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NYPA To Participate In New York’s Exploration of Green Hydrogen

July 13, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 13, 2021

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on July 8 said that New York plans to explore the potential role of green hydrogen as part of the state’s decarbonization strategy.

To support this effort to study green hydrogen and its possible applications, the state is collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), joining two hydrogen-focused organizations to inform state decision-making and making $12.5 million in funding available for long duration energy storage technologies and demonstration projects that may include green hydrogen.

Additionally, the New York Power Authority, collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute, General Electric and hydrogen supplier Airgas, will undertake an industry-leading green hydrogen demonstration project at NYPA’s natural gas plant on Long Island to evaluate the resource’s potential role in displacing fossil fuels from power generation.

At the close of this short-term project, peer-reviewed results will be shared with the industry and public so that key learnings can inform decarbonization efforts. The announcement supports Cuomo’s goal to reduce emissions 85 percent by 2050, as outlined in the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Green hydrogen — hydrogen produced using renewable energy — has the potential to decarbonize challenging sectors of the economy, Cuomo’s office noted.

As part of the state’s efforts to assess green hydrogen’s potential role in economy-wide decarbonization efforts, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is leading a stakeholder engagement effort to gain and share knowledge and understanding of the support this resource could provide for meeting the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals across multiple sectors. The stakeholder engagement began in December 2020 at a deep decarbonization workshop co-hosted by NYSERDA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 

A more comprehensive and ongoing approach will begin with an additional workshop and listening session being planned for this fall. The session will be used to help NYSERDA understand how to expand stakeholder engagement to ensure that additional assessment of the pathways, opportunities, and challenges of generating and utilizing green hydrogen across all sectors includes consideration of all stakeholder perspectives, including environmental justice organizations and communities. 

The state’s approach to understanding and exploring the potential role green hydrogen can play in achieving the Climate Act goals include:

New York Hydrogen Strategy Study

NYSERDA will launch a hydrogen strategy study in conjunction with NREL, to compile the foundational, base-line information and data that will enable New York to have robust discussions and dialogue around the role green hydrogen could play in New York’s decarbonization plans.

This strategy study will place a particular focus on opportunities surrounding green hydrogen to align the State’s hydrogen strategy with the existing mandates for 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2040. Building on relationships with NREL and the United States Department of Energy, NYSERDA will benefit from local, regional, national, and global insights on the evolution of green hydrogen to help guide State direction and decision making. 

NYPA Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project

A NYPA-led, first-of-its-kind demonstration project will investigate the potential of substituting renewable hydrogen for a portion of the natural gas used to generate power at NYPA’s Brentwood Power Station on Long Island.

The project team will evaluate different concentrations of hydrogen blended with natural gas at regular intervals and will assess the blend’s effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its overall system and environmental impacts, including nitrogen oxide emissions. The project will begin in fall 2021 and is expected to last six to eight weeks. 

The plant, which consists of a GE LM-6000 combustion turbine currently fueled by natural gas, was commissioned in the summer of 2001 to increase local power generation capacity for Long Island and New York City in anticipation of potential summer power shortages. GE has more than 6 million operating hours and more than 30 years of experience using hydrogen and other similar low-BTU fuels.

NYPA will lead the project with collaboration from partners including EPRI, GE, Sargent & Lundy, Airgas, and Fresh Meadow Power. EPRI will assist with the project design and technical evaluation. As the gas turbine original equipment manufacturer, GE will supply a state-of-the art hydrogen/natural gas blending system and support the project’s planning and execution. Sargent & Lundy, acting as the engineer of record for the project, will provide overall engineering and safety reviews. Airgas is the supplier of renewable hydrogen and Fresh Meadow Power will provide piping system design, material procurement and installation services for the project.  

Participation in National and Global Hydrogen-Focused Groups 

To ensure New York State is at the forefront of hydrogen safety, NYSERDA has joined the Center for Hydrogen Safety, a global community of more than 75 government, industry and national lab participants supporting and promoting hydrogen safety and best practices worldwide across industrial and consumer applications in the energy transition. As a member, NYSERDA will have direct access to global safety best practices on hydrogen, training courses and materials, and a safety panel of experts available for specific demonstration project safety reviews. 

Joining the HyBlend Collaborative Research Partnership

NYSERDA has also joined the HyBlend Collaborative Research Partnership, which is comprised of six national labs and fifteen university/industry partners co-led by NREL and Stony Brook University. This national partnership will generate a database to allow New York to assess the use of existing infrastructure for hydrogen and to develop general principles of operation of blended hydrogen/natural gas delivery systems. 

Long Duration Energy Storage Program  

Finally, NYSERDA will encourage product development and demonstration projects in energy storage that is six-plus hours in duration, otherwise known as long duration energy storage, by making up to $12.5 million in funding available through its Renewable Optimization and Energy Storage Innovation Program.

Project submissions should advance, develop, or field-test hydrogen, electric, chemical, mechanical, or thermal-electric storage technologies that will address cost, performance, and renewable integration challenges in New York State. Submissions must only include innovative long duration energy storage technologies which are yet to be commercialized. Awards will be made for the following project categories: early studies, product development, multi-stage, demonstration projects and federal cost-share. 

Proposals will be accepted in three rounds through June 2022.

Additional details for this solicitation are available on NYSERDA’s website, including proposal submission requirements. 

APPA hydrogen report

The American Public Power Association (APPA) recently released a report that provides a perspective on where the emerging hydrogen market is in the U.S. and globally, what is driving the growing interest in hydrogen and what obstacles are preventing hydrogen technology from being able to scale-up.

The report’s author, Patricia Taylor, Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy and Business Programs at APPA, discussed the report in a recent episode of APPA’s Public Power Now podcast.

Budget For Johnson City, Tenn., Includes Smart Grid And Broadband Upgrades

July 13, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 13, 2021

The board of directors of BrightRidge, the public power utility serving Johnson City, Tenn., has unanimously approved budgets that include funding to build out the utility’s smart grid network and to accelerate the expansion of the broadband services of BrightRidge Broadband by 12 months.

The fiscal year 2022 budget approved for BrightRidge in late June includes plans to issue $28 million in bonds in August to finance to pay for system design and installation of 72 Intellirupter smart switches that reroute electricity automatically in outage events to restore as many customers as quickly as possible while protecting sensitive distribution infrastructure.

Smart switches, such as the Intellirupter, are a key feature of self-healing electric distribution systems and have improved system reliability by as much as 50 percent according to an impact study after 1,100 of the switches were installed at the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga.

The smart switching work is expected to cost $3.9 million. BrightRidge also expects to spend $9.2 million to upgrade substations in the West, Northeast and Gray sections of the its service territory, which are approaching the end of their useful life cycle and in need of overhaul, BrightRidge engineering officials said in a statement.

BrightRidge expects to spend another $3 million over three years to cover electric infrastructure improvements related to the Walnut Street project in downtown Johnson City.

BrightRidge’s new budget did not contain an increase in retail electric rates.

When complete, substation and distribution system improvements will accommodate more load as the region grows, while also providing additional flexibility for quicker power restoration during a storm event that damages electric distribution infrastructure, BrightRidge said.

“In my tenure as BrightRidge chief executive, this has remained a priority item as we believe this offers a critical upgrade to our customers that will dramatically cut outage times,” Jeff Dykes, BrightRidge’s CEO, said in a statement. “These projects move BrightRidge forward when it comes to overall system resilience.”

“With borrowing costs near an all-time low, this is the perfect time for BrightRidge to accelerate these investments,” Dykes said. “As multi-generational investments designed to last for decades, bonding also allows those costs to be spread out over several generations, keeping rates low for customers today and tomorrow.”

The board of directors also approved BrightRidge Broadband’s plan to accelerate broadband deployment, which now is projected to take place in seven years instead of eight.

The plan calls for building out service over the next 12 months to 5,449 potential customers instead of the original 2,940 customers. And in phase five, which begins in July 2023, BrightRidge Broadband plans to add 8,248 customers who would have ultra-high-speed fiber to the premises service available, 5,300 more than originally planned for that phase.

“We are seeing huge broadband demand from our customers,” Dykes said.  “No one in the country matches this level of service. It’s both a point of pride for our community and a key selling point in economic development.”

California Grid Pressured By Heat Wave, Oregon Wildfire That Threatens Transmission Lines

July 12, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 12, 2021

A rapidly growing wildfire in Southern Oregon that threatened transmission lines used to import energy to California, along with continued extreme heat throughout California, put new stresses on the electric grid, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) reported over the weekend.

CAISO on Saturday, July 10, extended a statewide Flex Alert for a second consecutive day and strongly encouraged consumers to conserve as much electricity as possible from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to help keep the grid stable.

Conditions on the electric grid were already a challenge Friday, July 9, when much of California was experiencing triple-digit temperatures, some generating capacity was not available and a Flex Alert was called for the late afternoon and evening, the grid operator noted.

ISO data show demand for electricity did start to drop once Friday’s Flex Alert was in effect and consumer conservation began to take hold. But conditions deteriorated quickly as the Bootleg Fire continued to grow and posed an imminent threat to transmission lines leading into the California Oregon Intertie (COI).

The COI is not only used to import electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the electric grid managed by the ISO, it also imports power into other grid balancing authorities and the state of Nevada, the grid operator noted.

“The fire has been a wildcard for grid operators since it began Tuesday in rural Klamath County reportedly from a lightning strike. The wind-driven blaze, which has forced evacuations and is not projected to be contained for another two weeks, had burned a little less than 40,000 acres by Friday, nearly doubling in size from the day before,” CAISO said.

By Saturday morning, it had nearly doubled in size again and burned more than 76,000 acres.

On Friday afternoon, the ISO issued a formal grid warning, which gives the grid operator authority to initiative emergency demand response programs that compensate electricity customers for conserving. That warning was canceled at 10 p.m. Friday, about the time demand for electricity is typically low.

On Sunday, July 11, CAISO said that with electric transmission lines from Oregon still unreliable due to the Bootleg Fire and continued high temperatures across the West resulting in increased demand for electricity, it was issuing a statewide Flex Alert for Monday, July 12 to help stabilize the state’s electric grid and deal with uncertainty created by the extraordinary conditions. Consumers were also strongly encouraged to continue to conserve as much electricity as possible between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

In addition, the ISO issued a Restricted Maintenance Operations for Monday that requires generators to postpone any planned outages for routine equipment maintenance, ensuring that all available resources can be dispatched to the grid.

The fast-moving Bootleg Fire tripped off transmission lines on Friday and again Saturday, limiting electricity flow from the Pacific Northwest to California and other states. Power supplies to the California ISO service territory, which covers about 80 percent of the state, have been reduced by as much as 3,500 megawatts because of the fire.

California governor signs order to free up additional energy capacity

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday, July 10, signed an executive order to free up additional energy capacity.

Building on Newsom’s emergency proclamation on July 9 which suspended certain permitting requirements to enable the use of back-up power generation, the July 10 order allows the emergency use of auxiliary ship engines to relieve pressure on the electric grid.

Public power plays its part to help alleviate stress on grid

Meanwhile, public power utilities in the state have been proactively working to help alleviate stress on the grid by reminding customers of the ways in which they can help.

For example, in a Saturday night tweet, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) said that “Every bit of energy conservation will help the state power grid right now. A statewide #FlexAlert is in effect until 9 pm tonight. Hold off on the laundry for a bit longer, set AC thermostats to 78 and turn off unnecessary lights and appliances. Thanks LA!”

For its part, SMUD in a tweet said it was asking customers to limit electricity usage in the afternoon of Saturday, July 10, and through the weekend. “The Bootleg Fire in Oregon is impacting critical transmission lines and has reduced imported energy. We’ll use every measure to keep the lights on, but power shortfalls are possible,” SMUD said.

The public power utility said that customers can help by doing the following:

Nebraska Public Power Utilities Make Progress In Restoring Power In Wake Of Storms

July 12, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 12, 2021

Public power utilities in Nebraska continued to make progress over the weekend in restoring power to customers in the wake of outages caused by severe storms that hit the state.

A storm that hit on the night of Friday, July 9, damaged transmission structures as well as local distribution structures in several communities and crews from across the state were called to help restore power as quickly and safely as possible, Nebraska Public Power District (NPDD) reported.

Over the weekend, crews continued restoration work in the hard-hit areas of Plattsmouth and Kearney, Neb., NPPD said. Broken poles and downed trees entangled in power lines continued to be a challenge, especially in Plattsmouth. Power has been restored in the Kearney area.

NPPD said that progress continued to be made in restoring power to the Plattsmouth area with approximately 300 customers still without power. Crews continued to work into the evening hours to restore as many customers as possible, but not all power will be restored, it said. Linemen were back working early Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) and mutual aid crews made good progress Sunday on outages caused by historic, hurricane-force winds that ripped through the service area in the early morning hours Saturday. At its peak, the storm left 188,000 customers without power, OPPD said.

OPPD made significant progress on Saturday, its first restoration day — restoring more than 75,000 customers’ power — more than all outages that were restored following the 2017 Father’s Day tornado.

Because of the magnitude of this event, more than 500 people from OPPD, mutual aid partners and tree-trimming contractors continue to work in the field to make these repairs and re-energize lines, OPPD said on July 11.

The work began in the early morning hours Saturday and will continue 24 hours a day until all customers have power.

Soon after the storm, OPPD’s mutual aid partners reached out to offer help and assistance. “The outpouring was overwhelming and showed how committed the public power industry is to helping each other,” the utility noted.

The weekend storm is the largest in OPPD history, topping storms in 2017, 2008 and 1997. 

“The widespread nature of the severe weather damage has made this storm unique,” said Javier Fernandez, OPPD President and CEO, in a statement. “Rather than isolated outage areas, we have seen broad swaths of extensive tree damage, which can impact power lines and cause outages.”

The complex work involves first removing tree limbs tangled in lines, then making needed repairs to poles and equipment. In some locations, tops of power poles were snapped off or entire poles were flattened to the ground, OPPD said.

ELCON Asks Congress To study How Wholesale Markets Have Affected Consumer Prices

July 9, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 9, 2021

The Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON), leading a coalition of 11 organizations, on July 8 sent a letter to Congressional leaders calling for an independent study on the impacts on consumers of wholesale electric power markets under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The letter requests that the Congressional leaders direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or other independent oversight organization “to undertake a detailed and objective study of the cost of electricity” and specifically of how FERC policies regarding wholesale power markets impact the cost and reliability of delivered power.

“We need regulators who base their policy decisions on objective data and real-world impacts rather than assumptions by advocates,” the signatories said in the letter.

While FERC commissioned a report on the benefits of wholesale competition in the Entergy region in 2010, that study looked at future prices, not actual historical costs and benefits. “To our knowledge, no one has studied the impacts of RTOs [regional transmission organizations] on customer bills,” the letter said.

“Government studies published more than a decade ago regarding wholesale markets claimed to lack the necessary data—the time is right to revisit these issues with fresh data so we can have an informed debate about the impacts of wholesale markets on consumers,” Travis Fisher, president and CEO of ELCON, said in a statement.

ELCON is a national association of large industrial consumers of electricity. ELCON was joined in the request by other industrial consumer advocates, as well as public policy organizations, including Energy Choice Coalition, Public Citizen, Conservative Energy Network, Industrial Energy Consumers of Pennsylvania, Louisiana Energy Users Group, and R Street Institute.

The letter was addressed to the leaders of the energy committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It was also copied to the chairman and commissioners of FERC.

“At minimum,” the letter’s authors said, the study “should examine how existing RTO market structures have impacted the cost of electricity to retail consumers. We also ask that the study explore the reliability impacts of wholesale market structure and, if resources allow, develop a set of best practices regarding RTO expansion.”

The letter cited a letter by nine former FERC chairmen and commissioners who advocated for an expansion of RTOs.

Saying that the requested study is “long overdue,” the signatories also cited a 2008 study in which the GAO said, “there is no consensus about whether RTO markets provide benefits to consumers or how they have influenced consumer electricity prices.”

With “no guidance from federal regulators, states and regions are independently exploring the impacts of RTOs,” the letter says, citing proceedings under way in North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Missouri, and Oregon.

Many of those battles are primarily between incumbent utilities and “a growing chorus of consumers who want more choice, better access to new technologies, or less exposure to the ratepayer risks associated with monopoly utilities,” the signatories said.

The issue is not matter of “historical trivia,” the signatories said, but is “more important than ever” because of three trends: discussions about the voluntary or mandatory expansion of RTOs, state and federal policies driving changes in resource mix that will require large spending increases in transmission infrastructure, and increased electrification to the economy.

NPPD Reports Strong Response To Renewable Energy Request For Proposals

July 9, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 9, 2021

There has been a strong response to a request for proposal (RFP) to provide nearly two million megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy by Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) to support Monolith Materials for its green hydrogen and carbon black operations in Hallam, Neb., NPPD reported on July 9.

The RFP, which was issued earlier this year, resulted in bids for wind, solar, and energy storage projects. 

In order to facilitate Monolith Materials’ proposed $1 billion expansion of its Olive Creek facility, NPPD and Monolith signed a letter of intent outlining the companies’ intentions to procure enough renewable energy resources to generate two million MWh annually.

The Columbus, Neb.-based utility noted that it is developing a short list of proposals from the bids received. Projects could be located physically within the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) footprint with preference to those projects located within Nebraska.

SPP is a regional transmission organization that oversees the bulk electric grid and wholesale power market in the central United States on behalf of a group of utilities and transmission companies in 17 states.

“The approximately two million megawatt-hours of generation would create a sufficient number of renewable energy certificates to meet 100 percent of Monolith’s average annual energy usage and meet their environmental and sustainability goals,” said NPPD President and CEO Tom Kent. “While we are adding additional generation resources, NPPD will continue to maintain our highly competitive rates, which was one of the reasons Monolith moved its operations to Nebraska.  We are very interested in pursuing locations where the local community welcomes these types of investments in wind and solar projects,” he said in a statement.

That short list is expected to be completed later this summer with successful respondents being notified this fall, followed by contract negotiations and eventual board approval. Kent indicated that expectations are that all operations would be in place by Dec. 31, 2025.

A total of 28 different companies provided responses for a mix of wind, solar, storage and clean energy products. This included 21 wind projects totaling nearly 4,000 megawatts, 33 projects for solar amounting to approximately 5,800 megawatts, and electric storage projects amounting to 2,200 megawatts.

The majority of proposals provided locations within Nebraska.

LADWP study will expand its clean energy goals to include social equity

July 7, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 7, 2021

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is expanding its 100 percent renewable energy goal to include social equity and greater community input.

LADWP’s board of directors on June 23 authorized the public power utility to move forward with LA100 Equity Strategies, which aims to incorporate community-driven and equitable outcomes into the goals of the LA100 study completed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in March.

The LA100 study identified multiple paths for LADWP to achieve a 100 percent renewable and carbon dioxide free electric grid by 2045. Since then, LADWP officials and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have moved the 100 percent goal forward to 2035 with interim milestones of 80 percent renewable energy and 97 percent carbon dioxide free energy by 2030.

LA100 Equity Strategies grew out of LA100’s finding that all communities will share in the benefits of the clean energy transition but improving equity in participation and outcomes would require intentionally designed policies and programs.

“While LA100 found that we can achieve 100 percent renewable energy and a carbon-free grid, and do so reliably, we recognized the need for legitimate and substantive engagement with our communities and stakeholders if we are to lead the state and nation on decarbonization and create a model that other utilities can replicate,” Cynthia McClain-Hill, president of LADWP’s board, said in a statement. “LA100 Equity Strategies is a critical next step on the path to 100 percent renewables, with the goal of lifting up all Angelenos so that everyone will share in the benefits of clean energy.”

LADWP’s board authorized NREL to lead LA100 Equity Strategies in cooperation with the Luskin Center for Innovation at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The equity study will incorporate the analysis and findings of the LA100 study and look for ways to achieve specific outcomes that will be identified through a stakeholder engagement process. “Every neighborhood of Los Angeles is unique, and this will be a neighborhood-level, community-driven process,” McClain-Hill said. “Beginning with the very first stage, LA100 Equity Strategies will bring together environmental justice communities and stakeholders to identify and prioritize what outcomes they would like the study to analyze.”

LADWP’s equity metrics initiative identified disparities in low-income and underserved communities in participation in customer-focused clean energy programs such as customer rooftop solar, electric vehicle and charging station rebates, smart thermostat rebates, and other programs designed to help customers save energy and money.

The study will examine a set of goals that could include:

LADWP “must ensure that customers who are impacted by poor air quality and have the least ability to afford higher electric bills are able to benefit from the clean energy transformation,” Martin Adams, LADWP’s general manager and chief engineer, said in a statement.

Adams discussed the LA100 study in a recent episode of the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Now podcast.

Santee Cooper signs contracts for solar power

July 7, 2021

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
July 7, 2021

Santee Cooper, the state-owned public power utility in South Carolina, has signed contracts to take about 27.5 percent of the output of five planned solar power projects in South Carolina totaling 425 megawatts (MW).

Central Electric Power Cooperative, Santee Cooper’s largest customer, has signed contracts to take the remaining share of the output of the solar projects.

Santee Cooper will manage the solar projects as part of its combined power system. As the aggregator for South Carolina’s individual electric cooperatives, Central Electric Power Cooperative represents about 72.5 percent of the system’s load.

The 425 MW of solar power would be equal to nearly 40 percent of the currently installed solar capacity in South Carolina.

The largest of the planned solar installations are two 100-MW projects being built, owned and operated by Silicon Ranch, the solar power platform of Shell. The Lambert I and Lambert II projects are sited in Georgetown County, South Carolina, and are expected online in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Birdseye Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of Dominion Energy, is developing a 75-MW solar farm in Aiken County, also expected online in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Ecoplexus is developing the 75-MW Hemingway project in Williamsburg County that is expected online in the second quarter of 2023.

Johnson Development Associates is developing a 75-MW solar farm near Summerville, in Dorchester County that is expected online in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The four developers were chosen through a request for proposals (RFP) a year ago that was jointly analyzed by Santee Cooper and Central Electric Power Cooperative.

The RFP process yielded 58 project proposals totaling more than 3,600 MW.

Santee Cooper said the recently contracted solar projects represent the first of three phases it is planning as it as it transforms its generating portfolio to a leaner, greener mix. The next phases, of another approximately 500 MW each, are scheduled for later in this decade and in the early years of the next decade.

Celebrating public power in America series – Part 3: Celebrating Public Power’s Attributes and Addressing Municipalization

July 7, 2021

by APPA News
July 7, 2021

The American Public Power Association concludes our second three-part newsletter by highlighting public power systems that demonstrate a commitment to local communities, ongoing innovation, and resiliency. We conclude the series by exploring how discussions about municipalization and community choice aggregation efforts have touched local communities. 

Public Power’s Local Commitment

Mason County PUD 1 is the first and oldest operating public utility district in Washington State, formed by Washington State Initiative No. 1 in 1934 and began operations in February of 1935. Mason PUD 1 serves water, power and wastewater services to just over 8,300 meters in Mason and south Jefferson Counties along the beautiful Hood Canal. With a lean staff of just 25 total employees and an operating budget of about $11.8 million, Mason PUD 1’s team wears several hats and has a knack for making equipment and infrastructure last as long as they can, which helps reserve budget for prioritized projects.

The PUD has a throwback customer service model; one that is rare to find in 2021 in any industry. While the utility has expanded its digital platforms and presence, especially during the pandemic, the employees still have a special personal connection with their community. Customers knit hats for the workers during the winter months, bake cookies and holiday snacks to drop off to the crews, and can identify the customer service representatives by the sounds of their voices over the phone. Linemen still rescue cats out of trees and hang banners for local service clubs. Many of the utility’s employees grew up in the area and have deep ties in the community.

This special relationship with the public helped Mason PUD 1 navigate some tough challenges at the beginning of the pandemic. Supply chain issues caused shortages for things like PPE, supplies to conduct water system testing, and even basic office supplies to keep the offices open. While the PUD prides itself on its commitment to spend public funds locally whenever feasible, this supply chain interruption had them looking internally toward local vendors and community members to help bridge the gaps. Thanks to newly forged and existing partnerships, homemade masks were donated by community members and hand sanitizer was made by the local distillery who kept bottles just for first responders like the PUD.

Arrangements were made for the fleet to fuel up at small local gas stations along the highway. Local restaurants that were limited to take-out only during the statewide shutdown started delivering lunch to the office each week. The local Costco store took orders for toilet paper, paper towels, and bleach wipes and held them off to the side to be picked up for the office. The community stepped up to help the men and women who always came through for them during storms and outages all year long.

The Mason PUD 1 administrative team also worked tirelessly to secure CARES Act funding for customer bill arrearages, having to go to great lengths to convince statewide county leaders that sharing the funds with public utility districts was not only an allowable use of the funds, but the proper intent of the Act to support households struggling financially due to the pandemic. The PUD also partnered with several community organizations to connect customers with financial assistance for utility bills, rent and food. Thanks to their efforts, they were able to apply over $57,000 in CARES Act funds to customer bills in addition to thousands of dollars of assistance through community action councils and other private and nonprofit agencies.

To celebrate their 85th anniversary of public service in 2020, they reimagined their annual customer appreciation BBQ into a drive through event to stay within the parameters of the statewide restrictions on gatherings. The PUD typically hosts 300-400 customers during this annual event, but in 2020 they had nearly double the number of visitors drive through their campus for the free PUD gift bags, burgers and hot dogs, conservation kits and to show their support during public power week. Many customers thanked the PUD for not giving up on the event, saying it was the first time since the pandemic started that they had ventured out of their homes for anything other than doctors appointments or to pick up groceries. The volume of visitors was a reflection of the high esteem in which the community held their public utility district and the value of the PUD to Mason County. The employees and commissioners of Mason PUD 1 felt the same way about the customers they serve.

Public Power Systems are Innovative

CDE Lightband offers electricity, internet, video and voice services with speed and superior performance and the convenience of 24/7 local support to the City of Clarksville, Tennessee. The service area, consisting of 100 square miles within the municipal boundaries, includes 971 miles of power lines and 1,045 miles of fiber optic cable. Their world-class fiber optic network keeps electric costs low and allows CDE Lightband to deliver exceptional products and constant innovation. As a result, the network provides savings of over $10 million annually in operating costs and over $5 million annually in income for electrical grid improvements, resulting in half as many large-scale power outages compared to peer cities.

Currently, CDE Lightband has 65,594 residential electric accounts and 8,760 commercial electric accounts while broadband has 24,679 residential accounts and 1,857 commercial accounts. 

Additionally, access to a nationally recognized network increases home values by 3% (or an average of over $5,000) according to the Fiber to the Home Council. Based on access to the superior digital products provided by CDE Lightband, Clarksville has been designated as a first 50 “Next Century City.” 

CDE Lightband staff includes over 200 full-time employees, a management team with over 100 years of combined industry expertise, and governance provided by a board of five local business leaders.

CDE Lightband built a robust fiber-to-the-premise network in early 2007 to develop and expand their meter data management system, remote meter management and their SCADA system for improved electric service reliability, faster restoration, and for operational efficiencies. Also, in 2007, CDE Lightband entered the broadband business, delivering high-speed Internet, voice over IP phone services and IPTV services, all via the active Ethernet fiber to the premise network.

From its inception, the broadband division of CDE Lightband faced a great many challenges in access to capital, technology restrictions, and growing pains as they worked to get the network performing and the customer base growing. To foster the needed growth and capital-intensive equipment needs, the broadband division borrowed $17 million from the electric division with a loan agreement requiring annual payments and interest charges.  

The management and staff at CDE Lightband put an “all hands on deck” approach to developing and growing the broadband business. A focus on product development, marketing, sales training and incentives for sales staff helped to grow the business and the customer base exponentially. Further focus on processes, equipment and product offering changes, and a significant focus on the network itself, fostered the development of a network and product offering unsurpassed in the region. CDE Lightband has been recognized nationally and within the state as one of the top three fastest Internet providers. CDE Lightband has risen to the position of being one of the most competitive service providers, offering speeds from 250 Mbps up to 10 Gig, a new streaming product for video services and phone services for businesses that provides premier products in Hosted PBX services. 

As the electric division of CDE Lightband owns and maintains the fiber network, the broadband division must pay annual lease payments, loan payments and shared cost allocations totaling upwards of $10 million annually. This has allowed the electric division to build and/or upgrade six substations for a total of $29 million plus an over $16 million campus upgrade and remodel, all out of cash funds rather than take these large investments to the bond market. Other electric grid improvements funded by broadband include grid automation, AMI and right-of-way for a total of $10 million annually.  

Fourteen years later, CDE Lightband broadband boasts a penetration rate over 30% within the market with over 25,000 customers and growing. They are the preferred primary provider for two local governments, the school system, hospital and university along with many other enterprise level customers and small businesses.  The revenues driven by solid residential and business growth over the past years have positioned CDE Lightband broadband ahead of many peers in achieving financial independence from their electric brother to include a complete pay-off of the $17 million interdivision loan 17 years earlier than projected. This initial investment has paid huge dividends to the electric division with a calculated return on investment over the life of the loan of over $74 million. A solid investment decision that led to success for both entities and a leap of faith that helped CDE Lightband soar. Now, with the successful launch of Smartband, powered by Plume, CDE Lightband offers customers a revolutionary home WiFi system, bringing in over $28,000 a month in additional revenue.

This high level of performance has not gone unnoticed. The energy services team recently received two major awards from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s “EnergyRight” program: Top Performer and Innovator of the Year. CDE Lightband was also designated as APPA’s Smart Energy Provider, one of only two utilities in the Tennessee Valley Authority territory to receive this designation, and received the highest achievable Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation once again, the Diamond Level, for providing reliable and safe electric service. CDE Lightband joins over 275 public power utilities nationwide that hold the RP3 designation.

Public Power Communities are Resilient

The public power business model has embodied an American tradition deeply rooted in local communities. In our small town revitalization series last week, Colin Hansen, Chair of APPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Kansas Municipal Utilities, spoke to one of the defining characteristics of public power utilities: resiliency. Or just plain grit

At the 2021 APPA National Conference, he shared an example from Kansas with attendees. It embodies the spirit of public power dating back to 1881: local communities coming together to provide an essential service, rather than go without. Even in modern times. 

Greensburg, Kansas is a small town. At 9:45pm on the night of May 4, 2007 it was struck by a violent, 1.7-mile wide EF-5 category tornado. It killed 11 people, injured 63 others, and destroyed 95% of the town. It left 90% of Greensburg’s 1,383 residents homeless and had caused some $250 million in damages. 

Hansen said, “It was on that day that this small town was quite literally blown off the face of the earth.” 

But public power mobilizes when tragedy strikes. Even with an outpouring of public power assistance arriving on scene, “we quickly realized that…there was simply nothing left to connect to,” he said. 

Undeterred, the City of Greensburg found the grit to reinvent itself.  Hansen said they “put the ‘green’ in Greensburg. They created the nation’s first model green community from the ground up – 100% renewable wind energy, first city in the U.S. to use all LED streetlights, and home to the most LEED buildings per capita in the country.” This resiliency and rebirth later collected numerous awards and recognition, including from both former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. 

Municipalization

Early municipal utilities were built on public power’s core values — affordability, reliability and sustainability. Today, these values are prompting other communities to explore what it would take to transfer ownership of the electric utility to the community from an incumbent shareholder-owned utility. Known as “municipalization,” this long and arduous process often involves perfect timing, dedicated communication with stakeholders, and a delicate balancing act with the demands of the incumbent utility.  

Many communities have and continue to float the idea of becoming public power and while some have tabled or abandoned their efforts, 88 communities have successfully municipalized since APPA began tracking this data in 1973, including 20 since 2000.

The reasons communities explore the public power or the municipalization option vary from year to year and amongst communities. Ultimately, it’s about having local control over a community’s energy future. Communities pursue public power to reduce rates, increase reliability, or to provide better customer service.

In recent years, many communities have pursued public power to have more environmentally friendly options — such as an increase in renewable energy or greater access to energy efficiency programs.

The City of Winter Park, Florida, formed a public power utility in 2005 to improve reliability. Winter Park’s effort was sparked by persistent problems with the incumbent investor owned utility. The private utility’s franchise was nearing expiration and included a clause allowing the city to buy the distribution system at the end of that period. In 2003, residents turned out in droves and voted overwhelmingly – by 69% – in favor of the city’s plan to form a municipal electric utility. The utility began operations in 2005 and committed to use all revenues from its electricity sales – except for a contribution it agreed to make to the city’s general fund – for capital improvements. The city committed to undertake a strong program to improve electric service reliability, in part by putting a significant portion of the power lines underground.

The City of Hermiston, Oregon, formed Hermiston Energy Services in 2001 following a four-year effort

that began because the local investor-owned utility closed its local customer service office, and citizens determined that the company’s service levels were declining. Customers can now pay bills and address service concerns in person at the local office.

Not all municipalization efforts result in the formation of a public power utility. However, simply evaluating the possibility ensures that community leaders have a better understanding of their energy needs and the evaluation process often garners concessions from the incumbent utility.

For the residents of Boulder, Colorado, local control meant knowing where their electricity came from and having a plan to increase renewable resources. At first, the focus was on renegotiating the city’s franchise agreement with investor-owned Xcel Energy, which was due to expire in 2010. However, when they felt their needs could not be met with a new franchise agreement, the city began efforts to separate itself from Xcel in earnest in 2011. When Boulder began its effort, Xcel’s generation portfolio was heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The city and Xcel initiated discussions to explore different options to reach its energy goals as Xcel began moving away from fossil fuels and has since pledged to have zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. In 2020, the city and Xcel entered settlement discussions, though there are off ramps to municipalization in the future if the city’s needs are not met.

Wichita, Kansas began looking at the public power option because of increasingly high electric rates from the incumbent utility. In February 2001, the city released a municipalization feasibility study showing it could save as much as $654 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years. The feasibility study gave Wichita the leverage it needed: six months later, $28 million in electric rate relief was headed for Wichita. The rate cut ordered by the Kansas Corporation Commission gave electric utility customers in the city about 85% of the rate relief that a consultant’s study said the city could achieve if it were to take over the power system.

While communities have been exploring the municipalization option for decades, APPA has seen increased interest in the public power option in recent years.

In Maine, lawmakers passed legislation on June 30 (in a 77-68 bipartisan vote) that would create a consumer-owned utility called Pine Tree Power. If L.D. 1708 becomes law, Mainers would vote on the question of consumer ownership at the ballot box in November.

The envisioned entity would take over the electric service now provided by Central Maine Power and Versant Power (formerly known as Emera Maine), which are majority owned by Spain’s Iberdrola and Canada’s Emera, respectively. In a recent editorial, Maine’s Portland Press Herald said it supports the bill. “The new utility would be governed independently, use no state funds and the taxpayers would not be on the hook for any of its debt. We don’t need to be scared about a different business model, especially when the one we have now is not working,” the editorial said.  Research conducted by SurveyUSA, for local proponents, showed public opinion polling with 75% of registered voters from across the state supporting the idea of replacing Central Maine Power and Versant with a local non-profit consumer-owned utility.  

Community Choice Aggregation

A newer type of municipal control has more recently emerged in which local entities, where applicable, form community choice aggregators (CCAs) to buy generation resources on behalf of local consumers.  The CCAs generally form to secure more control over the local energy mix (such as to procure more renewables) and/or to lower costs for consumers from incumbent investor-owned utilities. Eight states have enacted legislation enabling the formation of CCAs, with California’s CCA movement especially prolific. Whereas public power utilities are traditionally vertically-integrated utilities – providing all or some combination of generation, transmission, and distribution services plus localized public benefit programs – CCAs are typically formed to buy generation resources and utilize incumbent infrastructure. 

Realizing the nexus between traditional public power utilities and the nascent CCAs, APPA created a new CCA membership category in 2018 to extend resources to this emerging industry segment.

The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide.  We celebrate our members that strengthen their communities by providing superior service, engaging citizens, and instilling pride in community-owned power.

Public power utilities prepare for arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa

July 6, 2021

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 6, 2021

Florida public power utilities have completed preparations for and are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Elsa, which is expected to make landfall along Florida’s Nature Coast early on the morning of Wednesday, July 7.

“In preparation for the storm, the Florida Municipal Electric Association has activated its mutual aid network,” said Amy Zubaly, Executive Director, Florida Municipal Electric Association, in a July 6 statement.

She noted that electric crews and resources from fellow public power utilities both within the state and from nearby states, including Georgia and Alabama, were on standby and ready to assist with power restoration efforts if needed. She said that as with any emergency, public power is committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible for customers.

“Our preparation efforts begin well before the start of hurricane season, and our mutual aid coordination efforts will continue right up until and immediately following landfall. We thank all the lineworkers and power restoration crews that are part of our mutual aid network for being at the ready to help impacted Florida communities,” she said.

Several public power utilities in the state noted that they are keeping a close watch on the tropical storm.

For example, Keys Energy Services (KEYS) said in a message posted on its website that it is prepared to restore service as quickly as possible if electrical facilities are damaged by Tropical Storm/Hurricane Elsa. 

It said that crews will be in the field working until sustained winds exceed 35 miles per hour. At that time, all crews will be called in from the field. If power outages occur at this time, KEYS will not attempt to restore power until after the storm has passed. Additionally, KEYS will not intentionally shut power off in advance of a tropical weather event, it said. Essential utility employees will be on standby to begin the restoration process once it is safe to do so, it said.

KEYS noted that it has a number of agreements in place so that, if needed, emergency supplies and additional crews from other utilities will quickly mobilize to assist in the restoration effort. “KEYS has established priorities for storm restoration that are intended to emphasize health, safety, and essential community services and to restore service in a manner that will affect the greatest number of customers first. The time required to restore power will largely be due to the extent of damage to our system. Restoration crews will work as quickly as possible to restore power,” the utility said.

KEYS is the public power utility for the Lower Florida Keys. Headquartered in Key West, Florida, KEYS provides electricity from Key West to the Seven-Mile Bridge and serves more than 28,000 customers.

The Weather Channel on July 6 noted that a hurricane watch had been issued for a part of Florida’s immediate west-central and Big Bend coast including much of the Tampa Bay metro area.

“Although Elsa is not officially forecast to reach hurricane strength, there is some possibility of that happening right before landfall on Wednesday, but that would not significantly change the expected impacts,” it said.

Santee Cooper

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Santee Cooper on July 2 noted that its personnel were making preparations for the anticipated effects that Elsa may have on Santee Cooper’s service territory.

As of 2 p.m. on July 2, Santee Cooper, the state-owned public power utility in South Carolina, went to OpCon 4 alert status. This means there is a possible threat to Santee Cooper’s electric system, but effects may be limited or uncertain.

At OpCon 4, the utility is primarily:

In a July 6 email, Nicole Aiello, Manager of Public Relations at Santee Cooper, noted that in addition to these precautions, Santee Cooper has made work plans for transmission and distribution crews, Energy Control Center and Distribution Control Center team members, and customer service representatives in its Customer Care Center.

She said extra crews will be on standby to assist with restoration efforts, as needed.

“We also reached out to APPA mutual aid crews and contract crews, including tree crews, and they are on standby should we need them. We have three helicopters also on standby. We will continue to closely monitor the storm and are prepared to restore power outages as quickly as crews can safely get to them,” she said.