned Utilities (POU) in the nation for electric reliability,
including frequency of outages, duration of outages, and time to
restore power. He also discussed reliability's most frequent
offenders and reliability capital project initiatives.
The Board inquired whether the APU was having difficulty
procuring transformers. D. Lee answered affirmatively stating that
the APU is addressing supply chain issues with Spot Bidding. He
also mentioned the APU maintains minimal levels of stock for its
needs, which can be adjusted as needed. The Board further inquired
about specifications and staff confirmed that specifications for
equipment are established to ensure compatibility with the system.
6. PRESENTATION: ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING.
Agustin Torres, Utilities Analyst, presented APU's Emergency
Response Planning (ERP) program. A. Torres mentioned that the
ERP program helps to ensure APU staff is prepared to respond to
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natural disasters and other emergencies by providing the resources,
tools, and the training staff needs, including annual exercises.
A. Torres shared that there were no major outages last fiscal year.
He also provided highlights on the COVID-19 mitigation measures
put into effect for staff and on APU's annual exercise that was
conducted in May. He provided a briefing on future changes
planned to improve APU's emergency response capabilities.
7. PRESENTATION: CYBERSECURITY UPDATE.
Bruce Fruchter, Enterprise Information Technology Manager,
presented an overview on cybersecurity and how APU's systems
and data are protected. B. Fruchter reviewed the cyber threat
landscape, types of attacks, and some recent attacks on critical
infrastructure that have garnered national attention. He shared some
of the guiding principles and controls the City of Anaheim (City)
employs to protect its systems.
The Board inquired about the City's data backup process, how often
cyber awareness training is provided, and if SharePoint in the cloud
was used. B. Fruchter explained that backup for most systems are
written to disk and then to tape which is stored offsite. He also
responded that SharePoint is used, both on -premises and the cloud
version. Staff explained emails are regularly sent to employees
about cyber awareness topics. These emails include links to training
videos. A phishing assessment is forthcoming. Brian Beelner,
Assistant General Manager — Finance and Energy Resources, added
that email alerts are sent to employees about vulnerabilities in
mobile phone operating systems and actions to take. The Board
further asked about the computer disposal process and data
destruction. B. Fruchter explained that hard drive data is wiped
prior to computer lease returns or surplus disposal. Board Member
N. Kurtz also asked about cost increases for security. D. Lee
explained that costs have increased, and the City pays for in-house
and contract information technology (IT) resources.
8. QUARTERLY STATUS REPORTS ON CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, MASTER AGREEMENTS,
GENERAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS, AND SPOT BID
AWARDS.
D. Lee provided an overview of spot bids and explained how the
method is critical to ensure that sufficient quantities of materials
and equipment are on -hand and available for projects as well as
maintenance activities.
Michael Moore, Assistant General Manager — Water Services, and
Janet Lonneker, Assistant General Manager — Electric Services,
provided overviews of the Water and Electric Capital Improvement
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Project status highlighting several projects currently in progress and
noting expenditures are on track for the current period. M. Moore
summarized progress with the Water Design/Build awards for the
water treatment facilities and J. Lonneker noted the challenges in
purchasing electrical equipment given the current delays in supply
chain impacting many utilities.
The Board inquired about the attitude of meter readers as more
automated equipment is installed. D. Lee responded that staff is
provided training opportunities to transition into other aspects of the
utility and increase their skill sets.
9. UPDATE ON ELECTRIC SYSTEMS.
J. Lonneker shared with the Board pictures from the October 2021
Public Power Week in Anaheim. Students from Maxwell
Elementary School attended, along with the public, to see displays
on energy efficiency and programs available by APU to lower costs
on their bill.
10. UPDATE ON WATER SYSTEMS.
M. Moore reviewed the water supply dashboard for the month of
October. Imported water storage levels remain low, but local
groundwater levels remain healthy. Precipitation and snow levels
will be closely monitored this winter to determine if Anaheim will
need to take more steps to conserve water. A presentation will be
made to the Board in November with more information on
Anaheim's drought contingency plan.
M. Moore provided an update on Water Services. Staff is reviewing
proposals for the second phase of the groundwater treatment
program. The project will be delivered using a design -build
approach to expedite the completion of the treatment facilities. A
recommendation will be made to the Board at the November
meeting.
The Phase A groundwater treatment program will be starting the
construction phase soon. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for
November 16 and all Board Members are invited to attend.
APU staff participated in a pipe tapping competition in September.
The four -person team finished in first place. The team will be
recognized at the November Board meeting.
11. UPDATE ON FINANCE & ENERGY RESOURCES ITEMS.
B. Beelner discussed the monthly Finance dashboard with the
Board. The year to date electric revenue through September, 2021
was 8.8% above budget ($10.2M), however the September revenue
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was nearly flat to budget. Electric costs for the fiscal year to date
fell below budget by 2.7% ($2.6M) causing a net positive budget
variance of $12.8M. B. Beelner also discussed how the warmer
months of July through October produce a disproportionate share of
electric revenue, and that the large budget variances typically shrink
or disappear during the cooler months. B. Beelner then mentioned
that year to date water revenue was 2.1 % ($0.6M) below budget.
However, water operating costs fell below budget by 8.2% ($1.8M)
causing a net positive budget variance of $1.2M.
B. Beelner then presented the Power Supply dashboard and pointed
out that the current share of coal generation, currently 50% of total
generation, will shrink in the coming months as APU's sole coal
unit will ramp down production due to shipping constraints in its
coal supply caused by constricted rail capacity. B. Beelner
mentioned that APU considers this a short term issue as train
capacity should ramp back up in the coming months.
12. UPDATE ON ADMINISTRATION & RISK SERVICES
ITEMS.
Janis Lehman, Interim Assistant General Manager — Administration
and Risk Services, provided the Board with several updates. She
first invited the Board's attention to the 2021 Legislative Wrap Up
Report which covers the first year of the two-year 2021-22
legislative session. She indicated that while it had been an
interesting year due to the impacts of COVID-19, it had been an
overall successful year. J. Lehman said that two key bills passed
that provided assistance to certain customers for past due bill
amounts. She also highlighted the potential bills that she expects to
see next year.
J. Lehman then provided an update on the State's customer
arrearage assistance programs. She shared that she would be
providing regular updates on it until the funding was dispersed
which must occur by the end of January 2022. J. Lehman also
shared that safety metrics are within the target ranges and that they
are very similar to last years.
13. ITEM(S) BY SECRETARY.
D. Lee shared with the Board the items scheduled for the following
Board meeting include:
• Design -build agreement for phase B of the Groundwater
Treatment Program
• Drought Update Presentation
• Schedule a Public Hearing for Water and Electric Rates
• Amendment to the Agreement with Southern California Gas
Company for joint weatherization services to income -
qualified customers
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D. Lee shared the outcome of our Community Art Day event. This
event is held in partnership with the Muzeo. The artwork will be
placed in homeless shelters throughout the City.
D. Lee shared that APU had a Water Bottle Art Label contest and
the winning participants were recognized at a City Council meeting
and their artwork is featured on water bottles.
D. Lee shared that APU's High School Mentoring program
officially started in partnership with Anaheim Union High School
District.
D. Lee shared that APU held facility tours for the new Business
Manager, Colin Lavin of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers (IBEW), as well as for Council Member Gloria Ma'ae.
Lastly, D. Lee shared recent comments from customers based on
various outreach methods. APU utilizes a variety of methods to
obtain customers feedback and to provide information to the public.
14. ITEM(S) BY BOARD MEMBERS.
M. Lee commented that he appreciates the explanation of spot bids.
N. Campos Kurtz requested a tour of the APU Call Center. Staff will coordinate a tour
with N. Campos Kurtz.
A. Abdulrahman thanked staff for doing a good job.
Vice -Chairperson V. Baroldi mentioned that his new level pay bill
format is much easier to understand; he also thanked staff for doing a
great job.
15. ADJOURNMENT: (REGULAR MEETING ON NOVEMBER N. Campos Kurtz moved to
17, 2021 AT 5:00 P.M.) adjourn the Regular Meeting
at 7:03 p.m., to the Board's
Regular Meeting date of
November 17, 2021 at 5:00
p.m. M. Lee seconded the
motion.
MOTION CARRIED: 4-0.
ABSTAINED: 0.
ABSENT: 3 (Chairperson
J. Seymour, R. Bhalla &
R. Gaona).
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Respectfully s Witted,
Dukku Lee
Public Utilities General Manager
* 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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