Great Lakes Utilities to Assume Power Supply Role

Great Lakes Utilities, a Wisconsin municipal electric company, will become the electric power supplier for five of its eight members on February 1, 2004. The Great Lakes Utilities Board of Directors voted on September 30, 2003, to accept assignments of power supply contracts from the cities of Clintonville, Kiel, Manitowoc, Shawano and Wisconsin Rapids. At the same time, Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) entered into agreements with those municipalities to supply them with electric power and energy. The sales to Clintonville and Shawano will operate through the Badger Power Marketing Authority (BPMA). Great Lakes Utilities will assume responsibilities for members’ power supply effective February 1, 2004. 

By becoming a power supplier, GLU will be in a position to explore other power supply options for its members, including the possibility of construction of generation to be owned by GLU. GLU’s long-term mission is to provide a low-cost and reliable supply of power to its municipal members.

GLU is formed under Wisconsin law, which allows municipalities which own electric utilities to form a municipal electric company to supply them with power and energy on a pooled basis. By achieving greater economies of scale in the electric power industry, these municipal agencies achieve savings for their members.

The members of Great Lakes Utilities are the municipalities of Clintonville, Kiel, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Medford, Rice Lake, Shawano and Wisconsin Rapids.

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Menasha Celebrates Public Power Week
With Customer Conservation Expo

For the second year, Menasha Utilities held a Customer Conservation Expo as part of its Public Power Week celebration. On October 7, 571 customers were able to assemble individual home conservation kits from more than 20 energy conservation, energy saving products funded through the utility’s Commitment to Community public benefits program. Almost 100 customers went through the expo in the first hour alone! The Expo was held from noon to 6:00 p.m., and over $13,000 worth of products were passed on to Menasha Utilities customers who attended.

It wasn’t deliberately planned to be part of the Public Power Week activities, but the electric distribution crews started work on October 7 to acquire customers in the Five Oaks Park. When the entire project is completed, over 280 customers will be added to the system. In addition, another 200+ customers will be acquired in the Barker Farms subdivision once final PSC approval is received.

Last, but not least, in recognition of Public Power Week, and the contributions made by all employees, lunch was provided for all staff on Thursday, October 9.

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Joint Superintendents Conference – January 21-23 in Wisconsin Dells

Mark your calendars for January 21-23, 2004. The MEUW/REC Joint Superintendents Conference will be held in Wisconsin Dells, at the Chula Vista Resort (4031 N. River Road, 608/254-8366). 

Highlights from Wednesday’s agenda, the day set aside solely for MEUW business, include presentations on revisions to the MEUW Safety Manual, automatic meter reading, substation data acquisition, municipal telecom options, and reducing system losses, as well as the presentation of the first MEUW Outstanding Lineman Award.

Highlights from the joint portion of the Conference on Thursday include presentations on alternative energy sources, the Wausau/Duluth transmission project, utility security, tool ergonomics, and the Wisconsin Linerepairer Apprenticeship Program. The Wisconsin Utility Suppliers Association will host their annual trade show reception on Thursday, followed by the Apprentice Graduation Banquet.

Municipal utility personnel are invited to attend the MEUW Board of Directors meeting on the morning of Friday, January 23.

Your utility should receive a copy of the conference mailing sometime in December. To make a room reservation, call the Chula Vista at 800/388-4782 before December 21. Be sure to ask for the “Joint Superintendents Conference” block to get the special $75.00 rate. If you need another copy of the registration materials, call MEUW Office Manager Linda Olson at 608/837-2263 or visit the “Major Events and Meetings” page on www.meuw.org later this month. 

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Fall Legislative Round Up
by Scott Meske, MEUW Governmental Affairs Director

Nothing moves a body of elected officials to action like the looming deadline of the “end of session.”

Part of the reason there have been so many bills and debate recently is that Governor Doyle and legislative leaders agreed earlier this year that the State Budget would contain no “policy items” or items that have no true budgetary impact on the state budget.

Below is a list of some of the bills MEUW has been following and their fate as of November 18. Any general legislation not concluded by March 11, 2004, and sent to the Governor’s desk by April 15, 2004, will die in the process and must be re-introduced in the 2005-06 legislative session.

• Assembly Bill 529 relating to objectionable flows of electric current, making an appropriation and providing penalties. Status: In committee. Position: MEUW opposes this “stray voltage” legislation.

• Assembly Bill 632 and Senate Bill 300 relating to construction of electric generation facilities and transmission lines. These bills were the result of Governor Doyle and legislative leaders pushing to streamline the regulatory approval process for generation siting and transmission projects. Status: Passed both houses of the legislature, awaiting Governor’s signature. MEUW testified in support of the bill and offered suggestions for improvement, which were incorporated into the final bill.

• Assembly Bill 604 and Senate Bill 280 relating to contributions by electric and gas utilities to the public benefits fund and other energy conservation programs. If passed, Alliant and other investor owned utilities would be allowed to keep their “shared savings” program contributions to the state public benefits funds, virtually depleting the state energy conservation programs. As it turns out, the highly publicized “jobs bills” (SB 313/AB 655) which were introduced recently also contain this provision. Status: In committee. MEUW position: Opposed.

• Senate Bill 272 and Assembly Bill 588 relating to local government telecom utilities. This was the big one for us this fall. It was introduced and pushed by the Wisconsin Cable Communications Association and the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association. MEUW member communities, and individuals along with allies worked above and beyond the call to try and slow this bill down, kill it, and outright defeat it. In the Senate, momentum and politics won out over common sense and good policy as it passed on a 23-9 vote on November 14. Our opposition continues as the fight is taken to the Assembly over the next couple of months. Stay tuned!

• Senate Bill 8, relating to withholding certain security information from public inspection. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25 in the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee, with a possible amendment (compromise) being reached with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. This bill could be voted on in the full Assembly in January, after passing the Senate last spring. MEUW’s position is active support as it directly affects member utilities’ ability to safeguard certain records from the Wisconsin Open Records Laws.

The Legislature plans to convene in “Extraordinary Session” on Monday, December 1, 2003. The agenda will include action on Senate Bill 313/Assembly Bill 655 (“Job Creation Act of 2003”), a 114-page bill containing numerous initiatives.

For links to these bills, full text and histories or any other legislative or regulatory matters, please contact me (MEUW Governmental Affairs Director Scott Meske, smeske@meuw.org).

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PSC Approves Power the Future Generation Proposal

In an order issued on Tuesday, November 10, 2003, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved Phase 2 of Wisconsin Energy Corporation’s (WEC) “Power the Future” generation proposal. The Commission approved two of the three coal power plants proposed by WEC. The Commission approved two Super-Critical Pulverized Coal (SCPC) units, each 615 MW, to go into commercial operation in 2009 and 2010. The Commission approved a total cost for the two units of $2.15 billion. The two units will be installed at WEC’s existing Elm Road facility in Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee.

Previously, in an order dated December 10, 2002, the PSC had approved Phase 1 of WEC’s Power the Future generation project. In that order, the Commission approved WEC’s proposal to build two natural gas combined cycle power plants of 545 MW each – one in 2005 and the other in 2008 – in Port Washington, just north of Milwaukee. As part of that part of the project, WEC agreed to retire the existing coal plant at the site upon which the gas plants would be built.

“Faced with an aging fleet of coal plants and the need to have additional baseload generation to meet energy demands, the decision will help fuel the economy and help Wisconsin businesses grow”, said PSC Chair Burnie Bridge, after an October 29, 2003, open meeting of the Commission at which the order was discussed.

“The addition of new coal-fired power plants reaffirms our commitment to fuel diversity and provides the regulatory certainty needed to ensure that Wisconsin’s baseload capacity needs are met. Our decision ensures reliable cost-effective generation will be constructed over the next decade and respects our environmental values”, added Commissioner Robert Garvin.

“The state needs significant baseload generation capacity, and these coal-fired facilities take advantage of a stable fuel source to adequately provide electricity for Wisconsin’s future”, explained Commissioner Ave Bie.

The Commission approved the lease concept for the plants, a 12.7% return on equity for the project, a capital structure of 55% equity/45% debt, and a 5% cost overrun limit. The Commission also modified the agreement that the City of Oak Creek had negotiated with WEC for a stream of mitigation payments. The Commission’s approval is subject to WEC obtaining the necessary air quality and water permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. WEC hopes to secure all environmental permits in 2004, and to begin construction either in 2004 or early 2005.

The Commission did not approve the third coal plant proposed by WEC, a 600 MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) unit. The Commission asked WEC to continue pursuing this new technology and to report back to the PSC when more is known about this emerging technology and when WEC’s electric demand forecasts for later years are better known.

Reaction was swift from opponents to the project and from the City of Oak Creek. Two lawsuits have already been filed challenging the decision. S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., and Clean Wisconsin (formerly known as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade) filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court, and the City of Oak Creek filed suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

In its petition for review, the City of Oak Creek, which had lobbied in favor of the proposal after signing a mitigation payment agreement with WEC earlier this year, said that the Commission’s order unfairly reduced the mitigation payments that it would receive in exchange for agreeing to host the new power plants. The City says it stands to lose up to $67.5 million in mitigation payments over the life of the agreement.

In its petition for review, S.C. Johnson and Clean Wisconsin claim that the Commission’s order didn’t comply with state laws regarding evaluation of alternative power plant sites and a state law that calls on regulators to favor more environmentally friendly forms of power generation.

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We Want Your Best Ideas and Practices
by Steve Hedden, MEUW Safety Director

The strength of an organization lies in the fact we can learn from one another. You may have a good idea to accomplish a task quicker, easier, safer or a unique utility practice that helps you run a safer more efficient operation. The MEUW Safety & Job Training Program would like to identify Wisconsin municipal utilities best safe work practices. This will be an opportunity for you to highlight the things that your utility is doing right or learn from fellow member utilities. The following idea is an example of something that Richland Center Utilities has done that to them just made good sense.

A few years ago they replaced their digger derrick truck and were faced with a decision of what to do with their old truck. The truck was still in good operating condition but had little value to anyone else. They decided to remove the side-boxes on one side and have reel holders installed that pull off the side of the truck. A simple idea that allowed Richland Center to utilize a still functional piece of equipment. The real benefit is that reels are then easily and safely loaded with the truck’s boom, and cable is pulled off, away from the road, putting workers in a safer work location. 

I am sure there are many similar ideas or practices out there. A new feature in “Live Lines” will highlight your best utility practices. Your utility may be the next one highlighted in Live Lines. We need you to send us your best ideas and practices. Please e-mail them, with pictures if possible, to Steve Hedden (shedden@meuw.org) or Dean Larson (dlarson@meuw.org).

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