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March 2010 Issue |
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6th Annual Municipal Utility Legislative Day Raises Awareness,
Encourages Advocacy
“We have to do this. It’s just part of our job.”
Kaukauna Utilities General Manager and MEUW President Jeff Feldt’s words
sum up what most municipal utility officials have come to realize – that
getting to know the local, state and federal political process is part
of the many duties of a utility manager, and can pay big dividends in
the future.
The 2010 Municipal Utility Legislative Day was well attended by
all utility sectors; a testament to the important issues of the day, and
a recognition by municipal utility officials that being active in the
political process is necessary for long term success.
The lineup of speakers included State Rep. Louis Molepske, Jr.
(D-Stevens Point) and State Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona), both of whom
spoke about the impending comprehensive groundwater legislation. DNR
Secretary Matt Frank and PSC Chairman Callisto shared their thoughts
about Senate Bill 450/Assembly Bill 649, the Clean Energy Jobs Act,
one of the most comprehensive energy bills in Wisconsin history. As a
bonus, WPPI Energy CEO Roy Thilly helped put Senate Bill 450 into
municipal context with a thorough explanation of the municipal portions
of the legislation.
Municipal Environmental Group-Wastewater Division leader Paul Kent and
Jim Baumann, DNR/Bureau Director, Special Assistant, Watershed
Management, discussed the complicated but important phosphorus rule
changes on the way.
The attendees heard from Wisconsin Newspaper Association Executive
Director Peter Fox after lunch, and then visited Capitol offices to
share position papers and discussions with State Legislators.
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A
Cautious Path Toward a “Smarter” Grid
By Kevin Zamzow, Manager - System Design & Communications, Power
Systems Engineering, Inc.
While there may not be consensus on what the term “Smart Grid” means,
the definitions often include automatic data collection from multiple
applications, integrated communications, and integrated software that
shares databases. Some Smart Grid implementations may be considered
“lower hanging fruit” with substantial and quick return on investment
even without an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant from
the Department of Energy (DOE).
Smart Grid components that are seeing growing implementation, with or
without an investment or demo grant, include:
Bi-directional AMI to support demand response systems such as load
management and critical peak
pricing in addition to plain old meter reading.
While there are power line carrier
and wireless options for AMI, we have
seen a preference for wireless
systems for municipal electric utilities due to
the compact nature of their
service areas. An AMI system can also provide
benefits for water utilities as
the electric meters and infrastructure may be
configured to communicate with
water meters to provide meter reads and
to help spot leaks.
Meter
Data Management Systems (MDMS) to archive and analyze a
vast amount of AMI and other
utility automation data. The new trend in
municipal computing is to use
all the data coming in from AMI and other
utility automation systems to
help determine outage locations, create
predictive maintenance programs
to identify overloaded transformers and
other down line equipment about
to fail, as well as many other time- and
money-saving applications. MDMs
are morphing into a business analytics
engine that the utility can use
for everything from engineering analysis to rate
making and planning.
Advanced
Distribution Automation, including: volt/VAR compensation
and control to reduce energy
loss in the distribution system yielding
substantial savings for
utilities; conservation voltage reduction (CVR) to
help reduce peak demand
requirements through intentional voltage
reduction; and, smart feeder
switching using automated reclosers and
switches to improve reliability
for key commercial and industrial customers
by automatically re-configuring
the distribution network.
Developing a multi-year roadmap to implement Smart Grid components is
critical to ensure synergies across functional departments. As some
utilities have already implemented several of the Smart Grid components
such as AMI, an assessment tool such as the Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM)
maintained by the Carnegie Melon Software Engineering Institute and
supported by the DOE scores both overall maturity level and maturity in
each of the model’s eight domains (such as grid operations, work and
asset management, and technology) on a scale of 0 - 5. The SGMM can help
utilities assess their current situation and then identify ways to move
to the next level of maturity. Not surprisingly, of the 53 utilities
that completed the SGMM as of July 2009, 49% were at Level 0 (Starting)
and 45% were at Level 1 (Exploring and Initiating). (More information
on the SGMM may be found at
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/smartgrid/.)
Interoperability and cyber security remain key areas to consider when
making a technology investment. The National Institute for Technology
and Standards (NIST) is making significant progress in the development
of standards that could affect utility operations moving forward. In
addition, priority action plans (PAP) have been identified to address
the most pressing interoperability needs. In particular, there are three
documents to be aware of:
“Smart
Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements” (Draft
NIST IR 7628), released in
second draft form on February 3rd. This draft
provides an overall cyber
security strategy for the Smart Grid, including a
risk assessment and security
compromise impact level for 18 logical
interface categories (for
example, the interface between sensor networks
and control systems) and
recommended security requirements. The final
document is expected early
summer 2010.
“NIST
Framework and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability
Standards,” Release 1.0 (NIST
SP 1108), released in January. (Both
Draft NIST IR 7268 and NIST SP
1108 are available for download at
http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/.)
“NEMA
Meter Upgradeability Standard SG-AMI-1-2009,” issued by
the PAP00: Meter Upgradeability
Standard project team, which is now
developing an ANSI C12
compatible, standard protocol for upgrading
meters.
Examples of DOE ARRA Smart Grid Grants to municipal electric utilities:
Iowa
Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) received a $5M Smart
Grid Investment Grant. The Iowa
project will involve the installation of
32,000 “smart thermostats” in
homes and businesses by 75 participating
municipal and consumer-owned
utilities. A web portal will be created to
allow the customers to monitor
when their thermostats were adjusted
remotely. The goal is to lower
peak demand to avoid the need for 57
megawatts of energy generation
capacity.
Municipal
Electric Authority of Georgia received a $12M grant to
upgrade substations, routers,
and network terminals to reduce peak
demand and system maintenance
costs.
Naperville (IL) Electric Utility received a $10M grant to implement
an
AMI system and institute a
“smart feeder” program to increase system
reliability and reduce power
costs.
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January 20-22,
2010 in Stevens Point
2010 MEUW/REC Joint Superintendent’s Conference
The Joint Superintendents Conference is an annual event coordinated
by MEUW and the REC Superintendents Association, and the 2010 Conference
in Stevens Point was a great success!
Attendees heard presentations on electric system inspection/maintenance
plans; substation testing; a case study on customer communications using
social media such as Twitter and Facebook from Rochester (MN) Utilities;
the importance of measuring and tracking the reliability of your system;
medical care of electrical burns; power line related forest fires; a
transmission system outlook; on-site customer relation skills and
techniques; an environmental issue update; PSC rules for interconnecting
distributed generation; and an update on the Wisconsin apprentice
program.
The group recognized Mount Horeb’s Gary Frisch as the MEUW 2009
Outstanding Lineman. Now the Electric Utility Foreman, Gary has
thirty-two years of service with the Utility.
The Wisconsin Utility Suppliers Association hosted a lively trade show
and reception on Thursday afternoon, followed by the Graduation Banquet,
which recognized both Lineworker and Meter Technician Apprenticeship
Program graduates. The keynote speaker was Forrest Ceel, IBEW Local
2150’s Business Agent, who emphasized the importance of safety and
professionalism on the job.
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Municipal Wholesale Power Group (MWPG) – 49 Years Strong!
One of the biggest challenges in operating a municipal electric
utility going one on one with a large investor owned utility over
electric transmission and distribution issues, negotiating purchased
power contracts, and battling for service territory, among other things.
Thanks to a small, but committed group of Wisconsin public power
utilities, the ability to ‘band together’ and work together on issues
remains a key component of a successful municipal utility.
The Municipal Wholesale Power Group (MWPG) was founded in 1961 by a
group of MEUW Member utilities that purchased power from Wisconsin Power
& Light. The driving issue was the discovery that the rates being
charged to the municipal customers were about 15% above the rates WP&L
charged neighboring rural electric co-ops. The group formed, hired a
consultant (Bud Lueders) and an attorney (initially, Glenn Roberts, then
Dick Olson) to challenge the differential. Cases were brought at both
the Public Service Commission and the Federal Power Commission (FPC),
with the result that the differential was eliminated.
The MWPG subsequently intervened in numerous wholesale rate cases before
the FPC and later the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and
through the years, the estimated savings to the group have exceeded tens
of millions of dollars.
Dave Mikonowicz, Reedsburg Utilities General Manager, was the President
of MWPG for about a decade. He said having MWPG has been one of “the
only checks and balances on WP&L’s continual rate increases.” He said
that MWPG remains as relevant today as in the beginning, especially for
the smaller public power systems.
One of the early undertakings of the group was the “price squeeze” and
antitrust claims in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The cost of
bringing these cases exceeded $800,000 at the time. After years of
battle, the cases were effective -- rate increases were rolled back,
WP&L paid the MWPG interveners their costs of bringing the cases, and
WP&L eliminated some of its objectionable practices.
After the price squeeze/antitrust cases, the MWPG, including the members
which had joined WPPI, were instrumental in forcing WP&L to file
transmission tariffs at the FERC. These tariffs allowed access to other
power suppliers.
Current MWPG President, Dale Bender from the City Utilities of Richland
Center, said it’s more important than ever to stick together, as most
Wisconsin public power utilities are not generating electricity and have
to rely on and negotiate with a large provider.
At present, MWPG is 23 utilities strong and continues to meet regularly
in Sun Prairie once per month, receive legal and legislative updates,
and share together the trials and tribulations of overseeing the details
of wholesale power arrangements for the benefit of their customers back
home.
Now, after nearly 50 years of cases and dockets, of meetings and
contracts, donuts and coffee, the Municipal Wholesale Power Group still
embodies all that is good about public power.
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Farewell to
Ernie Mullen
Ernest J. Mullen, a former MEUW President, a key figure in the
formation of WPPI Energy, and a former member of APPA's Board of
Directors, died the evening of January 20. He was 78 and lived in
Sturgeon Bay with his wife Bonnie.
Mullen was a leader of public power systems in Wisconsin for many years.
He was the General Manager of Waupun Utilities from 1970 to 1972 and the
General Manager of Kaukauna Utilities from 1972 to 1995. He was MEUW
President from 1976 to 1977. In the mid-1970s, he worked with the MEUW
Generation and Transmission Committee to make joint action a reality in
Wisconsin.
In 1976, the MEUW G&T Committee sponsored the creation of a non-profit
corporation—Wisconsin Public Power, Inc.—as the initial stage for
creating a joint action agency. Kaukauna was a founding member and
Mullen was its first president, serving five terms in that position,
from 1976 to 1981. At that point, WPPI was created as the first
municipal electric company in the state. Mullen was president and then
chair of WPPI's Board of Directors from 1981 to 1994.
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Using Cell Phones While Driving Significantly Increases Crash Risks
By Cindy Primeau, Central Wisconsin Regional Safety Coordinator
According to the National Safety Council, driver inattention is a
leading cause of traffic crashes, responsible for about 80 percent of
all collisions (based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
data). And NSC reports that cell phones are the #1 driver distraction,
contributing to hundreds of thousands of crashes and thousands of deaths
each year.
Talking on cell phones distracts our minds from driving; beyond where
our eyes and hands are while driving, it's the conversation that
distracts. According to the NSC, “this is called ‘cognitive
distraction’, and this is why hands-free and handheld phones have a
similar crash risk – hands-free is not safer. It's difficult to change
behavior even when people know the risks. Surveys show drivers admit
talking on cell phones and texting while driving, even when they say
they know it's dangerous.”
Over 2,000 NSC members responded to a recent survey about employee use
of wireless communication devices while driving. One major finding were
that one-quarter of those companies prohibit both handheld and
hands-free devices while driving for some or all employees.
The trend line is clear that changes are underway in terms of when cell
phone use by drivers will be allowed. For example, the City of
Marshfield has banned the use of cell phones while driving unless using
hands- free phones. The MEUW Board of Directors has recently approved a
cell phone policy which directs MEUW employees to not use their cell
phone while driving. And based on a current general restriction in 49
CFR, Part 390, as of January 27, 2010, commercial vehicle drivers are
not allowed to text with electronic devices while driving a commercial
motor vehicle.
To provide MEUW Members with some guidance and direction regarding this
serious issue, review the free “Cell Phone Policy Kit” available on the
NSC website:
http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Pages/EmployerPolicies.aspx.
Remember, the safest course of action is to refrain from using a
cell phone while driving!
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