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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2007APPROVED REVISED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Friday, January 12, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7:1 S A.111. MEMBERS PRESENT: Joel Freeman, Arlene Haas, Stephen Mereu, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Michael Smith, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: David Cook, Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Rudy Wolfson, Chair THANK YOU TO MR. RUDY WOLFSON FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE AS PRESIDENT OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS! I. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Wolfson (chair) called the meeting to order at 7:19 a.m., a quorum being present. Mr. Wolfson introduced Ms. Mary Gavin from the Evamlon Round Table, who was observing the Energy Commission meeting. II. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 8, 2006* Mr. Siegfriedt presented the following revisions to the minutes of the December 8, 2006 meeting: Page 1: The acronym "MPA" %%-as corrected to "MVA." Page 2, second paragraph, last 2 sentences: "Com Ed has consistently for the past year been supplied by 75% (not 90%) nuclear power. Mr. Siegfriedt added that nuclear energy is one of the cleanest forms of energy, but the source of the other 25% (not 10%) of their energy has a significant impact on the environment, especially in the summer." Page 4, under recent outages: the name "Amren" was corrected to "Ameren," and it was not Mr. Siegfriedt who suggested that the human resources being applied to the repairs may be inadequate. The Commission voted by majority with one abstaining, to approve the minutes as amended.* Energy Commission Page 2 1-12-07 EC Minutes III. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Energy Supply, Conservation & Alternative Energy Sources Mr. Freeman reported that the warm weather trend continues to keep electrical as well as gas prices down. B. Governmental Policy and Legislative/Regulatory Actions Ms. Haas reported on the latest bills in the Illinois Legislature concerning rate caps. The issue has not yet been resolved. C. Oversight, Monitoring & Inspection Actions Mr. Marino reported that a meeting with the Technical Review Group and ComEd will be held in late February or early March regarding actions on oversight, monitoring and inspections. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested we gather some typical issues to have ComEd address at that meeting. Mr. Wolfson suggested raising the issue of substations at that time. D. Distribution Systems Franchise Agreements The Commission discussed articles in The New York Times regarding an energy cooperative and the use of coal. Mr. Wolfson asked for Mr. Siegfriedt's comment on the issue of coal. Mr. Siegfriedt explained that it is very expensive to take the CO2 out of coal emissions as is research to remove it before emissions. Research into practical CO2 capture technology is at the point where it may bear fruit in the 24 year time frame. E. Chairman's Report IV. ENERGY PURCHASING PLANS Mr. Cook reported that the purchase of electricity from Constellation New Energy (CNE) went smoothly. Mr. Andy Dickerson, of CNE, worked with the Public Works Department to help with negotiation for water rates, which are tied to electricity rates. Mr. Cook said he will provide a monthly report/spreadsheet showing how electricity is being used. The Energy Commission members agreed that they would appreciate that report. CNE is not providing street lighting. ComEd is still giving a discount, however future rates have not yet been resolved. Free electric service will be provided until next summer to the Fire and Police stations, the air conditioning portion of the Civic Center, the city garage and the service center. Mr. Cook consulted with the Commission on the magnetic frequency of a large substation on Emerson and whether it poses a health hazard. The Commission agreed that there is no substantiating evidence that electric current causes a health hazard, and also that distance may be a factor. Using an electro-magnetic flux meter, which measures current, was discussed. Some members of the Commission will provide Mr. Cook with articles and some information they have gathered on *Documents enclosed Energy Commission 1-12-07 EC Minutes Page 3 the subject. Mr. Cook «1Il consult Com Ed for further investigation of the specific site. He will be reporting back to the City on his findings. Mr. Cook reported that Mr. Rubin will no longer be working in his current capacity in the Facilities Management Department after March 1, 2007. Mr. Rubin has been providing reports on recent outages and a sort analysis of ComEd data Mr. Marino said that outage data is submitted by ComEd every 6 months, and that Planning Division staff could analyze that. Mr. Cook offered that outages will continue to be posted on the City's website. The goal to seek LEED Certification on the new fire station was commended by the Commission. V. FRANCHISE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Mr. Marino reviewed the typical projects included in the last franchise agreement. Members concurred that none of these projects should be removed from the list of ComEd obligations in the next franchise agreement. The Commission discussed ComEd's reliability issues of the last 2.5 years. Exhibit II of the franchise agreement: The Commission discussed bringing up the following issues at the February meeting between ComEd and the Technical Review Group: 1. Service interruption. 2. Tree trimming. 3. Conservation. 4. The economic development issue, i.e. ComEd's enhancement of capacity in the form of a commitment to new feeders to aid Evanston Hospital and the downtmm area. A discussion of the City's needs ensued. The City will examine whether the need for more feeders in specific areas needs to be addressed at the February 15u' meeting. 5. The changing reference points ComEd uses to determine at which point feeders are overloaded. The Commission agreed to recommend questioning ComEd again on their criteria. 6. Gas monitors: Mr. Siegfriedt suggested asking for a periodic list of transformers that were tested in the period, Also, critical transformers, because the oil testing does not provide an early indicator of shorting, perhaps continuous monitoring of the gases above the oil should be requested. VI. RECENT OUTAGES Mr. Marino reported that there were some minor outages, and that one citizen has complained of a chronic outage problem. *Documents enclosed Energy Commission 1-12-07 EC Minutes VII. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Commission voted unanimously to elect the following officers: Chairman: Vice Chairman: Secretary: Joel Freeman William Siegfriedt Paul Morse Mr. Wolfson will remain a member until July, when his second term ends. Page 4 VIII. COMMUNICATIONS The New York Times article discussed some serious outages and curious chronic outages in the New York area, and renewable energy bonds program. Mr. Siegfriedt stated that the article by Thomas Friedman appeared to be accurate, information -wise. The Commission discussed the research process for the elimination of COI and the use of ethanol as an alternative to gas. IIX. OTHER BUSINESS The Commission discussed a survey sent to by the City of Evanston to Evanston residents, evaluating the City's Boards and Commissions. Mr. Marino had responded that the Energy Commission's role is to monitor ComEd, conservation, alternative energy source investigation, renewables, and the enhancement of the district's system, noting that these objectives align with the Strategic Goals of the City. Mr. Marino will provide a copy of his response at the next Energy Commission meeting. Mr. Siegfriedt also responded to the survey. X. COMMUNICATIONS XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Exec. Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/3284080 (TDD). *Documents enclosed i Energy Commission Page S 1-12-07 EC Minutes COMMUNICATIONS FOR ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING December 8, 2006 Minutes Minutes of November 3, 2006 Documents 11/6106 Memo from Energy Commission to Planning and Development Committee regarding Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment — Solar Panels I I/16106 Memo from Dennis Marino to David Cook and Max Rubin regarding Electric Power Purchase Resolution 74-R-06 for the Purchase of Electrical Power for the City of Evanston 2007 Energy Commission Meeting Schedule News Releases 10/06 Illinois Issues article: "The Dirt on Clean Energy" 10106 Illinois Issues article: "Ddjri Vu" 10106 Illinois Issues article: "Is Nuclear Energy the Answer?" 10/06 New York Times article: "In Deregulation, Power Plants Turn Into Blue Chips" }Documents enclosed APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Frida}, February Z 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7. 15 A.1If. MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Haas, Stephen Mereu, Paul Morse, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZEN PRESENT: Irvin Levinson PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Freeman (Chair) called the meeting to order at 7:26 a.m., a quorum being present. Mr. Freeman thanked Mr. Irvin Levinson for attending the Energy Commission meeting. II. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF January 12, 2007* Mr. Siegfricdt's corrections of the following were approved: In Section III. D. and Section VII1, in the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide, the numeral " 2" is a subscript, not a superscript. The following sentence was added to Section III: "Research into practical COz capture technology is at the point where it may bear fruit in the 20 year time frame." Section V: The phrase "and their position on re -powering when the franchise is renewed." is to be removed. Section V. #6: Correction: "The testing in not of the oil level, but of the oil content of an indicator of shorting. He suggested 2 possible requests: Asking for a periodic list of transformers that were tested in the period. Also, critical transformers, because the oil testing does not provide an early indicator of shorting, perhaps continuous monitoring of the gases above the oil should be requested." Mr. Wolfson presented the revision on Page 4, Paragraph 3, that he will be a member until July, 2007 — (not Chair) — approved. *Document attached Energy Commission Page 2 2-2-07 EC_N1tg_Notes Mr. Morse suggested that corrections of Page 2 second paragraph of the December 2006 minutes be further discussed at a later meeting — approved. Page 2, Section III, C: Mr. Mereu made the correction from the word "atypical" to "typical" — approved. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes as amended.* III. COM ED QUARTERLY REPORT Mr. Marino presented the Gam Ed Quarterly report. He noted the following: • The duration numbers of Evanston and Com Ed's rose over the last month • Interruptions by cause compared to 2004 and 2005 are similar • The Energy Commission had negotiated for Skokie/Techny's non -storm data to be included • Summer -critical wort: (work to be completed before summer arrives), (Project 5) planned for substations will be discussed at the Technical Review Group (TRG) meeting • Circuit -loading report listing circuits Ioaded over 90% • On February 15ei the Com Ed Outage Report will be used by the Technical Review Group to assess causes of outages and corrective action Mr. Freeman noted that the malfunction in underground has rose over the last couple of years. The Commission discussed interpretation of the data: the average length of outage is for the month listed, of that year. Mr. Marino noted that Com Ed's are exceeding Evanston's. Mr. Morse noted that the trend is up since the middle of 2005. Mr. Marino stated that the standard number of interruptions is stable, but the duration is of concern. Mr. Freeman asked if any projects in the report were initiated by anyone other than Com Ed, to which Mr. Morse replied that in the reporting process, Com Ed sticks to their own list of projects. IV. FEBRUARY TRG (Technical Review Group) MEETING Mr. Marino stated that the following topics are to be discussed at the TRG meeting: • Underground failure (reported in Com Ed Quarterly Report) • Summer -critical data in the Com Ed Quarterly Report • Circuit 615 (affecting eastern downtown and southern Northwestern campus) • Dave Metz to be involved if schedule permits • Outage report to be discussed at TRG Pre -meeting • Substations • Documentation of system *Document attached. Energy Commission 2-2-07_EC Mtg_Notes Page 3 V. RECENT OUTAGES Mr. Marino explained that Mr. Rubin will no longer be working out of the Facilities Management Department, but will do one more analysis of the outage data. Issues relating to emergency service have not yet been re -assigned. The Planning Division will continue to address issues relating to the franchise. VI. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION The missions of the Energy Commission as well as the Environmental Board, as stated in excerpts from the Evanston City Code were discussed. Mr. Freeman stated that the municipalization of distribution system no longer needs to be addressed by the Energy Commission, as the issue has been resolved. He listed the following issues to be revisited in relation to the mission, to give the Commission more definition and a current perspective: • Rationale • Establishment • Organization • Powers and duties • Periodic review of accomplishments • Compare EC's role to Environmental Board and evaluate • Direction • Operation Ms. Haas suggested the following be addressed in considering the mission, which is part of a Ietter to the Energy Commission and Mayor Morton: "In response to the review of the City of Evanston's boards and commissions, I would like to recommend that the membership of the Energy Commission reflect greater diversity. Currently, there are no people of color and only one woman sitting on the Energy Commission. In addition, the Commission has been largely comprised of members who have a background in engineering. The technical nature of some of the Energy Commission's work makes it critical to have some members nth an engineering perspective. However, it is equally as important to have other professions represented on the Commission. By broadening the types of professions included in the Energy Commission's membership, the Commission may also be more successful in finding members who reflect greater racial and gender diversity. Mare diversity would better represent and serve the people of Evanston." The Commission discussed: • Who controls application process • Who is invited to join the Commission • The number of members/adding a minimum number of members to represent consumer demographic • An advisory board • The Commission's reports sent to Administration and Public Works (A&PW) are shared with City Council and 100 others -- Who else should receive? 'Document attached. Energy Commission 2-2-07 EC Mtg_Notes • Should the Commission address gas energy as well as electricity? • Do we want to serve as a facilitator to businesses? • What scope of responsibility can the Energy Commission manage? • Use energy policy as a guide for re -crafting policy/mission • Has the process accomplished what it set out to do? • Guidelines must be updated as times change Page 4 It was stated that the mission of the Energy Commission is decided by the City Council and that it has been modified from time to time since 1993, when it was created. Ms. Haas and Mr. Mercu were recruited to draft an amended ordinance. Ms. Haas and Mr. Mereu mill be working from the original ordinance. Mr. Freeman asked them to explore the issues in their draft which include education, public outreach, communication and incentives. VII. FRANCHISE GOALS AND OB3ECTWES Mr. Marino stated that in July 2007, the extension of the franchise ends. He suggested the Commission discuss the franchise agreement at the June I meeting. The following franchise issues were discussed: • Level of reporting: satisfactory to the needs of the Commission • Consistency: Cam Ed does not report things the same way from one report to the next • Frequency of reports: satisfied • Outage reports: every 6 months • Legal representation: only necessary if major changes to structure of franchise are made • The system of 3-year extensions: working well (in relation to de -regulation) • Initial terms of pricing • Bankruptcy: future reliability regardless of bankruptcy, workforce retirement and reinforcement of new workers - How is Com Ed addressing? How does franchise agreement address? • Minimum service threshold: definition thereof • Renewable energy/credits (What do credits go towards?) • Method of compensation — "free" electricity, infrastructure fee, etc. • Com Ed facilities - Substations: • Part of Church Street in particular — for lease by the City, (not for purchase) for parking use • Possible relocation of other substations essential for purpose of future development — criteria; reasonability; cost • Documentation of substation system/arrangements Mr. Levinson suggested the Commission research carefully what type of green energy we are talking about — some types can be counterproductive (for example, to produce bamboo as renewable resource, tropical forests are destroyed). *Document attached. Energy Commission 2-2-07_EC_Mtg.Notes V1II. ENERGY PURCHASING PROGRAM UPDATE No report. IX. COMMUNICATIONS Discussed in relation to other topics. X. COMMITTEE REPORTS None discussed. Page 5 XI. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Marino will arrange a trip to the Com Ed facility in Joliet, Illinois with Mike Radzowicz. Mr. Freeman announced that City Manager, Julia Carroll, will give her first annual report on the city government's progress toward sustainability and Dave Cieslewicz, the Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, will speak about the innovative ways Madison's government is finding to include citizens' participation in efforts towards sustainability, at the Earth Day Program 2007 event, "Can Our Grandkids Trust Us? Evanston and Global Warming" on April 29th, 2007, at Beth Emet Synagogue in Evanston. The Energy Commission was asked to be a co-sponsor of the event (at no expense to the Commission). The Committee voted unanimously to co-sponsor the event %vith The Network for Evanston's Future. X1I. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:12 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Dubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/3284080 (TDD) 'Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday; Alarch 2, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7.ISA.Af. MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Haas, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZEN PRESENT: . Mary Garin PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Freeman (Chair) called the meeting to order at 7:22 a.m., a quorum being present. Mr. Freeman thanked Ms. Gavin for attending the Energy Commission meeting. II. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF FEBRUARY 2, 2007* Mr. Siegfriedt's corrections of the follo%%ing were approved: In Section VI, first paragraph, a correction was made to Mr. Freeman's comment stating that the municipalization of distribution system no longer needs to be addressed by the Energy Commission, as "it has been achieved." It now reads: "the issue has been resolved." The agenda will be amended to include "Energy Policy" as an item. The Commission voted by majority «ith one abstaining to approve the February 2, 2007 meeting notes as amended.* III. COM ED QUARTERLY REPORT Mr. Marino presented the data sorted by Mr. Rubin from the Com Ed Semi- annual outage report in combination «ith the Com Ed Quarterly Report. IV. SIX MONTH OUTAGE REPORT FROM COM ED Mr. Rubin had combined the data «ith the first 6 months' report to show a continuum of data through the full year of 2006 sorted by date, line/circuit, voltage, number of customers affected, index, duration, isolation, and cause. The Commission discussed the follov-ing: * The duration of outages is a prevailing issue. 'Document attached Energy Commission 3-2-07_EC_Mtg_Notes Page 2 • Feeders 4713 and 4716 to be discussed at TRG meeting as their outages affect a significant number of customers. • Underground problems rising over time -- are underground cables old? Hard to access for repair? What is remedy? (to be addressed at TRG meeting) • Mr. Marino will send the sorted data to Com Ed and the issues discussed will be in an agenda for the TRG meeting. V. TRG (Technical Revietiv Group) MEETING -- MARCH 16, 2007 Mr. Marino vdll notify the Commission as to the location of the meeting. The following topics as illustrated in the sorted data prepared by Mr. Rubin (above) are to be discussed at the TRG meeting (as listed in February 2007 meeting notes): • Underground failure causes? (reported in Com Ed Quarterly Report) • Summer -critical work plans in the Com Ed Quarterly Report • Circuit 615 (affecting eastern downtown and southern Northwestern campus) • Dave Metz to be involved if schedule permits • Outage data • Substations • Documentation of system VI. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION Ms. Haas presented the revisions she and Mr. Mereu drafted of the revised Energy Policy which had previously been submitted in 2004, but not approved by City Council. The following was discussed: • The draft proposes to bolster the City's obligations to keep citizens informed of significant increases in pricing or other changes that would affect citizens: could be in Implementation Plan. • Liability: language was left the saute. • In Section 1.1, regarding concern whether the city would be obligated to hire someone to audit the systems, the word "audit" was changed to "evaluate." It was also stated that TRG is managing this task. • Some statements about energy conservation and environmental protection were combined: second point in Section 1. • Regarding the alternatives available to the City's residents at large, it seems the focus now is on the energy supply. The draft put the focus on the City finding reasonable pricing or an alternative to Com Ed. • Advocacy for citizens to achieve choice: municipal aggregation is a legal issue. • "Electricity users" to be changed to "energy users." • The Commission discussed the "Real Time Pricing" rate plan and whether people are aware of it. • Mr. Freeman suggested a reference to alternative/renewable energy sources be mentioned in the policy. • Ms. Haas noted that an Implementation Plan has not yet been drafted. Mr. Freeman asked the Commission members to send suggestions for the Implementation Plan to Ms. Haas in the next week to be added to the Energy 'Docnmcnt attached. Energy Commission 3-2-07 EC_Mtg`Notes Page 3 Policy. The revisions to the Policy are to be sent to the En%ironment Board for approval. (They had approved the revisions of 2004). VII. FRANCHISE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Mr. Freeman suggested that the physical grid be better documented in the Franchise Agreement. The following franchise issues were discussed: • On -site inspection of the system; visit to Joliet to be scheduled. • Maps: feeder map exists, do we need substations too? • Switching: where is switching taking place? In what capacity? • Bargaining tooWdesires of the City: • Free -electricity buildings/Substations' land needed for development. • Multiple service fees/Automatic switching capacity for Civic Center. • Additional green power. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS An article from the Chicago Sun Tines, Tuesday, 2/27/07, was distributed: "Corn Ed Vows $30 million to Help Ease Electric Rate Hike." Mr. Marino commented that the New York Times article, "Rising Electricity Prices Set off Regulation Debate," cited examples of legislature across the country warning slow down, beware. IX. COMMITTEE REPORTS Covered in earlier discussions X. OTHER BUSINESS XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:02 am. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/3284080 (TDD) •Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Thursday, April 12,1007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7.15 A.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Haas, Stefano Mereu, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZEN PRESENT: Irwin Levinson PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:23 a.m., a quorum being present. II. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF March 2, 2007* The Commission voted unanimously to approve the March 2, 2007 meeting notes.* III. ENERGY POLICY Ms. Haas and Mr. Mereu rc% ised the Energy Policy, which had been distributed to the Energy Commission for review. Chair Freeman suggested making the Energy Policy more explicit. Ms. Haas stated that Item #2 refers to renewable energy in broader language. She agreed to revise it to state "the Energy Commission encourages efficient environmentally benign uses of energy including rcncwables." Chair Freeman stated that as part of the Electric Purchase Agreement, there is a 20% renewable energy credit component, which went into affect in January. Ms. Haas will add this into the Energy Policy. Chair Freeman will present the revised Energy Policy to the Environment Board with a cover letter explaining that this is a re -working of the Energy Policy. The Energy Commission has agreed to strive to achieve a balance between the reliability and environmental portions of the policy. Chair Freeman will fonvard the revised Energy Policy to Mr. Leonard Sciarra, Co -Chair of the Environment Board, and begirt collaboration to achieve this balance. Mr. Marino stated that the Environment Board has a broader perspective than the Encrgy Commission, which addresses electrical issues more specifically and does not cover as many issued as the Environment Board. Chair Freeman opened the discussion of what the Energy Commission envisions as their role in the implementation of the revised Energy Policy. "Will the Energy *Document attached Energy Commission 4-12-07_EC_ti3tg_Notes (2).doc Page 2 Commission advocate, implement?" The Commission agreed that Ms. Haas would draft an Implementation Plan once the revised Energy Policy is approved. The Energy Commission voted unanimously to submit the revised Energy Policy to the Environment Board, as amended. Ms. Newman will assist Chair Freeman in getting packets to members of the Environment Board. IV. SUAiMARY OF TRG MEETING The TRG Meeting on March 16, 2007 was attended by Chair Freeman, Mr. Wolfson, Mr. Siegfiiedt and Mr. Marino. Mr. Siegfricdt reported that the topics discussed at the TRG Meeting included: • Underground facilitiestfailures: • Evolution of cable available for underground usage: some older cable is in better condition that new • Effect of extraneous conditions on underground facilities (the loading, the dig -ins, etc.) • Can not predict where next underground failure will occur, and it is very expensive to replace; wholesale replacements not feasible • In one circuit from Station 47 to downtown area, buried cable comes in 750' reels, 2 of which have been replaced in recent years Mr. Marino added that the following issues were discussed: • Feeders 4713 and 4715 which have had several outages were discussed; a report regarding these feeders is to be provided by Com Ed • Update of new Evanston projects: 1) West Evanston TIF District near Evanston High School and 2) along Emerson just north of the downtown regarding two large current projects • Green energy/conservation issues to be discussed more extensively in the future TRG members and Cam Ed discussed the evolution of the quality of underground cable. Mr. Wolfson said that in the newer suburbs where everything is underground, and the people had already landscaped, when cables failed, digging became cost prohibitive. He added that the quality has improved, and that they still use concentric neutral shielded cable, but it is jacketed. Quality and reliability are now considered as %vela as cost. He continued, "When you run it single phase, you're running the neutral current back through the shield, and the grounding is critical. Here they run it back through the ground, I believe, and they don't carry a neutral on the line. All the distributions are " ' ... systems." Mr. Wolfson and Mr. Marino highly recommended that everyone who can, participate in the visit to the Com Ed Distribution Center in Joliet. Mr. Wolfson intends to ask to what extent they can determine segmental loading as well as breaker -feeder out of substations. He will ask about locations of specific feeders out of each substation/breakcr and their backup feeders and how far down the line they can go, and loading and transfer cable abilities. •Document attached. Energy Commission 4-12-o7_EC_,Nttg_`otes (2).doc Page 3 V. SCHEDULE JOLIET DISTRIBUTION CENTER VISIT Mr. Marino reported that Mr. Shah Quaiyoom was formerly Mike Radzowicz's backup at Cam Ed for government relations. Mr. Radzowicz will now be focusing on very large customers. Mr. Quaiyoom will replace Mr. Radzowicz in serving municipalities. Mr. Quaiyoom gave Mr. Marino two dates to choose from for the Energy Commission members' visit to Com Ed in Joliet. The Commission agreed on Thursday, April 26, 2007. Mr. Max Rubin will be invited to join them. They plan to depart at 8:30 a.m. from the Civic Center, arrive at approximately 10:00 a.m., tour the Distribution Center from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., meet Dave Metz for lunch at l :00 p.m., and plan to return by 3:00 p.m. VI. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION The Mission of the Commission, including the following„ is to be discussed at the next meeting: • Background and qualifications of members to differ from the way they are currently described • Issues outlined in original Ordinance • Mission • Items in the Strategic Plan that are relevant to the Energy Commission • Mission items arc directly related to implementation of Energy Policy • Upon approval by the Environment Board, the Energy Policy will be sent to the Administration and Public Works Committee with the recommendation of the Environment Board VII. FRANCHISE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES A list of issues to be addressed with the negotiating team (the Chair and Vice - Chair of the Energy Commission and three Aldermen) will be discussed at the next Energy Commission meeting. The following was discussed: • The Chair and Vice -Chair will be notified which Aldermen are on the negotiating team as soon as it is determined • On -site inspection of the system/visit to Joliet is a good precedent to set for the Energy Commission to acquire the latest information on loading and feeder backup issues (to be discussed at the Franchise Agreement negotiation meeting) • The term of the Franchise Agreement should be 3-5 years • The Commission agreed that the Franchise Agreement needs only minor changes • The changes proposed by the negotiating team are to be approved by City Council before the Franchise Agreement with Cam Ed expires on July 14, 2007 Mr. Marino presented a list of Franchise Agreement issues to be discussed: • Reliability • Capacity enhancement • Reporting *Document attached. Energy Commission 4-12-07_EC_,%ttg_Notcs (2).doc Page 4 • Monitoring • Meetings • Green initiatives • Compensation • Customer service and communication • Special project initiatives • Term of agreement • Free electricity for municipal properties and alternatives • Frequency of reporting/keeping current standards of service can be an issue • Projects to be embedded in the Letter of Agreement • A Letter of Agreement is generally used to amend the existing Franchise Agreement. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested visiting the McLean City Wind Farm near Bloomington, Illinois, or Crescent Ridge Wind Farm, which is closer, to gather information on the green power supply initiative. V11I. COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Marino contributed the following article: "Cost of Converting to Underground Distribution is High, Study Finds" Public Potter Weekly No. 11, 3-19-07 Chair Freeman distributed a thank you letter and announcement of the event "Can Our Grandchildren Trust Us," which is to be sponsored by the Energy Commission (at no cost), among other sponsors, presented by the Network for Evanston's Future. Chair Freeman suggested the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" (available at Video Adventure) which deals with who guides certain energy decisions and policies. Mr. Marino made reference to "Who Killed L.A.'s Transit System?" in the 1920's, and the answer was Henry Ford. Mr. Siegfriedt stated that the electric car was too expensive. fir. Marino noted that there has been extensive national news media coverage of fuel cell car -testing recently. The Commission concurred that green energy awareness of the corporate world has risen in the last few years. Chair Freeman suggested the movie "The End of Suburbia," which can be obtained at no charge from "The Film Connection." It attempts to track how suburban development was fostered and progressed and how it has placed certain demands on energy that have created an unsustainable anomaly. Ms. Haas suggested a book called "Paradise Drive." about life and development in the suburbs. Mr. Siegfriedt mentioned a 10-page article in Time Magazine about global warming, in which nuclear power was barely mentioned. He stated that moving swiftly toward non -carbon energy sources is the only way to reduce C01 emissions. He stated that there are currently 103 nuclear plants in the United *Document attached. Energy Commission 4-12-07_EC Mtg_Notes (2).doc Page 5 States and that we need double that or more. He said, "The choice of getting rid of nuclear waste in 26,000 years is better than CO2 in 100 years." Chair Freemen added that people will have to change their habits and use less energy. Mr. Siegfriedt noted that people of third world countries are resentful that they are being asked to curtail their energy usage, when industrially developed countries have been enjoying a high standard of living produced by plentiful use of energy for many years. Mr. Wolfson added that France is totally nuclear. IX. COINIISTITTEE REPORTS Government Policy and legislative/Regulatory Actions: Ms. Haas reported on legislative developments: • The Attorney General has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which alleges that the electric suppliers in the auction process manipulated the auction making prices 40% higher than wholesale electricity market prices, approximately doubling the actual cost of electricity to serve Corn Ed and Amcron customers. She has assembled a team of experts who are providing affidavits. • Michael Madigan put forth a bill to create an Illinois Power Authority which would be a form of competition to public utilities (Corn Ed) and would be exempt from the authority of the ICC. It would be responsible for generating and transmission. • Senate Bill # SB 1592 to freeze rates for residential and small businesses is pending • House Bill ## 1750 to freeze rates for residential and small businesses is also pending X. OTHER BUSINESS XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/328-4080 (TDD) •Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, Afay 4, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7.45 A.AL MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Haas, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Michael Smith, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZEN PRESENT: Irwin Levinson, Mary Gavin PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:27 a.m., a quorum being present. I1. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF April 12, 2007* The Commission voted unanimously to approve the April 12, 2007 meeting notes with minor revisions. III. ENERGY POLICY The revised Energy Policy will be submitted to the Environmental Board on Thursday, May 10, 2007. 1V. SUMMARY OF VISIT TO COM ED DISTRIBUTION CENTER Technical Review Group members reported on their visit to the Corn Ed Distribution Center. Mr. Marino commented that technology has improved considerably since his last trip to the Corn Ed Distribution Center four years ago. He reported that they focused on feeder loads and backup feeder loads. They were able to see where the loads are and that the dispatch system is more developed. Mr. Siegfriedt added that they are able to see the current and phase imbalances down to the last pole transformer. They can see exactly where the pole transformer is and every customer connected to it. They have diagnostic software for outages. He explained that it is very important for as many people call Com Ed when they have an outage, as possible, because their software uses the caller's location to determine where the outage is. For instance: The first call identifies the pole transformer; the second call could confirm that transformer, given the call's location, the third call could be on the next block, which will help them determine it could be a fuse, the fourth call could be on a different fuse, determining that it is *Document attached In Energy Commission 5-4-07_EC_Mtg_Notes Page 2 a circuit breaker, etc. Mr. Marino said they can now pull up feeder loading history. They have the ability to anticipate, based on heating and cooling, what pre-emptive issues to address. Their G1S system, called the "land base system," is very precise and works well with the feeder data. This history helps them find out prior trouble, going back two years. Mr. Siegfriedt said the TSS 47 provides 6 detailed back-up sheets for each of the circuits. This is critical to seeing how heavily circuits are loaded. Mr. Marino added that another issue, historically, has been capacity in terms of whether or not there was sufficient excess capacity, particularly as we experience a lot of successful redevelopment and we've had many discussions with Cam Ed about that. He said that we provide Cam Ed «7th updates three times a year of projects that are in the pipeline. As part of this visit, they talked about the TSS 47 and its additional ability to pick up additional need load and to connect additional feeders. Mr. Siegfriedt explained that there are two aspects of the TSS 47 upgrade: a few years ago they upgraded one of their transformers from 40 to 60 MVA increasing our transformer capacity; the other, a similar upgrade: is that there are six cubicles with no circuits on them, so there is plenty of room for expansion there. Mr. Marino reported that Dave Metz accompanied them. Mr. Metz has been working with the Energy Commission for 10 years. He was impressed with the progress and scale of the system. Illinois is divided into four districts. We are in the north district. Each of the districts is larger than most utilities in the country. Mr. Siegfriedt stated that Cam Ed's goal for restoring service is to make an estimate plus 120 minutes minus zero. Chair Freeman added that their criteria for categorizing an outage as storm related is that 10,000 customers must be affected. The Energy Commission Members agreed visit was educational and interesting. Mr. Levinson added that in a Scientific American article, an analysis of Ohio electricity failures showed what led to the east coast blackout. They now have a much better method of finding the cause of outages. I le added that since Com Ed is now in the transport business, they have a heightened awareness of this issue, since they are more directly linked to it. Mr. Siegfriedt clarified that the transportation business is still two businesses. One is transmission and the other is local distribution and they have been separated in two separate systems and they have to minimize the communication between those two systems because the transmission system has too much linkage to the power supply and competitive issues whereas the local distribution system should be blind as to where the electricity is coming from. V. FRANCHISE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Mr. Marino summarized seven goals previously referenced by the Energy Commission: 'Document attached. Energy Commission 5-4-07 EC—trtt&_Notes 1. Enhance electrical service reliability 2. Enhance distribution system capacity 3. Provide sufficient reporting to enable monitoring 4. Provide access to Com Ed's staff and facilities to address needs, opportunities and problems 5. Cooperate to enhance economic development and community revitalization 6. Increase use of green power and energy conservation 7. Provide financial benefits, such as subsidized electricity Page 3 Other issues to be addressed include: the use of part of Com Ed's substation property at Church and Brown; and using green energy for municipal buildings, where electricity is provided by Com Ed at no charge to the City. Mr. Marino explained that the Commission makes recommendations to the Electricity Franchise Negotiating Team. The Franchise Agreement is based on by a Letter of Agreement submitted by Com Ed. The Commission discussed putting the issue of renewable energy in relation to the municipal buildings in the forefront of the discussion. They discussed the possible increase in the franchise fee, and the cost of green energy, generally. A similar arrangement to the one with Constellation was discussed: a 20% green energy requirement. The Commission voted unanimously to approve recommending the issues listed above to the Electric Negotiating Team as part of a three year franchise extension with Com Ed. VI. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION The Committee discussed what areas of the Strategic Plan might be objectives and goals for the Mission of the Commission. It was agreed that the following areas relate to the Energy Commission: • Northwestern University — biggest electricity consumer in the City • Environmental sustainability • Energy conservation • Nicor • City boundaries, lo%v/high pressure networks, Nicor franchise agreement, compensation (Mr. Marino will provide a copy of the Nicor Franchise Agreement to the Commission members for the next meeting.) ■ Gas is not currently included in the ordinance defining the Mission of the Commission.) • Mr. Levinson suggested that Northwestern University can help with studies of gas efficiency • Expand membership of Commission - representation of community/various professional backgrounds. Ms. Haas suggested a minister and an architect be 'Document attached. . c Energy Commission Page 4 5-4-07 EC_Mtg_Notes added to the Commission. Mr. Wolfson agreed that an architect would be a good addition. The method of attracting new members %vas discussed. • Who the Commission represents (Ms. Haas suggested that the Commission should represent the community at large.) • Existing buildings • Goal 4 of the Strategic Plan: "Create and maintain functionally appropriate, sustainable, accessible and high quality infrastructure and facilities:" • 4A: "Provide direction regarding future of Civic, Recycling and Robert Crown Centers;" and other public facilities' use of green energy . 417: Encourage enhancement of reliability in gas & electrical distribution systems • Goal 5: "Protect and optimize the City's natural resources and built environment, leading by example through sustainable practices and behaviors:" • SA: Review current City policies and procedures to identify and improve sustainable and environmentally -friendly practices for the City and its citizens • 513: Identify and utilize new practices that will improve the quality of life to enhance the City's sustainability V1I. COMMUNICATIONS There were no communications to discuss other than those discussed in other areas of the meeting. V11I. COMMITTEE REPORTS Government Policy and legislative/Regulatoty Actions: Ms. Haas reported on legislative developments: • The Illinois Senate passed bill 1592 to put a freeze for one year on Ameron's rates, but not Com Ed's • The Illinois House of Representatives pass a similar bill which includes Com Ed • Com Ed will be asking for a rate increase at the end of the summer • An Illinois Senate bill has a provision that Ameron can't turn off electricity for people who are unable to pay since the rates were increased. Mr. Marino said that in calculating Com Ed's 73% increase, keep in mind that their rates have been frozen since 1998, and that a 20% reduction in rates has been implemented since 1998. Chair Freeman suggested researching bills introduced at the federal government level related to energy conservation. The Commission discussed how people who did not get electric bills for a period of months during Com Ed's transition to a new rate will pay. Mr. Levinson said they gave •Document attached. . ar _ , -,.:._-•-'•sue <.. _, :`` _ ,`aA:'. - - z�� Energy Commission Page 5 5-4-07_EC_Mtg_Notes hire an extra 20 days. Mr. Marino will ask Mr. Quaiyoom of Com Ed if there is a plan in place to assist people who receive multiple months of bills at once because of Corn Ed's rate conversion. IX. OTHER BUSINESS XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/328AO80 (TDD) *Document attached. EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, Jime I, 2007 Civic Cenler, Room 2404 at 7;1SA.AL MEMBERS PRESENT: Stefano Mercu, William Siegfriedt, Michael Smith STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZEN PRESENT: Irwin Levinson, Mary Gavin PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:17 a.m., a quorum being present. II, CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF May 4, 2007* The Commission voted unanimously to approve the May 4, 2007 meeting notes. Chair Freeman acknowledged In�in Levinson and Mary Gavin of the Round Table, and thanked them for coming to the meeting. III. ENERGY POLICY Mr. Freeman announced that he received an email from Len Sciarra stating that the revised Energy Policy will be reviewed at the Environmental Board meeting on June 14'`', 2007, (not Thursday, May 10, 2007, as he originally believed). He added that the Environment Board has a larger number of members and a wider range of views will be discussed. He said, "We should know how close to consensus we are by July." IV. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION Chair Freeman reported that he has yet to speak to Mayor Morton about the composition and backgrounds of the Commission members. lie reminded the Commission members to keep the Strategic Plan and the Energy Policy in mind as they discuss the mission. i *Document attached Energy Commission 6.1-07_EC_h1tg_No1es Page 2 V. COMMITTEE REPORTS Mr. Marino suggested they discuss the Nicor franchise at a later date because of the time constraint of today's meeting. He said that Facility Management, Vince Jones and Public Works have the most contact with Nicor. He will try to obtain the agreement or documentation about it for the July Energy Commission meeting. Chair Freeman asked for suggestions on other ways of structuring future Energy Commission meetings. Mr. 4iereu suggested researching what other municipalities are doing in terms of electric service conservation policies and reliability. Mr. Marino said that relating to energy conservation, a lot of cities are engaged in financing or technical assistance measures. Sometimes it is a collaboration with the private sector; with the utility. The public power utilities do a lot of that directly, so that is an area we might want to investigate more in terms of how that would work. lie added that we are taking, energy conservation measures through our Single Family Rehab Program. Often it starts with an emergency situation like a replacement of a heater or a new roof, but then other issues ,get addressed once our rehab specialists star to look at a property. But that is focused on very Iow income home owners. The advantage of that program is that if people are income -eligible it can be done as a title transfer loan. So there is no amortization and no debt schedule in terms of repayment until the property is sold. Then it is repaid. It works very well. He added that he believes a number of other municipalities also seek to use intermediaries and help fund them whether it's through the Community Development Block Grant Program or other resources, whether it's to do energy retrofit or housing rehab that has a significant energy component, so that may be a fruitful field to look at. Mr. Mereu concluded that we often talk globally of energy preservation and he wondered if there was a forum to talk and act more locally. He agreed to research the subject. VII. COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Marino began discussion of the articles distributed with the packet regarding deregulation, profitability and power prices. Regarding power prices, Chair Freeman said that those who were on the hourly electric rate system have changed from a day -ahead pricing system. He said there is a twist to the pricing system, however. The day -ahead pricing has now become a forecast instead ofthe actual price. The real-time rate is what the}, are actually charged, however. It can be the same, slightly higher, or even lower than the day -ahead pricing, but you don't know until it actually occurs. He continued that it applies to his house because he is on that program but he's also looked into that for a client who is trying to figure out the best time to use his cogeneration system profitably on the new rate system. It has come down to his only option being to look at this hourly pricing scheme and decide which hours he might be able to sell into a market that's higher than *Document attached. c Energy Commission 6-1-07_EC_Mtg_Notcs Page 3 his cost to generate. And yet using this as a forecasting tool is tricky. Using his "cogen" system has a lot of management hurdles. His staff used to run it according to the old way of doing things and the old rates, where you would just turn it on by nine and run it until sir Monday through Friday and you'd avoid all the high cost power, but that arrangement no longer guarantees a lower rate. Now he must figure out how to time it if he's going to use it at all. Now that there is a day -ahead and a real-time price it's a new set of challenges to run it economically. He has to decide whether he's even going to do it at all. Chair Freeman added that the hourly electric rate is the default rate for large users (a facility that has a peals demand over 3,000 KW, such as Evanston Hospital and Northwestern University) who do not have a retail electric supplier after three consecutive months. They then must remain on the hourly rate for the following twelve months. Mr. Levinson stated, on the subject of the change in the rates, that he has gotten four bills in the last three or four weeks, after getting none for about twelve months, and that Com Ed expects payment within ten days. He is currently negotiating with them. He commented that this could be very difficult for many families. Mr. Levinson also told the Commission that when the Environment Board worked with the City Manager to set up City power usage, in planning for carbon use, Dave Cook provided a carbon dioxide base line. It is being used for the next benchmark. He suggested that the Energy Commission be involved with showing there has been a reduction in power usage. He suggested the Commission think about finding a way to show how the City has cut back usage. He commended Dave Cook on a job well done. Mr. Marino stated that regarding reliability, there was a report of some power surge problems last week that affected computers in the vicinity of 1124 Florence in south Evanston. He stated that Com Ed's monitoring systems does not pick up these types of surges. Unless someone calls with that kind of complaint, Com Ed doesn't know about it. He asked if anyone knew what could cause the surge. Mr. Siegfreedt explained that surges can be caused by large electric heating loads, like a steel rolling mill, reheat ovens, electric boilers, air conditioning, or large electronic loads like variable frequency motors or electronic choppers that change frequency and are not usually found in Evanston. 141s. Gavin stated that (lie power surge occurred in her building and that it may have gone all the way down to Oakton School. There was an outage in the area of her building. but the surge knocked out their computers. Mr. Marino said that they- used to get complaints of this several years ago, Dave Grumman of Grumman Butkus would mention this, but he has not heard a report like this for several years. This has been reported to Com Ed and we will have a response from them later today. hopefully. They were not aware of it specifically. Mr. Siegfriedt said it sounded like a switching situation. Mr. Marino asked what defines "power quality." Mr. Siegfriedt explained that for electric loads it is constant voltage and constant frequency and more detail because the frequency that you see is a complicated function of all the *Document attached. Energy Commission 6-1-07_EC_Mtg_Notes Page 4 rotating sources and rotating loads that are on the system, because all together they make this average sine wave that is the product of lot of sine waves that are not necessarily in sync with each other exactly. Chair Freeman said that usually voltage fluctuations are the common culprit around here, if your voltage is allowed to drop too much, typically when loads get high. His client gets voltage sags at his client's hospital in the south suburbs. "They were on the tail end of the distribution system when they were built and kind of stayed there even though things have been built around them so they are going to use their engines as a way to preserve power quality during those warm days. They've had problems in the past. " On the subject of the Evanston power surge, Ms. Gavin said there were three events: Thursday, Friday and Tuesday. Thursday was the major one. VIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Commission voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at 7:45 a.m. under Chapter 102, Illinois Revised Statute Paragraph 42 of the Open Meetings Act, to discuss the Executive Session of the Electric Franchise Negotiating Teton meeting of May 18, 2007. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:45 a.m. for the Executive Session. The Executive Session ended at 8:00 a.m., at which time the Energy Commission meeting resumed. The meeting adjourned at 8:01a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/328-4080 JDD) `Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COilIMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, July 13, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7:1 S A.Al. MEMBERS PRESENT: Stefano Mereu, William Siegfriedt, Paul Morse STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZENS PRESENT: Irvin Levinson, Mary Gavin PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:18 a.m., a quorum being present. 11. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF June 1, 2007* The Commission voted by majority of four with one abstaining to approve the May 4, 2007 meeting notes with minor revisions. Chair Freeman welcomed Irwin Levinson of the Environment Board and Mary Gavin of the Round Table, and thanked them for coming to the meeting. III. ADOPTION OF 3 YEAR FRANCHISE EXTENSION The Commission reviewed the ordinance and franchise extension that passed. Mr. Marino reported that the adoption was passed by the City Council unanimously on a roll call vote. This adoption fits in with the Energy Commission's recommended reporting and monitoring requirements: Exhibit B, the last four items: 1) Item K and the green power initiative obligate Com Ed to cooperate with the City in their 204'o green power goal and interest in pilot programs. Mr. Marino is periodically checking with Mr. Quaiyoom of Cam Ed regarding the status. 2) Mr. Marino is being assisted by Moms Robinson, the Economic Development Planner, in the process of getting a formal statement to allow parking on Com Ed's substation land, in the interest of the Church -Brown area revitalization. 3) Timely permit applications by Com Ed for emergency construction in the public right-of-way will ensure restoration of public right of way process. John *Document attached Energy Commission 7-13-07_EC Mtg_Notes (2).doc Page 2 Burke, of the City's Traffic Dept., will be at the next Energy Commission meeting to discuss the emergency work in the public right of way issue. 4) Notification of electricity service cutoffs was initiated because of the tragedy that was caused by an electricity cutoff a few years ago, affecting the safety of the tenants whose electricity has been cut off and the other tenants. Mr. Marino reported that the nature of the reports is similar to the previous franchise requirements. These reports will be provided twice instead of three times year. Two other reporting intervals are outage reports, so we will get data four times a year instead of five times a year, with an opportunity to meet with Com Ed after the issuance of any of those reports. Mr. Marino will be copied on the outage reports. Mr. Rubin of the City of Evanston will still analyze the data. The next report is due August I Sa', 2007. Mr. Morse noted that it says in the agenda data sheet that there are ten reliability projects listed, but there are only nine. Project three was dropped. Mr. Freeman stated that outage data reported on August 15th will be discussed at the September meeting, outage data reported in February will be reviewed in March, and the April data will be reviewed in May. IV. NATURAL GAS/NICOR — DAVE COOK Copies of the Nicor gas franchise and related 1982 ordinance were distributed with the packet. Mr. Marino stated that there has been interaction between the City and Nicor regarding reliability and response time to problems not caused by Nicor. Mr. Cook stated that Nicor reliability and supply has been good for Evanston. He added that three years ago when the gas lines got flooded through no fault of Nicor's, they responded as quickly as they could. He said that turning on and shutting off is more of a concern. They require a six week lead time to take a meter out for demolition. In one case, they removed the meter, but did not turn the gas off, saying it would be another few weeks for the gas to be turned off. AIso, we get different information from different people we talk to at Nicor. The City buys most of its gas from Proliance Energy. Nicor is the distributor. He said that gas prices are cyclical on a semiannual cycle. In .vinter and summer, prices are higher. In the spring and fall, prices are lower. We missed the post -Katrina spike because we had bought enough gas at S9.00/decotherm. It is now at approximately S8.5 - S8.9/decotherni. It went to approximately S 17.001decotherm after Katrina. There is a five-year plan in the making. Historically there has been a gas surplus. Currently, gas is at a balance (supply vs. demand), not a surplus. The City is looking for ways to lock in a good price or buy gas when it is low and store it. ProIiancc has been a good advocate for the City by notifying us when gas prices are at a low so we can buy a supply then. *Document attached. Energy Commission 7-13-07_EC_Mtg_Notcs (2).doc Page 3 Mr. Cook thanked the Energy Commission members for getting the history of usage from Com Ed. That will be a help to Carolyn Callopy, the City's Sustainability Coordinator. Carolyn is measuring the carbon footprint of Evanston. Mayor Morton has initiated an effort to reduce it through the Mayor's Agreement on Climate Protection. The City is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. Chair Freeman suggested that the Clean Energy Foundation may be able to assist in this endeavor. Mr. Levinson commented that Evanston does not have a large industrial complex that could measure its carbon emissions. He suggested asking Nicor who the largest users arc in the City. The City's usage of gas costs approximately S400,000 annually. Mr. Seigfricdt commented that only the low pressure lines were affected by flooding. Mr. Morse asked if there are maps available showing locations of high pressure lines. Mr. Levinson said that generally on his gas bill, about 50% is for the transport charge. When gas is highly used, 30% is for transport. He suggested asking Nicor for 20% green supply of natural gas. The Commission discussed the conservation program of 1982 which helped people buy storm windows and the need for that help now for lower income families. The Commission plans to discuss the above subjects and other questions with a representative from Nicor in the near future. The Commission will prepare questions for the Nicor representative. At the next meeting, Mr. Burke will discuss infrastructure issues and make sure to coordinate street work with Nicor. V. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION Chair Freeman reported that he has yet to speak to Mayor Morton about the composition and backgrounds of the Commission members. He reminded the Commission members to keep the Strategic flan and the Energy Policy in mind as they discuss the mission. The Environment Board has yet to review the Energy Policy draft. Mr. Mereu presented Energy Commission meeting notes from Ann Arbor, MI, Tucson, AZ, Berkeley, CA and Columbia, MO, all of which are, like Evanston, cities with universities. He reported that the Energy Commissions in their cities are overwhelmingly devoted to efficiency and conservation issues. Ann Arbor had the most concrete plan: S 100,000 allocated to promoting conservation. Mr. Marino added that Tucson's main concern in the mid-90's was reliability. Mr. Mereu said if we refine or expand our mission to support municipality -related reliability and conservation, we need to define "green" for us as a municipality. Mr. Mercu added that if the Office of Sustainability has specific goals, perhaps Northwestern University can help with news about reaching those goals. The literature Mr. Mcrcu printed regarding other cities will be included in the next packet. 'Document attached. Energy Commission 7-I3-07_EC_Nttg Notes(2).doc Page 4 Chair Freeman asked the Commission members to pursue their passions or goals in relation to energy and to bring material to the Energy Commission meetings. Mr. Mereu said he would get monthly updates of other cities' Energy Commission meeting minutes. VI. COMMITTEE REPORTS Chair Freeman suggested that the Energy Commission members keep ideas percolating for the next franchise agreement as things evolve, rather than waiting until it is upon us. Mr. Marino added that they can review the issues discussed in the minutes in relation to the next franchise. Mr. Marino commented in relation to legislative action in Springfield, that the electric issues seem to have settled, as healthcare, transportation and the State's budget are the main topics currently. He quoted the Crain's headlines, "Corn Ed Spin off in Springfield Mixed" and "Wall Street Wants Exelon to Shed Chicago Utility" (meaning Com Ed). VII. COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Marino explained the purpose of the Downtown Planning charrette and invited the Energy Commission members to participate in the meetings and visit the charrette. Chair Freeman said (regarding planning for the future) that 90% of the buildings that will be here 20 years from now are already here. VIII. PROPOSED JOINT AUGUST- SEPTEMBER, 2007 MEETINGS TO OCCUR ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 The Commission agreed to combine the August and September Energy Commission meetings and to meet on September 7, 2007, due to summer vacations in August. The City Clerk's off ice will be notified to change the calendar. XI. ADJOURNPIIENT The meeting adjourned at 8:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact Max Rubin, Facilities Management Office at 847/866.2916 (Voice) or 847/328-4080 (TDD) *Document attached. EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Fridap, September 21, 2007 Civic Center, Roont 2404 at 7.1 S AX. MEMBERS PRESENT: Arlene Haas, Stefano Mereu, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: John Burke, Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZENS PRESENT: Mary Gavin PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:18 a.m., a quorum being present. II. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF July 13, 2007* The Commission voted unanimously to approve the July 13, 2007 meeting notes with minor revisions. III. ELECTRIC SERVICE LIABILITY The Commission reviewed the reliability report sent from Com Ed for outages from 2Ill07 through 7/31 /07. Overall outage trends were consistent with past reports of a reasonable level of outages. Underground equipment outages were identified as a growing concern. A discussion of outages occurred. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested that some cable is getting old and that May is the first time Ioading the circuits annually after they've been exposed to severe conditions. The Commission discussed the fact that many of the outages were in May. Mr. Wolfson said the change in weather and old cables contribute to the outages in May. He also said that testing cable puts wear on it and it is usually only tested at installation. He explained that partial testing of cable is expensive, and that the results depend on atmospheric conditions at the time of the test. lie said that solid dialectic cable should be replaced every 30 years. That is why polyethylene pipe containing cable is better. It conics on a wheel and is semi -flexible. Nlr. Marino said that at a prior TRG meeting, a Com Ed representative said that after multiple underground outages they would do testing because at that point the risk was worth bearing. Mr. Wolfson commented that technology changes rapidly, and this issue should be addressed at the next TRG meeting. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested we address the level of failures due to age and quality of cable. He suggested we challenge ComEd to predict and prevent these failures. He also suggested we ask them to tell us which segments have been replaced. Mr. *Document attached Energy Commission 9-21-07_EC_Mtg_Notcs Page 2 Morse agreed, saying we should be provided a more detailed report. Mr. Mereu agreed. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested we request a map of which circuits are failing, and have ComEd share with us the extent of information that have about their cables. The Commission discussed the effect of the storm on the electric service. Mr. Marino stated that during this multiple -day outage ComEd responded well, given conditions, but the issue of communication %%as a concern. The only communication option was for people to call ComEd. The issue was in what other ways could ComEd reach people who had lost power? He also commented that if you had no generator in a multiple -day outage, your sum pump stopped working, which caused flooding. The Commission discussed the effect of temporary switching on the number of outages. Mr. Mereu speculated whether switching overloads circuits and causes a cascade occurrence of outages. Mr. Wolfson suggested asking Laura Lee of Com Ed to come to the next TRG meeting to answer some of the Commission's questions discussed above. The Commission discussed the outages caused by squirrels and ways of preventing these from occurring that have been used around substations. IV. SCHEDULING OF NEXT TECHNICAL REVIEW GROUP MEETING At the next TRG meeting the Commission agreed to discuss tree trimming and the questions discussed above about outages and cable. Mr. Marino said he would try to obtain an early preview of the August data reflecting the big storm outages. He will coordinate the meeting to be scheduled after the first full week in November ,vith Mr. Quaiyoom of ComEd. As mentioned above, Mr. Marino will request that Laura Lee and possibly Mike Radzowiecz attend. V. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION The Energy Policy that was revised by Arlene Haas has been approved by the Environment Board. Chair Freeman relayed \ir. Sciarra of the Environment Board's suggestion to make reference to the City Code, which states that it is the job of both the Energy Commission and the Environment Board to collaborate on the creation of Energy Policy. The Energy Policy contains a reference to Resolution 33-R-95 (which established the Energy Police) in which it is stated that the Energy Commission and the Environment Board are to jointly prepare the Energy Policy. The cover memo and agenda data sheet which accompany the revised Energy Policy submission to City Council, will both make reference to the collaboration of the Energy Commission and the Environment Board, and there is also that reference (Resolution 33-R-95, to be attached) within the revised Energy Policy. 'Document attached. Energy Commission 9.21-07_EC_httg_Notes Page 3 The Commission voted unanimously to approve the Energy Policy Resolution as amended, and submit to City Council %%ith the references listed above in the cover memo and agenda data sheet. The revised Energy Policy will be submitted for approval at a meeting this autumn. VI. NICOR DISCUSSION Mr. Marino introduced Mr. Burke of the Public Works Department. Mr. Burke coordinates with Com Ed and Nicor on their work and the city's street repairing and repaving. Mr. Burke stated that he and the other city staff have a good relationship with Jim Tansey, the city's liaison to Nicor, and his team. Their goal of replacing all low pressure gas mains in the next ten years coincides with our goal to have all streets in good shape in the next ten years. Nicor will look at leaks and leak repair histories in an effort to coordinate %%ith the city's road work. He added that their contractors are generally good. Mr. Burke meets with each utility in the fall to discuss design programs. lie also contacts all utilities about each of the city's projects to try to coordinate with all of them, which isn't always possible, due to budget and timing. constraints. Mr. Burke also explained that for legitimate emergency work, utilities don't need a permit before they can begin the work, but they are supposed to apply for the permit in a timely way after the work is begun. However, they weren't applying in a timely way. At Mr. Burke's request the Cam Ed Energy Franchise Extension recently contracted through July 2010. states that they must apply for a permit for emergency work typically within 72 hours, but not to exceed 10 business days. Mr. Burke said he will provide the Energy Commission with a map showing the locations of the high and low pressure mains. VIL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Mereu reported that in Columbia. MO. the Energy Commission had a lengthy discussion about the meaning of compliance to reduce CO:! emissions. They are similar to Evanston on the issue of sustainability and they are a university town. Carolyn Callopy, Evanston's Sustainability Coordinator, is working on establishing a baseline of the City's uses. The Commission discussed the issue of identifying the emissions of transportation (petroleum), electricity and gas use. Once the plan is developed further, the Energy Commission will ask what their role might be in implementing the program. Mr. Siegfriedt suggested we watch what the Columbia Energy Commission does. We may be able to learn from their process, since they are further along than us. 'Document attached. Energy Commission 9-21-07_EC_Mtg_Notes Page 4 V111. COMMITTEE REPORTS Ms. Haas reported that the state passed a bill providing rate relief and the creation of the Illinois Power Authority; state wide aggregation as opposed to municipal aggregation, a renewable energy portfolio and an energylconservation efficiency program. Chair Freeman suggested the Commission keep their open for an opportunity to participate. Ms. Haas stressed that the legislation, which was a settlement between the Attorney General, utilities and legislators, was geared to residential and small commercial customers. The fact sheet provided by Ms. Haas will be included in the packet for the next meeting. X1. ADJOURNMENT The Commission agreed to meet again on Friday, October 26th, and Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 7:1 S a.m. in Room 2404. The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact David Cook, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 84713284080 (TDD) *Document attached. EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, October 26, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7:I5A.3L MEMBERS PRESENT: Stefano Mereu, William Siegfriedt, Bill Smith, Rudy Wolfson STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZENS PRESENT: Mary Gavin, David Grumman PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:19 a.m., a quorum being present. Chair Freeman introduced and welcomed David Grumman, new member, to be replacing Rudy Wolfson, who's second term has expired as of 10/28/07. He welcomed Mary Gavin of the Evanston Round Table to the meeting. II. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF July 13, 2007* The Commission voted unanimously to approve the September21, 2007 meeting notes with minor revisions. III. ELECTRIC SERVICE RELIABILITY The Commission reviewed the 6-month outage data. No major issues were reported. A number of smaller outages were caused by high wind. The report reflected that Com Ed did a good job restoring electricity after the storm. The sewer improvements made by the City prevented floods during the last big storm. Mr. Siegfriedt reported that at Three Crowns retirement community's construction site, a 12 V cable line was out for a couple of hours. It had been hit by the construction workers. It was 12" beneath the surface of the street and should have been a minimum of 30" beneath surface. IV. SCHEDULING OF NEXT TECIINICAL REVIEW GROUP MEETING At the next TRG meeting the Commission will discuss the tree trimming schedule, the issue with the line at Three Crowns and the cause of small outage that occurred in downtown Evanston. The meeting is tentatively to be held at 8:30a.m. on Friday, November 161h, directly after the Energy Commission meeting. The meeting will be open only to the Technical Review Group. *Document attached Energy Commission 10-26-07_EC_h1tg_Notes Page 2 V. ENERGY POLICY The Energy Policy as revised by the Energy Commission and approved by the Environmental Board will be reviewed by the Administration and Public Works Committee at their next meeting on November 26 h. VI. MISSION OF THE COMMISSION Mr. Mereu stated that he found similarities to Evanston's Energy Commission in the issues discussed at the Energy Commission meetings of Newton, Massachusetts. They are focused on energy purchase and renewables. He reported that the main concerns of other cities are sustainability with a strong emphasis on conservation and greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission discussed what comprises a "green' building and the concept of awarding bonuses to developers for public benefits relating to the environment. Chair Freeman asked Mr. Mereu to summarize his findings comparing other cities' energy credits, conservation and reliability issues etc. Mr. Grumman referred to a new magazine to be published by Ashrae, called High Performance Buildings. It discusses, in not too technical terms lie said, lessons in energy efficiency and energy data, etc. It will be free to all professionals. Mr. Grumman is on the editorial board. He will provide the Commission with the first issue, coming out in November, 2007, which features the I-lefrer Building, that houses a charitable organization, a building on the Pearl River in China and two others. The Commission discussed the CUB Fact Sheet provided by Ms. Haas at the last meeting. The Commission discussed the "settlement" legislated by the Illinois government which states that the state will fill the role of municipal aggregation. 25% to the Dept. of Commerce and Economy to address low income households and 75% to the utilities companies to address commercial, higher income residential and industrial users. The first year of rebates/grants will start next summer. There is S3040 million available. prey will all agree on a program subject to the ICUs approval. Everyone in the state will have the opportunity to tap into it. Mr. Grumman stated that the ICI' got in early and developed a program subsidizing compact light bulbs, selling them for S1.00 each. Mr. Marino will obtain a summary of Carolyn Callopy's findings on the greenhouse gas emissions of the City's energy users. He suggested bringing in Freddie Greenberg. an independent consultant, to help the Energy Commission assist Nis. Callopy in publicizing the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and perhaps lend technical assistance. lie will M. to arrange for Nis. Greenberg to be at the December Energy Commission meeting. VII. NICOR DISCUSSION Mr. Marino will try to arrange for Mr. Jim Tansey of Nicor to be at the November 16'h Energy Commission meeting. *Document attached. Energy Commission 10.26-07_EC_Mtg_Notes Page 3 VIII. UPDATES A. Notice of Climate Action Planning Process: Energy Implications: Ms. Callopy is getting a baseline number for Evanston's greenhouse gas emissions. Ms. Callopy has prepared a draft which includes the City as a whole and City-o%%med entities' emissions. There will be a meeting in an effort to put in place a planning process to this end on November 13a', at the Civic Center. Chair Freeman encouraged the Commission to participate and help educate others. This will be an ongoing process, hopefully with a measurable outcome. The Network for Evanston's Future is an advocacy group collaborating with City staff and citizens. B. Downtown Planning Recommendations Mr. Marino informed the Commission members that the do«mto►vn planning recommendations by Duncan Associates and their subcontractors can be found online. He distributed copies of their draft plan. Currently the City is operating on the 1989 PIan, which is somewhat outdated. One of the goals is to make Evanston a 24/7 activity area. He explained the map showing the three types of areas where certain building heights are recommended: core, transitional and traditional. The plan also addresses capital improvements. green space/parks, putting parking areas underground, etc. If developers comply with the zoned building heights and other parameters. they would have as of right approval and not be subject to a public hearing and Council approval, as currently is the case. The Commission discussed a list of public benefits that could allow developers to go above the prescribed height. This concept is to be further developed and refined. Mr. Grumman suggested that energy performance/conservation be on the list of public benefits, adding that a building being LEED certified does not necessarily address this. Mr. Siegfriedt added that we need our new buildings to support the use of hybrid cars and encourage their use by having 220 volt charging stations for residents or commercial users, if a commercial building. A 220 volt charger takes approximately 6 hours to charge while a 110 volt charger takes 14 hours. Mr. Marino added that staff recommended IGO cars as a public bonus. The Commission discussed finding a way to quantify energy conservation to add it to the Downtown P1an's public benefit list. Mr. Grumman said that Btus per square foot is one measurement. Mr. Freeman said LEED certification bases it on energy cost per square foot. The Commission discussed the value of green roofs. Mr. Freeman said the impact is minimal on a high rise compared to a one-story building. Mr. Siegfriedt argued that a green roof on any height building still has the same absolute benefit to the atmosphere. Mr. Marino added that it is an amenity to the occupants and it should be encouraged in the public benefits related to the Downtown Plan. Mr. Siegfriedt mentioned that there is a natural gas refueling station in Evanston for all Evanston residents' use. The Commission discussed the safety issue of using natural gas. 'Document attached. Energy Commission I 0-26-07_EC_M tg_Notes Page 4 Mr. Marino pointed out in the marketing table of the plan that they estimated an addition of 50,000-100,000 sq. ft. office space and 1,500-2,000 residential units in the next 10 years. The City has increased by 150-200 residential units annually for the past 4 years. Mr. Smith speculated that that would mean one 60-280 unit building built a year for the next 10 years. Mr. Marino listed some of the sites expected to offer opportunities for new development: Best Western Hotel, the lot on University Place where the Farmers Market takes place, the lot across the street from the McGaw YMCA on Maple, Heil & Heil on Chicago Avenue just south of Church, Burger King on Clark, School Towel on Greenbay, expansion of Oldenberg Park and reconfiguration of Clark Street traffic/parking. These projections are based in anticipation of property changing owners, to provide guidelines for new development. We want to keep these businesses in Evanston at other locations, if it is necessary for them to relocate. The Commission discussed factors for measuring the "as of right" equation. IX. COMMUNICATIONS The Commission discussed the Downtown Plan in relation to electric service. Mr. Siegfriedt stated that Substation TSS 47 is good for another 10 years. It may need to be upgraded to serve the projected addition of office/residential space. Mr. Quaiyoom of Com Ed has said that there is capacity coming into Substation TSS 47. This will be discussed at the next TRG meeting. Mr. Smith suggested they address the gas service capacity also. Water service and storm water detention does not appear to be an issue. X. OTHER BUSINESS At the next meeting, each of the Commission members will tell Mr. Grumman about their professions to get better acquainted with the new member. XI. ADJOURNMENT The next Energy Commission meeting will be held on Friday, November 16'' at 7:15 a.m. in Room 2404. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact David Cook, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/3284080 (TDD) 'Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, November 16, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7:15A.AL MEMBERS PRESENT: David Grumman, Arlene Haas, Stefano Mereu, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Bill Smith STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZENS PRESENT: Rudy Wolfson PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:17 a.m., a quorum being present, 11. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF OCTOBER 26, 2007* The Commission voted by majority with one abstaining to approve the October 26, 2007 meeting notes with minor revisions including the name "Heffler" being corrected to "Heifer," the "Com Ed Liability Report" being corrected to the "Com Ed Reliability Report:' III. REVIEW OF COM ED PERIODIC RELIABILITY REPORT The Commission discussed the rise in outages caused by the storm in August, as reflected in the report. The Commission will discuss the following at the next TRG meeting, regarding the Reliability Report: • Com Ed's communication during the restoration process after the big storm • Clarification of categories of outage causes such as tree -related and weather related, extreme heat, lightning and 'other" • Number of service interruptions vs. Iength of interruptions and what constitutes an interruption on the report (each circuit or each device failure?) • What is accounting for the number of outages and for an example of how this is determined • Data in the reliability report regarding the Three Crowns Park cable issue • A proactive system for dealing with old cables before they fail • Com Ed providing an updated circuit plan, if Com Ed is changing circuits • The Com Ed Reliability Report is to be updated in Accordance with the Franchise Agreement regarding the due date of the next report • Loading of feeder 4713 'Document attached Energy Commission Page 2 11-16-07_EC_,%ttg_Notes (2).dm The next Com Ed Reliability Report will cover February through July, 2008. IV. ENERGY POLICY The Energy Policy as revised by the Energy Commission and approved by the Environmental Board will be reviewed by the Administration and Public Works Committee at their next meeting on December I O`h, 2007. V. MISSION OF THE C01*11NIISSION The Commission members discussed a spreadsheet showing activities by category of other cities' Energy Commissions, compiled by Mr. Mcreu. Members noted that reliability is not noted on other cities' agendas and it has been the main focus of Evanston's Energy Commission. Energy efficiency and conservation and alternative energy sources are the most common topics, followed by solar energy programs and education. Their commissions may be city/county-wide, as opposed to ours which is only city-wide. Chair Freeman suggested the Energy Commission be a significant contributor to the information disseminated to the public regarding financial assistance availability and other programs. Mr. Smith and Mr. Mercu, assisted by Mr. Marino, will compile a list of organizations and their programs. VI. UPDATES A. Notice of Climate Action Planning Process: Energy Implications: Chair Freeman reported to the Commission about the Climate Action Plan kickoff meeting he attended on Tuesday, November 12`h at the Civic Center. Attendees broke into groups. Each gaup was co-chaired by a citizen and a City staff member. Chair Freeman's group is to address the issue of greenhouse emissions by transportation, waste and building. Many attendees were individuals, not pan of associations. Several were from Northwestern University. The next Climate Action Plan meeting is on December 11, 2007. Chair Freeman will report further at the next Energy Commission meeting. VII. COIIIMUNICATiONS The Commission members discussed the articles submitted by Mr. Marino from the !CC and Exelon websites. The articles addressed issues of rate increases, the filing of utilities' programs with the iCC, the last major electrical outage, public comment and Bill 0.181. passed by the General Assembly. Consultant Freddie Greenberg will meet with the Energy Commission at the next meeting, December 7, 2007, to discuss govemment initiatives relating to utilities. Mr. Marino informed Commission members of the Downtown Market Assessments Report, prepared by Goodman Williams Group as a component of the Draft Downtown Plan, which projects a I0-year forecast of residential and retail development in Evanston. The report can be found online. It documents Section A of the Draft Downtown Plan. There will be a continuation of the public discussion of the Draft Downtown Plan on November 27, 2007 at the Plan 'Document attached. Energy Commission 11-16-07_EC %flg_Notcs (2).doc Page 3 Commission meeting. After public opinion is gathered, the Plan Commission will deliberate and send the Downtown Plan to the Planning and Development Committee. VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS Chair Freeman suggested reorganizing the Commission members' reporting roles since Mr. Wolfson and Ms. Haas will no longer be on the Commission. He asked for members to express their interest. IX. OTHER BUSINESS The schedule for 2008 Energy Commission meetings was distributed. They will be held on the second Tuesday of each month. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the 2008 meeting schedule. The meeting dates will be posted on the City's website. Mr. Grumman will bring a copy of the publication, High Performance Buildings to the next meeting. Chair Freeman formally thanked Mr.Wolfson and Ms. Haas for their many years of service to the Energy Commission. The members will thank and congratulate Mr. Wolfson at an informal gathering in the near future. XI. ADJOURNMENT The next Energy Commission meeting will be held on Friday, December 7, at 7:15 a.m. in Room 2404. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact David Cook, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/328-4080 (TDD) *Document attached. APPROVED EVANSTON ENERGY COMINIISSION MEETING MEETING NOTES Friday, December 7, 2007 Civic Center, Room 2404 at 7:I5 A.M. MEMBERS PRESENT., David Grumman, Stefano Mereu, Paul Morse, William Siegfriedt, Michael Smith STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Marino, Bobbie Newman CITIZENS PRESENT: Mary Gavin, Freddi Greenberg PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Joel Freeman, Chair 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:23 a.m., a quorum being present. II. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING NOTES OF NOVEMBER lb, 2007* The Commission voted by majority with one abstaining to approve the November lb. 2007 meeting notes with minor spelling corrections. III. ENERGY POLICY Chair Freeman reported that the Energy Policy has been reviewed by the Environmental Board and they have removed the reference to pricing. It will be presented to the Administration and Public Works Committee on Monday, December 10, 2007 for consideration. IV. NOMINATION OF OFFICERS FOR 2008 Chair Freeman asked the Commission members to consider who they would like to nominate. They agreed to hold off since ifs. Haas was not present. Some agreed that she would make a good chair, if she is interested. Generally, members are re -appointed after their first term expires. VI. PRESENTATION BY FREDDI GREENBERG Mr. Marino introduced Freddi Greenberg, a consultant who has helped the City in many ways over the years with energy issues. Most recently she was involved in advising City staff related to the purchase of power for City facilities which has been very successful. In addition, she has visited the Energy Commission from time to time in the last 12 to 14 years, advising them about alternative energy issues, independent power producers and helping to explain legislation. He thanked her for being present. *Document attached Energy Commission 12-07-07_EC_N1ig_Notes tzl.doc Page 2 Ms. Greenberg introduced herself, stating that she has been "in energy" since 1979. Ms. Greenberg said she would speak on legislative developments this past year that are germane to energy, focused on electricity. She has worked with independent power suppliers and large consumers such as the City of Evanston and the Water Reclamation District. She also represents the City of Naperville's municipal electric utility, adding that Naperville is in a different posture than the City of Evanston. She has seen a variety of sides of what is going on, but explained that we are in a different world than we were in 10 or I I years ago. The ten year rate freeze ended last year. Retail rates had been reduced by 20% before they were frozen, so we have been paying electric rates that came out of a rate case in 1995, since 1997. That was the so-called transition to electric competition. There are different views about whether there is electric competition at this time. Her opinion is that there is pretty good competition in the wholesale market place. There is an active wholesale market. In the retail area there is good competition other than with respect to residential customers. That competition was, for example, what allowed the City of Evanston to obtain the contract that it did. Several competing suppliers came to the table. The period of time prior to last January was a hotly competitive time because the rate freeze was going to end and there was a great concern about rate increases, so the retail competitors were very aggressively seeking customers. Many of the commercial customers pay Com Ed to transmit the electricity to you and then you buy from what we call an ARES, an alternative retail electric supplier. The City is experiencing what other customers are experiencing. The electric utilities in Illinois have essentially become "wires" companies. They do not own electric generation any more. Generation has been divested - sometimes to their affiliated companies. When you say affiliated companies, sonic people will assume that it's one and the same. Under federal law and in some provisions of state law, if the entities that generate electricity are in the same corporate family, they are to be kept totally separate from those that own the distribution wires and also those that own the transmission wires, which are the higher voltage wires. The idea is to allow equivalent access for all generators to the means of transmitting electricity. When people say Com Ed really owns the generation because Exclon does, it is painting with a broad brush because they arc separate and they do need to have separate contractual relationships. Their entire corporate family benefits. however, from whatever they do. The utilities chose a single price auction to buy electricity for the period starting 1/l/07. This was done in several other states in the country, ostensibly with some success. According to the regulators, the auction was properly conducted. It was conducted by a nationally recognized outside consulting company called N.E.R.A. There was no suggestion by those that analyr_ed (tic auction that there was anything untoward in the auction. It was very strictly handled. Ms. Greenberg said she looked at a fair amount of the material and found no indication of collusion. She explained that we are in a situation where there is a regional electric market and the marketplace is not as it used to be, where Energy Commission 12-07-07_EC Mtg_Notes (2).doc Page 3 electricity was purchased from a particular generating plant and that electricity would come to the customer. It now comes through a regional market. We are in a structured market called the P.J.M. There is a day -ahead market and an hourly spot market, which is where all of our electricity comes from. If you contract with someone for electricity, they use a variety of hedges and they buy the electricity out of that market place to deliver to you, making it more of a financial type of transaction. The market is based on demand. As a result of the auction the electric rates skyrocketed and in southern Illinois in Ameren's territory some customers were seeing increases of 200%. Our legislature was appalled despite the fact that it was our legislature that was the instrument responsible for the 10 year freeze. Also there have been increases. The utilities have a separate rate for delivery or distribution service. That rate is regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and there have been rate cases to raise that rate in addition to purchasing the electricity because there are many things they need to do to keep the distribution system going. When rates skyrocketed everyone ran to the table to buy electricity as we did in Evanston. Another thing that is occurring that is a little more subtle to those that arc not necessarily involved in the regulatory process, is that the opportunity for commercial and industrials to purchase electricity at bundled, i.e. fixed rates from the utilities (i.e. Coni Ed), is decreasing. As of this spring, if you are larger than 40OKW in your load, you will not have the opportunity to buy at a bundled rate. This means that if you buy from the utility you are buying at the market rate. You are likely to go to a competitive supplier who can, in fact, negotiate a fixed rate with you, as long as they are able to do their hedging to acquire the electricity in the market. In this past year we ended up with The Illinois Power Agency Act, SB1592, a 210 page piece of legislation, interlineating new law with old. This bill was pushed through towards what would normally be the end of the legislative session, in response to the high electric rates. There was talk of rc-freezing rates. There are those who tremendously dislike the electric utilities and put everything on their shoulders. One entity does not have enough control to be responsible for the rate freeze nor the market rates. This legislation came out of discussions between the leadership in the legislature, the Attorney General, the utilities and some of the large entities owning generation in Illinois. Aside from the utility affiliates, these include Midwest Generation, that owns a number of the coal plants, and Dynogee, which also owns some. These are companies that bought the plants that previously were electric utility -owned plants. There was no opportunity for public participation in the debate. This was negotiated behind closed doors. There wcre, among other things, threats of a generation tax that brought the generating companies to the table and we ended up with a rate relief package where the consumers in Illinois are getting, altogether, from Ameren and Com Ed about S950 million in rate relief, coming in a variety of credits and other programs and opportunities. In exchange for no tax on electric generation, which is another revenue producing idea, legislature thought it would be good for our utilities to pull out of this regional PJM market. They pushed for that and that was rebuffed. There is quite a long horizon when the utilities could not be required to do so. She thinks it is a good thing that our utilities participate in this Energy Commission 12-07-07_EC h1tg_\otes (2).doc Page a market and parenthetically, utilities have traded electricity with one another in a less structured way since any of us have been using electricity. This is a more formalized and larger pooling way of handling things although it is not the traditional power pool. To have pulled out of this regional market would have been difficult at best, costly, and one of the important things that this market is doing is it is an independent system operator, managing the transmission system and there is a tremendous emphasis on reliability and planning. One of the things we are seeing at the federal levcI is that the wholesale market and the transmission side are regulated in Washington by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) very strictly. There is an emphasis on keeping things as reliable as possible, which has historically been done voluntarily by the interconnected utilities. SP1592, the Illinois Power Agency Act, created the IIlinois Power Agency (IPA) which will procure electricity for the large utilities in Illinois beginning in June 2009. There is difficulty in finding a director for the agency, who must have at least 1 I or 12 years of experience in the industry but has not worked in the industry for at least 2 years, and cannot for at least 2 years afterward. The salary is $100,000 a year. They arc advertising widely. The process for procuring electricity will be through a competitive procurement again, but not an auction. It would be a pay as bid request for proposals (RFP) process, which is the way we did it in Evanston. It is a way that is commonly done. Economists are simulating doing RFPs and auctions every day. The majority says the auctions get better results but the RFP offers a good alternative. People who generate electricity who want to sell their product will "sharpen their pencils." There is going to be ICC oversight of the IPA providing a new regulatory layer. The IPA will, with the utilities' input, develop the power supply needs. The ICC will approve the procurement process and the procurement results. There is a lag time of approximately 15 days that the ICC has to approve the results of the procurement. In Ms. Greenberg's opinion, the lag time is a problem in the auction. The lack of lab time is the reason Evanston and Naperville got good rates. Adding that anything she says about NapmiIle is public information, she said that in Naperville, they got their bids and they were able to sign the contract in two hours. They had the City Council ready. In Evanston at the retail, we got the bids, City Council approved the contract that evening and the contract was signed the next day. «'hen you have a 15 day lag, you will sec a risk premium put on the price by the supplier because they don't know what is going to happen and it will be huge because it is a huge amount of electricity. They want to put their hedgcs in place because the market is a changing market. The IPA can also own electric generation and sell electricity to municipalities at cost. She believes that is more relevant to municipal electric systems. Currently the utilities, not the IPA are procuring electricity for the period June 08 to June 09. This includes a procurement of rcnewables. These plans are before the ICC right now. They are to be approved within a month and a half and this again, will be the same kind of pay as bid process. This is to fill in for the electricity that the utilities do not have firmly signed up for this period June '08 through '09, until the IPA gets moving. Energy Commission 12-07-07_EC_Mtg_`otes (2).doc Page 5 Utilities also entered into 5-year energy "swap agreements" or "financial power purchase agreements" with the major generators mentioned before and the utility affiliated generators and they bought a block of power, or base load energy. The auction we had before was very different because the auction sellers were selling a "vertical slice" of the utilities' load which means that for each one, for example, 50%, you followed that load. So you would supply 50% of Com Ed's load no matter how big it was or how it fluctuated with the weather. You would not only provide energy but other pieces such as electric capacity and ancillary services, as they might change during your contract term, so it was a very different purchase. The utilities have purchased base load electricity at a relatively favorable price, as part of this negotiation and the reason the large generators agreed to this (until approximately 20I2) is because there is not going to be a tax on generation. These companies were able to sell and provide the base load security. Ms. Greenberg believes this will help to mitigate price increase during this first five years of the IPA procurement. Com Ed estimates that the wholesale rate through May 09 will be S60-S70 per megawatt hour, the ICC staff has estimated $63-$83 per megawatt hour. No one is assuming that the IPA creation is going to eliminate the majority of the increase that we have seen. The utilities have recently filed for increases again in their delivery service rates and also Com Ed just settled a transmission rate case at the FERC resulting in an increase in transmission rates. There is great pressure in the transmission area to build needed new transmission to address infrastructure issues with existing transmission. It is all part of the reliability issue. There are also goals established within this law for energy efficiency, demand response and renewable energy purchases by the utilities. The difference between energy efficiency and demand response is, demand response is generally moving usage from a time of high demand to another time and reducing it as well, and energy efficiency is looking at more of a general reduction in energy usage, but they overlap. The energy efficiency requirements are now the subject of three proceedings that involve Ameren Companies. Com Ed and the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The ICC will issue its order on these energy efficiency programs on February 15, 2008. The energy efficiency measures will be paid for by a surcharge on all utility bills of customers that take delivery of electricity, including the City of Evanston and residents who use electricity. B-cryhody %vill pay a small surcharge. 75% of the generated revenue will he administered in the form of programs and grants by the utility, 25% by DCEO and a total of I W o of the whole is earmarked for municipalities to receive energy efficiency grants and various opportunities in which the Energy Commission will be very interested. As a customer of the utility, the City will have two opportunities: one is through DECO's public building programs (Ms. Greenberg distributed material on their filings on it) and an opportunity as a utility customer for large commercial buildings. The expected dollar amount to come into the pot for energy efficiency for year one is S35 to S40 million, year two $80 million and year three S 120 million. The 10% is Energy Commission Page 6 12-07-07_EC_.%1tg_Notes (2).doc specifically made available for governmental entities. The impact on consumer rates both for energy efficiency and renewable will be limited by its impact on the rate. It starts at no more than half a percent increase on the total retail rate including taxes. It will go up to as high as 2% after three years. After 4 years it goes a half percent up to 2%. In three or four years, the increase is about 4%, but the hope is that with less usage, it will balance itself out. Assuming the ICC approves these programs and the place to apply will be DCEO. Some examples of the grants proposed are public sector: a grant to purchase high efficiency energy equipment; then a second one for more complex energy efficiency equipment including large scale projects that offer things such as municipal water pumping and waste water facilities; new construction or gut rehab in the public sector. To the extent that the construction exceeds the requirements of the Energy Conscrvation Code for commercial buildings, there is a payment per square foot that would be available. Other possibilities are: public sector retro commissioning to tune up old buildings by returning to its intended operational design characteristics; and smart energy design assistance for new and renovated public facilities. Ms. Greenberg provided printouts of some of the DCEO programs being looked at by the ICC. Ms. Greenberg said that this appears to be one of the least controversial ICC proceedings. The idea is that the utilities and DCEO worked very extensively with stake holders on this because they knew they were on a very short time frame. The utilities are very committed to this also. The manager of energy efficiency programs at Com Ed said he and his staff arc tickled that there is the opportunity to do this kind of thing. There is such a current push for energy efficiency and renewable energy and he hopes it is not just a trend. She believes there will not be significant modification. Renewable portfolio standard legislation is a requirement that utilities obtain a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources. She will speak another day about renewable energy. Nobody really gets renewable energy when they buy it because electricity is blended together in the wires and you don't know where it is coming from. You can buy REC's (renewable energy certificates or credits) which are the indicators of the renewable attributes of the electricity. The theory is that this benefits the renewable generator because someone bought their attributes. Ms. Greenberg does represent renewables and has since the 70's. Illinois utilities are required to begin with at least 2% by 2008 and up to 25% by June 2025. it goes up 2/,,, then 490' the next year, then 50/6%, 7%, 8%, 9% by 2014, 10% by 2015, and then up 1.5% per year until 2025. This is to the extent the renewable energy in Illinois is available. The requirement in Illinois is that at least 75% of renewables should be from wind power and wind power is a wonderful resource but it is also intermittent and there are a variety of issues relating to it that need to be considered. This renewable energy is procured by buying the RECs. The utility buys the RECs and then retires them which simply means they don't resell them and they are out of the market at that point. This renewable energy will be procured through the IPA except for this first year. The Encrgy Commission 12-07-07 EC_.%itg_Notes (2).dac Page 7 utilities are having their RFPs and the energy procurement and the renewable credit procurement arc pan of something that is proposed and is being addressed currently because this is for the period starting June 2008. The definition of rcncxvables includes wind, solar -thermal, photovoltaic, solar panels, bio-diesel, untreated unadulterated organic waste, bio-mass, trees and tree trimming, hydro power that does not involve new construction or significant expansion of dams, and other sources environmentally preferable energy. It does not include incineration of tires, garbage or commercial waster. It does include land fill gas, which is the methane that occurs in a land fill when waste decomposes. (The definition did not address low-level geo-thermal.) Another bill is a piece of legislation which provides for municipal aggregation of electric supply. This allows a municipality to aggregate its residents into a group and bid out the electric supply for them. In a sense it is the proxy for municipalization and less expensive because you don't need to run the distribution system. There is a process for this: it requires a majority vote of the City Council first; public hearings must be held; a plan must be adopted including taking public comment; including demand/responsc, energy efficiency, renewables, (everything that utilities need to do). It would only be for residential usage and before you have your supplier, you would need to show that all the residences are being treated equitably, how rates would be established, and how suppliers arc dealt with and termination. Then a filing is made with the [CC for approval. They have 120 days to act. There is public opportunity to participate in all of the regulatory proceedings. When it is approved you solicit bids. When you accept a bid, you apply to the ICC, who has 15 days to suspend or approve it. Ms. Greenberg reiterated that 15 days is a long time in the electric marketplace today. You want the ability to very quickly sign your contract and also to choose when you go out for bids. That is one of the reasons the City of Naperville was so successful. They had 3 or 4 pricing days and they didn't like the way the market was running so they did not take any prices. They worked with their consultants to develop parameters for the right circumstances in which to ask for bids. The Illinois utilities could not do that with their auction, but you could do so as a municipality. Consumers have the right to opt in. It has been set up as an "opt - in." (as opposed to art "opt -out"). You can do it jointly or with other municipalities. Another piece of legislation, Bill SB 1299, as another means of trying to facilitate further competition is the ARES (Altemative Retail Electric Suppliers) which are the entities that sell electricity at retail. They are all licensed by the ICC, bonded, must have a call center, etc., in consumer protection requirements. The utilities (Com Ed) will provide a single billing service and identify who the supplier is. The utilities will also now have to put tariffs into place where they will buy the receivables of the ARES. This will create better cash flow for the ARES. They will have to pay for the electricity they buy before they get paid by the people they supply. Another provision is that the utilities have to buy the bad debt receivables and have the right to go after them. This is brand new and all part of the effort to facilitate retail competition. Energy Commission 12-07-07 EC_,`itg_Notes (2).doc Page 8 Mr. Morse asked whether there are middle men among ARES. Ms. Greenberg answered that there is another bill that was passed this year that requires licensing of anybody who is involved in providing consulting or brokering, so apparently there has been a sense that there is a need for this. Ms. Greenberg will provide notes on all the bills by email. Ms. Greenberg clarified that the municipal aggregation legislation does not require that a municipality own any of the distribution system. It just provides a buying group. The state of Ohio has had some success with this system in rural areas. Ms. Greenberg will obtain any documentation on this if it is available for the Commission. Chair Freeman asked how Ms. Greenberg would quantify the hedge on a buying contract. Ms. Greenberg explained that on several RFPs the sense from the suppliers that for an entity such as a municipality it is very important that they can make their pricing commitments the minute you sign on with them because they have said in order to give you this price they are making certain assumptions about the market. The farther out you get in time, the less reliability you have. There seems to be a real value to be able to say, we're giving you the price today so we'd like to have the contract signed in a few hours time while the prices are still available to us. There will be a surcharge on every electric customer's bill. The Commission thanked Ms. Greenberg for her presentation. Vi1. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:32 a.m. The next Energy Commission meeting will be held on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. in Room 2404. Respectfully submitted, Bobbie Newman Executive Secretary, Planning Division City of Evanston The City of Evanston is committed to making all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Any citizen needing mobility or communications access assistance should contact David Cook, Facilities Management Office at 847/866-2916 (Voice) or 847/3284080 (TDD)