MEUW Member Communities Receive $2.6 Million in Energy Efficiency Grants

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) targeted energy efficiency measures and renewable energy efforts, collectively aimed at kick-starting the “green economy.”

One of the ARRA initiatives is the Energy Efficiency Community Development Block Grant (EECDBG) program. The Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence solicited grant requests of up to $225,000, matched at the local level, for two very specific projects: L.E.D. street lighting and “retro-fitting” municipal facilities with energy efficiency measures.

Governor Doyle announced on April 6 that more than $9.5 million in EECDBG funds would be distributed to 82 Wisconsin communities. “These grants will help Wisconsin’s communities seize the opportunity to grow a strong new part of our economy in clean energy,” said Doyle.

Twenty-three MEUW Member communities were awarded more than $2.6 million of this total. The grant process isn’t always smooth and easy, so we applaud and recognize the following MEUW community members for their efforts: City of Algoma, City of Columbus, City of Cornell, City of Evansville, City of Fennimore, City of Jefferson, City of Juneau, City of Lake Mills, City of Manitowoc, City of Marshfield, City of Menasha, City of New Richmond, City of Plymouth, City of Rice Lake, City of Shawano, City of Sheboygan Falls, City of Two Rivers, City of Waupun, City of Wisconsin Dells, Village of La Farge, Village of Sauk City, Village of Slinger, and the Village of Viola. Congratulations to those 23 MEUW Member Communities!

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APPA Washington Report
CREBs and Comparability
by Robert Varela, Editor, APPA’s Public Power Weekly

In the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Congress included two provisions designed to promote investment in new renewable energy facilities. One was designed for investor-owned utilities and the other for nonprofit, consumer-owned utilities. They were intended to provide comparable incentives; they haven’t.

One, the renewable energy production tax credit, has been a big and demonstrable success, fueling the huge growth in the wind industry in the United States. The value of the production tax credit was proven when Congress allowed it to lapse in 1999, 2001 and 2003—construction of new renewable power resources virtually ceased in those years.

The other provision in the 1992 act, the Renewable Energy Production Incentive program (REPI), has languished like a neglected orphan. REPI was intended to provide nonprofit utilities with an incentive comparable to the production tax credit. The major problem with REPI has not been a lack of interest on the part of consumer-owned utilities but the failure of Congress to appropriate sufficient funds. APPA has found itself cast in the role of Oliver Twist, asking, “Please, sir, can I have some more?” Annual funding for REPI has never topped $5 million and the Obama administration now is proposing to zero out the program.

With REPI clearly nowhere near comparable to the production tax credit and the Oliver Twist role growing old quickly, consumer-owned utilities convinced Congress to enact an alternative. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided public power utilities, rural electric cooperatives, governmental bodies and tribes with the ability to issue Clean Renewable Energy Bonds. CREBs are tax-credit bonds; the federal government provides a tax credit to the bondholder in lieu of the issuer paying interest to the bondholder.

CREBs offer some clear advantages over REPI, particularly since, at the behest of APPA and others, Congress reserved one-third of the CREBs volume cap for public power utilities.

However, CREBs have been tough to market, particularly since the current economic downturn has diminished the value of tax credits in general. That prompted APPA and others to urge Congress to give issuers the option to issue CREBs as direct-pay bonds, similar to the Build America Bond model. Build America Bonds have been popular with investors since their creation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

That effort paid off when President Obama in March signed into law a jobs bill (H.R. 2847) that gives issuers the option to issue CREBs as tax-credit bonds or as direct-pay bonds.

But comparability to the production tax credit remains a work in progress.

In contrast to CREBs and REPI (both of which are capped), there is no maximum limit for credits claimed through the production tax credit. APPA strongly supports lifting the volume cap on CREBs.

In addition, private companies—but not public power or other nonprofit utilities—can opt to receive a grant worth 30% of a renewable project’s cost of construction in lieu of the production tax credit. Congress established the temporary grant program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grant program is intended to incent private companies to build renewable energy projects during the current economic downturn, when many companies are unable to make a profit and cannot take advantage of the production tax credit.

With the aim of remedying that, APPA’s Legislative & Resolutions Committee this year approved a policy resolution in support of expanding the grant program to public power utilities. The resolution also urges Congress to enact the Renewable Energy Incentive Act (S. 2899), which would, among other things, extend the grant program for two years and expand it to public power utilities.

With limits on carbon emissions and renewable electricity standards looming, utilities will need all the help they can get.

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June 9-11, 2010 in Green Bay
81st MEUW Annual Conference Features Top Line-Up

If there was ever a time for managers, commissioners, city council members, mayors and staff to attend the MEUW Annual Conference – this would be the year. The 81st MEUW Annual Conference, “The Politics of Public Power”, will be held in Green Bay June 9-11, 2010. Registration materials were recently sent to MEUW Members and posted on the MEUW website, www.meuw.org.

Conference speakers include ATC CEO John Procario, APPA Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs Joe Nipper, WPPI Energy CEO Roy Thilly, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, and others.

Wednesday pre-conference opportunities will feature a visit to the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant and a private Stadium Tour of Lambeau Field. The highlight of the day will be a private Tailgate Reception inside the Packer Hall of Fame.

We are excited to announce that due to the generous sponsorship of several WUSA vendors, MEUW has invited former Green Bay Packer great and Super Bowl champion, Santana Dotson to join us during our Tailgate Reception.

The registration deadline is Wednesday, June 2, 2010, for all Wednesday events, Thursday’s conference program, the WUSA trade show, the MEUW banquet and Friday’s Annual Meeting.

We look forward to seeing you in Green Bay!

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June 18, 2010 in Little Chute
5th Annual MEUW Lineman’s Rodeo

Please mark your calendars for the 5th Annual MEUW Lineman’s Rodeo which will be held on Friday, June 18, 2010 in Little Chute, Wisconsin. Kaukauna Utilities will sponsor this year’s event which will be held on American Drive in Little Chute (just east of the 5th Quarter Sports Bar and Restaurant – 2101 American Drive).

There are exciting twists in this year’s event! The structure of the day will be a mutual aid training exercise sure to improve the skills and knowledge of participating team members. Similar to a mutual aid scenario, job assignments will be distributed to team members the morning of the event. Three-man teams will compete in “real life” situations with the emphasis placed on job layout. As always, safety and good work practices will determine this year’s winners. There is no need for teams to practice for this year’s event as participant’s everyday “on the job” experience will be the only skill that is necessary.

Because this year’s Rodeo will be conducted as a training exercise and held on a workday, the Rodeo will begin at 7 a.m. with a group breakfast, followed by a question and answer period, the day’s events, and conclude with an awards ceremony luncheon.

If you feel you have what it takes to showcase your skills, we are looking for teams to participate in the event! Team registration materials can be found on www.meuw.org/events.htm. In addition, the Rodeo’s previous successes have been attributed to the volunteers who have graciously donated their time. Please consider assisting as a volunteer to judge events and/or assist in other activities by completing the volunteer registration form found on the MEUW website (see above).

We look forward to seeing you in Little Chute for the 5th Annual MEUW 2010 Lineman’s Rodeo on Friday, June 18!

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MEUW/WPPI RP₃^® Workshop on June 2, 2010
MEUW Members Receive APPA RP₃^® Awards

APPA’s Reliable Public Power Provider (RP₃^®) awards were presented on March 29 during APPA’s Engineering & Operations Technical Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.

The RP₃^® program recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, training and system improvement. Criteria are based on sound business practices and represent a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity. Nationwide, 95 public power utilities earned RP₃^® recognition this year for providing the highest degree of reliable and safe electric service. This is the fifth year that APPA has offered the RP₃^® designation, which is good for a term of two years.

Participating utilities may be recognized as Gold, Platinum or Diamond Reliable Public Power Provider. The diamond designation is awarded to the utility if it successfully meets 100% of the defined criteria. The platinum designation is awarded if the utility meets 90% of the criteria. The gold designation is awarded if the utility meets 80% of the RP₃^® Program criteria. All three designations are valid for a two year period.

Five MEUW members were recognized this year. Platinum level awards were given to: Kaukauna Utilities, Menasha Utilities, Rice Lake Utilities and Stoughton Utilities. A Gold level award was given to Cedarburg Light and Water Utility. MEUW President, Jeff Feldt commented “Kaukauna Utilities is proud to once again be re-certified as a RP₃^® Platinum level electric utility. This recognition is a testament to the quality work our employees do every day on behalf of our customers.” Congratulations to the five MEUW Members for achieving this outstanding award!

If your utility is interested in applying for APPA’s RP₃^® designation, MEUW/WPPI Energy will be hosting an RP₃^® Workshop on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at WPPI Energy. This workshop is free of charge and will provide hands-on opportunities to help members complete their applications. Puesh Kumar (APPA) along with Chris Chartier (WPPI Energy), Lisa Haen (MEUW) and Dennis Bednarski (Oconomowoc Utilities) will be assisting attendees review their application materials on a one-on-one basis.

So, please mark your calendars and bring your applications/documents with you to the workshop. 2010 RP₃^® applications will be available on the APPA website http://www.appanet.org/ on May 1, 2010 and are due by September 30, 2010.

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MEUW Welcomes Dewayne “Dewey” Reiten to the Safety Team as the Northwest Regional Safety Coordinator

Please join MEUW in welcoming Dewayne “Dewey” Reiten as the new Northwest Regional Safety Coordinator. Dewey began work on Monday, March 29, 2010 and brings a wealth of safety knowledge to our safety team. He will provide regulatory compliance and safety services to the six members of the Northwest Regional Safety Group serving Barron Water and Light, the Cities of Chetek, Menomonie, Rice Lake, River Falls and Spooner.

Dewey was born and raised in Rice Lake, WI where he served the community as a Police Officer and Fire Investigator with the City of Rice Lake Police Department. He has been married to his wife Patty for 29 years and they have three grown children; the eldest Missie, and twins Bryan and Brittany. Dewey’s devoted cocker spaniel Molly often accompanies him during leisure outings.

He comes to MEUW with over 25 years of law enforcement experience as well as EMT Paramedic and fire investigation expertise. Dewey has been a part of the City of Rice Lake Safety Committee for the past several years and has a passion for safety will help him excel in this position.

In his spare time, Dewey enjoys seasonal fishing, pleasure boating, camping and hunting. He has a passion for life and lives it to the fullest. Please join us in welcoming Dewey Reiten to the MEUW Safety Team!

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