Climate Change Political Update

In Copenhagen, Denmark, leaders from around the world met in mid-December in an attempt to hammer out the framework for a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Technically known as “COP 15” (the United Nations’ 15th Climate Change Conference), over 35,000 attendees from over 200 countries registered for the event. Wisconsin’s Governor Jim Doyle made a presentation on how states can influence the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and was the only Midwest governor asked to address the summit. The key issues discussed and negotiated at the Conference were emissions targets, financial aid for developing countries, and how to measure and monitor emissions.

In Washington, DC, President Obama and Congressional leaders again signaled that they would like to enact federal climate change legislation in 2010 that would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country using a “cap and trade” regime. There are at least four bills in Congress on the matter, one that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last June and three currently pending in the U.S. Senate. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a greenhouse gas emissions “endangerment” finding in early December, the first step in an EPA rulemaking process to regulate greenhouse gases under the federal Clean Air Act.

Here in Wisconsin, in mid-December four key Committee Chairs – Senate Commerce Utilities & Rail Committee Chairman Sen. Jeff Plale (D-So. Milwaukee), Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mark Miller (D-Madison), Assembly Energy & Utilities Chairman Jim Soletski (D-Green Bay) and Assembly Natural Resources Committee Chairman Spencer Black (D-Madison) – released a comprehensive 174 page draft climate change bill that is intended to implement the recommendations of the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force. The bill, which is planned to be introduced in January, will likely be one of the major legislative undertakings to finish up the 2009-2010 legislative session. The key issues in the bill of importance to MEUW Members are significant changes in the areas of energy efficiency and conservation requirements, and the state’s renewable portfolio standard.

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APPA Washington Report
From the Bottom Up
by Robert Varela, Editor, APPA’s Public Power Weekly

Transmission planning should start from the bottom and work its way up, rather than being imposed from the top. That means concentrating on the planning and construction of transmission to support the resource needs of load-serving entities.

Congress recognized this in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 when it directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to use its authority “in a manner that facilitates the planning and expansion of transmission facilities to meet the reasonable needs of load-serving entities to satisfy the service obligations of the load-serving entities.”

However, since 2005, there has been an increasing push on the federal government to get transmission lines built to connect wind farms in remote areas to load in population centers. The phrase “the Saudi Arabia of wind” has been tossed around so much—usually in reference to the Midwest or Texas—that a New York Times blogger held a contest to find a replacement for the cliché. Visions of an overlay of extra-high voltage lines are dancing in the heads of some lawmakers (and developers).

As an example, in a request for comments on transmission planning, FERC included numerous references to renewable transmission and the need to better support it, but no mention of the Energy Policy Act directive that the commission use its transmission planning powers to support the needs of load-serving entities.

However, as APPA pointed out in comments to the commission, there is no conflict between support for renewables and support for the needs of load-serving entities. “Renewable generation is needed not as an end in itself, but as a resource to serve load,” APPA said. “By concentrating on the planning of transmission facilities required to support the resource needs of [load-serving entities], transmission facilities needed to support renewable resources will be necessarily included,” APPA told the commission.

Focusing on the needs of load-serving entities in planning renewable transmission offers other benefits when it comes to getting transmission built to access renewables. One is a greater likelihood that the right transmission facilities in the right regions will be planned and constructed. “Pursuing the construction of ‘renewable transmission’ as an end in itself shortcuts the resource planning process and could lead to very suboptimal outcomes,” as APPA politely phrased it. Think “bridge to nowhere.”

A bottom-up, load-centric approach also should be used to determine transmission cost allocation methodologies for regions, APPA said. Individual utilities and states first need to craft their resource plans, considering a myriad of factors, including the benefits of local versus remote resources. Transmission cost allocation methodologies should then take these resource choices into account.

“Swooping in from the ‘top down’ with an assumed preferred generation resource outcome that drives the resulting transmission facilities plan, without first doing the necessary sub-regional and regional ‘field work,’ will virtually ensure lack of buy-in to the resulting transmission facilities plan,” APPA said in its comments to FERC. “This in turn will ensure controversy and litigation over the associated transmission cost allocation.”

One way to promote buy-in by load-serving entities to transmission plans is to allow them to literally buy in. “As the commission casts about for innovative ways to ‘skin the transmission cost allocation cat,’ joint ownership has much to recommend it,” APPA said in its comments to the agency.

FERC needs to do more than simply encouraging joint ownership of transmission facilities by public power utilities, APPA said. “It should promulgate an official policy favoring it, and make eligibility for transmission rate incentives dependent on a showing by the applicants that they have offered reasonable opportunities for joint transmission ownership to [load-serving entities] that are being asked to pay for a particular transmission project.”

The top-down scenario has already played out in response to the premature push to take advantage of the “Saudi Arabia of wind” in the Midwest with a build-out of extra-high voltage lines to both coasts—and with the costs allocated across entire interconnections. The result has been “a region v. region ‘food fight’ that has proven detrimental to rational discourse.”

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Energy Independent Communities Launch “25x25” Plans

When Governor Jim Doyle created the Office of Energy Independence in April 2008, one of the goals of OEI was to engage Wisconsin’s communities in the process of reaching ‘25x25’ (using 25% renewable energy by the year 2025). OEI announced the “Energy Independent Communities (EIC)” program in late 2008, and it included a competitive application process and assistance to help selected communities design plans and take steps to reach “25x25.”
 
Four MEUW Communities were part of the ten Wisconsin communities awarded a “25x25 EIC Plan Grant” in early 2009. Columbus, Evansville, Marshfield and Oconomowoc all embarked on a journey that would help blaze the trail for future community sustainability efforts across the state. At a Conference in Green Bay in mid-December, the four, along with six other Wisconsin communities, presented their efforts to OEI and to each other, in what many are calling a ‘good first step.’

What is the “25x25 EIC” program? It is a voluntary agreement between the State of Wisconsin and communities that adopt the State's 25x25 goals. EI Community partnerships will move the energy independence message of hope and opportunity to Wisconsin residents who choose to be part of this vision. This partnership already embraces the approaches and solutions that communities are currently exploring, and it will continue to foster innovation of energy resources and emerging technology.

Evansville Mayor Sandy Decker, in her presentation, reflected on the ‘journey’ over the past year in determining how much energy and fossil fuel was being consumed, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that were being generated by the City. More importantly, she explained that the City of Evansville now has a roadmap to follow to be a 25x25 community and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels as a community.

The second generation of EIC 25x25 Plan Grants will be announced in February 2010. OEI’s Brian Driscoll said there were 30 Wisconsin communities that met the minimum qualifications to receive a planning grant, but not all will be awarded funds.

MEUW has been an advocate of the EIC program since inception, and believes that public power communities are uniquely positioned to make great strides toward becoming “energy independent communities.” For more information about the EIC program, or about the Office of Energy Independence, visit the website: http://energyindependence.wi.gov.

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Second “Net Zero” Energy Home Built in Wisconsin

A net zero energy home (NZEH) combines state of the art energy efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems. A NZEH produces as much energy as it consumes, yielding a net zero impact on the nation’s energy supply. Through WPPI Energy’s GreenMax Home initiative, Stoughton homeowners John & Rebecca Scheller along with Black River Falls homeowners Tom & Verona Chambers are the first two families to occupy a NZEH.

In Stoughton, the Scheller’s home located in the Stoughton Utilities service area was just completed in November 2009. With the combined efforts of the Schellers, Shaw Building & Design, Inc. and WPPI Energy, the couple was able to use readily available building materials to create a cost effective, highly energy efficient home. This unique home incorporates innovative and sustainable features, including LED lights with dimming technology, two geothermal heat pumps and an onsite solar photovoltaic system. The Chambers’ home in Black River Falls, after five months of recorded energy use, continues to produce more energy than they consume, putting them on track to reach their 12-month net zero energy goal.

According to Stoughton Utilities Director Robert Kardasz, “The Schellers’ home emphasizes one of the most important goals of the GreenMax Home initiative, which is to demonstrate practical ways that anyone can save energy at home. We’re pleased to welcome the second GreenMax Home in the Stoughton Utilities service area and to work with the Schellers to meet their net zero energy goal.”

“We look forward to continuing to be responsible stewards of our earth’s resources and educating others to consider clean energy alternatives,” said Scheller.

To get a glimpse of this stylish energy efficient home, the Schellers, WPPI Energy and Stoughton Utilities anticipate holding an April 2010 open house celebration in conjunction with Earth Week. “WPPI Energy is committed to helping customers save energy and be more efficient in their use of energy,” said Senior Vice President of Customer Services and Administration Tom Paque. “Saving energy is the most important thing we can do to keep customer bills down, protect the environment, and defer the need for new power plants.”

WPPI Energy is now accepting competitive proposals from energy conscious homeowners and builders in WPPI Energy member service territories to help fund up to three NZEHs. For more information on NZEHs and the GreenMax Home initiative, visit www.greenmaxhome.com. Proposals for WPPI Energy’s GreenMax Home initiative are due by 4:00 p.m. on February 26, 2010.

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February 10 & 11, 2010, in Marshfield
Personnel Issues and Municipal Utility Labor Management Relations 101

The Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin is continuing our program to provide education for “home grown” management personnel. Participants may start at any point in the program and may attend just those sessions they feel they need. MEUW Management Program certificates will go to those who complete all six sessions (A-F). Certificates will be presented at the Annual Conference following the completion of all six sessions.

Session E (Personnel Issues) will be held on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, at the Marshfield Holiday Inn. Topics will include: personnel policies and work rules; the importance of accurate and updated job descriptions; identifying the true qualifications of the job; interviewing do’s and don’ts; legal issues to consider during the selection process; orientation tips to make new employees feel welcome and competent in their position; legal considerations when termination is necessary; union issues that managers need to know; union negotiation and bargaining considerations; the basics of employee insurance benefits; the performance review - why it’s important and how to do it best; discipline and firing; your utility’s current safety and regulatory compliance program; and a primer on Wisconsin Open Records and Open Meeting laws.

In response to requests from prior attendees, we are also offering a separate Municipal Labor Management Relations 101 Seminar on the following day (Thursday, February 11, 2010) at the same location. Topics will include defining interests and the end game; an overview of the collective bargaining process; parties’ legal obligations in collective bargaining; standard clauses in municipal labor contracts; seeking win/win solutions; how to establish and utilize “comparable” data; how the arbitration process works; understanding and managing the grievance process; the role of City Councils, Village Boards and Utility Commissioners; and “Lessons Learned”.

The instructor for both seminars will be Boardman Law Firm Attorney Steve Zach. Session E (Personnel Issues) will have an after lunch presentation titled “How Does Your Safety Program Stack Up?” by MEUW Safety and Health Manager Lisa Haen. The registration deadline for both seminars is Friday, January 29, 2010. Registration materials were sent to your utility in mid-December. For another copy, visit www.meuw.org/events.htm or contact Shari Baumann at (608-837-2263 or sbaumann@meuw.org).

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DCOMM Reports Due March 1
Annual Injury and Illness Reporting Requirements for MEUW Members

Every year, all Wisconsin communities must post an injury and illness summary report (SBD 10710) in the workplace no later than February 1, leave it posted through April 30, and file the report with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce (DCOMM) by no later than March 1. All public employers must file the summary report – even if no work related injuries or illnesses are recorded. Failure to file a summary report by March 1 can result in a visit by a DCOMM Inspector and a potential citation.

Here’s a simple five step process to complete the summary report:

Step One: Determine whether or not an injury is “work related”.

Step Two: Determine whether or not the injury is “recordable”.

Step Three: Complete the Report. You can access the Report or download the Word version from: http://commerce.wi.gov/SB/SB-DivForms.html#safety. Please note – DCOMM is looking for one “Summary of Work Related Injuries and Illness Report” from each Employer. This means both the Utility and the City/Village will complete a combined Report.

Step Four: Post the Report. Employers must post the SBD 10710 “Summary of Work Related Injuries and Illness Report” in an employee accessible area at the workplace (lobby area, break room, etc.) no later than February 1, 2010 and keep the posting in place until April 30, 2010.

Step Five: File the Report. Submit the SBD 10710 “Summary of Work Related Injuries and Illness Report” to the Wisconsin Department of Commerce no later than March 1, 2010. You can send it via U.S. Mail to: Safety and Buildings Division, Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Inspection/Rental, P.O. Box 2658, Madison, WI, 53701-2658; FAX it to 608-283-7408; or e-mail it to: IntegratedServices@commerce.state.wi.us.

If you have any questions about the filing of this report, please contact your MEUW Regional Safety Coordinator, or MEUW Safety & Health Manager Lisa Haen (608-837-2263; lhaen@meuw.org).

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