APPA Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 14, 2021

by APPA News
September 14, 2021

To honor National Hispanic Heritage Month – commemorated September 15 to October 15 – the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Current is proudly spotlighting our Hispanic heritage colleagues across the United States and our U.S. territories. Observance began in 1968 as “Hispanic Heritage Week” and was later expanded by federal law to cover a 30-day period beginning on September 15. That date marks the independence anniversary for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

We begin our coverage by profiling some of public power’s Hispanic heritage leaders at the chief executive and governing body leadership levels. We hope you enjoy getting to know them better as much as we are honored to help celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of our fellow colleagues whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.  

Our second feature article, to follow in early October, will detail how mentorship programs have helped to develop and promote Hispanic heritage employees at public power utilities.

Imperial Irrigation District (IID) – Imperial, California

Henry Martinez serves as IID’s chief executive, managing one of the nation’s largest irrigation districts and California’s third largest public power provider. He has over 45 years of utility sector experience with increasing responsibility involving administration, technical, and field organization positions. His tenure includes nearly 25 years with Southern California Edison, 10 years with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and seven years with the Tennessee Valley Authority. An engineer by training, he also pursued graduate-level executive training at Pepperdine University and at the University of Virginia.

Having worked for both investor-owned and public power utilities, Martinez appreciates how not-for-profit utilities work to safely provide reliable, low-cost electricity and high-quality customer service. “It also means you get a utility that cares about the overall well-being and growth of your community by providing a transparent and committed public provider to the communities it serves,” he said.

The community-owned utility also strives to reflect the population it serves. IID serves Riverside and Imperial counties, the latter of which shares a border with Mexico and where Hispanics comprise 84% of the population.

Amongst the members of IID’s governing board is Division 5 Director Norma Sierra Galindo. A homegrown talent, she has served as both the board’s president and vice president during her nearly decade-long tenure and, before that, was appointed to IID’s Energy Consumers Advisory Committee, serving for eight years.

 

Martinez is the first of our Hispanic heritage leaders to offer advice on recruiting and mentoring more Hispanic workers to join and eventually lead public power utilities. “Expanding the opportunities for high-potential talent to network and develop leadership and managerial skills for personal growth” is important within IID, he said.

“Give them the tools and skills needed to accelerate their development into the executive ranks, bring them a step closer into leadership roles, and promote the value of a bicultural influence,” he added. Martinez said that providing scholarships to local Hispanic students who want a career in public power can help show them how to become an influential Hispanic leader within the organization. “Also, joining a STEM advisory board at a local college or university to provide curriculum input and work with students to develop career options following graduation,” he advised.

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) – San Juan, Puerto Rico

Efran Paredes Maisonet, P.E., serves as Executive Director of PREPA. He joined PREPA in February 2000 as General Engineer Supervisor in the Planning and Research Division, under which he was responsible for overseeing the planning and research for PREPA’s Transmission System Division.

In 2009, he was appointed under the administration of former Governor Luis Fortuño as Deputy Advisor to the Governor in the Energy and Environment Sectors. In 2013, Paredes returned to PREPA in his former position as General Engineer Supervisor of Planning and Research Division.  In 2015, he was promoted to Director of the Planning and Research Division, where he oversaw the main areas, Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewables, Engineering Systems, Rates and Forecasts, of the power system from a planning standpoint.

In August 2020, PREPA’s Governing Board selected him as the Interim Executive Director for PREPA and in November 2020 he was appointed as Executive Director. He also serves as a Member of the Board of PREPA Net, a division of PREPA that offers a full range of information technology services. 

Paredes said that being part of the public power sector “represents a balance between two sides of a coin. On one side, you have the opportunity to be part of the technological development that will allow energy to reach every home and serve people in practically every aspect of their lives. You provide security to their homes, contribute to economic development in all sectors, such as tourism, entertainment, manufacturing industries, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, trade, in other words, energy is crucial to provide stability and development.”

On the other side, “you have the responsibility to evolve, to transform the energy sector, to adapt it to the current times, facing the future, looking for new sustainable, reliable, cost-effective and efficient alternatives to ensure the energy supply,” he said.

“I have worked for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority for the past 20 years, and exactly a year ago I became Executive Director of this public corporation and I am proud to be part of Puerto Rico’s history and to contribute positively to the transformation and evolution of the energy system.”

When asked if he has any advice for recruiting and mentoring more Hispanic workers to join the public power ranks, Paredes said that being a mentor is having the role as a trusted advisor. He noted that PREPA currently employs over 1,300 Hispanic workers, working in different areas from generation, dams, irrigation and administration.

“During the past 20 years at PREPA I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from various people with whom I have had the opportunity of working with, and in the same way shared my knowledge and experiences,” he said.

“While I was working as a university lecturer my goal was to support and motivate my students to learn more about the public power systems,” Paredes noted. He was eager for them to “desire in contributing their knowledge to the energy transformation of our island, a way of them giving back but mainly helping the Power Authority’s transformation.”

He said that every day “without a doubt is a challenge, every day we learn something new, every day is an opportunity to become part of the present and the future of the main source of energy for Puerto Rico.”

Paredes studied at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. In May 1999, he graduated from University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, earning his second degree fr0m his Alma Mater, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. His master’s thesis research was on the Determination of Required Rapid Response Spinning Reserve to avoid under Frequency Load Shedding under Generation Deficiency Conditions in Puerto Rico’s Electric Power System. After completing his engineering degree, he passed the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, becoming a Licensed Electric Engineer.

New York Power Authority (NYPA) – White Plains, New York

Bethaida “Bea” Gonzalez serves as one of seven gubernatorial appointees to NYPA’s Board of Trustees. Born in Puerto Rico, she is a longtime Syracuse resident and a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Gonzalez has over 40 years of experience in higher education with a distinguished record of public service. She has been appointed to high-level positions at Syracuse University and has been elected to public office three times.

In 1991, she was the first Latina to be elected to the board of education in the City of Syracuse and, in 2001, was the first Latina elected as president of the city’s Common Council. In 2017, she received the University Professional Continuing Education Association’s Julius M. Nolte Award for Extraordinary Leadership. Last year, the Allyn Foundation – in partnership with Syracuse University, the COVID-19 Relief Fund, the Gifford Foundation, Reisman Foundation and the United Way – developed the “Bea Gonzalez Summer Scholars” program that serves over 800 youth.

She was drawn to public power as it represents a “common good” community asset to be leveraged. “Public power can be an economic catalyst – a leader in the shift from fossil fuels, and a leader in addressing issues of access, equity and inclusion by its actions and decisions,” she said. More can be done to bring awareness about opportunities at public power utilities for young, underrepresented people. She suggested “building partnerships with school districts, working with educational opportunity programs at our institutions of higher education, youth development work with community- and faith-based organizations, and hosting events and programs for students to learn more about the many career opportunities within public power” as examples. 

Her work ethic and a sense of responsibility to doing a good job are rooted in her Hispanic heritage. “These values were modeled for me by multiple generations of my family,” she said. “I stand on the shoulders of some amazing Latina women (and men) and have a responsibility to pay it forward. As a first-generation high school graduate, college graduate, elected official and many other firsts, it is imperative that I insure there be a second and third. I cannot be the first and the last.”

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) – Omaha, Nebraska

Javier Fernandez joined OPPD as vice president and chief financial officer in 2017 before being selected by the Board of Directors to serve as president and chief executive officer in July 2021. We appreciate the opportunity to have recently interviewed him on our Public Power Now podcast.

Fernandez previously worked for the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, most recently serving as chief financial officer, and had worked for private financial services firms where he advised municipal entities before that. Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in Mexico City, a Master of Business Administration degree from Yale University, a Utility Management Certificate from Willamette University in Oregon, and a Utility Executive Certificate from the University of Idaho. He currently serves as a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Omaha Branch), Bellevue University in Nebraska, and for Habitat for Humanity – Omaha.

Fernandez joined the public power sector after being inspired by his own journey to America. He left his home country and adopted the United States as his own after embracing the American Dream. Having studied America’s history during high school in Mexico City, “I fell in love with the language in the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ Today, 21 years after having migrated into this country and now being a proud U.S. citizen, these truths ring just as true to me now as they did back then,” he reflected.  

Fernandez wants to weave a purposeful thread as an industry leader. “The energy services we deliver are behind the unalienable rights quoted in the Declaration of Independence: A cleaner world and powering essential services that supports Life, customer representation in our elected boards that reflects Liberty and the pursuit of perfect power that enables Happiness. It’s a powerful triad.” He called public power a noble industry; one which serves customer-owners and where growth and learning are constants.

He also wants to help the next generation of public power leaders. “Unfortunately, the concept of public power – and public power career options – are also not widely known,” he said. “This is especially true in communities where there are no family ties or traditions” with public power. Fernandez advised being more proactive in outreach to traditionally less represented communities in our workforce and to share public power’s amazing story. “The value we deliver to the people who own these public assets is immense. We are stewards of incredibly valuable and critical assets, in an industry that is experiencing significant technological changes,” so being part of the public power solution will help our nation thrive.

Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) – Brownsville, Texas

Sandra A. Saenz serves as Vice-Chair on the board at BPUB. She was a board member on CASA of Cameron and Willacy Counties for a number of years and is the owner of Spanky’s Burgers & More, which has been in operation for more than 20 years.

“As a Hispanic female, the main advice that I would give is to get involved with your community and your local schools,” said Saenz. “The industry is rapidly changing, and we all need to be ready and willing to change with it. By staying involved within the schools in your area, this will create a great opportunity to mentor the professionals of today, tomorrow and the future.”

She noted that BPUB is in a predominantly Hispanic area, “and we put a lot of focus on recruiting locally and promoting the talents of our community in the City of Brownsville. We go to local job fairs and career days. We offer internships for high school and college students. We push our job openings on social media, and we have reached out and formed a close relationship with local colleges.”

It is “critical for BPUB to perform this outreach to educate people about who we are and build awareness of the opportunities we offer. You don’t have to leave home to get a good job and a good education; you can make a difference right here within your community,” Saenz said.

“Unlike other municipalities, public power provides the community with its own utility company, and because it is owned by the city, officials can help assure affordable rates and reliable service for its citizens. Decisions about the utility are made by people who live here and understand the challenges the area faces,” she said.

BPUB was formally chartered by the city of Brownsville in 1960 to provide electrical, water and wastewater services to its customers in the southernmost part of Texas. Under the charter, management, operation and control of the city’s combined water, wastewater and electric utility systems were delegated to the BPUB Board of Directors. The Board is composed of seven members: six appointed by the City Commission to four-year terms and the city’s mayor serving as the seventh member (ex-officio).

The utility serves 51,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers with electric service, 52,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers with water service and 52,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers with wastewater service.

Our second feature article will follow in early October. In it we will detail how mentorship programs have helped to develop and promote Hispanic heritage employees.

Michael Avanzi Named New General Manager of Wisconsin’s Kaukauna Utilities

September 14, 2021

by Vanessa Nikolic
APPA News
September 14, 2021

Wisconsin public power utility Kaukauna Utilities (KU) recently announced that Michael Avanzi has been selected as the utility’s new general manager, following the upcoming retirement of current general manager, Jeffery Feldt. 

KU conducted an extensive search process to fill the position of the general manager vacancy. 

For over 17 years, Avanzi has led utility engineering and operations activities. 

Avanzi is currently the manager of electric construction and maintenance at public power utility Colorado Springs Utilities. In this role, he oversees all facets of electric construction, maintenance, and operation for transmission and distribution systems that serve 250,000 customers.

Avanzi and his family plan to relocate in October to Kaukauna as he will assume his new role on November 1, 2021. 

Established by local residents in 1912, Kaukauna Utilities is a community-owned and operated electric utility serving 16,000 customers in Kaukauna and several surrounding communities. The utility also provides water service for customers within the city. 

Groups Outline Concerns with Mandatory Cyber Incident Reporting Legislation Under Consideration

September 14, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 14, 2021

The American Public Power Association (APPA) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) do not support including electric utilities in mandatory cyber incident reporting legislation currently under discussion in Congress because the legislation treats all critical infrastructure entities as equally impactful to national security and puts the onus on the critical infrastructure entity to share information with multiple government agencies.

Joy Ditto, President and CEO of APPA, and Jim Matheson, CEO of NRECA, outlined the concerns of the associations in an Aug. 30 letter to a number of key lawmakers in the House and Senate.

“We are writing to you regarding several introduced and draft bills that would mandate critical infrastructure sectors to report ‘cyber incidents’ to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA),” Ditto and Matheson wrote.

“We believe that the incident reporting mandates currently under discussion would burden electric utilities — especially smaller public power and cooperative utilities — with increased administrative tasks that will not materially increase their, or the country’s, cybersecurity posture, but would likely divert limited resources away from securing and defending systems,” Ditto and Matheson said.

They said that electric utilities “take very seriously their responsibility to maintain a secure and reliable electric grid. It is the only critical infrastructure sector that has mandatory and enforceable federal regulatory standards in place for cyber and physical security (collectively known as grid security).”

These standards include mandatory reporting of specific cyber incidents to the Department of Energy (DOE) via an Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report (OE-417) and to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the letter pointed out.

Outside of these mandatory reporting standards, all electric utilities, including public power utilities and rural electric cooperatives, participate in robust voluntary information sharing systems such as the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council and the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, as well as the Multi-State Information and Sharing Analysis Center for public power, Ditto and Matheson said.

Most recently, electric utilities have worked closely with the National Security Council, DOE, and DHS on the “100 Day Electric Sector Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Sprint” to encourage and support utilities’ visibility and monitoring of their industrial control system and operational technology networks, as well as automated sharing into government. “It is not clear how these bills would impact these existing voluntary channels or existing or planned machine-to-machine sharing,” wrote Ditto and Matheson.

The biggest concerns of APPA and NRECA with the various versions of incident reporting legislation currently under discussion can be grouped into two broad categories.

First, the legislation “treats all critical infrastructure entities as equally impactful to national security — there is no accounting for the wildly differing risk profiles of an electric utility serving millions of customers and a small distribution electric utility without an industrial control system [a type of operational technology] serving 250 customers.”

Second, the legislation “puts the onus on the critical infrastructure entity to share information with multiple government agencies, instead of encouraging and facilitating the sharing of information between and among agencies.”

While those are the two most significant concerns, “we are also concerned that some proposals include heavy financial fines for failure to report within a very short time period,” Ditto and Matheson told the lawmakers. “All of our members must be able to focus on the matter at hand in the event of a breach and should be given the flexibility to report once the crisis is understood and being managed. There has also been little discussion on how mandatory reporting requirements would impact long existing and robust voluntary information sharing systems nor on what the government’s responsibility is in terms of actionable information sharing and support.”  

If Congress chooses to enact broad mandatory cyber incident reporting legislation for critical infrastructure, Ditto and Matheson said that they agree with the principles laid out in an August 27 letter lead by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and endorsed by numerous other critical infrastructure sector entities and associations. 

In that letter, ITI and the other entities and associations said that in order to ensure an effective incident reporting regime that leverages the limited resources of federal agencies, enables regulatory compliance, provides liability protections, and advances national cybersecurity interests, policymakers in Congress should, at a minimum, follow five key principles:

• Establish feasible reporting timelines of no less than 72 hours
• Limit reporting regulations to verified incidents and intrusions
• Limit reporting obligations to the victim organization, rather than third-party vendors or providers
• Harmonize federal cybersecurity incident reporting requirements
• Ensure confidentiality and nondisclosure of incident information provided to the government

Ditto Says House Clean Energy Plan Creates Unachievable Transition Timeframe For Public Power

September 13, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 13, 2021

In a letter to key House members, American Public Power Association (APPA) President and CEO Joy Ditto outlined strong concerns related to the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), which is included in the Build Back Better Act that the House Energy and Commerce Committee started to mark up on Sept. 13.

At the same time, Ditto said that APPA is committed to working with members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on “developing policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electric sector that are workable for public power utilities” and noted that public power utilities “recognize the threat climate change poses and have undertaken significant efforts reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — and they will continue to do so.”

Under the proposed CEPP, the Department of Energy (DOE) would be directed to establish a program to provide grants to eligible electricity suppliers and collect payments from them between 2023 and 2030. To qualify for a grant, an eligible electricity supplier must increase its percentage of clean electricity from the previous year by four percent. Eligible electricity suppliers would have to make payments to the Secretary of Energy if they do not show at least a four percent increase in their percentage of clean electricity from the preceding year.

Specifically, APPA does not believe that the CEPP, as currently designed, offers sufficient time for public power utilities to transition to cleaner resources while keeping their rates affordable and ensuring reliability for their customers, she said.

The letter was sent to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy.

“While we greatly appreciate that the CEPP would provide grants to electric utilities to expedite the clean energy transition, our members do not believe a requirement for load-serving entities to increase their percentage of clean electricity by four percent annually is achievable in the very short timeframe that the CEPP program would exist,” she wrote.

Given the length of time it takes to site, permit, and construct new generation and transmission, “we do not see how clean energy infrastructure could be built fast enough to enable our members to meet this new compliance obligation. Further, given the incredible amount of infrastructure that would need to be built to meet the needs of the entire electric sector, we are concerned about the ability of supply chain manufacturers to build needed equipment to meet this timetable and the ability of our already tight labor force to construct it.”

Ditto noted that the clean energy transition will require significant new transmission to be planned, sited, permitted, and built in the coming years.

“Developing new transmission is a costly and lengthy process filled with regulatory and political hurdles. We appreciate the emphasis on transmission infrastructure in both the Build Back Better Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and our concerns about the challenges and costs associated with building significant new transmission should not be seen as opposition to appropriate transmission investment,” the APPA President and CEO told the lawmakers.

“We are concerned, however, that as more and more utilities move toward cleaner energy resources, the challenges and high costs associated with building new transmission will persist, if not become worse, delaying the availability of resources that public power utilities will need to comply with the CEPP or to achieve their own emissions reductions goals beyond it.”

To address this, Congress should take action to streamline the federal permitting and siting process, eliminate excessive regulatory barriers, work with federal agencies to ensure more timely decisions, “and make keeping transmission costs affordable for consumers — a benchmark by which all transmission policies should be judged,” Ditto said.

She went on to note that as not-for-profit utilities, all the costs incurred by APPA members are passed along to their customers. “Preliminary analyses conducted by our members of the CEPP show that compliance with the CEPP, whether through meeting the clean electricity percentage increase of four percent annually (assuming it could even be done) or payment for failing to do so would result in substantially increased costs for customers. And if they cannot meet the compliance obligation, they would have to pay a substantial penalty while not being eligible for the grant program to help them contain costs for their customers.”

It would make more sense to provide grant money to help public power utilities make further investments in clean resources, “especially given that they have not benefitted from the production tax credit for wind or investment tax credit for solar that for-profit entities have had access to and that have reduced the costs of these renewable resources,” Ditto said.

While the House Ways and Means Committee “plans to address this inequity in its portion of the Build Back Better Act, which we greatly appreciate, it will take time to build these resources going forward, more time than the CEPP will allow.”  

Also, as designed, the short timeframe for the eligibility of grants under the CEPP appears to benefit wind and solar resources to the detriment of other non-emitting resources, Ditto pointed out.

She highlighted the fact that public power utilities are seeking to develop new nuclear (i.e., small modular reactors), green hydrogen, hydropower, and carbon capture and storage projects that will not come online fast enough to meet their CEPP compliance obligations or receive grants. “These technologies will be needed to provide public power utilities with dispatchable, non-emitting resources needed to further reduce GHG emissions while ensuring reliability.”

There are other issues APPA would ask the committee to address in the CEPP, Ditto said, including the need to allow public power utilities to assign their compliance obligations to their joint action agencies, changing the definition of “eligible electricity supplier” to ensure it includes all load serving entities, and other changes needed to address the diversity of structures of public power utilities.

“Public power utilities are committed to further reducing their emissions to address climate change. Unfortunately, we do not believe that the CEPP, as currently designed, provides sufficient time for public power utilities to transition to cleaner resources while keeping their rates affordable and ensuring reliability for their customers — two key tenets that must be protected as we reduce emissions — and is therefore unworkable as drafted,” Ditto went on to say in the letter.

Additionally, public power utilities “would have to meet this unrealistic timeframe while helping electrify the transportation sector and home space and water heating, which will increase electric demand, making meeting a four percent target even more difficult.”

House Committee Will Markup Legislation That Includes Several Key Provisions For Public Power

September 13, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 13, 2021

The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 14, will markup legislation that would extend and expand energy tax credits and includes several key bond provisions.

The legislation includes a number of key top priorities for the American Public Power Association (APPA), including a reinstatement of the ability to issue tax-exempt advance refunding bonds and an increase in the small-issuer exemption from $10 million to $30 million.

The bill would also allow for the issuance of taxable direct payment bonds, with a credit payment to bond issuers of 35 percent for bonds issued in 2022 through 2024, of 32 percent for bonds issued in 2025, of 30 percent for bonds issued in 2026, and 28 percent for bonds issued in 2027 and thereafter. However, credit payments to issuers would not be protected from potential budget sequestration.

Also, the bill would allow states, counties, and cities to issue tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance private construction and development of zero-emission vehicle infrastructure.

The bill would also extend expiring energy-related production tax credits (PTC) and investment tax credits (ITC), as well as the carbon capture tax credit and electric vehicle tax credits.

The ITC, PTC, and carbon capture credits also would be made available — including to public power utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and Indian tribal governments – as refundable direct payment tax credits. The investment tax credit is also expanded to include energy storage technology, qualified biogas property, and microgrid controllers.

The legislation also creates a 30 percent investment tax credit for certain electric transmission property and for zero-emissions electric power generation facilities and a production tax credit for existing nuclear facilities.

New York PSC Approves Second Construction Phase Of NYPA Transmission Project

September 12, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 12, 2021

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on Sept. 9 approved the second construction phase of the 86-mile, $484 million Smart Path transmission project in St. Lawrence County. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) owned Smart Path project was granted authorization in November 2019 and is being built in two phases.

The previously approved first construction phase, now underway, includes replacing 78 miles of the existing wooden structures and replacing them with steel monopoles. Additionally, the distance between poles is extended, further minimizing the use of space on the right-of-way and greatly reducing the number of poles on the landscape.

The rebuilt lines will be taller but stronger, less susceptible to failure and able to better withstand inclement weather, such as ice storms, the PSC noted. Also, the reduced size of the project means less of an impact on agriculture and wetlands.

The just-approved second construction phase will involve rebuilding six miles of existing steel structures coming out of the Robert-Moses Switchyard in the Town of Massena, N.Y., and rebuilding 0.4 miles of steel structures into the Adirondack substation with steel monopoles. In its entirety, the Smart Path Reliability Project traverses through 12 towns.

During construction, electrical customers will not have their service disrupted and both phases of the rebuilt transmission lines are expected to be completed in 2023, the PSC said.

The Smart Path project is needed to rebuild facilities that are well past their serviceable lifetime to make them more resilient and reduce maintenance costs.

The rebuilt transmission lines are needed to deliver electricity, including carbon-free hydroelectric power, from Northern New York to the rest of the state, to re-energize the bulk electric system as a component of the New York Independent System Operator’s system restoration plan in the event of a future widespread outage and to provide increased capacity for future expansion to meet New York’s clean energy targets.

In addition to the second phase of the Smart Path project, the Commission approved New York Transco’s Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf project. The project, valued at approximately $100 million, includes replacement of an existing 115-kV 12-mile overhead transmission line and associated transmission towers on an existing right-of-way in the Towns of New Windsor, Hamptonburgh, Blooming Grove, and Chester in Orange County as well as station upgrades.

This project is needed in connection with a larger transmission line upgrade known as the New York Energy Solution owned by New York Transco. The New York Energy Solution project is designed to provide additional transmission capacity to move power from upstate to downstate.

The Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf project is scheduled to be operational by December 2023.

Longtime Public Power Advocate And Attorney Robert Lynch Passes Away

September 11, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 11, 2021

Robert S. Lynch, an attorney who worked on water, electricity, and environmental law issues and served in several roles for the American Public Power Association (APPA) including APPA’s Advisory Committee, passed away on Aug. 29, 2021 at the age of 82.

“He often described himself as a simple country lawyer, but in reality, he was a brilliant attorney and skillful litigator, credited with helping to shape Western water and hydropower policies for much of the last four decades,” an obituary for Lynch notes.

“I adored Bob — I always knew where his heart lay, and that was with public power and the public power community, on the top of the list after his dear family and his country,” said Joy Ditto, President and CEO of APPA. “He was also savvy politically and understood how to navigate that world to the benefit of public power.  I will miss these and many of the other things he brought to our community – I will miss him, period.”

“I had the opportunity to visit with Bob a few days before his passing,” said Leslie James, Executive Director at the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association. “Ironically, it was on National Hydropower Day. We (mostly he!) talked about his family growing up in the home we were in, the changes both the home and the family went through, and how, within just over a week, he and Anne were going to be grandparents again, to a baby girl.  And, of course, we talked about litigation and politics.”

James said that in a way, “the conversation was a microcosm of my relationship with Bob over the past 35 years. At various times, he was a mentor, a devil’s advocate, a friend, and a co-conspirator. At all times, he was the proudest husband and father I’ve ever seen (absent my own), and someone you could count on in a time of need. As I left his home, my mind went immediately to the old song title ‘I Did It My Way.’ And he did. We miss you, Bob.”

“Spending time with Bob Lynch was always an adventure,” said George Caan, Executive Director for the Washington Public Utility Districts Association. “It could be taking a trip down the Colorado River, a trip through the history of water law or just listening to him speaking so proudly of his family. Politics was never far from Bob’s adventures and it was always made more interesting by being introduced to a fine wine, scotch, or sometimes both. Bob was an extraordinary individual. His accomplishments are eternal and so was his friendship. I will miss him dearly,” Caan said.

Lynch devoted most of his practice to water, electricity, and environmental law issues, a biography on his law firm’s website notes. He litigated and consulted on issues concerning federal and state water, power, environmental and public land issues and federal and state legislation and regulations. His focus included issues related to federal and state electric deregulation, federal and state water law and policy, and environmental issues involving, among others, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. 

Lynch worked on such projects as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Cross-Florida Barge Canal and the Central Arizona Project and consulted on issues related to Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams, federal hydropower issues and related water and water rights issues. 

He was appointed in June 1996 by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to the seven-member Federal Water Rights Task Force, a federal advisory committee.

His law practice included representation of clients in the Arizona Legislature and before Congress. His practice also included representation of clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Arizona Corporation Commission and in state and federal courts. 

His litigation experience included matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, nine of the 13 federal appellate courts, three state supreme courts and several lower courts.

Lynch also served on the Advisory Committee of APPA and on the Board of Directors of its political action committee, PowerPAC (Chairman 2000-2007). He was a 2003 recipient of APPA’s Kramer-Preston Personal Service Award. 

He also served on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Legal Advisory Committee, the Water and Property Rights (Chair) and Energy Issues Committees of the National Water Resources Association, as well as on task forces on the Endangered Species Act of both national associations. 

In addition, Lynch served as President (1991-1996) and Chairman of the Board (1996-2000) of the Central Arizona Project Association. 

Lynch held Bachelor of Arts (1961) and Bachelor of Laws (1964) degrees from the University of Arizona and a Master of Laws degree with a specialization in natural resources law from George Washington University (1972). He belonged to the Arizona, Maricopa County and Federal Bar Associations, and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. 

Lynch also testified before congressional and state legislative committees and in numerous federal agency hearings. Lynch presented papers to conferences of APPA, the Engineering Foundation, the Federal Bar Association, the National Commission on Water Quality, the Western Systems Coordinating Council, the National Water Resources Association, and the Governor’s Commission on Arizona Environment.

A funeral Mass for Lynch will be held on Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 4715 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, Ariz.

Lynch is survived by his wife of 52 years, Anne, and his three daughters, Betsy, Caroline and Stephanie.

EIM Governing Body OKs Plan To Provide Direct Role For Utilities In Real-Time Market

September 11, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 11, 2021

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing Body on Sept. 8 unanimously approved the creation of a new category that will allow the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to work with multiple scheduling coordinators within a single EIM entity balancing authority area (BAA) to schedule and settle non-participating loads and resources.

Under current Western EIM rules, only the participating EIM entity can directly settle load imbalance energy with CAISO. The proposed new “EIM sub-entity” category will permit CAISO to work directly with eligible utilities within the EIM entity’s balancing authority area.

Settlements are the financial outcomes of market activities that result in payments or charges to scheduling coordinators.

In addition, the Western EIM Governing Body unanimously recommended changes to the corporate bylaws, EIM governance charter, and the guidance document to reflect the recently adopted shared-governance framework.

The Western EIM Governing Body also suggested the CAISO Board of Governors consider adding text to the governance documents that clarifies the role of the two bodies when creating an advisory committee that will consider joint authority and/or governance matters.

If the board agrees the language is necessary, the ISO will be required to complete a stakeholder review process to develop a proposal for the Board to review.

The Board of Governors will consider the recommended changes to the governance documents at its meeting on Sept. 22.

Operated by CAISO, the Western EIM footprint currently includes portions of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and extends to the border with Canada.

By 2023, 21 active Western EIM participants will represent over 78% of the load within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.

A number of public power utilities earlier this year began participating in the EIM. The Turlock Irrigation District (TID) and the Balancing Area of Northern California (BANC) Phase 2, comprised of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID), the City of Redding, the City of Roseville, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Sierra Nevada Region, began participating in the West’s first real-time energy market on March 25.

Meanwhile, the Bonneville Power Administration is evaluating whether to join the EIM, with a planned go-live date of March 2, 2022.

California’s Clean Power Alliance, EDF Renewables Sign PPA For Solar Plus Storage Project

September 11, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 11, 2021

EDF Renewables North America and California’s Clean Power Alliance (CPA) on Sept. 2 announced the signing of a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Desert Quartzite Solar-plus-Storage project. 

The project, consisting of a 300-megawatt solar project coupled with a 600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), is expected to begin delivery of clean electricity to CPA’s customers throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in February 2024. The CPA Board of Directors approved the long-term contract during its September meeting. 

The Desert Quartzite Solar-plus-Storage project is located on unincorporated land in Riverside County, Calif., administered by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM designated this area as a Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) and Development Focus Area, land set aside for utility-scale renewable energy development. The project will utilize horizontal single-axis tracking solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.

EDF Renewables is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America.

Founded in 2017, CPA is the locally operated electricity provider for 30 cities across Los Angeles County and Ventura County, as well as the unincorporated areas of both counties.

CPA serves approximately three million customers via one million customer accounts and is a member of the California Community Choice Association, which represents the interests of California’s community choice electricity providers in the legislature and at state regulatory agencies.

Tesla Applies To Be A Retail Electric Provider In Texas

September 11, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
September 11, 2021

Tesla could begin operating as a retail electricity provider (REP) in Texas as soon as Nov. 15 under a recently filed application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).

The staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Aug. 31 said the Aug. 16 application of Tesla Energy Ventures LLC for a retail electric provider certificate was sufficient and set a procedural calendar.

Under that schedule, the deadline to intervene, file intervenor comments, or request a hearing is Sept. 30. The schedule also sets Oct. 15 as the deadline for commission staff to grant final approval or to request a hearing and sets Nov. 15 as the deadline to approve or deny the application.

The filing specifies that Tesla Energy Ventures is seeking REP certification to operate in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) area and not all of Texas. The filing also noted the applicant intends to use shareholder equity and letters of credit to meet the access to capital requirements for retail electric providers.

Tesla Energy Ventures is a whole owned subsidiary of Tesla Energy Operations, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla Inc.

In the application, Tesla said its customer acquisition strategy would “target its existing customers that own Tesla products and market the retail offer to customers through the mobile application and Tesla website.” The company also said it plans to use its existing Tesla Energy Customer Support organization, which already provides support to owners of Tesla’s residential solar and battery systems, to provide support and guidance to customers in its customer acquisition efforts.

Scheduling of energy delivery will be managed by ENGIE Energy Marketing NA, while energy forecasting would be managed by Tesla Energy Ventures, which said it plans to “leverage forecasting tools, capabilities, and knowledge already in place to support its utility-scale battery storage system in ERCOT as well as its retail offerings and virtual power plant programs operating today in places ranging from Australia, California, Vermont, Germany, and the United Kingdom.”

Tesla is building a “Gigafactory” outside of Austin, Texas, that would manufacture and supply electric vehicles to the eastern United States and is expected to be completed later this year. And, through a subsidiary, Gambit Energy Storage, Tesla is also building a 100 megawatt (MW) energy storage facility in Angleton, Texas, outside of Houston, according to multiple media reports. The project was originally developed by Plus Power.

Tesla has been selling its megapack energy storage technology to utilities, saying they “enable the world’s largest energy projects” with 1 gigawatt hour (GWh) of energy capacity.