Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
June 2, 2020
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at the Electric Center, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
Present: CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Present via conference call: President Jane Van Dyke, Vice President Jim Malinowski, Secretary Nancy Barnes Commissioners, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Director of Information Services Mike Harris, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Water Doug Quinn, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Communications Erica Erland, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, General Counsel John Eldridge, and Media Specialist Dameon Pesanti.
Press representatives: None
Others present via conference call: Rick Marshall, Don Steinke, Cathryn Chudy and Kristin Edman.
At 9:00 a.m., President Van Dyke called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business. Commissioner Van Dyke noted a quorum was present and the agenda (Materials A) was approved.
Consideration of the Minutes of May 19, 2020
There were no corrections.
Public Comment – Non Agenda Items
Member of the public Rick Marshall thanked the Clark Public Utilities for keeping the lights on, helping customers that are struggling to pay, making it possible for the public to attend meetings remotely and for the work done on our website to allow for public interaction with CETA rulemaking and the Integrated Resource Plan. Mr. Marshall shared his thoughts on replacement of combined cycle combustion turbines with renewable energy and batteries along with his desire for Clark Public Utilities to aggressively pursue new renewable energy supplies to help make Clark County a more desirable to live.
Member of the public Don Steinke provided his thoughts on conservation in Clark County, the impacts of The Washington Clean Buildings Act on Clark Public Utilities, Southern California EV to grid technology, net metering and the social cost of carbon.
Member of the public Cathryn Chudy provided her thoughts on allowing fuel switching to be eligible for energy assistance to replace heat pumps with newer technology, her support for renewable energy and vehicle electrification.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated June 2, 2020 from the District Auditor (Materials B):
Electric Revenue Fund – $19,164,044.18
Water Revenue Fund – $973,173.37
Generating System Fund – $520,519.56
For a total of $20,657,737.11
Consideration of Bid Award No. 598 – Fluted Decorative Fiberglass Standards
Director of Engineering Gene Morris reviewed the memo dated June 2, 2020, detailing the bid results (Materials C). Commissioner Barnes moved to recommend that Bid No. 598 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder Alliance Composites, Inc., in the amount of $334,950.00, annual estimated purchase of 350 units x $957.00 each, plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
April Financials
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny addressed the board (Materials D). April was warmer and drier than normal which resulted in electric revenues being below forecast and off system sales coming in above forecast. April residential sales were 95.0% of budget, commercial sales were 96.6% and industrial sales were 93.7% of budget. April ended with a net loss of $114,000 compared to a budgeted net income of $853,000. Year-to-date net income is $16.2 million which is on target with the budgeted net income of $16.2 million.
The Water System ended April with 267 new customers which is a growth rate of 2.2%. There was a net income loss of $314,000 for April, compared to a budgeted net income loss of $222,000. Year-to-date net income loss is $707,000 compared to a budgeted net income loss of $850,000.
April Wholesale Operations
Manager of Planning and Operations Tom Haymaker addressed the board (Materials E). Mr. Haymaker updated the board on power supply noting that Slice generation was 33 aMW below prompt month and 52 aMW below budget forecasts. April was one of the lowest Slice Generation months we have ever seen. Clark Public Utilities monthly load was 24 aMW below budget, estimating 11 aMW due to weather and 13 aMW COVID 19 related. Power and gas prices showed strength in the first part of the month then weakening in the second half of the month as we transition to higher generation from run-off. Mr. Haymaker reported that the run-off forecast is 124 million acre feet for water year 2020 which is 95% of normal.
The River Road Generating Plant was taken off-line on April 29 for scheduled maintenance and is now planned to be off-line through June for economics and additional work on blades and auto-tuning.
Summary of the Draft 2020 Integrated Resource Plan
Manager of Planning and Operations Tom Haymaker (Materials F) provided a review of the key points and updates made to the current Integrated Resource Plan. Mr. Haymaker pointed out that the effects of COVID19 and current rulemaking will have an impact on resource planning that cannot be predicted. This plan is intended to be a snapshot of current planning and will not be binding for the utility with regard to resource strategy.
Mr. Haymaker shared that the plan will be posted to the website and the utility will be taking public comments through July 10, 2020. The final Integrated Resource Plan will be presented to the board on August 4, 2020 for adoption and will be submitted to Commerce by September 1, 2020.
The board thanked staff who worked on the draft Integrated Resource Plan, knowing it required a lot of utility resources to accomplish such a comprehensive plan. They look forward to hearing the feedback from the public.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Van Dyke reported on the Washington PUD Association elections that she participated in.
Staff Reports
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny provided the board with an overview of the accounts receivables through the month of April noting it was one of the lowest receivable in years. Going forward this report will be given monthly (Materials G).
CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler provided the board with a broad overview of the utility’s continued response to COVID19 with regard to employees and customers.
Public Comment
There were no public comments.
Other Business Before the Board
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:12 a.m.