Celebrating public power in America series – Part 2: Celebrating the Modern Public Power Utility
July 6, 2021
by APPA News
July 6, 2021
The American Public Power Association is pleased to present the second in-depth, three-part Public Power Current newsletter series to celebrate public power’s past, present, and future.
Yesterday we described how local leaders began what would become the nation’s oldest continuously operated public power utility, in Butler, Missouri. Today, the Butler Electric Department is a modern utility: it owns Missouri’s first utility-scale solar farm, has emergency-only generators, a fully remodeled and upgraded power plant, and is studying the addition of wind power to help meet the needs of a growing town.
Today we share how three public power utilities have adapted to changing times and local needs.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) – Memphis, Tennessee
Although MLGW has existed since 1939, its parent companies started over 100 years ago. Memphis was 26 years old when the Memphis Gas Light Company, the first of MLGW’s division companies, began in 1852. The City of Memphis was about three-square miles with approximately 10,000 residents. In 1887, a group of Memphians incorporated the Memphis Light and Power Company to supply electricity to the city and, on March 18, 1887, drillers tapped into the artesian water supply beneath the city. The Artesian Water Company was formed, and Memphians stopped using water from the Wolf River. After a series of purchases, mergers, and negotiations over the next half century, Memphis had a three-service utility company. On March 9, 1939, the governor of Tennessee signed an amendment to City’s charter creating the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division and a board of Light, Gas and Water Commissioners, who were sworn in on March 22, 1939.
Memphis sits on the banks of the Mississippi River in the southwestern corner of Tennessee. It is now the second largest city in Tennessee with a population of 651,073. Memphis also sits within Shelby County, which has a population of nearly one million residents. Today, MLGW is the nation’s largest three-service municipal utility, serving over 436,000 customer locations throughout Shelby County’s municipalities and unincorporated areas. MLGW’s mission is to safely deliver services that create and sustain superior customer experiences. Their vision is to be the trusted provider of exceptional customer value in the communities they feel privileged to serve. Their values – also known as The MLGW Way – are safety, integrity, ownership, inclusion and compassionate service.
The future is bright. MLGW is in the midst a five-year service improvement plan to update city infrastructure. The Division will deploy and commission more than 1,100 distribution automation system devices during the planning period, over 2,500 wood poles will be replaced, 1,000 sites will receive 5G telecommunications equipment and we’re replacing 5,000 lead service lines. The MLGW cast iron replacement project will be completed in 2021. This is a 30-year project that began in 1992. The Division is also replacing 17 miles of underground cable and 1,000 water lead lines.
MLGW is supplied with electricity by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal agency that sells electricity on a non-profit basis. MLGW is TVA’s largest customer, representing 11% of TVA’s total load. MLGW’s natural gas distribution network, which measures more than 4,650 miles in length, delivers natural gas to homes and businesses in Shelby County— nearly 40 billion cubic feet annually. And Memphis water is derived from one of the largest artesian well systems in the world. The aquifer beneath Shelby County contains more than 100 trillion gallons of water that fell to earth more than 2,000 years ago.
Service to the community extends beyond utilities. MLGW employees donate more than $1 million annually in goods and services and countless corporate and personal volunteer hours to make a positive impact. MLGW’s Public Education Program also educates Memphians on the utility industry through a variety of forums such as newsletters, community presentations, Careers-on-Wheels participation, Water Pumping Station tours, and more.
Keys Energy Services (KEYS) – Key West, Florida
KEYS, headquartered in Key West, serves the Lower Florida Keys, providing electricity from Key West to the Seven-Mile Bridge, and serves over 28,000 customers.
The City of Key West purchased the utility in 1943. The City Council created a Utility Board to oversee what is now known as KEYS. In 1969, the Florida State Legislature passed a new enabling act for the governing of KEYS, which is still in effect today, and calls for the popular election of five Utility Board members serving four-year terms. Through the Utility Board, KEYS’ customers have a say in their municipal electric utility.
In 2017 the Utility Board successfully lobbied the Legislature to update its governance to ensure representation from both within and outside the City limits. Initially, KEYS only provided electric service to the City of Key West. In 1953, the utility expanded its service area to the Seven-Mile Bridge.
In those early years, electricity was produced via local diesel generation. In the late 1970’s, the Utility Board studied alternative power supplies and decided to construct a transmission line (or TIELINE) to interconnect to the mainland power grid. On May 8, 1987, KEYS interconnected the TIELINE with the mainland power grid and KEYS’ operations changed dramatically.
KEYS currently imports nearly all of its power supply and uses local generation for emergency back-up only. The utility relies on power from the mainland because it is far less expensive than local generation and offers greater fuel diversity. As a member of the Florida Municipal Power Agency’s All Requirements Project, KEYS pools its power resources with other public power utilities in Florida. Together, the public power utilities enjoy greater efficiencies and economies of scale. Most recently, KEYS joined two Florida Municipal Solar Projects to offer utility-scale solar to its customers.
Today, KEYS is a nationally recognized Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) by the American Public Power Association. The Utility Board’s strategic plan focuses on reliability, customer service, reasonable rates, a highly effective workforce and reducing its reliance on fossil fuels through solar, electric vehicles and general customer education. KEYS maintains a highly respected position within its local community and KEYS customers look forward to receiving the annual conservation calendar illustrated by local elementary school students and picking up a shade tree during the bi-annual Tree Giveaway.
Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) – Rochester, Minnesota
RPU was formed in 1894 as Rochester’s first municipally owned utility, initially to provide street lighting. Today, RPU serves a peak load of approximately 270 MW in a service territory of over 60 square miles. In the late 1970’s, RPU along with 17 other Minnesota municipal utilities joined together and formed Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) to provide low-cost, reliable energy to its members.
RPU’s 200 employees work to ensure the availability of safe, reliable and efficient electricity and potable water to Rochester’s 110,000 citizens. RPU’s electric utility serves 52,000 residential and 5,000 commercial customers. Businesses in Rochester constitute about 60% of RPU’s electric utility revenues.
RPU owns a fleet of generation facilities which includes natural gas-fired peaking plants and a small hydroelectric facility. In addition, RPU retired their coal-fired generation in 2015, and that facility now runs on natural gas and is used to serve steam to a commercial customer. In the near future, RPU is planning to add additional solar to their energy portfolio.
RPU’s motto is “We Pledge, We Deliver” and their mission is to “set the standard for service.” Providing exceptional service to their customers drives everything they do. To ensure that they are meeting those expectations, RPU surveys customers on a quarterly basis. RPU’s strategic plan, which is refreshed every three years, centers on what they call the “five R’s”: Rates, Reliability, Reputation, Relationships, and Responsibility. RPU consistently maintains over 99% system reliability, and rates that are competitive with other utilities in southeast Minnesota.
Because energy and water are so crucial to economic development, RPU maintains representation on a number of boards and commissions, including, the Rochester Energy Commission, the Rochester Area Economic Development Board, the Climate Smart Municipalities Initiative through the University of Minnesota, and the Rochester Sustainability and Resiliency Task Force. They also encourage employees to participate in community organizations to maintain connections with the community and assist customers with achieving their goals.
For RPU, “Responsibility” means maintaining commitments to customers today, and generations yet to come. For years, RPU has met and exceeded energy conservation targets, and every January RPU partners with neighboring utilities to provide the latest in efficiency rebate information to vendors and contractors. In April, for their annual Arbor Day celebrations, RPU combined a tree giveaway with fun activities for Rochester’s fourth graders. In 2011, RPU was the first Minnesota utility to install EV chargers across the RPU service territory to better provide access for those with EVs and to provide visibility for RPU customers interested in learning more about EVs.
As noted above, a majority of RPU’s power supply comes from SMMPA and that contract is set to expire in March of 2030. This gives RPU a unique opportunity for self-determination in meeting their energy needs. After extensive customer engagement, the RPU Board voted to approve two future resource plan scenarios resulting in 100% renewable energy by 2030 through a combination of wind, solar, and other renewable resource options. The main difference between the plans is how to meet RPU’s capacity obligations, through either a simple-cycle natural gas turbine or batteries.
As with every other industry across the world, the utility industry was greatly affected by the pandemic over the last 15 months. RPU’s dedication to its customers continued throughout the pandemic as they adjusted safety protocols, but the delivery of reliable electric and water services never waned. RPU partnered with the City of Rochester, Olmsted County, and local non-profits to provide assistance for those Rochester residents and business owners in need of resources. CARES Act funding totaling $749,856 to Rochester businesses and $123,701 to qualifying residential customers was distributed. Aside from normal business calls received, RPU Customer Care representatives assisted over 5,000 additional callers between May and December 2020 interested in benefits and resources available.
RPU’s strategic planning and steadfast focus on safe, reliable delivery of services to its customers hasn’t gone unnoticed. RPU is very proud to be included in the elite four percent of all public utilities in the country to receive the American Public Power Association’s Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) Diamond Award, the industry’s highest honor for providing safe and reliable electricity for customers.
Even Better Together – Celebrating Joint Action Agencies
Public power utilities form “joint action agencies” to serve multiple public power utilities in a region or a state where economies of scale can be helpful to meet energy supply and other needs. Today, there are nearly 60 of these organizations nationwide.
Over 50 years ago, APPA, with federal encouragement and the steadfast support of public power leaders, embarked on an effort to promote the formation of joint action agencies. These initial ventures were often intended to correct expensive and unreliable wholesale power rates being charged by private utilities. They would allow individual municipal utilities to participate in power pools, to buy wholesale power as a group, and to jointly finance power plants and major transmission systems. Later, services evolved to help individual utilities meet new electric reliability standards, evolving public policies, resource planning, power management, programmatic administration and regulatory compliance, contract negotiations, workforce development, and more. Where all participants – especially smaller utility systems – can be helped with remaining competitive in an increasingly complex electricity market.
In Part 3, tomorrow, we will explore how municipalization efforts have touched local communities. And how the public power business model continues to embrace innovation, local commitment, and power strong communities – even in the face of the most challenging of circumstances.
Glendale Water & Power signs contract tied to C&I energy efficiency program
July 6, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 6, 2021
Glendale Water & Power (GWP) has signed a contract with Lime Energy for energy efficiency that aims to support the California public power utility’s clean energy transformation.
Under the $18 million, seven-year contract, Lime Energy will deliver 36,500 megawatt hours (MWh) in energy savings by providing a combination of targeted energy efficiency technologies, upgrades, and services for small and large businesses in Glendale.
GWP projects it will have 964,352 MWh of retail energy sales in its 2021-2022 fiscal year, rising to 940,282 MWh in fiscal year 2030-2031.
The contract institutes a pay-for-performance program that is designed to provide energy efficiency upgrades to commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses in the utility’s service territory. The program will use the direct install energy efficiency program model, which is designed as a turn-key process for C&I customers.
“We are committed to accelerating and ramping up our sustainability efforts by providing a turnkey upgrade program for our commercial and industrial business customers,” John Takhtalian, interim general manager of Glendale Water & Power, said in a statement. “This program helps our customers meet their energy efficiency goals and helps GWP take more steps toward a clean energy future.”
Among the services Lime Energy, subsidiary of Willdan Group, will provide GWP are marketing, sales, engineering, project implementation, and customer support for a range of energy efficiency practices and technologies. The technologies covered under the program include lighting, refrigeration, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
The contract with Lime Energy is not GWP’s first energy efficiency program. “GWP has a long history of providing energy efficiency programs for our customers,” Atineh Haroutunian, the utility’s public benefits marketing manager, said via email. GWP has invested over $50 million in multiple energy efficiency programs, for both residential and business customers, since 2000, she said.
GWP has provided most, if not all, of those energy efficiency programs through outside contractors. “Using outside contractors is the most cost-effective and efficient why to provide these kinds of services to our customers,” Haroutunian said. “It allows us to provide the most variety in program offerings and gives our customers access to more cutting edge energy efficiency products and services.”
The program with Lime Energy was developed in response to City Council recommendations to develop clean energy programs as part of the utility’s plan to repower its Grayson power plant.
GWP is repowering the Grayson plant with a combination of renewable energy resources, energy storage and a limited amount of thermal generation. The plan includes a 75 MW, 300 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system, as much as 50 MW of distributed energy resources that include solar photovoltaic systems, energy efficiency and demand response programs, and 93 MW of thermal generation from up to five internal combustion engines.
The Lime Energy program is part of GWP’s Clean Energy Program suite. Another element of the utility’s Clean Energy Program was its launch in April of its Peak Savings demand response program for residential and commercial customers. The program provides incentives for reducing demand on the electric grid on days when demand is highest and is being run by Franklin Energy.
Maine lawmakers pass amended bill that would create state consumer-owned utility
July 1, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 1, 2021
The Maine Legislature on June 30 voted in favor of a bill that would create a consumer-owned utility in the state called Pine Tree Power, casting a bipartisan 77-68 vote in the House to attach an amendment to the bill that they supported two weeks ago. The Maine Senate voted 18-15 to support the new package.
An amendment introduced June 30 revised the bill to require the Pine Tree Power Company to pay property taxes directly to Maine municipalities, while maintaining its nonprofit status. This replaced previous bill language requiring payments in lieu of taxes.
Maine Rep. Seth Berry, sponsor of L.D. 1708, said the amendment spoke directly to the top two concerns of Maine Gov. Janet Mills, and concerns voiced by some municipal leaders. “We are pleased that the revised language won back the support needed to send this to Governor Mills, and hope to win her support for our effort as well,” he said in a statement.
The bill now heads to Mills’ desk. If she signs the bill or allows 10 days to pass without either her signature or a veto, the bill will become law. This would put the question of consumer ownership of Maine’s grid on the ballot in November 2021.
If Mills chooses to veto the bill, “we will continue our campaign through a citizens’ initiative,” said Stephanie Clifford, campaign manager for Our Power, a group that supports the creation of a consumer-owned utility in the state.
“Petition gathering on such a citizen-initiated referendum would begin this summer and would likely put the question on the ballot in November 2022, the same day that Mills and all legislators are up for re-election,” she said.
The consumer-owned entity that would be created under the bill would take over the electric service now provided by Central Maine Power and Versant Power. Central Maine Power Company and Versant Power (formerly known as Emera Maine), are majority owned by Iberdrola of Spain and Emera of Canada, respectively.
Moody’s, S&P affirm strong credit ratings for OPPD
July 1, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 1, 2021
Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global recently affirmed strong ratings on long-term bonds and short-term debt for Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), the Nebraska public power utility reported on July 1.
Moody’s credit opinion affirmed OPPD’s Aa2 senior bond rating, Aa3 subordinate bond rating, and P-1 commercial paper (CP) rating with a stable outlook. It pointed to OPPD’s strengths in maintaining competitive rates, as well as sound debt service coverage (DSC) and liquidity. Over the last two years, OPPD has achieved DSC averaging 2.37x, while days’ cash on-hand has averaged around 180 days.
The utility’s credit quality, Moody’s noted, is further supported by its location in an all-public-power state. The agency also praised the utility’s strong 13-county southeast Nebraska service area, which has proven resilient through economic cycles.
Meanwhile, S&P affirmed OPPD’s AA senior bond rating, AA- subordinate bond rating, and A-1+ CP rating.
At the end of 2020, the utility had $1.7 billion of senior- and subordinate-lien bonds outstanding, and $250 million CP notes. In March, OPPD increased its CP authorization to $350 million (from $250 million), and secured an additional $200 million line of credit, bringing total liquidity facilities to $450 million.
The district’s key strengths that S&P points to include, “a strong and diverse customer base supported by an economically sound service area, the district’s proven ability to maintain robust coverage of fixed charges, and substantial liquidity.”
S&P called OPPD’s enterprise risk profile “very strong.” Contributing factors include a deep and diverse customer base, as well as plans to lower carbon intensity, while adding up to 600 megawatts of solar generation with natural gas backup.
Like Moody’s, S&P also noted that OPPD is in a strong market position with its competitive rates.
Celebrating public power in America series – Part 1: Celebrating America’s Public Power History
July 1, 2021
by APPA News
July 1, 2021
The American Public Power Association is pleased to present this in-depth, three-part Public Power Current newsletter series to celebrate public power’s past, present, and future. Thank you to the utility systems for their contributions about public power’s founding and evolution (Part 1), the benefits of modern public power systems (Part 2), and how public power’s best attributes, and discussions about municipalization and community choice aggregation, have touched local communities (Part 3).
The public power business model has embodied an American tradition deeply rooted in local communities: neighbors working together to provide an essential local service. A service that must be reliable, where rates are reasonable and cost-based, and electricity is distributed on a not-for-profit basis under the fiduciary oversight of local governing boards. Just like your local school or fire department, public power utilities belong to a local or regional governmental structure that effect the day-to-day lives of 49 million people today. This is our story.
The Founding Days of Public Power
The very first public power utility was established 141 years ago. Shortly after 8pm on the evening of March 31, 1880, mechanics in the farming community of Wabash, Indiana hitched a threshing machine engine to the west wall of the Wabash County Courthouse, sending motive power to a generator in the basement. Lights atop the courthouse bathed downtown Wabash in a brilliant light within minutes. One eyewitness account described the nighttime scene as follows:
“People stood overwhelmed with awe, as if in the presence of the supernatural. The strange, weird, light, exceeded in power only by the sun, rendered the square as light as midday. Men fell on their knees, groans were uttered at the sight and many were dumb with amazement. We contemplated the new wonder in science as lightning brought down from the heavens.” – Museum of Electricity, citing an excerpt from a newspaper account in Men and Volts: The Story of General Electric
The Wabash City Council’s decision to own (instead of franchise) its new electric lighting system created America’s first municipal utility – a model that still thrives today. Wabash later relinquished the title of America’s oldest public power community to Butler, Missouri, when it sold its utility to a private company.
The City of Butler prides itself as “electric city.” A local delegation including Captain F.J. Tygard had attended the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition featuring the Corliss Centennial Steam Engine at the world’s fair. The Brush Electric Light and Power Company was later formed in Butler, with local financing.
Butler became the first city west of the Mississippi River to have electricity when, on the evening of December 6, 1881, an electric lighting plant powered four burners atop the copula of the Butler Courthouse, illuminating the town square and the buildings surrounding it. Reportedly, people would take the train from Kansas City just to see the Butler Courthouse lights. (Note that Thomas Edison’s commercial Pearl Street Station in New York did not become operational until nearly a year later, in September 1882.) Tygard later became Butler’s mayor and, in 1900, the city acquired the lights and the power plant.
Today, the Butler Electric Department is America’s oldest continuously operated public power utility.
“For the Benefit of the People”
The New York Power Authority was an early experiment in large-scale public power. In 1907, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes first declared that the state’s undeveloped run-of-the-river waters “should be preserved and held for the benefit of the people and should not be surrendered to private interests.” Ultimately, it would take 25 years and then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to gain public and political support for a Power Authority “to give back to the people the waterpower which is theirs.” On April 27, 1931, Roosevelt signed into law the Power Authority Act, declaring, “It is my earnest hope that this is the forerunner of cheaper electricity for the homes and farms and small business people of the state.” It led to the development of what is today known as the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project and the Niagara Power Project.
The Public Power Model Spreads Nationwide
Public power utilities were being formed at a rapid pace in the early 20th century. The “golden days” came in the early 1920’s, when more than 3,000 municipal utility systems were in operation, according to David Schap in “Municipal Ownership in the Electric Utility Industry: A Centennial View.”
Several factors led to the establishment of so many municipal utilities. In some communities, it was a practical decision made by local leaders who wanted to better the lives for local citizens. Smaller communities were simply not viewed as attractive, compared with the profit potential in larger cities, to private electricity companies. When the private sector failed to meet their needs, these communities took the task upon themselves. As a result, public power became a real threat to private electricity companies. The number of municipal utilities then shrank under the pressures of an aggressive private industry and rapidly changing technologies. By 1930, the number of public power utilities fell nearly 40%, to approximately 1,900, according to Schap. Still, public power utilities were able to survive in frequently unfavorable political and economic environments.
This downward spiral was reversed in the early 1930’s. By the end of that decade there were approximately 2,000 community-owned and operated electric utilities – a number that still stands today and is a continuing testament to the value of public power. Several factors contributed to this more modest wave of municipal ownership. The development of diesel technology made small-scale municipal generation more efficient. But the growing resentment against private utilities, with excessive rates and absentee owners who exported profits at the expense of the utility systems, also stood out.
The Federal Government Embraces “Public Power”
Increasingly active federal involvement also played a major role in promoting public power. In his famous “Portland Speech,” on September 21, 1932, now-President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that inexpensive public power would serve as a yardstick against which to judge private utilities.
“The very fact that a community can, by vote of the electorate, create a yardstick of its own, will, in most cases, guarantee good service and low rates to its population. I might call the right of people to own and operate their own utility something like this: a ‘birch rod’ in the cupboard to be taken out and used only when the ‘child’ gets beyond the point where a mere scolding does no good.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt
With the backdrop of a nation suffering from the Great Depression – especially in the hard-hit Tennessee valley – the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created by congressional charter in 1933 to improve the quality of life of valley residents by modernizing a rural economy. In the 1940’s, with the world now engulfed in war, TVA embarked upon one of the largest hydropower construction programs ever created, providing desperately needed jobs along with the electricity necessary to power new industries.
Public power’s strong ties to hydropower development – and economic advancement across America – had extended west as well.
What is now known as Hoover Dam was dedicated on September 30, 1935, spurring significant growth across the southwest. The United States Congress had authorized the “Boulder Canyon Project Act,” signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge in 1928, after significant advocacy efforts by local public officials, including with the City of Los Angeles, which had founded its own utility in 1902. Hoover Dam was completed in 1936 and was the largest hydroelectric plant in the world until 1948. From 1936 to 1987, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power along with a collection of other power utility companies ran the dam’s power generators under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Today, those units supply hydropower to predominantly public power and tribal contractors across Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada.
The Future Is Bright
Public power utilities in the 20th century were integral parts of the nation’s electric utility infrastructure. Now they have capitalized on new techniques and technologies to provide low-cost, superior service to their communities. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt had envisioned nearly 90 years ago, public power systems have consistently served as the yardstick by which the performance of other utilities have been measured.
In Part 2, we will explore public power’s many successes to date – how the business model has continued to adapt to changing times while maintaining traditional “public good” values. Through the ongoing efforts of dedicated public power boards and city councils, employees, citizen owners, and advocates, public power utilities must continue to lead the industry by acting in the best interests of their customers, reflecting the needs of the communities they serve, and remaining strongly competitive. This continued competition benefits all electric customers, not just those served by public power.
LIPA, PSEG Long Island reach agreement on contract reforms in response to tropical storm failures
June 30, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
June 30, 2021
The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) on June 28 announced that it has reached an agreement with PSEG Long Island on a set of contract reforms that will provide LIPA and the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) with greater oversight authority and resolve pending litigation related to PSEG Long Island’s failures to meet contract standards during Tropical Storm Isaias.
LIPA owns the Long Island electric grid and contracts with PSEG Long Island, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, to operate the grid on a day-to-day basis.
Under the settlement, PSEG Long Island will forfeit $30 million for Tropical Storm Isaias-related failures.
Specifically, the agreement calls for:
- $6.6 million to reimburse customers without power for more than 72 hours for food and medicine spoilage;
- $19.5 million in payments and credits to LIPA towards the cost of upgrading the information technology and communication systems that failed during the storm; and
- $3.9 million in contributions to Long Island-based charities
On the afternoon of Tropical Storm Isaias, all of PSEG Long Island’s restoration and communications systems failed, leaving over 500,000 customers unable to communicate with their electric utility and hampering restoration efforts.
Over one million customer calls received busy signals, 300,000 text messages bounced back, and web services and mobile phone applications failed. Customers were unable to report critical emergencies, and those that could get through received inaccurate restoration times, LIPA said.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall at around 11:10 pm EDT on August 3, 2020, near Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., as a category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. It then weakened to a tropical storm while proceeding north-northeastward inland along the Eastern Seaboard, reaching near Albany, N.Y., by 5:00 p,m. EDT on August 4.
Investigations by LIPA and DPS ordered by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo determined that PSEG Long Island management was aware that critical information technology systems were not working before the storm, had inadequate business continuity plans, and had not maintained or rigorously stress tested systems.
The investigations led to the adoption by PSEG Long Island of 85 specific recommendations by the LIPA Board to correct information technology, management, and emergency management deficiencies, which are all in addition to the penalties and contract reforms announced on June 28.
Agreement creates stronger protections for customers
The agreement will also create stronger protections for customers, LIPA noted.
The President and Chief Operating Officer of PSEG Long Island will have full and final operational decision-making authority and the local executive team will be strengthened with new positions in information technology, cybersecurity, emergency response, business services, and human resources.
“To avoid the lack of accountability for local operations that was evident in the company’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias, all Long Island employees will report to managers on Long Island. Additionally, the compensation for all PSEG Long Island employees will be linked to the performance of Long Island operations,” LIPA said.
There will also be a strengthening of long-term planning, budget development, and cost management. New standards will require greater long-term planning, transparency, and accountability for delivering projects and services on time and within budget that meet the needs and deliver value for customers.
In addition, the reformed management contract increases the amount of PSEG Long Island’s annual compensation at risk from $10 million to $40 million, including automatic reductions for failures to meet minimum emergency response, customer satisfaction, and reliability standards and a new DPS investigative process to reduce compensation for failures to provide safe, adequate, and reliable service to customers.
PSEG Long Island will be subject to detailed performance requirements set annually by the LIPA board and DPS to ensure the company meets industry best practices across all the services provided to LIPA and its customers.
The agreement also calls for stronger oversight protections for LIPA and DPS.
The agreement requires timely, affirmative disclosure to LIPA and DPS of issues, such as those that occurred before and during Tropical Storm Isaias, that significantly impair PSEG Long Island’s ability to provide reliable service, emergency response, cybersecurity, financial impairment, noncompliance with laws, or circumstances that may endanger public health, safety, and welfare.
LIPA said new provisions will ensure that PSEG Long Island’s decisions to hire affiliates to perform services, including information technology services, at customer expense will deliver better quality and lower cost than competing vendors.
The agreement-in-principal, when finalized, will be presented to the LIPA Board of Trustees for their consideration.
Public power utilities play key role in Pacific Northwest’s response to historic heat wave
June 30, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
June 30, 2021
Public power utilities and their customers have played a key role in helping to maintain a reliable supply of power in the face of a historic heat wave that gripped the region in recent days and in turn placed power demand pressure on regional grids.
Several major cities in the Pacific Northwest have experienced temperatures over 100 degrees, shattering records for several days in a row.
Seattle City Light
One of those cities is Seattle, Washington, where public power utility Seattle City Light on June 28 noted that it was carefully monitoring external conditions and its systems to maintain reliable power to customers in Seattle and our surrounding communities. “We have brought in extra crews to respond to unplanned outages and we have postponed planned outages at least through Tuesday, June 29 to minimize the impact on customers,” Seattle City Light said in a post on its website.
Seattle City Light noted that it was participating in daily calls with the Northwest Power Pool (NWPP), which manages resource adequacy across the region. While utilities in the Northwest typically see their highest demand in the winter, not the summer, the NWPP continues to report adequate resources to meet the demands of this sustained heat wave, Seattle City Light said on June 28. “The fact that we are a hydropower region, not overly dependent on intermittent resources like solar and wind, is very helpful in this situation,” the utility noted.
At the peak on Sunday, June 27, Seattle City Light had about 1,700 customer meters without power at one time. “We expect we could see similar outages with the heat continuing through today and we are prepared to respond as quickly as is safely possible,” it said on June 28.
Snohomish County PUD
As with other public power utilities responding to the heat wave, Washington State’s Snohomish County PUD called on customers to do their part in helping to keep power demand down by making small changes to conserve energy like closing blinds and using small appliances in their kitchens.
In a June 25 tweet, Washington State’s Snohomish County PUD noted that “Some have asked if our power supply is at risk due to this heat. The short answer is no. We expect that energy demand on June 28 will be its highest ever in June. Fortunately, above-average water supply and snowpack this spring have us well-positioned going into summer. But when demand for power is high, we sometimes have to buy power on the market, & prices are high right now! Help us keep costs and rates low by conserving energy between noon and 10 p.m. Wash dishes, run laundry & take showers in the morning or late at night.”
BPA
As record-breaking heat bore down on the Pacific Northwest this past weekend, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) detailed several steps to position the federal power and transmission system to serve its customers during the weather event.
On the Power Services side of BPA, BPA said these factors were helping:
- The Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear plant owned by Energy Northwest that produces power marketed by BPA, recently returned online from a spring refueling outage, adding over 1,100 megawatts of generation in the Northwest and the West;
- Programmed fish spill on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers transitioned from spring to summer operations, increasing the federal hydropower generation from those facilities;
- The Bureau of Reclamation has the Grand Coulee reservoir well positioned to meet its refill target in early July, freeing up the remaining water flow to pass through the system for both power and non-power purposes.
BPA said that despite the lower-than-average water year, there is plenty of water behind Grand Coulee Dam and some snowpack left in the Canadian Rockies. Unlike 2015 and 2001, years with a similar volume of water, the shape of this year’s runoff has been slower with snow gradually melting above Grand Coulee, it noted.
On the transmission side, BPA said it was taking measures to ensure the safe and reliable flow of electricity over the weekend of June 26-27. BPA owns and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of transmission lines across the Northwest and small amounts in Nevada, Utah and California.
Last Thursday, BPA restricted planned maintenance on its transmission grid from 6 a.m. Monday, June 28 through Tuesday, June 29 at 10 p.m., so the federal agency would be able to leverage the system to its greatest use when load was expected to increase with the start of the workweek.
“Having all of our lines available will help relieve congestion on the system,” said BPA Vice President of Transmission Operations Michelle Cathcart. “With these unprecedented temperatures, we want to ensure electricity can move freely and reliably meet customer demands.”
On June 29, BPA said in a tweet that it expected energy use in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State to peak between 5 and 7 p.m. “Please do what you can to reduce electricity use today. Thanks for helping us get through the heat of the day yesterday,” BPA said in the tweet.
City of Richland, Wash.
BPA transmits electricity to Richland Energy Services (RES) and other Tri-Cities utilities through a transmission system designed to meet peak and above-peak demand for power throughout the region.
BPA informed the City of Richland, Wash., that the week’s extreme heat was straining the regional electric energy transmission system. If total load approaches maximum system capacity, BPA will require RES to shift or shed load on its distribution system, the city noted on June 28.
RES “will do everything it can to manage load by shifting customer loads when possible. This is done behind the scenes and transfers electrical connections between distribution lines with little to no impact on citizens,” the city said in a news release.
Shedding load occurs when the demand for electricity approaches supply and BPA is forced to reduce power demand by temporarily removing some customers. This would require RES to disconnect power to some customers and result in short-term, rolling power outages, the city noted.
If shedding load is required by BPA, the city said it would focus on maintaining essential businesses and services. At that time customers will likely see some power outages from a half hour up to four hours. REs intends to minimize the duration of these outages by rotating them through the city, Richland said on June 28.
BPA’s notification to utilities to shed load can occur quickly, so it is unlikely that customers will be notified before an outage is implemented, the city noted.
Benton PUD
Meanwhile, Benton PUD on June 29 said in a tweet that it had not been asked, nor was it planning, to shed load.
“We are asking customers to work together to conserve energy. Collectively as a community, we can make a difference. This will help in preparing in the event one of BPA’s major lines or critical equipment fails,” it said.
Benton PUD serves over 50,000 customers in Kennewick, Finley, Benton City, Prosser, and outlying areas in Washington State.
Heat wave extends to Canada, pressuring grid
In Canada, the province of Alberta’s power grid came under pressure in the wake of extreme heat.
In response to the ongoing heat wave across the province in Western Canada, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) on June 29 asked Albertans to help conserve energy to ensure adequate supply and reduce the possibility of power outages.
“Yesterday we saw an unprecedented jump in energy use, reaching 11,512 MW, beating our previous summer peak demand record of 11,169 MW,” says Dennis Frehlich, Vice President, Grid Reliability, at AESO. “We’re on track to break that record for a second day in a row and so we’re asking Albertans to play their part to conserve energy.”
More flexible nuclear decommissioning fund rules could lower rates for some N.C. cities
June 29, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
June 29, 2021
The North Carolina General Assembly this month unanimously passed a bill that gives greater latitude on the investment of nuclear decommissioning funds and could result in lower rates for customers of the affected public power utilities.
Senate Bill 323 gives the 19 cities and towns that comprise N.C. Municipal Power Agency Number 1 (NCMPA1) the authority to invest its nuclear decommissioning fund through a combined fund managed by the North Carolina state treasurer.
“Today is a great day for the 19 cities and towns that participate in N.C. Municipal Power Agency Number 1,” Roy Jones, CEO of ElectriCities, said in a statement on June 23, the day the bill passed. ElectriCities is a membership organization of municipally owned electric utilities that includes the 19 NCMPA1 municipalities. “I want to thank House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger, along with our bill sponsors, for making this legislation a priority and for their continued support of public power communities,” Jones said.
NCMPA1 has a 75 percent ownership interest in Unit 1 of the Catawba nuclear station in York County, South Carolina, and a 37.5 percent ownership interest in the support facilities for Catawba Units 1 and 2.
The new law allows NCMPA1 to invest the Catawba decommissioning fund in the existing Ancillary Governmental Participant Investment Program (AGPIP) managed by the state treasurer.
AGPIP allows the state’s treasurer to invest monies for governmental entities that are outside the North Carolina Retirement System, such as public hospitals, the North Carolina Conservation Grant Fund, the State Health Plan, the Disability Income Plan, and the State Educational Assistance Authority.
The expectation of the bill’s sponsors is that the expanded range of investment options available through AGPIP could provide NCMPA1 the opportunity to earn higher returns in the decommissioning fund, assuming current assumptions of revenue, cost, and projected and actual market returns hold true.
In a March 31 legislative update, ElectriCities said the change could lead to as much as an 8 percent decrease in wholesale rates for the 19 NCMPA1 communities.
The 19 member cities of NCMPA1 are Albemarle, Bostic, Cherryville, Cornelius, Drexel, Gastonia, Granite Falls, High Point, Huntersville, Landis, Lexington, Lincolnton, Maiden, Monroe, Morganton, Newton, Pineville, Shelby, and Statesville.
TVA, Oak Ridge Lab and Univ. of Tennessee program aims to foster tech innovation
June 29, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
June 29, 2021
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee System, earlier this month announced a program aimed at fostering “industries of the future.”
The Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator program will work with 30 startups over the next three years that use clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cybersecurity, digital currency, 5G broadband cellular technology, and other innovations.
The program’s leaders expect start-ups in several energy related fields to participate, including clean energy, smart cities, robotization and autonomy, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, edge computing, sharing economy, cybersecurity and cryptography, Internet of things (IoT), 5G and advanced communication, grid scale energy storage, digital currency, industry 4.0, and battery technology.
Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator aims to attract start-ups to the Oak Ridge-Knoxville area. The program will begin accepting applications for its inaugural class in July. Members of that group will have the chance to refine their technologies, receive mentorship, find and develop talent, and connect to organizations that could become customers while gaining access to Techstars’ global network.
The Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator is being run in partnership with an international organization founded in 2006. Techstars operates accelerator programs and venture capital funds and brings together start-up companies, investors, corporations, and cities. The organization says it has invested in more than 2,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $209 billion.
The Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator will be the first Techstars operated accelerator in Tennessee, the first affiliated with a national laboratory, and the first focused on industries of the future.
Small town revitalization series – Part 3: Beautification
June 29, 2021
by Tanya DeRivi, Paul Ciampoli
APPA News
June 29, 2021
The American Public Power Association (APPA) is pleased to introduce the first in-depth, three-part Public Power Current newsletter series this week, on small town revitalization. Thank you to all the small utility systems across America who were eager to share their stories towards promoting economic development initiatives (Part 1), employee recruitment and retention efforts (Part 2), and beautification plans (Part 3).
Part 1 of our series provided an overview of the types of projects and programs small utility systems have undertaken to promote economic development – or redevelopment – in their communities, while in part 2 of the series, public power utilities detailed their retention and recruitment strategies.
In Part 3, 0ur series concludes with efforts to beautify America’s small towns and the roles public power utilities play.
Small Is Beautiful
Small towns have embraced beautification projects to enhance the quality of life for residents and to help attract tourism – many with support from their local public power utility. Utilities we spoke with have actively supported enhancements at local public spaces (including installing new LED streetlights and undergrounding infrastructure in downtown historic tourist areas), educational efforts in conjunction with local art associations, and economic development-minded beautification projects to help enhance local and regional tourism.
Utility Artwork
Kentucky’s City of Paducah – which locals call a hidden tourism gem – offers that “small town feel” within easy driving distance of the cities of St. Louis, Memphis, Louisville, and Nashville. Affordable housing options and a lower cost of living draw tourists and many retirees to this picturesque small town with a vibrant arts and food scene.
Paducah Power System worked with the city’s parks department for an “Art in the Park” competition.
“Twelve winning designs were selected, and the winners painted the designs on special power boxes we have installed at the park for providing electricity for our Christmas lighting event there,” said Andrea Underwood, Director of Human Resources and Community Relations at the utility.
“Twice in the past five years, we’ve received the Paducah Civic Beautification Board’s Business Award for the appearance and maintenance of our property,” she added.
Streetscape Improvements
Like Paducah Power System, which partnered with the city to replace all the city’s streetlights with LED fixtures, the City of Forsyth, Georgia, has embarked on downtown streetscape improvement projects too. This includes utility box art and several downtown murals.
Forsyth has had to increase its Façade Grant Program given the popularity of these projects amongst local businesses over the last several years.
Recently, Tammie Pierson, the city’s Economic Development Coordinator, worked with the local Historical Society to help improve their location. She noted that “they have done a ‘180’ on improving their building and signage. Once the ball started rolling, they kept it going. Sometimes you just need a little push.”
Alabama’s Sheffield Utilities powers a town located along the Tennessee River.
The utility is installing LED lighting along a walking trail currently under construction and recently installed LED streetlights across the city’s downtown area, the O’Neal Bridge, and in the historic “The Village” area.
The Village, a registered national historic landmark, was constructed by the federal government in 1918 during World War I. This unique village of 85 bungalows, a school, and officer barracks was laid out in a Liberty Bell design – complete with a roadway acting as the famous bells’ crack – which housed personnel for a nearby ammunitions facility.
It was owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1933-1949 to house their employees, until the houses were sold at auction and the school and park given to the city in 1949.
Historic Preservation
In Thomasville, Georgia, the West Jackson Streetscape project, the final element of the Creative District Vision plan, brought the Ritz Amphitheater, a community trail trailhead, and a revitalized historic district known as The Bottom.
Sheryl Sealy, Thomasville’s Executive Director of Marketing and Customer Service, said, “This has been an award-winning project that was centered on public outreach and engagement. We are continuing to invest in this community with a history walk that highlights the historical significance of this area, which was the business district for Jewish and African Americans prior to integration.”
From the early 1900’s through the 1970’s, blocks of West Jackson Street were known locally as “The Bottom,” at the heart of Thomasville’s Black community. At its peak, it was a mix of Black-, Greek-, and Jewish-owned businesses that formed a special, close-knit community.
“One of the most important elements requested in the design of the streetscape was to highlight the history of the district,” said Christy Owens, Main Street and Events Manager.
“Sidewalk plaques to honor the notable businesses of the area have been installed in the 300 block of West Jackson Street, and plans for a commemorative wall and storyboards at the amphitheater are in the works,” added Owens.
In Spring City, a town located in the geographic center of Utah with about 1,000 residents, the local public power system has been integral both historically to the town’s lore and its financial development.
In the early 1900’s, the city contracted with a milling company to provide enough power from a small generator to illuminate candlepower lights strung down the main street – plus enough power for late night dances and wedding parties so residents could have streetlights when returning home.
During the 1930’s, Spring City constructed and began operating its own hydroelectric plant that, after 90 years in operation, still meets about 20 percent of the city’s normal load.
And, in 2000, Spring City Power leased a portable, one-megawatt, trailer-mounted diesel generator to help supply California with desperately needed power during the Western electricity crisis, ultimately selling enough power to pull the city’s books out of the red.
Spring City is a member of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS).
Councilmember Chris Anderson and his wife are now actively involved in the town’s revitalization.
As with many small towns, Spring City became much less visible and accessible when a local highway bypassed the town. With a peak population of 1,150 residents at the turn of the 20th century, it dwindled to about 400 by 1970. Anderson said that as people moved away and many of the historic homes were abandoned, “there was little new construction to change the character of the hamlet. As a result, Spring City became the best-preserved example of a Mormon Pioneer settlement.”
Spring City Power has upgraded its system and extended distribution lines – recently surpassing 600 service connections – all done within its annual operating budgets, and never having to bond or incur any debt for the city or its customers. In 2019, it placed within the top 3% nationwide on system reliability for comparably sized towns.
New residents later led an effort to conduct a historic survey that ultimately resulted in Spring City being designated as a National Historic District – one of only a few towns in America (including Williamsburg, Virginia) to achieve that designation.
Anderson added that as artists and historic preservationists purchased and restored homes, the town “recognized the value of capitalizing on the historic heritage, as a way to attract visitors and provide a unique setting for our residents.” As the town was rediscovered, the old homes and affordable land appealed to artists who appreciated its pastoral setting and Utah’s beautiful Sanpete Valley.
Park Improvements
The City of Thomasville, Georgia just reopened the beloved Francis Weston Park in May after completing a major renovation project there. Improvements included a new one-third mile lighted walking track, resurfaced basketball courts, improved parking at both entrances, WiFi installation thanks in part to contributions from a local bank, and a comprehensive landscaping plan to ensure that it continues to be a destination for community gatherings.
Sheryl Sealy, Thomasville’s Executive Director of Marketing and Customer Service, said that this park is very important to the community, in particular the African American community where the park is located. “Our community has been very passionate about the project and anxious for the renovation to be completed,” she said. “This was a multi-year project, based on public engagement to help set our master park plan. It was a celebration for our entire community when we were able to officially reopen the park and bring these improvements to the neighborhood, who were so invested in the evolution of the project.”
Utah’s Monroe City has made numerous investments in local parks and recreational facilities for the community.
Councilmember Erica Sirrine shared how local funds have been used for new lighting at soccer fields, additional WiFi capabilities at their library and Lion’s Park, splash pad additions, benches and picnic tables, bleachers for sports activities, and landscape improvements at area parks.
She said the City will be hosting a variety of baseball/softball tournaments through September, with most new regional tournaments that had not been previously hosted in their area.
At Lion’s Park, Monroe City hosted a community get-together during the Red Rock Paraglider Fly-In, complete with live entertainment, cobbler, and guest speakers from the paragliding community. Every other Monday through October, the City hosts food trucks, a farmer’s market, and live entertainment there as well.
Monroe City is also a member of UAMPS.
Holiday Light Displays
In Kentucky, the City of Madisonville’s Electric Department was crucial in making the city’s “Deck the Park” event possible in 2020. City officials commended utility staff for the many long hours in assembling the event in a mere 11 days.
“No matter the project, they are always willing to go above and beyond to make it happen,” Sara Lutz, Public Relations Director, said.
The event at the Madisonville City Park featured Liquid Fireworks by Waltzing Water, Inc., lights, a 30-minute dancing water show, and music while allowing families to enjoy a little holiday cheer from the comfort and safety of their vehicles at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The large displays featured a 168-foot light tunnel with a bonus snow feature, Santa and Mrs. Claus, and an Elf on the Shelf sending candy to cars through a candy shoot.
Nearly 68,000 vehicles with approximately 272,000 people attended the event – unlike anything in the tristate area; the City is already planning to have an even bigger and better Deck the Park event this year.
Parklets
ElectriCities has helped North Carolina’s public power communities for over 50 years – including through their popular Downtown Revitalization Grant program, established to help localities showcase all that public power has to offer communities and residents. Project examples include downtown redevelopment studies, streetscape plans, and building reuse studies.
Recent awardees will use grant funds for “parklets,” small public green spaces or seating areas alongside former roadside parking or alley areas.
The Town of Benson, N.C. plans to use its ElectriCities grant to enhance its downtown area by utilizing an alleyway connected to a hub of activity in the area including the library, museum, and business district. The plan is to create a social space in the alleyway that encourages visitors to sit, visit, enjoy a meal, take photos, and take in all that the downtown has to offer.
The grant will help fund beautification efforts including resurfacing the alleyway, installing traffic barriers, seating and art installations, and installing both decorative and safety lighting.
The City of Monroe, N.C. plans to enhance its downtown area by creating a more permanent parklet structure made from trex decking, aluminum-alloy canopies, and Keystone Ridge seating.
The goal is to place the parklet in the general vicinity of restaurants, allowing restaurants and other local businesses to benefit from the installation.
In total, the parklet will create 16 seating opportunities for visitors in the downtown area and allow restaurants and businesses to extend their storefronts.