Burlington Electric Department And Mayor Propose Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond

September 3, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 3, 2021

Burlington, Vermont, Mayor Miro Weinberger and public power utility Burlington Electric Department (BED) have proposed a new, $20 million Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond that would accelerate progress toward Burlington’s climate goals, while reducing upward rate pressure for BED customers, BED reported on Sept. 2.

In addition, the mayor and BED announced that BED’s green stimulus program would continue and that Moody’s Investors Service affirmed BED’s A3 rating.

The Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond, combined with a portion of BED’s annual General Obligation (GO) Bond, would make numerous investments, including:

• $17.5 million to support projects that help advance progress toward the net zero energy goal;
• $7.8 million to fund grid upgrades that support reliability and manage new loads from strategic electrification;
• Renewable energy generation plant maintenance and upgrades;
• Investment in electric vehicle charging and demand response infrastructure; and
• Upgrades to technology systems to support new dynamic rates and load control

The Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond would reduce future rate pressure significantly for BED customers relative to a scenario where BED made these investments without the bond, BED noted.

Debt service on the revenue bond proposal and that portion of the GO bond used for strategic electrification would be supported by net revenue from strategic electrification projects between Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal Year 2025 that will contribute approximately 40 percent of BED’s obligation over the 20-year debt service life of the bonds and savings of $684,000 of BED’s debt service starting in Fiscal Year 2026, due to the maturity of existing bond debt.

Also, under a new Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) order approving a BED proposal, the utility will double funding at least through the end of Fiscal Year 2025 for strategic electrification, including continuing its green stimulus program.

The doubling of funding would be supported by approximately $5.3 million from BED’s annual GO Bond. This will reduce fossil fuel use through customer incentives for heat pumps, EVs, electric lawn care equipment, electric bikes, and more, as well as avoid over 47,000 tons emissions, equivalent to nearly 100,000 barrels of oil burned, compared to business as usual, BED said.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed BED’s A3 rating on outstanding revenue bonds on August 16, 2021, with a stable outlook. Moody’s cited BED’s 100 percent renewable power supply, the diverse local economy in Burlington, and recent action to adjust rates for the first time in 12 years as positive indicators.

Among the first of its kind nationwide, the Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond proposal was recommended by the Burlington Electric Commission by a 5-0 vote. The Burlington Board of Finance and City Council will consider the proposal for placement on the November ballot at their September 13 meetings.

In September 2019, Weinberger, joined by BED General Manager Darren Springer, City Director of Sustainability Jennifer Green, and other stakeholders, released the City’s Net Zero Energy Roadmap. More than a year in the making, the roadmap studies what it will take for Burlington to accomplish its goal to become a Net Zero Energy city by 2030, and identifies four key pathways to get there.

Springer discussed the roadmap in an episode of the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Now podcast.

Details On Green Stimulus Program

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Weinberger announced that a new green stimulus program would be launched using existing funds to support a range of expanded and new initiatives to help boost both the city’s economic recovery from the pandemic and its transition to becoming a Net Zero Energy city.

In response, BED worked quickly last year to implement the green stimulus, which launched on June 1, 2020 and offers incentives for technologies including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electric vehicles, and more.

The success in 2020 of the green stimulus led the mayor and BED to announce that the green stimulus program initiatives have been extended into 2021 and will remain available through year’s end or until funding is exhausted.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Approves Community Choice Energy Move

September 1, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 1, 2021

The County Board of Supervisors for San Diego, Calif., voted on Aug. 31 to authorize the county to join a community choice energy (CCE) program called San Diego Community Power.

The CCE launched in March and includes the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa and San Diego.

The county will become part of a joint powers authority which governs the CCE. CCEs are also known as community choice aggregators (CCAs).

Community choice allows cities and counties to buy electricity, including renewable energy like solar and wind for residents and businesses. CCEs offer customers in the county’s unincorporated areas an alternative to buying power from investor-owned San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). SDG&E would still provide transmission and delivery services, as well as billing.

The CCE could provide residents competitive utility rates and cost savings compared to SDG&E, and also offer more renewable power, the board of supervisors said.

Currently, there are 24 CCEs operating throughout the state including two in San Diego County, San Diego Community Power and the Clean Energy Alliance. The alliance members include Carlsbad, Del Mar and Solana Beach. In all, the state’s CCEs serve 11 million customers.

San Diego Community Power is expected to begin serving county customers in spring 2023.

Association offers new CCA program membership category

The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for CCA programs.

Court Vacates Final Rule That Set New Waters of the U.S. Definition

September 1, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 1, 2021

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on Aug. 30 vacated a Trump Administration rule that set a new definition for “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).

At issue in the proceeding is a final rule — the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) — announced last year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The NWPR addresses traditional navigable waters and territorial seas but narrowed the extent of federal jurisdiction by excluding isolated water bodies, “ephemeral” waters that form only in response to rain, and most ditches.

The final rule called for four categories of waters are federally regulated: (1) The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters; (2) Perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters, (3) Certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments, and (4) Wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.

The final rule also detailed 12 categories of exclusions, features that are not WOTUS, such as features that only contain water in direct response to rainfall (e.g., ephemeral features); groundwater; many ditches; prior converted cropland; and waste treatment systems.

The American Public Power Association generally supported the NWRP rule as it provided clarity and certainty over the scope of jurisdictional waters. A clear WOTUS definition is critically important as the electric utility industry transitions its generation fleet to low and non-emitting resources. The association believes that the NWPR provided clear descriptions of exclusions for many water features that traditionally have not been regulated such as waste treatment systems and ditches.

The rule was subsequently challenged in court by Earthjustice and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Tohono O’odham Nation, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Quinault Indian Nation, and Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

In May 2021, these parties sought summary judgement in the proceeding.

In lieu of filing a response to the motion for summary judgment, the EPA and Corps of Engineers filed a motion for voluntary remand of the NWPR without “vacatur” (vacating the final rule). The plaintiffs in the case did not oppose remand of the NWPR but argued that remand should include vacatur. 

Details On Court Decision

“The concerns identified by plaintiffs and the agency defendants are not mere procedural errors or problems that could be remedied through further explanation,” the court said in its ruling. “Rather, they involve fundamental, substantive flaws that cannot be cured without revising or replacing the NWPR’s definition of ‘waters of the United States,’” the court said. The order was written by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Marquez.

“Accordingly, this is not a case in which the agency could adopt the same rule on remand by offering ‘better reasoning or…complying with procedural rules,’” wrote Marquez.

Neither is this a case in which vacating the final rule could result in possible environmental harm, the judge went on to say. “To the contrary, remanding without vacatur would risk serious environmental harm,” she said. 

Marquez noted that the two federal agencies have identified indicators of a substantial reduction in waters covered under the NWPR compared to previous rules and practices. The judge noted that between June 22, 2020 and April 15, 2021, the Corps made approved jurisdictional determinations under the NWPR of 40,211 aquatic resources or water features and found that approximately 76% were non-jurisdictional. The agencies have identified 333 projects that would have required Section 404 permitting under the Clean Water Act prior to the NWPR but no longer do, the court said.

Marquez said that the reduction in jurisdiction has been particularly significant in arid states. In New Mexico and Arizona, nearly every one of over 1,500 streams assessed under the NWPR were found to be non-jurisdictional, “a significant shift from the status of streams under both the Clean Water Rule and the pre-2015 regulatory regime,” she wrote.

“The seriousness of the agencies’ errors in enacting the NWPR, the likelihood that the agencies will alter the NWPR’s definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ and the possibility of serious environmental harm if the NWPR remains in place upon remand, all weigh in favor of remand with vacatur,” the order said.

The motion for voluntary remand made by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers was therefore granted to the extent it seeks voluntary remand of the NWPR. At the same time, Marquez said that the NWPR is vacated and remanded for reconsideration to the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The vacatur means the test to determine which waters are jurisdictional will revert pre-2015 WOTUS regulations. However, legal experts disagree on whether a district court can vacate a rule nationally, meaning the pre-2015 test might apply only on a narrower scale, such as on land controlled by the six plaintiff tribes.

Biden Administration Action

Prior to the court’s order, EPA Administrator Michael Regan in June announced that the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers would formally revise the definition of WOTUS.

The 2020 NWPR was identified in President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, which directs federal agencies to review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions promulgated, issued, or adopted between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021.

Upon review of the NWPR, the two agencies determined that the rule is significantly reducing clean water protections based on a review of the 333 projects they said would have required § 404 permits before the NWPR, but no longer do because of the narrower scope of jurisdiction under the NWPR. However, industry stakeholders contend the Agencies have not disclose all the data necessary to review the list of projects. For those jurisdictional determinations (JDs) found online, there are no prior JDs, therefore how can the Agencies determine that certain water features would have required a permit but no longer do under the NWPR.

The Department of Justice on June 9 filed a motion requesting remand of the NWPR rule.

The action reflects the agencies’ intent to initiate a new rulemaking process that restores the protections in place prior to the 2015 WOTUS implementation and anticipates developing a new rule that defines WOTUS “and is informed by a robust engagement process as well as the experience of implementing the pre-2015 rule, the Obama-era Clean Water Rule, and the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” EPA noted in a news release.

Subsequently EPA issued a notice, announcing public meetings and a solicitation for pre-proposal feedback on a new WOTUS definition. APPA plans to submit comments September 3 articulating the key principals any new WOTUS definition should include considering the recent court decision.

Public Power Crews Continue Restoration Work as Ida Shifts to Tropical Depression

August 31, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 31, 2021

In the wake of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana over the weekend as a Category 4 hurricane, public power utility crews continued to assist with power restoration efforts in the Southeast as Ida shifted to a Tropical Depression.

The Department of Energy (DOE) in an update said that as of 7:00 a.m. EDT on August 31, there were approximately 1.1 million customer outages due to Ida, with approximately 1 million outages in Louisiana.

DOE said that as of 5:00 a.m. EDT on Aug. 31, Tropical Depression Ida was 185 miles southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, moving northeast at 12 MPH, with maximum sustained winds of 30 MPH.

“Considerable heavy rain and flooding threats will continue to spread from the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys into the central and southern Appalachians and Mid Atlantic through Wednesday,” DOE said.

DOE noted that utilities are conducting damage assessments and restoration efforts as conditions permit. Damage assessments are expected to take three days and estimated restoration times will be established once damage assessments are complete, the federal agency said.

Utilities in the impacted area pre-staged crews, equipment, and materials and mutual assistance networks have been activated to support restoration efforts as needed. A large number of public power utilities from several states sent crews to Louisiana prior to the arrival of Ida.

Many of those crews were set to assist Louisiana public power Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) in its recovery efforts. For example, mutual aid crews from the City of Tallahassee, Fla., deployed Saturday to arrive in Lafayette Sunday morning before the storm to assist LUS. With LUS receiving little to no impacts from Ida, the City of Tallahassee was redeployed to the City of Houma, La.

LUS on Aug. 31 reported that a team from LUS is in Houma doing damage assessment as well as line and tree trimming crews from Tallahassee, North Carolina’s Greeneville Utilities Commission, the City of Statesville, N.C., the City of High Point, N.C., the City of Wilson, N.C., Oklahoma’s Grand River Dam Authority, Nebraska’s Lincoln Electric System, the Town Tarboro, N.C., and North Carolina’s Wake Forest Power that pre-staged in Lafayette for Ida.

 

Crews from Thomasville, Ga., were deployed to St. Martinsville, La., initially, released Aug. 31 and then asked to assist Houma.

Brandon Wylie with Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) has been assisting in Morgan City, while ECG Training and Safety Specialist Calvin Vallee has been helping out in St. Martinsville. On Sept. 1, they both will be traveling to Houma. Wylie is Director of Safety and Training at ECG.

Crews from the Georgia public power communities of Griffin and Calhoun were deployed to Morgan City, La.

ECG is a non-profit organization providing strategic and technical services to 52 public power communities with utility operations. Calhoun and Griffin are members of ECG.

Meanwhile, Nebraska’s Omaha Public Power District on Aug. 31 said it was sending 15 employees to Baton Rouge, La., to help with power restoration in the aftermath of Ida.

OPPD’s team – including four, three-person line crews, two transportation mechanics, and one field supervisor – left Monday at noon and are expected to arrive in Baton Rouge this evening. They will work with investor-owned Entergy Louisiana.

“Our linemen are happy for the opportunity to provide mutual aid support,” said OPPD Papillion Center Manager Eli Schiessler, who is overseeing the effort. “It’s particularly gratifying to be able to help another community, given the level of support we have received from other utilities this year in our service territory.”

Meanwhile, a 16-man contingent of line technicians and supervisory staff from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will be hitting the road on Tuesday, journeying to Baton Rouge to provide mutual aid and restore power.

The contingent from NPPD will be utilizing a variety of equipment used in restoration efforts, with a commitment for two weeks to assist in restoring power for Entergy.

NPPD crews were expected to arrive Thursday to begin assistance.

Meanwhile, the City of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and Fort Pierce Utilities Authority sent mutual aid crews to assist utilities personnel in the City of Plaquemine, Louisiana. The Florida public power utility teams were set to deploy on Sunday to arrive in Plaquemine Monday to begin restoring power once the storm passes. Plaquemine said that as of 6 pm, Aug. 30, power had been restored to almost all of the city’s utility customers.

Crews from the following Florida public power utilities were released and are on their way back to Florida: JEA, Lakeland, Orlando, Kissimmee.

Meanwhile, a caravan of Missouri-based public power utility crews headed to Mississippi to help Southwestern Electric Cooperative to get the power back on.

The effort involves 32 lineworkers from seven Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) towns — crews from Missouri cities of Carthage, Higginsville, Independence, Lebanon, Nixa, Palmyra, and Poplar Bluff.

Ashburnham, Massachusetts, Utility Using DEP Grant To Install Downtown EV Charging Station

August 31, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 31, 2021

Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant (AMLP) plans to install an electric vehicle (EV) charging station using funds from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The charging station will have four charging ports and is scheduled to be installed at Town Hall on Ashburnham’s Main Street before the end of 2021. The $28,158 grant comes from the Public Access Charging Program within the DEP’s Electric Vehicle Incentive Program.

AMLP applied for the grant with its joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC).

“This is a good thing for Ashburnham because receiving the grant allows additional capital planning to be earmarked for future EV installations,” Kevin Sullivan, AMLP’s general manager, said in a statement.

Sullivan also noted that the grant would help the public power utility align with Massachusetts’ carbon dioxide emission reduction goals. “This grant continues to move Ashburnham in the direction of carbon reduction by providing the impetus for electric vehicle purchases and expanding the EV infrastructure in town,” he said.

AMLP installed a Level 2 electric vehicle charging station at the town’s library in January 2020. The station was funded by a grant from Massachusetts’ Green Communities program, with additional financial support by AMLP and Ashburnham’s Economic Development Committee.

When the new charging station is installed at the Town Hall, Ashburnham will have six charging ports.

Massachusetts’ Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 requires a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the economy below the 1990 baseline emission level in 2020 and at least an 80 percent reduction in 2050.

The Massachusetts DEP’s Public Access Charging Program provides funding to property owners to cover a portion of the cost of electric vehicle charging stations accessible to the general public. There is $1.5 million allocated to the program, and applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are exhausted.

The Public Access Charging Program provides up to 80 percent of the cost of a charging station installed at non-government owned properties and up to 100 percent of the cost of installing a charger at a government owned property.

Applicants must commit to providing funds to cover any remaining costs of a charging station or its installation and all the operating and maintenance costs for three consecutive years after the charging station is in operation.

The American Public Power Association’s Public Power EV Activities Tracker summarizes key efforts undertaken by members — including incentives, electric vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure investments, rate design, pilot programs, and more. Click here for additional details.

Public Power Mutual Aid Crews Deploy In Advance Of Hurricane Ida

August 30, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 30, 2021

Public power utility crews from nine states deployed to Louisiana in the days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, August 29 as a category 4 hurricane resulting in widespread power outages in the state.

According to Poweroutage.us, Louisiana had just over one million customers without power as of the morning of Monday, Aug. 30. Ida knocked out power to New Orleans. The city reported on Aug. 29 that all eight transmission lines that deliver power into the New Orleans area were currently out of service. When this occurred, it caused a load imbalance in the area and resulted in generation in the area coming offline. The city is served by investor-owned utility Entergy.

Public power utilities deployed 65 crews and 300 personnel to Louisiana from the following states:

• Missouri
• Florida
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Oklahoma
• Georgia
• Nebraska
• Kentucky

Public Power Crews Deployed Prior To Ida’s Arrival

On Friday, Aug. 27, utility electric line crews from Missouri public power communities started preparations to leave for Louisiana. Organized by the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA), lineworker crews from Missouri cities were traveling to Alexandria, La., to be ready for power restoration after the storm passes. Preparedness coordinators for the City of Alexandria issued a call on Thursday to MPUA for mutual aid assistance, and the crews departed for Louisiana the morning of Saturday, August 28.

The combined response of 32 lineworkers involves crews from the seven Missouri cities of Carthage, Higginsville, Independence, Lebanon, Nixa, Palmyra, and Poplar Bluff.

The workers will stage in Alexandria, La., equipped with eight bucket trucks, four digger/derrick trucks, and 11 other utility vehicles and machines, ready to restore power to Alexandria’s municipal utility after the storm passes.

Mutual aid crews from Missouri public power utilities assisted Alexandria and other area utilities twice in storm recoveries last year, repairing damage caused by Hurricane Laura (August 2020) and Hurricane Delta (October 2020).

Missouri’s utility mutual aid response is coordinated through MPUA’s mutual aid network. Assisting cities are reimbursed by the municipal utilities receiving assistance.

MPUA’s mutual aid network is part of a national public power mutual aid network coordinated by the American Public Power Association (APPA).

Meanwhile, a crew from Oklahoma’s Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) headed to Lafayette, La., to help repair any damage Ida may cause to that city’s electric system.

The GRDA crew of 20 volunteers, including powerline maintenance and vegetation management personnel, mechanics and law enforcement, left Pryor at 6 a.m. Saturday morning to make the nearly 600-mile drive to the Lafayette area. The crew planned to be staged on Sunday and ready to move in for any possible repair work as soon as Ida passes through the area.

The trip is a familiar one, as GRDA also provided aid to Lafayette Utilities Systems (LUS) in October 2020, after Hurricane Delta made landfall, GRDA noted.

Along with Hurricane Delta and now Ida, GRDA has also helped restore power and provide water rescue assistance following Hurricanes Rita, Irma, Matthew, and Harvey. Over the years, GRDA personnel have responded to Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas to offer that aid.

GRDA is lending a hand in Louisiana as part of the nationwide APPA mutual aid effort.

South Carolina’s Santee Cooper also sent crews to help LUS. Santee Cooper, the state-owned public power utility, sent two crews to Louisiana.

From neighboring North Carolina, the following public power communities sent crews to help LUS: Greeneville, Wilson, Statesville, High Point, Tarboro and Wake Forest.

Florida Public Power Utilities Deploy

On Aug. 27, the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) said that it had assembled public power crews from across the state to aid with power restoration efforts in Louisiana following Ida.

FMEA, the mutual aid coordinator for Florida’s 33 public power utilities, said that nearly 85 personnel from seven Florida public power utilities would arrive in Louisiana through Monday to assist affected communities.

Mutual aid crews from the City of Tallahassee deployed Saturday to arrive in Lafayette, Louisiana, Sunday morning before the storm to assist LUS.

Additional mutual assistance line crews and other field personnel from JEA in Jacksonville, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Kissimmee Utility Authority and Lakeland Electric were set to arrive in Lafayette on Monday to restore power.

Meanwhile, the City of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and Fort Pierce Utilities Authority are sending mutual aid crews to assist utilities personnel in the City of Plaquemine, Louisiana. The Florida public power utility teams were set to deploy on Sunday to arrive in Plaquemine Monday to begin restoring power once the storm passes.

“Yesterday was Florida Lineworker Appreciation Day and we couldn’t be more thankful for the public power lineworkers and crew members who leave behind the comforts of home and their own families to help restore power in other communities that are impacted by such major natural disasters,” said Amy Zubaly, FMEA Executive Director. “Florida has many times been the recipient of mutual aid assistance when we have faced down hurricanes and other severe storms. It is always a great honor to return the favor.”

Lincoln Electric System

Nebraska-based Lincoln Electric System (LES) deployed staff and vehicles to help utilities in Louisiana with anticipated power restoration efforts due to Hurricane Ida.

Three crews comprised of 14 LES employees were sent to Lafayette, La. LES crews deployed as the sun rose on Saturday morning, Aug. 28, and were expected to arrive in Lafayette Sunday.

Georgia Public Power Utilities Also Send Crews

Crews from the following public power communities in Georgia have also been deployed to various communities in Louisiana to assist with Ida restoration efforts:

• LaGrange
• Acworth
• Griffin
• Calhoun
• East Point
• Covington
• Thomasville
• Cairo
• ECG

Crews From Kentucky, Tennessee Deployed To Help LUS

Crews from Kentucky public power utility Paducah Power System and the City of Paris, Tenn., and Greeneville, Tenn., also deployed to assist LUS with recovery efforts.

LUS Helps Customers Prepare For Ida

Prior to Ida’s arrival, LUS took a number of steps to help its customers prepare.

For example, the utility leveraged social media to provide customers with telephone numbers to call should they experience power outages or experience any water/wastewater issues or to report downed power lines.

LUS also provided a link to its hurricane handbook, which provides information for customers to refer to before, during, and after a storm.

LUS also utilized its social media channels to say thanks to all of the public crews that arrived in advance of Ida to assist with restoration efforts.

APPA Resources

Along with its role as a mutual aid coordinator during events such as Ida, APPA also provides a number of disaster planning and response resources including a Restoration Best Practices Guidebook and All-Hazards Guidebook.

Additional details is available here.

Tracey LeBeau Named Administrator And CEO Of Western Area Power Administration

August 27, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 27, 2021

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Aug. 26 announced Tracey LeBeau as Administrator and CEO of Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).

LeBeau has served as Acting Administrator since March and has been a member of the WAPA senior executive team for more than seven years, leading operational and administrative enterprise and regional functions. LeBeau’s appointment is effective August 29, 2021. 

LeBeau has more than 20 years of executive experience in management, clean energy and infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, utility business operations, and federal program leadership and policy.

LeBeau joined WAPA in 2014 as the organization’s Transmission Infrastructure Program manager where she oversaw the operations and management of WAPA’s $3.25 billion borrowing authority to support and finance critical infrastructure in WAPA’s territory. 

LeBeau will be the first woman and, as a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the first Native American to lead the organization. 

In this role, LeBeau is responsible for managing DOE’s largest power marketing administration, which markets an average of 25,000 gigawatt-hours of carbon-free hydropower from 57 hydroelectric dams across a 15-state footprint.

WAPA also owns, operates, and maintains a more than 17,000 circuit-mile, high-voltage transmission system that delivers hydropower and other sources of energy to cities and towns, rural electric cooperatives, irrigation districts, Native American tribes, and federal and state agencies, among others. 

Government, Power Sector Have Made Major Strides Tied To Infrastructure Cybersecurity Initiative

August 27, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 27, 2021

Key federal government agencies and the electricity industry have made significant strides in support of White House goals   aimed at boosting the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) recently reported.

In April 2021, the Biden Administration launched an Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to meet its goal of strengthening the cybersecurity of the critical infrastructure across the country.

The initiative was kicked off with a 100-day action plan for the U.S. electricity subsector led by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) in close coordination with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC).

On July 28, 2021, President Biden further emphasized the importance of this initiative and broader cybersecurity efforts through his National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems.

The electricity subsector action plan is the first in a series of sector-by-sector efforts to protect the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats and leverages the important public-private partnerships established by Sector Risk Management Agencies, such as DOE for the energy sector, and CISA, DOE said.

Since the launch, CESER, CISA, and the electricity industry have made significant strides in support of the initiative, DOE said.

At least 150 electric utilities have adopted or committed to adopting technologies to further improve the security of the operational technologies (OT) and ICS that manage the nation’s electric systems, by enhancing the visibility, detection, and monitoring of these critical networks. The American Public Power Association (APPA) continues to reach out to members regarding participation in the initiative.   

DOE said that in furtherance of the initiative, control system cybersecurity experts at CESER, CISA, and the National Security Agency’s Cyber Directorate developed a set of ICS monitoring technology evaluation considerations for reference by the electricity subsector. These evaluation considerations, as recently updated, can be found here.

In addition to accelerating the deployment of OT/ICS cyber monitoring technologies, the initiative has also sparked a range of activities in the electricity subsector like incentivizing cybersecurity investments and discussing the value of cyber insurance, according to DOE.

DOE said that it is committed to continue working with the ESCC in support of this initiative and broader cybersecurity efforts.

DOE is also providing technical and analytical support to some of the smaller utilities in the U.S., municipal and rural cooperative electric utilities, through collaborations with APPA and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “These collaborations will provide financial support to ensure that those utilities can deploy OT/ICS monitoring capabilities, perform risk assessments and architectural reviews, and provide training to utility workers using the technologies,” DOE said.

Meanwhile, DOE also recently issued an updated version of the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2) to help utilities assess and improve the cybersecurity of their information and operational technology systems. DOE is encouraging all electric utilities to leverage C2M2 to assess the cybersecurity posture of their organizations to help make informed cybersecurity investment decisions.

Salt River Project To Expand Gas-Fired Plant to Integrate More Renewables, Boost Reliability

August 25, 2021

APPA News
August 25, 2021

Arizona public power utility Salt River Project (SRP) is seeking board approval to expand its Coolidge Generating Station, a quick-start natural gas power plant located in Arizona’s Southeast Valley.

The expansion will help SRP integrate more renewable energy resources into the power grid and allow SRP to provide reliable power to its rapidly growing customer base during times of peak electricity demand, including some of the hottest days in Arizona’s summer season, it noted in an Aug. 24 news release.

The Phoenix metropolitan area is experiencing population growth more than three times the national average and SRP is projecting significantly increased, near-term residential and commercial energy needs. This demand is rising especially as large industrial customers develop new and existing local operations.

If approved by the SRP Board, the expansion of the Coolidge Generating Station would add 820 megawatts (MW) of capacity produced by 16 natural gas turbines capable of ramping up to full production within 10 minutes.

“With the West facing power capacity constraints and lacking available power generation during peak energy usage periods, the proposed expansion of Coolidge Generating Station will help SRP reliably and safely serve energy at times of highest demand,” SRP said.

It will also steadily facilitate the addition of more renewable energy resources like solar and wind which can produce intermittent and varying power output. Added natural gas turbines will provide SRP customers quick-start, dependable energy that is available when renewable resources have fluctuations in output or are not producing power, and when battery systems are charging.

Because the proposed new gas turbines at Coolidge Generating Station can start quickly and will run in times of peak demand or when there is reduced renewable output, the added natural gas generation would not impact SRP’s ability to meet its sustainability goals, the utility noted.

SRP has committed to reducing carbon intensity by more than 65 percent in 2035 and by 90 percent in 2050 from 2005 levels. SRP’s sustainability commitments also include an increased pledge to add 2,025 MW of utility-scale solar energy by 2025. In addition, SRP plans to add 1,600 megawatt-hours of battery storage by 2023.

Rebates From Anaheim Public Utilities Help School District With EV Charging Infrastructure

August 25, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 25, 2021

The Anaheim Elementary School District in California recently dedicated four new electric school buses along with 14 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at its district office. Four additional buses are expected to arrive later this year.

The buses and a portion of the chargers were funded through a grant from the California Energy Commission and rebates from Anaheim Public Utilities assisted with EV charging infrastructure.

Replacing diesel buses with electric buses is an important goal for the school district, which serves 18,000 students, due to its many benefits – slashing gas emissions by up to 54,000 pounds per bus a year, significantly improving air quality inside and outside of the bus, and reducing operation and maintenance costs by 60%.

The dedication event, which took place in July, was hosted by the school district and included school board trustees, city officials, and state agencies.

Electric buses are part of a larger partnership with Anaheim Public Utilities. Two campuses have solar shade parking structures that provides renewable energy to the local grid. The school district has expressed interest in pursuing additional solar projects.

To learn more about public power utilities and bus electrification, click here.