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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021.05.19 IMC Executed MinutesAlaska Intertie Management Committee (IMC) REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Friday, May 21, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER Acting Chair Jeff Warner called the meeting of the Alaska Intertie Management Committee to order on May 21, 2021, at 9:03 a.m. A quorum was established. The meeting was paused due to technical difficulties. The meeting resumed at 9:26 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS Members present: Jeff Warner (Chugach Electric Association (CEA)); Tony Izzo (Matanuska Electric Association (MEA)); Ron Woolf (phone) (Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA)); and Kirk Warren (Alaska Energy Authority (AEA)). 3. PUBLIC ROLL CALL Public present: Betty Caudle (phone) (Accu-Type Depositions); Jennifer Bertolini (AEA); Debra Caldwell (AEA); Dona Keppers (AEA); Melissa Yang (AEA); Lee Thibert (CEA); Stefan Saldanha (Department of Law); Bob Day (HEA); Andrew Patrick (HEA); Kirk Gibson (phone) (McDowell Rackner & Gibson PC); David Pease (MEA); and Bernie Smith (Public). 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None 5. AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: Mr. Izzo made a motion to approve the agenda. Motion seconded by Mr. Warren. Mr. Warren requested a friendly amendment to delete Items 8A. and 8B., which are redundant within Item 9A. There was no objection to the friendly amendment. The amended agenda, deleting Items 8A. and 8B., was approved with no objection. 6. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MINUTES - March 26, 2021 MOTION: Mr. Warren made a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes of March 26, 2021. Motion seconded by Mr. Izzo. Kirk Gibson, McDowell Rackner & Gibson PC, requested to make an amendment on paragraph five, Agenda Approval, the last paragraph on the page, removing the words, "within the courts." Mr. Warren agreed with the requested modification. There was no objection to the amendment. The Minutes of March 26, 2021 were approved as amended, removing the words "within the courts," from paragraph five Agenda Approval, with no objection. IMC Meeting Minutes - May 21, 2021 7. NEW BUSINESS 7A. Review of OC Changes to draft FY22 IMC Budget Acting Chair Warner informed that the three changes that occurred to the draft FY22 IMC Budget were under FERC 570. He introduced Debra Caldwell, AEA, to provide additional support. Acting Chair Warner described the first change is to Healy and Goldhill Digital Fault Recorders in the amount of $90,000. This was proposed by GVEA and approved unanimously by the IOC. The purpose of the recorders are to give the ability to record system events and backup detail at both Healy and Goldhill. The recorders will also monitor the SVCs. Acting Chair Warner described the next change is to the Goldhill SVC Cooling in the amount of $65,000. Since the rebuild in 2014, there have been overheating issues at the Goldhill Substation related to ambient temperatures that exceed the allowable limit. The installation of additional cooling will minimize and prevent the overheating condition within the building. Acting Chair Warner discussed the third change is the removal of an item in the amount of $285,000 to replace distribution equipment at the Cantwell Substation regarding transformer protection, RTU, and reclosers. This change resulted from discussions at the previous IMC meeting that directed the IOC to address cost sharing for equipment that is not related to moving power across the Intertie. The decision was made at the last meeting to remove the line item. There is tentative agreement within the IOC to determine what equipment should be under the IMC jurisdiction and what equipment is related to serving power in Cantwell for GVEA. A list of equipment has been developed. The budget item to replace the high side motor -operated disconnects remains in the budget as approved. Mr. Izzo requested clarification regarding what action is required at this meeting regarding the budget process. Ms. Caldwell informed that staff is asking for approval to post the proposed budget for the 30-day public comment period. Once that period is complete in June, staff will bring the budget back before the IMC for final approval before the beginning of the fiscal year. Ms. Caldwell advised that the proposed draft of the FY22 Budget was reviewed at the last meeting, minus the three changes reviewed by Acting Chair Warner. The three changes result in a projected fiscal year shortage of $19,000. Mr. Izzo requested information for the record regarding the delta comparison of the draft FY22 Budget compared to the FY21 Budget. Ms. Caldwell reported that the draft FY22 Budget compared to the FY21 Budget has an increase of revenues of approximately $120,000. This is primarily related to increases in usage projections by GVEA. The total operating costs are down approximately $15,000, due primarily to an increase of maintenance of station equipment under FERC 570 and the aforementioned changes. This is offset by a reduction in FERC 571 Maintenance of Overhead Lines, which is down by approximately $252,000 compared to the FY21 Budget. Additionally, the administration costs have decreased by approximately $400,000. This is primarily related to the LIDAR Study which was budgeted in FY21 and is not budgeted for the proposed FY22 Budget. There were no questions. 7B. Approval of FY22 IMC Budget Comment Period posting IMC Meeting Minutes - May 21, 2021 2 MOTION: Mr. Izzo made a motion that the Alaska Intertie Management Committee approve the Fiscal Year 2022 Preliminary Operating Budget to be posted for the 30-day public comment period, as presented. Comments are due to the IMC and AEA by 5:00 p.m. on June 21, 2021. Motion seconded by Mr. Warren. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion to approve the Fiscal Year 2022 Preliminary Operating Budget to be posted for the 30-day public comment period, as presented was approved unanimously. 8. OLD BUSINESS 8C. Bylaw Amendments Acting Chair Warner requested Mr. Gibson provide the update regarding the Bylaw Amendments. Mr. Gibson informed that the amended and restated version of the IMC Bylaws was distributed to members and Council. He noted that he has received some comments and he is awaiting additional comments. The amendments process is in progress. Mr. Gibson expects that the amendments will be ready for presentation and approval at the next scheduled IMC meeting. There were no questions. 9. COMMITTEE REPORTS 9A. OC Report/Operators Report Acting Chair Warner discussed the provided IOC Report and Operators Report. The IOC met on April 30, 2021, and called a brief special meeting on May 7, 2021. The Committee is conducting work on the Alaska Intertie Vegetation Management Policy. Both MEA and GVEA have appointed managers to address best practices related to the current processes. The intent is to create an IMC-approved document that combines best practices and processes and to create a schedule for ongoing clearing. The process will help tighten the budgetary estimates required for clearing each year. Acting Chair Warner discussed that the LIDAR work is continuing and the report is on schedule to be delivered at the end of this month. The Maintenance Subcommittee has done a good job reviewing the preliminary reports. A few concerns have been addressed regarding clearance issues, hot spots, and the removal of an Eagle's nest. No significant areas have been identified. Acting Chair Warner noted that the Studies Subcommittee continues work on the Spin Study that was awarded to EPS. Benchmarking of the PSS/E model is ongoing. The report is due in the July/August timeframe. The Douglass Communication Project scope of work is being finalized by the SCADA Subcommittee. The cost estimate to improve communications between Teeland and Healy substations is approximately $850,000. The effort to improve the communication between Douglas and Healy is ongoing and the cost estimate is not yet available. The two communication improvements will be a single project and will be placed into the scope of work. Acting Chair Warner discussed the attached Reliability Report. No Intertie outages or protection reserve loadshed events have occurred within the first and second quarters of 2021. Mr. Warren asked if the SCADA Subcommittee and the communications is included in the Intertie appropriation amount that is outstanding. Acting Chair Warner agreed, and reported that $1.8 million of the appropriation was released by AEA. The work is anticipated to be funded by the appropriation, rather than as budget items. There were no additional questions. IMC Meeting Minutes - May 21, 2021 3 9B. Budget to Actuals Ms. Caldwell reviewed the provided Budget to Actuals Report for the period of July 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Revenues are up, primarily due to increased usage by GVEA. Expenses are over -budget year-to-date by approximately $78,000, primarily related to maintenance of station equipment. The repainting of the Healy SVC yard was originally budgeted for $10,000, but the actual cost was $128,000. The year-to-date maintenance of overhead lines is under budget, but is anticipated to increase in the last three months of the year. The overall budget has a year-to-date surplus of $99,000. There were no questions. 10. MEMBER COMMENTS Mr. Warren expressed appreciation to members for their patience during today's technical difficulties. He thanked Ms. Caldwell and AEA staff for the clear and concise budget reports. He thanked Acting Chair Warner for running the meeting. Mr. Izzo echoed Mr. Warren's comments of appreciation. He thanked Ms. Bertolini for working through the technical difficulties. Mr. Woolf echoed the previous comments of appreciation. He is impressed at how quickly Ms. Caldwell has become proficient and versed in her role. He thanked her for the assistance in organizing meetings and in the preparation of materials. Acting Chair Warner expressed appreciation to Ms. Bertolini for her efforts in ensuring an efficient meeting. He thanked Ms. Caldwell and her team for their efforts. 11. NEXT MEETING DATE - June 25, 2021 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business of the AIMC, the meeting adjourned at 9:51 a.m. ,�Zj 0 124-, Ed Jenkin, Chair 'r en, Secret IMC Meeting Minutes - May 21, 2021 4