Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
July 19, 2022
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at Clark Public Utilities, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
Present: President Nancy Barnes, Secretary Jim Malinowski Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Communications Erica Erland, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Water Doug Quinn, Training and Development Manager Gretchen Alexander, Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker, Power Manager Steven Andersen, Customer Experience Manager Cameron Daline, Community Engagement Specialist Morgan Van Fleet, Energy Resources Program Manager Matt Babbitts and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Staff present via digital conference (phone or video): Vice President Jane Van Dyke Commissioner, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix and Key Account Manager Lori Froehlich.
Others present via digital conference (phone or video) or in person: Don Steinke, Alona Steinke Cathryn Chudy, Rick Marshall, Cassi Marshall, Peter Harrison, Carol Dillin, Tom/Dianna Gordon and Charlene Shefter.
Press representatives: None
At 9:00 a.m., President Barnes called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business and noted a quorum was present, the agenda was approved as presented (Materials A).
Public Comment
The following represents a brief summary of comments made by members of the public in attendance:
Cathryn Chudy provided her thoughts on the City of Vancouver Climate Action Plan and the identification by the City that Clark Public Utilities is an important community partner in the plan.
Peter Harrison shared his support of nuclear power and the differences in the types of cooling. He reviewed a cooling test held in Idaho and his concerns about cooling by water.
If members of the public have provided written comments, copies of these comments in their entirety may be obtained by contacting Margaret Anderson at [email protected] or 360-992-3378.
Consideration of the Minutes of July 5, 2022
There were no changes.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated July 19, 2022 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $11,184,906.37
Water Revenue Fund – $2,703,539.68
Generating System Fund – $2,308,091.82
For a total of $16,196,537.87
Consideration of Resolution of Intent to Establish LUD No. 1415 and 1432
Director of Engineering Cal Morris addressed the board regarding the Intent to Establish Local Utility District Nos. 1415 and 1432.
Resolution No. 7728 – LUD No. 1415 – NE 60th Street Station
Resolution No. 7729 – LUD No. 1432 – North Haven PH 1A & 2A
After the presentation by Mr. Morris, Commissioner Barnes opened for public comment. There being no comment, a motion was made by Commissioner Malinowski seconded by Commissioner Van Dyke, and unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7728 and 7729 be adopted and a public hearing was set for August 23, 2022 (Materials D).
Consideration of Interlocal Agreement – Overhead Electric Line Relocation and Conversion – Clark County, NE 119th St and NE 152nd Ave Roundabout
Director of Engineering Cal Morris reviewed the memo dated July 19, 2022 outlining the project location, cost and terms of the agreement (Materials E). Staff is recommending the board grant the CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler the authority to sign the agreement.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to give the CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler the authority to sign the Interlocal Agreement between Clark Public Utilities and Clark County for the overhead relocation for NE 119th St. and NE 152nd Ave. roundabout. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Bid Award No. 632 – Outdoor Metalclad Switchgear Runyan Substation
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated July 19, 2022 detailing the bid results (Materials F). Commissioner Malinowski moved to recommend that Bid No. 632 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder Crown Technical Systems, Inc. in the amount of $1,137,454.90 plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Bid Award No. 635 – 2S Bi-Directional Meters
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated July 19, 2022 detailing the bid results (Materials G).
Commissioner Malinowski moved to recommend that Bid No. 635 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder General Pacific, Inc. for the purchase of 400 2S Bi-Directional Net Meters in the total contract amount of $159,200.00, plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Community Solar and House Bill 1814 Presentation
Energy Resources Project Manager Matt Babbitts provided the board with a review of House Bill 1814 and outlined two potential Community Solar projects (Materials H).
Mr. Babbitts explained the new incentive programs available to utilities and government agencies. The program will be managed by Washington State University Energy and must allow for energy burdened customers to participate. This program is designed so the solar projects are a qualified renewable resource under the Clean Energy Transformation Act.
Two potential Community Solar projects were outlined based on size, cost and location. The Board asked staff to develop a detailed proposal to pursue development of a 1MW system in partnership with one local public agency, businesses and residential customers, including a 199kW allocation to Operation Warm Heart to benefit low-income, energy burdened customers.
Mr. Babbitts thanked the board for the direction and will work with other departments and staff to develop a more detailed proposal to present the board at an upcoming commission meeting.
2020 Integrated Resource Plan Update
Power Manager Steve Andersen provided the Board with a review of the Integrated Resource Plan update (Materials I). Mr. Anderson outlined the schedule, the purpose of the update and a brief review of the sections of the plan that have been updated.
The plan will be posted to Clark Public Utilities’ public website July 20 for public comment and the final update will be presented for Board approval at the August 23 meeting. Once approved, the update will be submitted to the Department of Commerce on or before September 1.
May Financials
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny addressed the board (Materials J). May weather was colder and wetter than normal, which resulted in electric revenues coming in above budget and off system sales above budget. May residential sales were 108.6% of budget, commercial sales were 106.3% and industrial sales were 102.9% of budget. May ended with a net income of loss of $243,000 compared to a budgeted net income loss of $4.0 million. Year-to-date net income is $20.2 million compared to a budgeted net income of $5.9 million.
Ms. Ankeny provided a year-to-date conservation program update through May.
The Water System ended May with 377 new customers year-to-date, which is a growth rate of 2.31%. May ended very close to plan with a net income loss of $182,000 compared to a budgeted loss of $192,000. Year-to-date net income loss is $1.0 million compared to a budgeted net income loss of $1.4 million.
May Wholesale Operations
Power Manager Steve Andersen addressed the board (Materials K). Mr. Andersen provided an update on power supply noting that Slice generation was 48 aMW above budget and loads in May were 31 aMW above budget. Gas prices plummeted after a June 8 explosion at an LNG facility near Houston creating an increase in domestic supply. An abundance of hydro has kept power prices generally neutral.
River Road Generating Plant was taken offline on April 29, 2022 for a scheduled maintenance outage. Other than testing on June 11 and unplanned maintenance July 13-14, the plant has been running since coming back online after the scheduled outage.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioners Malinowski and Barnes reported on their attendance at the Washington PUD Association Meetings.
Staff Reports
CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler reminded the board about the upcoming Employee Appreciation events on July 20 and July 21 along with the Lineman Rodeo on July 23.
Public Comment
There were no additional public comments.
Other Business before the Board
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:36 a.m.