Governor Signs Two Bills Aimed at Boosting State’s Electric Industry

Using Oak Creek, one of the central communities in the generation siting incentive debate, Governor Doyle signed Assembly Bill 378 into law on July 15, revamping the old “utility aid shared revenue” program to provide financial incentives for communities to host new generation facilities. The financial “kickers” for hosting generation (based on nameplate capacity) include: $2,000 per Megawatt for “hosting” the facility; $600 per Megawatt for baseload generation; $1,000 per MW for renewable generation sources; $1,000 per MW for co-generation facilities; and $600 per MW for locating on a “brownfield site.” All financial incentives will be split among local units of government. 

On August 11, Governor Doyle signed into law Senate Bill 194 that allows the Wisconsin-based American Transmission Company (ATC) to withdraw from the regional transmission organization (MISO), if the Public Service Commission deems it necessary. ATC was the only transmission company bound by its state law to remain a member of MISO. Wisconsin energy industry officials call the legislation “a common sense fix” and were appreciative of the Legislature’s and Governor’s swift action on the measure.

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BLACKOUT!

Over the course of 9 seconds on Thursday, August 14, we all learned a very basic lesson about electricity, the commodity that MEUW member utilities distribute to customers every second of every day. The lesson? Electricity is a one of a kind commodity. It must be used the instant it is produced. It can not be stored. It ignores contract path language, federal law, state law, even geographic boundaries. It does follow the laws of physics, particularly the law of physics that electrons follow the path of least resistance.

What happened? The United States and Canada experienced the largest catastrophic and uncontrolled failure of the electric system. At 4:09 p.m. (Eastern Time) that day, various abnormal flows or surges of electricity on the grid caused more than 100 power plants and a dozen transmission lines to go off-line. Of the power plants that went off line, 22 were nuclear units in Canada and the United States. A total load of 61,800 MW was lost, causing an electric blackout that impacted 50 million people, from New York City to Lansing, Michigan, and including large portions of Canada. Airports were shut down. Subways and elevators came to a halt, wherever they happened to be at the time. Traffic signals went dead. Cellular telephones and ATM’s didn’t work. Stores and businesses closed. Commerce came to a screeching halt.

All told, eight states and two countries were impacted, and electricity was not fully restored for days. The North American Reliability Council (NERC), which was established by the utility industry after the electric blackouts of 1965 to reduce the likelihood of cascading failures in the electric grid, said that the disturbance was felt throughout the entire eastern interconnection. The only immediate impact in Wisconsin occurred minutes after the event, when the 330 MW Edgewater Unit 4 power plant in Sheboygan tripped off line.

Response was swift from Washington. President George Bush called it a “wake up” call to the critical need to modernize the nation’s electric grid. Congressional leaders used it as an opportunity to push for quick passage of the energy bill (see article below). House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Billy Tauzin (R-LA) announced that his Committee will hold two days of public hearings on the blackout on September 3 and 4, adding that he is determined to have the energy bill ready for final passage by Congress at the end of September.

A joint U.S./Canada Task Force, led by DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham, has already started an official inquiry. Initial reports as to the cause of the blackout focused on the actions of First Energy Corp., whose high voltage transmission lines were the first to trip out of service that day.

In response to the blackout, Governor Jim Doyle issued Executive Order 20 on August 19, directing the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Department of Natural Resources to streamline and better coordinate their review and approval processes for siting and constructing transmission lines in the state. “We’re not going to continue to hold our breath every time the weather heats up, or energy demand increases, or there are power fluctuations in other states”, Doyle said. “In Wisconsin, we’re going to step up to the plate and do all we can to ensure a reliable, modern transmission system that Wisconsin’s businesses and families can depend on.” Doyle directed PSC Chair Burnie Bridge and DNR Secretary Scott Hassett to report back to him in three weeks with ways to improve the system.

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Conference Committee to Meet in September
Federal Energy Bill Update

In a strange turn of events, the U.S. Senate passed an energy bill on July 31, but not S.14, the version that had been the product of months of painstaking negotiations and hearings. The Senate passed S.517, last year’s energy bill.

The unexpected passage of S.517 was caused in large part by a strained and tense partisan atmosphere that has hovered over the Senate in recent months. Senate Majority Leader Bill Fryst (R-TN) noted in the middle of tense floor debate over S.14 that Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) had suggested bringing up last year’s energy bill. Although Daschle’s comments appeared to be rhetorical, S.517 (a bill drawn together by Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-NM) was brought up for a vote later that day and passed by a wide margin (84-14).

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), Chair of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee and architect of S.14, quickly indicated that passage of S.517 was simply “a vehicle to get us to conference [committee].” Domenici said that “the final bill will look more like what I produced in committee this spring than it will the bill we are passing tonight.” Wisconsin’s two Senators split their votes, Senator Herb Kohl voting for the bill and Senator Russ Feingold voting against the bill.

There are stark differences between the two bills, and the American Public Power Association has publicly endorsed Domenici’s version (S.14) because many of the electric provisions are favorable or neutral as to public power providers. The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 6 in mid-April, over the objection of APPA and many others (7 of Wisconsin’s 8 members of the House voted against HR 6).

An energy bill Conference Committee, Chaired by Senator Pete Domenici, is expected to be appointed by both houses and meet in early September. Leveraging the heightened public focus on the electric industry following the massive August 14 electric blackout, Senate and House leadership have indicated their intention to complete a conference committee report for adoption by both houses by the end of September, for prompt delivery to the White House.

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October 28 and 29, 2003
MEUW Tree Trimming Workshops
by Steve Hedden, MEUW Safety Director

The MEUW Safety and Job Training Program will be offering two one-day tree trimming workshops to be held at Marshfield Electric Department. The training will be conducted by ACRT Institute of Arboriculture & Urban Forestry, a company from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. You can find more info about ACRT at their website: www.acrtinc.com. 

The agenda for the one-day workshops will include classroom training and hands-on practical training. Classroom training topics include chain saw safety, line clearance, storm damage, directional pruning, and where to make the final cut. Practical training will include pruning from the ground, pruning from the bucket, and removing trees from wires. The cost for the workshop will be $115, and this amount will cover training, handouts, lunch, and refreshments. 

Attendees will need to bring the following equipment with them: bucket trucks (optional if available), chain saws, stick saws (hand or powered), hand saws, and personal protective equipment (hard hat, safety glasses, face shield, hearing protection, chaps, foot protection and work gloves). 

Registration materials will be mailed to your utility in mid-September; in addition, they will be available at our website www.meuw.org. Attendance at each one-day workshop will be limited to 20 to effectively teach the hands-on portion, so early registration is advised.

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2003 Accounting & Customer Service Workshop in Wisconsin Dells

The 2003 MEUW Accounting & Customer Service Workshop will be held on Wednesday, October 22, at the Kalahari Resort Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells. The theme for this year’s workshop is Responding to Financial Challenges. 

The morning general sessions will include presentations on placing delinquent bills on the tax rolls, public benefits programs, bankruptcy and sales tax. In the afternoon, we will have two tracks of break-out sessions, one for accountants and one for customer service personnel. The accounting track will feature presentations on contributions in aid of construction and GASB changes in PSC annual reports. The customer service track will consist of a panel discussion on customer surveys. Everyone will get back together for general sessions on improving internal controls, customer deposits and winter collections rules, as well as the traditional Open Forum at the end of the day.

This year’s pre-registration fee is $70. Registrations received after October 16 will be $75 each. Those who wish to stay overnight on the night of October 21 should telephone the Kalahari (877/253-5466) by September 28 to make your reservations. Be sure to ask for the MEUW room block to receive the special rate of $62 single/$99 double. The Kalahari does not accept checks, but your utility may send a purchase order or invoice with billing name and address and reservation information (names, dates, charges being covered and authorized signature) in order to be billed for the charges. If you do not have this paperwork available, the Kalahari has a form that you may request from the reservationist when making the reservation. They will fax you the form to be completed and returned.

Watch for the workshop mailing in early September. We hope to see someone from your utility at the 2003 MEUW Accounting & Customer Service Workshop!

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Challenges of Meeting New Large Load Demands
By Dean Larson, MEUW Safety Director

MEUW members utilities face many challenges today with the addition of 600 amp loads in their systems. Even smaller MEUW utilities are having to deal with the possibility of a large customer requesting electric service for a larger load. This can present some problems if utility personnel are not familiar with these applications.

There are a few different types of equipment available to handle these types of situations. The first one we will discuss is a basic junction with non loadbreak elbows. There are two types of modules available. One is bolt on only and the other has two 600 amp and two normal 200 amp bushings. The latter is probably the way to go because it will give you more flexibility. The drawbacks to this application is that the junction has to be de-energized to work on the 600 amp cables, lack of switching options and no fuse protection. In most cases a problem with one of the cables will cause a recloser operation before the line fuse will blow. When using this setup keep extra material on hand in the case of elbow failure and proper standoffs and grounding equipment. You never know when you may need it.

Another option is a pad mounted switchgear. The most common is one with two switch bays and two fused bays. They are also made in just about any style you would need from all switches to all fuses. These will use terminators instead of elbows. The positives for this style is the ease of switching. A switch handle on each side of the cabinet allows you to de-energize the whole switchgear or only the cables leaving it. Built in grounding points also are a feature that can be used when work needs to be done on a section of cable. Arresters and fault indicators are optional but nice features to have. The fused side of the cabinet allows for additional feeds to smaller load areas. The additional fuse protection should save recloser operations and outages on your system. The cost of this type of switchgear is more but well worth it in the long run.

The last type is an electronic vista switchgear. This features 600 amp load interrupter switches and resettable fault interrupters. The features simplify operations, enhance safety, and minimize outage times. Routine operating tasks can be performed by one person without exposure to any voltage. Terminations in the vista are all elbows that are connected to the switches. Another option with the vista is a sub surface model that puts the entire switchgear underground yet allows all routine operations to be performed from ground level.

Whatever style your utility decides to use, remember to follow the company’s specifications and most importantly work safe.

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