Cleveland Public Power Collaborating with Port of Cleveland on Modernization Project
April 5, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
April 5, 2023
Cleveland Public Power plans to collaborate with the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority on the port’s electrification and warehouse modernization project.
As the international gateway for cargo entering and exiting the region via maritime transport, the Port of Cleveland handles a diverse mix of cargo primarily imported from Europe. The cargo includes specialty breakbulk cargo, such as steel coil, tin plate, and various steel shapes/plate and other specialty cargo.
Modernization of this 67-year-old facility will bring the terminal’s Warehouse A to a state of good repair, continue the implementation of the Port Authority’s Stormwater Master Plan to improve the quality of stormwater discharging into Lake Erie, and make necessary electrification investments to prepare the Terminal for its next 50 years of operation, the public power utility said.
This is a multi-phase project and CPP “will play an integral role in making necessary power upgrades to electrical feeds coming into the Terminal and establish Warehouse A as the Port’s electrical distribution hub,” the utility said.
This hub will allow the Port to provide new electrical service to the locomotive storage area in Warehouse A and the newly constructed maintenance facility.
A critical sub-element of this project is to coordinate with CPP on the future power requirements of the Port Authority’s General Cargo Terminal, which projections indicate will substantially increase as portions of the Terminal’s operations are electrified.
Public Power Community of Marshall, Mich., Poised to Benefit from Ford Battery Plant
February 23, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 23, 2023
Kevin Maynard, Director of Electric Utilities for the public power community of Marshall, Mich., recently detailed how Marshall will benefit from Ford’s plans to invest $3.5 billion to build the country’s first automaker-backed lithium iron phosphate battery plant in the city.
Ford announced the news about the battery plant on Feb. 23. Ford noted that the plant will initially employ 2,500 people when production of LFP batteries begins in 2026. Ford will have the option to further grow its battery capacity at the plant, which will be part of a wholly owned Ford subsidiary.
While investor-owned Michigan utility Consumers Energy will be supplying power to the plant, Maynard noted that Marshall’s utility will have plenty of work on its plate in terms of economic development tied to the plant and serving new load.
In general, if a customer is outside of a city’s limits in Michigan “and it’s a new customer it can be served by either the municipal electric system or the investor-owned utility,” he said in an interview with Public Power Current. The Ford site is outside of Marshall’s city limits. Marshall’s utility and Consumers Energy both made pitches to serve the new plant.
Maynard noted that any of the support industries or ancillary industries “that come along with” the plant will be served by the city’s utility.
“It looks like there’s going to be water and wastewater treatment facilities that are going to be built out there to serve the site. We plan to serve those,” he said. “And then, of course, there’s all the local economic activity – residential, commercial, industrial…that we anticipate will add to our load here.”
Maynard noted that the utility is “working on a number of potential residential developments. Some of those are single family dwellings. Some of them are apartments and multi-family apartment structures. We were working on all of those before Ford’s announcement. So our anticipation is that with 2,500 new jobs coming to the Marshall area, there will be a renewed interest in residential building here in our community.”
Supply Chain
Maynard also addressed the question of whether the utility is facing any supply chain challenges.
“We have taken a look at what our inventory levels should be and tried to plan accordingly,” he said. “If we, for example, said how many electric meters do we typically use in a year’s time – well, maybe that should be our minimum reorder quantity now.”
In the short term, the utility has purchased re-manufactured electric meter units. The city is considering an advanced metering infrastructure system “and we didn’t want to just halt all meter changeouts while we got that fully vetted.” So the utility is buying re-manufactured meters for electric $25, “which is dirt cheap, so we don’t feel bad if we have to throw them away in four or five years.”
Transformers have also been an issue, he noted, while “poles have not been much of an issue.”
Public Power Utility in Tuskegee, Alabama, Played Key Role in South Korean Firm’s Factory Decision
February 13, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 13, 2023
The Utilities Board of Tuskegee in Alabama played a major role in the decision by Samkee Corp., a major South Korean automotive supplier, to invest $128 million to open its first U.S. factory in Alabama.
Samkee’s decision to locate the factory in Tuskegee was announced by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Feb. 10.
The Samkee project that will create 170 jobs in Tuskegee.
After finalizing agreements with state and local authorities, Samkee is poised to begin construction on the new manufacturing facility in the Tuskegee Commerce Park, where it will become the city’s first auto parts manufacturer.
Samkee will serve as a Tier 1 supplier to Hyundai Motor Co.
The Utilities Board of Tuskegee General Manager Gerald Long said he looks forward to deepening the partnership with Samkee.
“Our utility will serve power, water and sewer to the industry,” said Long in a news release. “Their presence in our community will allow us to expand our system and resources to better serve them and all of our customers at an even higher-level of reliable service. We are proud to be a full partner in economic development countywide.”
In an email to Public Power Current, Long noted that about a year ago, he was a part of a delegation that traveled to South Korea to meet with Samkee’s CEO and tour their facilities.
“We helped craft the project agreement, which included the Utilities Board agreeing to build a new 28-megawatt substation and assist in the development of a 44-acre pad-ready site for the $128 million facility,” he said. “We are also expanding our Water and Wastewater facilities to serve the new development.”
Samkee’s manufacturing plant is expected to have a significant economic impact on Macon County, Ala., according to an analysis by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama.
The analysis projects that the Samkee factory will generate $140.2 million in annual economic output in Macon County, contributing over $37 million to the county’s GDP while also generating $1.3 million per year in taxes.
Task Force Recommends Decorah, Iowa, City Council Take Next Steps on Municipalization
January 17, 2023
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 17, 2023
A task force created by the City Council of Decorah, Iowa, recommends that the City Council proceed with the next steps in the process of pursuing municipalization, including holding a referendum on municipalization.
A report was completed in December 2022 by the Decorah Municipal Electric Utility (MEU) Task Force, which was created by the Decorah City Council in December of 2020. The report summarizes the work that the task force has done over the last two years.
Among other things, the report examines the potential advantages and disadvantages of municipal electric utilities, as compared with Decorah’s existing electric utility provider, which is investor-owned Alliant Energy.
With respect to rates, “we find that on average, Iowa MEU residential and commercial customers pay substantially less for their electricity than Alliant’s residential and commercial customers,” the task force said. The report noted that industrial/large user customers served by a MEU in Iowa, on average, pay slightly more than industrial customers served by Alliant.
“We found that the reliability of electrical service provided by MEUs is as good as, or better than the reliability of electrical service provided by investor-owned utilities,” the task force said.
“We found the education session interviews with managers of Iowa MEUs to be particularly informative. We were impressed with the professionalism and expertise demonstrated by these managers,” the task force said.
Feasibility of Forming an MEU
The report also examines the feasibility of establishing a MEU in Decorah.
The task force said it built upon two competing feasibility studies from 2018, analyzed differences between those two studies, and considered new developments from the most recent five years that could impact the feasibility of establishing a MEU in Decorah.
Feasibility considerations included economic feasibility, feasibility of reliable service during and after a potential transition to a MEU, and the feasibility of a successful Iowa Utilities Board application process and service territory acquisition.
“We find that both feasibility studies in 2018 significantly underestimated Alliant’s projected rate increases, given the magnitude of Alliant’s rate increase that occurred in 2019,” the task force said.
“Our comparison of the two feasibility studies, in combination with new information available since 2018, gives us confidence that a MEU in Decorah could be logistically and economically feasible. The legally required regulatory oversight process provides further reassurance that a petition from the city for municipalization of electric services must be feasible and in the best interest of customers in order to gain approval from the Iowa Utilities Board,” the report said.
The report also includes the task force’s conclusions and a relative assessment balancing the potential advantages and disadvantages of a MEU as well as an acknowledgement of uncertainties.
The task force found that establishing a Decorah MEU has the following potential advantages:
- The opportunity to reduce the costs of electricity for customers;
- Improved financial viability for the Decorah community that could be accomplished by keeping energy dollars in the community;
- Financial benefits to the City of Decorah, including payments in lieu of taxes that could exceed the contributions currently made by Alliant;
- Improved reliability and resilience in the face of adverse weather events if the City decides to improve upon existing electric infrastructure;
- Flexibility to pursue goals from the City of Decorah’s Sustainability Plan; and
- Local autonomy could allow greater flexibility in responding to future challenges.
Along with the report, the Decorah Municipal Electric Utility Task Force recommended that the city of Decorah hold a referendum on municipalization at a time of its choosing.
In addition, the Task Force approved a list of factors that it encouraged the city to consider further as it makes decisions regarding a municipalization process.
Municipalization Gets Closer Look in Other Cities
Municipalization is also getting a closer look in other cities.
A meeting held in October 2022 looked at what it would take to transition investor-owned Rochester Gas & Electric to a public power utility.
The San Diego City Council on October 3, 2022 approved a contract for a consulting firm to examine the feasibility of the California city transitioning to a public power utility.
The contract approved by the San Diego City Council is with NewGen Strategies & Solutions LLC.
The American Public Power Association offers a number of resources related to municipalization on its website.
Fresno, Calif., Officials Eye Possible Formation of Public Power
November 6, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 6, 2022
Officials in Fresno, Calif., are taking a closer look at the potential formation of a public power utility for the city. The city is currently served by investor-owned Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).
At an Oct. 31 news conference, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said, “The City of Fresno is also a utility provider. We provide sanitation. We provide water and we provide sewer and perhaps it’s time we provide electricity.” Rising PG&E rates were also mentioned at the news conference.
A media advisory issued by Fresno Councilmember Garry Bredefeld related to the news conference cited PG&E’s “ongoing failures to timely energize facilities in the city.” The advisory said that the consultant picked for the study would “provide all options including the possibility of the City of Fresno forming its own district as is done in some other cities in California.”
The City Council of Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 3 considered a proposal that would direct its staff to hire a consultant to perform a feasibility study related to the possible formation of a public power utility. Discussions over the proposal lasted for more than three hours.
At the council meeting, Dyer made the case for the council to authorize a study.
Councilmember Miguel Arias called for a vote to table the motion for a study, saying, among other things, that additional information was needed, but the vote fell short due to a 3-3 tie among councilmembers.
A subsequent motion calling for the proposal to be tabled until a meeting of the council next month was approved by councilmembers.
ElectriCities of North Carolina Workers Assist in Bucket Rescue
November 2, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 2, 2022
ElectriCities of North Carolina’s Brandon Guin, a crew leader, and David Carlos, an apprentice lineworker, recently helped to rescue a tree contractor who was stranded after his bucket truck became disabled while he was working at an elevated position.
ElectriCities is a not-for-profit membership organization of municipally-owned electric utilities that are spread across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
On Oct. 21, 2022, a tree contractor employee in Pineville, N.C., was working at an elevated position in a bucket truck behind an apartment building when his truck became disabled leaving him stranded 45 feet in the air.
North Carolina’s Charlotte and Pineville Fire departments responded to the distress call and attempted to rescue the stranded man with their ladder trucks but were unable to reach him. Firemen on the scene called Duke Energy and requested their assistance with a bucket truck and were told that it would be 1 ½ to 2 hours for a truck to arrive.
Pineville Fire Chief Mike Gerin then called ElectriCities in Pineville requesting the assistance of their employees to bring a bucket truck to reach the victim. ElectriCities is the managing agent for the Town of Pineville’s electric system.
Guin and Carlos jumped in their 60-foot, two-man bucket truck and responded to the scene. After assessing the situation, they were able to position their truck close enough to reach and rescue the victim within 30 minutes of receiving the call.
“Lending a helping hand – wherever it’s needed – is at the heart of public power,” said Roy Jones, ElectriCities of North Carolina CEO. “Public power lineworkers put service above self every single day and I’m proud of the lineworkers in Pineville for doing just that. Many thanks to these and all public power employees for their unwavering commitment to their communities. It’s what makes us public power.”
“We were honored to be able to assist in the rescue of this person who was stranded at an elevated position,” said ElectriCities Electric Systems Manager David Lucore. “The ability to respond quickly reinforces the value of public power in Pineville and many other cities and towns across North Carolina and the United States. Having local workers ready to respond to emergencies like this are an added value to the communities we serve,” he added.
Group Submits Signatures For Maine Voters to Consider Public Power Utility in 2023
November 1, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 1, 2022
A group in Maine on Oct. 31 submitted more than 80,000 signatures from voters in 422 Maine towns, which will allow for voters in the state next year to consider replacing investor-owned utilities in Maine with a statewide, consumer-owned utility.
Collected in just under a year, the signatures exceeded the 63,067 required to qualify for the general election ballot in November 2023.
The group, Our Power, said that if enough signatures are certified by the Maine Secretary of State, Maine voters will likely have the chance to vote on the question next year, unless the measure is passed outright by the next Maine Legislature and Governor.
If approved by voters, the initiative would replace Central Maine Power and Versant with the Pine Tree Power Company, a privately-operated, nonprofit, consumer-owned utility.
The initiative does not allow for state ownership or for the use of tax dollars, and the new company would not serve the parts of Maine (97 towns) already served by existing nonprofit utilities.
San Diego City Council Approves Contract to Study Public Power
October 7, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
October 7, 2022
The San Diego City Council on October 3 approved a contract for a consulting firm to examine the feasibility of the California city transitioning to a public power utility.
The contract approved by the San Diego City Council is with NewGen Strategies & Solutions LLC.
According to a City Council Staff Report related to the contract, NewGen will provide feasibility study reports to the Mayor’s Office and City Council on the process, costs, risks, and opportunities that would be associated with transitioning from the current electric and/or gas franchise agreements with investor-owned San Diego Gas & Electric to a public power entity.
The report notes that In conjunction with the award of the gas and electric franchises to San Diego Gas & Electric in July 2021, a corollary action was identified to investigate the feasibility for an alternative to the provision of electric and gas services from an investor-owned utility through some form of municipalization and establishment of a public power entity.
The Energy Division of the San Diego Sustainability and Mobility Department was identified by San Diego’s Chief Operating Officer as the most appropriate staff to develop such a study with the support of consultants with significant technical expertise in all areas and aspects of such a process.
A request for proposals for a Public Power Feasibility Study was issued on Feb. 9, 2022 and closed on April 1, 2022.
The American Public Power Association offers a number of resources related to municipalization on its website.
Ann Arbor, Mich., City Council Advances Public Power Feasibility Study
September 7, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 7, 2022
The Ann Arbor, Mich., City Council on Sept. 6 voted 10-1 to contract with 5 Lakes Energy and NewGen Strategies and Solutions to conduct an energy options analysis and public power feasibility study.
The study approved by the city council will explore pathways to Ann Arbor’s goal of powering the grid with 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
This analysis is broken into three tasks. Task one will analyze various potential pathways for the city to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy. The second will conduct a phase I study into establishing a full municipal utility to provide 100% renewable electricity to all of Ann Arbor. The third will be a rate analysis of a sustainable energy utility, which would create a partial electric utility allowing residents to subscribe to programs intended to reduce their need for electricity from investor-owned utility DTE Energy, said Ann Arbor for Public Power, a nonprofit grassroots citizen group.
The city’s A2Zero climate action plan calls for a transition to 100% renewable power by 2030.
Ann Arbor for Public Power said it will continue promoting community discussion around municipalization and advocating for a transparent feasibility study process with opportunities for public engagement.
Missouri River Energy Services Unveils Program To Raise Awareness Of Public Power
August 13, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
August 13, 2022
Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) unveiled its new MRES Ambassador Program to members during its annual meeting. The program is intended to raise the awareness of public power and the value of membership in MRES through community and policymaker education in member communities.
Participating ambassadors will receive a quarterly package of information and talking points on a particular topic of interest. A short webinar on the topic will be held to discuss the topic further and answer any questions the ambassadors may have.
Armed with this information, the ambassadors will proactively advocate for public power and joint action in their communities with key influencers over coffee, lunch, or while attending civic clubs or community events, MRES noted in an Aug. 5 news release.
The MRES Ambassador Program is one of several efforts by MRES to help their members communicate the value and benefits of their local public power utility, as well as the benefits of belonging to the larger organization of 61 utilities working for the common good, it said.
It builds on the ongoing Value of Public Power communications campaign which has provided quarterly marketing materials and monthly social media posts for member use since 2018. In addition, the Municipal Power Advantage® program, which launched in 2013, provides members with a detailed analysis and report of the economic value of all the benefits the local electric utility provides to the community.
MRES is an organization of 61 member municipalities in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Each member owns and operates a municipal electric utility.
MRES, which provides its members with energy and a wide range of energy-related services, held its annual meeting this past spring.