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Home My WebLink AboutAEA Board Meeting May 2019“4 ALASKA a ENERGY AUTHORITY Alaska Energy Authority DRAFT BOARD MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Anchorage, Alaska 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pruhs called the meeting of the Alaska Energy Authority to order on at 2:07 pm. A quorum was established. 2. ROLL CALL: BOARD MEMBERS Members present: Chair Dana Pruhs (Public Member); Vice-Chair Bernie Karl (Public Member) (phone); Julie Anderson (Commissioner DCCED); Bill Kendig (Public Member); Greg Samorajski (Deputy Commissioner DOR); and Julie Sande (Public Member) (phone). 3. ROLL CALL: STAFF, PUBLIC Staff present: Curtis Thayer, Cady Lister, Kirk Warren, Tim Sandstrom, Linda Senn, Amy Adler, Brenda Applegate, Ashton Compton (AEA); and Stefan Saldanha (Department of Law). Others present: Ladonna Lindley (Accu-Type Depositions); and Bernie Smith (public) (phone). 4. AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Kendig to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Anderson. The motion was approved without objection. 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS Bernie Smith noted he had no comments, but wanted to ensure his name was included in the record. 6. PRIOR MINUTES - April 17, 2019 MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Kendig to approve the Minutes of April 17, 2019. Commissioner Anderson seconded the motion. The motion was approved without objection. 813 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 | P 907.771.3000 | Toll Free 888.300.8534 | F 907.771.3044 | WWW.AKENERGYAUTHORITY.ORG REDUCING THE COST OF ENERGY IN ALASKA Page 2 of 4 7. NEW BUSINESS None. MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Kendig to go into Executive Session to discuss confidential matters related to Bradley Lake. Commissioner Anderson seconded the motion. The motion was approved without objection. 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Executive Session: 2:10 pm Discuss confidential matters related to: 8A. Bradley Lake The Board reconvened its regular meeting at 2:49 pm. Chair Pruhs advised no formal action was taken on the matters discussed in executive session. 9. DIRECTOR COMMENTS 9A. Update Thayer Lake Hydro Curtis Thayer, Executive Director, provided the update on the Thayer Lake Hydro project. The $7 million of funds for the construction program through the Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee (REFAC) have been held by AEA for the last seven years. AEA and the Department of Law had mistakenly taken the position the funds could not be released due to the recommendations given by REFAC to the Legislature. Upon review of the 2012 records, it was determined the REFAC recommendations were not part of the official record given to the Legislature, and therefore, there were no conditions on the legislative funds given for the Thayer Lake Hydro project. AEA is moving forward with providing $800,000 to get the project to 100% design. Based on the design, matching funds and additional funds, the balance of the $5.7 million will be released through a grant agreement. During these seven years, the grantee has worked in Washington, D.C. to secure an anticipated $7 million to $8 million of federal funding for the project. 9B. Update on Hiilangaay Mr. Thayer noted the recent issues with Hiilangaay have been resolved. The loan amendment to extend the floating line of credit is completed. The schedule has been updated to reflect the completion in February of 2020. Mr. Thayer and Mr. Carey will conduct a site visit and meet with the power authority next week. AEA has approximately $26 million invested in the project, consisting of a $20 million loan and a $6 million grant. ALASKA ENERGY AUTHORITY 813 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 | P 907.771.3000 | Toll Free 888.300.8534 | F 907.771.3044 | WWW.AKENERGYAUTHORITY.ORG Page 3 of 4 Chair Pruhs inquired as to the interest terms for the loan. Cady Lister, AEA Chief Economist, noted there is zero interest during the fixed line of credit period and there is an interest free and payment free window of seven years after project completion. The terms were approved long ago by the Board. The terms were not recommended by staff. 9C. Update Snettisham / Sweetheart Hydro Mr. Thayer advised his continued work with the Snettisham / Sweetheart Hydro project interconnection agreement is regular and is moving forward. The facility study is expected to be completed next month. The draft timeline is being revised to reflect completion during August or September. Mr. Thayer commented members of the congressional delegation in the Senate Energy Committee who worked diligently on the FERC licensing were surprised the interconnection agreement process is ongoing. 9D. Dashboard and Loan Report Mr. Thayer stated the outstanding loans remain at 19. King Cove has approached AEA requesting an interest rate reduction to 1% and a $500,000 loan. Mr. Thayer noted staff does not have the flexibility to reduce the interest rate. Staff is inclined to recommend the loan, if the necessary paperwork is provided. Chair Pruhs inquired as to the low delinquencies of $4,200 in the report. Ms. Lister advised three loans in repayment currently have challenges with paying on time. 9E. Update Website Redesign Mr. Thayer advised further information on the website redesign will be provided at the next meeting. There are approximately 1,500 electronic documents that are not currently on the website. An electronic document library is being developed to contain these. Approximately 2,000 additional documents have not been scanned electronically and efforts to scan these will continue after the current electronic documents have been uploaded. 9F. Update Bradley Lake Site Visit The Bradley Lake site visit to tour the construction of the Battle Creek project is scheduled for July 10% and 11‘. Hotel rooms have been secured and flight time requests are being processed. All seven Board members are scheduled to attend. Please contact Mr. Thayer if cancellations arise. 9G. Next Regularly Scheduled AEA Board Meeting Wed. June 26, 2019 Mr. Thayer commented the Transco has been filed. AEA maintains a neutral position. Public hearings will occur in early July. The Board is welcome to communicate to staff regarding its official position. Staff continues to complete the due diligence process regarding all parties. ALASKA ENERGY AUTHORITY 813 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 | P 907.771.3000 | Toll Free 888.300.8534 | F 907.771.3044 | WWW.AKENERGYAUTHORITY.ORG Page 4 of 4 Mr. Kendig advised MEA’s customers will save approximately $6 million each year if the for- profit Transco entity does not occur. Mr. Thayer informed the two biggest supporters and beneficiaries of the Transco are GVEA and HEA. Mr. Thayer expressed appreciation to Ms. Lister and informed she has accepted a new position with the city of Portland and will be leaving within a couple of weeks. Internal discussions are ongoing regarding the next phase for her section of planning and programs. 10. BOARD COMMENTS Mr. Karl wished Ms. Lister well in her new venture. He expressed appreciation for her work tenure at AEA. Mr. Karl thanked staff for the meeting preparation. He is pleased with Mr. Thayer’s assertive and effective methods in the Executive Director position. Mr. Kendig commented on the federal infrastructure discussions with respect to renewable energy. He inquired if lines of communications could be opened with Senator Dan Sullivan, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and Congressman Don Young regarding the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric project. Chair Pruhs commented he is a proponent. Commissioner Anderson believes many projects could be helped. Mr. Thayer advised the Governor’s office requested AEA provide information after session on Susitna-Watana, as well as additional projects. Ms. Sande expressed appreciation to staff. She is sorry to see Ms. Lister leave her position and wished her luck in the new endeavor. Deputy Commissioner Samorajski extended congratulations to Ms. Lister. Commissioner Anderson echoed the congratulatory comments. Chair Pruhs echoed the congratulatory comments and expressed appreciation to staff for their efforts in preparing today’s meeting and patience during the previous meeting. 11. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business of the Board, the AEA meeting adjourned at 3:07 pm. Li o- Ss. Curtis Thayer, Executive Director/Secretary Alaska Energy Authority ALASKA ENERGY AUTHORITY 813 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 | P 907.771.3000 | Toll Free 888.300.8534 | F 907.771.3044 | WWW.AKENERGYAUTHORITY.ORG