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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-14 IMC Meeting MinutesAlaska Intertie Management Committee (IMC) REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Alaska Energy Authority Board Room Friday, February 14, 2025 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dan Bishop called the meeting of the Alaska Intertie Management Committee to order on February 14, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS Members present: Dan Bishop (Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA)); Tony Zellers (Matanuska Electric Association (MEA)); Andrew Laughlin (Chugach Electric Association (CEA)); and Bill Price (Alaska Energy Authority (AEA)). A quorum was established. 3. PUBLIC ROLL CALL Jennifer Bertolini (AEA); Mark Billingsley (AEA); Bryan Carey (AEA); Patrick Domitrovich (AEA); Mark Ziesmer (AEA); Joel Paisner (Ascent Law Partners); Mike Miller (CEA); Russell Thornton (CEA); Nathan Minnema (GVEA); David Pease (MEA); Matt Reisterer (MEA); Jon Sinclair (MEA); Unidentified Speaker (MEA); Julian Jensen (Public); and Bernie Smith (Public). 4. AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Laughlin to approve the agenda. Motion seconded by Mr. Zellers. The agenda was approved without objection. S. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None 6. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MINUTES — January 17, 2025 Chair Bishop indicated that after a preliminary review and discussion with Jennifer Bertolini, AEA, a decision was made to table the approval of the Minutes of January 17, 2025. Extensive revisions are required. There was no objection. 7. NEW BUSINESS 7A. Avalanche damage — Structure 616 IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025 Chair Bishop noted that GVEA has worked to put a temporary repair in place on the structure north of Cantwell near Panorama Peaks. Snow and boulders slid down the side of the mountain and caused extensive damage to the transmission structure of the Alaska Intertie, and broke off a GVEA distribution pole. Chair Bishop requested Nathan Minnema, GVEA, to share a picture of the damage. Chair Bishop discussed that GVEA expects that the amount of money that will be spent on temporary repairs this fiscal year will be within the allowable budget. The final repair cost of the structure is estimated at approximately $450,000, and will occur in the next fiscal year. Mr. Minnema showed pictures of the repair efforts. One picture showed the structure after I -beams were added to scab the uphill side of the tower and span the damaged area. Staff has been working with the contractors to acquire a new base section from tower manufacturers. The steel has not yet been sourced, and the lead time is unknown. Mr. Zellers asked if spare structures are stored at the Talkeetna location. Mr. Minnema indicated that he was unaware of that possibility, and would be interested in knowing of any spare structures. Mr. Laughlin noted that he does not recall any spare structures, and will review his inventory to see if any items would be useful. He requested Mr. Minnema send him drawings and dimensions of the structure. Mr. Minnema agreed. Mr. Zellers commented that he there was a yard at the Spur, and that Intertie had been stored items at that yard. Mr. Zellers stated that Jon Sinclair, MEA, concurred. Mr. Zellers indicated that MEA would check the records to see if they have a section for the base. Mr. Minnema said he will share the drawing of the specific tower with the Committee. There were no additional questions or comments. 7B. FY26 Budget L Schedule Mark Ziesmer, AEA, stated the FY26 Budget is in progress. He provided a template for adding information for the FY26 Budget. He said he expects to present the proposed budget at the March meeting or at the May meeting. Mr. Ziesmer explained that the budget needs to be in place by July 1, 2025, and the 30-day public comment period must occur prior to that date. Chair Bishop said that that GVEA is working towards submitting their input by March 21, 2025. Mr. Price stated the Intertie Operating Committee (IOC) anticipates having a targeted draft by March 21, 2025. Mr. Zellers understood that a budget is needed. However, discussion and contemplation must occur regarding whether the Railbelt Transmission Organization (RTO) will take on some of the costs if the Intertie is included in the backbone definition. He stated the tariff will be filed June 1, IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 202S 2 2025, and it will probably take 180 days for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) to approve the filing. He said if the Intertie is included in the backbone definition, the Committee would to determine which projects will be assigned to the RTO and which projects will remain. There were no other questions or comments. ii. Potential Projects Chair Bishop requested discussion regarding potential projects. He recalled previous reference for the tower replacement for the structure 616. HE said there are also a number of grant projects that he hopes will proceed, including the improvements to the structures to tolerate unbalanced snow loads to avoid faults and the synchrophasor projects. Mr. Price commented on the federal uncertainty on the snow load project, and noted that the existing snow load monitoring system is aged out and is no longer being used. Snow patrols are being conducted when snowfall occurs. He said if the federal snow load project grant were to be cancelled, the Committee may want to consider a contingency plan. He presumed that the Committee would not want to fund the project outright. He asked members want they would want to do if the grant were to be cancelled. Chair Bishop said his preference would be to proceed with the project and complete the engineering. He noted that a $13 million project is an easier solution than a project placing inset towers or other alternatives. Mr. Laughlin agreed with Chair Bishop. He acknowledged the problem and the need to determine a solution. Mr. Laughlin believes there are code violations that the utilities should do work to fix, even if the grant funding is cancelled. Mr. Laughlin stated that it is up to the IOC to develop a plan and a timetable for the goals. Mr. Zellers agreed with the comments, and asked how the project would correlate to the reinsulation from 345 kilovolt (kV) to 230 kV, which will raise the lines. The snow -loading is due primarily because the lines get low to the ground. Chair Bishop discussed the comprehensive engineering conceptual plan and preliminary design work that includes shortening the 345 kV insulator strings to a 230 kV rating, putting in inverted V strings that would reduce the ability of an unbalanced snow load pole toward one span, and other modifications. Mr. Zellers agreed, and commented that he wants to ensure that the project is not only viewed as the 230 kV, but could be used to relieve the need for a snow -loading project. Those alternatives are for the IOC to review. Mr. Price commented that relative to the budget, the synchrophasor project may be affected as well. He said it will take 90 days for the federal government to decide on their actions. Mr. Price IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025 3 asked if the IMC projects should retain their full scope, a reduced scope, or an altered scope. Mr. Price cautioned he has not heard that the federal government is looking to yank the funding. However, Mr. Price noted that the IMC may want to consider a contingency budget that include these projects so that the IMC is not caught unprepared. Mr. Laughlin noted a discussion last year that HEA is also participating in the project with the special cost -sharing arrangement. He suggested that the IOC review the Minutes of those meetings. Mr. Price said the synchrophasor project had a cost -share from HEA and the snow load project did not have a cost -share from HEA. He asked if the project would proceed as the currently planned load share for the grant match, or if it would be included in the administrative portion and funded evenly. He believes these considerations would be topics of further discussion. Chair Bishop asked Jon Sinclair, MEA, for any additional comments on future projects. Mr. Sinclair said there are some projects that will probably roll from year-to-year. He said he cannot recall all of the projects, but it would include the snow unloading project and the synchrophasor project. Both projects would be significant costs if the grant funding is unavailable. He said there are projects that will roll over next year, including fire mitigation, clearing, insulator replacements, the Douglas project, and several GVEA projects that are undergoing budget amendments. There were no other comments or questions. 8. OLD BUSINESS 8A. Wildfire Mitigation Grant IMC Letter of Support Mr. Sinclair said regarding the Wildfire Mitigation Grant IMC Letter of Support, the IOC met and reviewed the letter of recommendation and recommends that the IMC approve the letter. He referenced the cost comparison in the member packet. He explained the five-year total is cheaper under the grant because the IMC would pay $1 million, and the grant would pay $3 million. The grant includes mechanical clearing, herbicides, and planting of low-lying vegetation with the intent to minimize future clearing in the right-of-way. The IOC recommends that the IMC approve the letter of recommendation to move forward with the grant. Mr. Laughlin asked if the biological controls of planting different types of vegetation has been successfully implemented in other parts of Alaska. Mr. Sinclair noted that MEA has a test section that has been completed for about a year. He is unaware of any long-term Alaskan applications. Mr. Sinclair indicated that the biological controls have been successful in the Lower 48, which has led to significant reduction in clearing. IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025 4 There were no other comments or questions. MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Zellers that the IMC provide a letter of support for the Community Wildlife Defense Grant for the Intertie. Motion seconded by Mr. Price. The motion was approved unanimously. 9. COMMITTEE REPORTS 9A. Budget to Actuals Mr. Ziesmer presented the Budget to Actuals report for the period of July 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. Actual revenues were less than budgeted by $208,688 due to lower than anticipated energy usage. Energy usage reached 109,998 MWH. This amount is less than the budgeted amount of 136,132 MWH. The interest earned for the period is $81,092. Actual operating expenses were less than budgeted by $1,132,225. Several categories have experienced little to no activity so far, resulting in significant underspend variances. Mr. Ziesmer noted that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 57000 category, Maintenance, Capacitor Spares shows expenditures of $38,499 without an allocated budget. This is mostly due to materials that were ordered in FY24, but not received until the current fiscal year. The Replace Healy Substation Breaker line is currently over budget by $110,736. Mr. Ziesmer anticipates that this variance will be offset by the remaining budget by the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Ziesmer reviewed FERC 57100 Maintenance of Overhead Lines. The Northern Maintenance is over budget by $50,058. No budget was allocated for FY25. He understands there could be more work related to Structure 616. The Special Patrols exceeded the budget by $12,482, primarily due to emergency line patrols. Mr. Ziesmer anticipates that this category will end the year at $4,982 over budget. Mr. Ziesmer continued the review and noted that FERC 58401 Insurance Premiums have exceeded the budget by approximately $15,000, primarily due to the inclusion of the early payment of the second half of the year's insurance payments and higher than anticipated insurance rates. He does not expect additional insurance costs this year. The anticipated overage for the year is approximately $4,218. Mr. Ziesmer reviewed Administrative Expenses are under budget by $3,540. This is largely in line with the anticipated costs. The current results of revenues and expenses indicate a surplus of $1,717,407. MR. Bishop said that GVEA expects to complete the Healy B17 replacement. The additional budget that is allocated will be expended. The project will be near budget, or possibly a little bit over budget. He said the Cantwell switch installation is expected to be completed this fiscal year. Mr. Zellers agreed that MEA still expects the foundation replacement for the Douglas control Building to be completed this year. This line item will be included in the budget amendment if it is approved in the special meeting. IMC Meeting Minutes - February 14, 2025 5 There were no other comments or questions. 913. IOC Report Mr. Sinclair, Chair of the IOC, presented the IOC Report included in the Committee packet. Mr. Sinclair reviewed the main items discussed at the previous IOC meeting. He thanked the Committee for approving the grant letter of recommendation today. Mr. Sinclair noted that the FY26 budget was discussed at the previous meeting, and the IOC anticipates the development of a high-level draft budget to be provide to the IMC at the March meeting. Mr. Sinclair reported that the work on Structure 616 will probably roll into 2026, given the lead time for steel, unless a spare can be identified earlier. Mr. Sinclair estimates that the repair to the structure would cost approximately $500,000. Mr. Sinclair said that assignments under the System Studies Subcommittee (SSS) include the 230 kV study that was completed. The results were surprising and frustrating because the study showed limited 5% to 10% increase in capacity for upgrading the north and southern ties. The SSS requested the contractor EPS run additional scenarios to determine if capacity increases are possible. Mr. Sinclair will report the findings to the Committee. The other study being conducted by SSS is the inverter -based resources (IBR) study that reviews the amount of generation resources that can be taken on before a significant stability issue occurs, and ways to maintain stability throughout the grid. Data has been collected from all the utilities, and the study is ongoing. It should be completed in the third quarter. Mr. Sinclair discussed the assignments for the Relay Subcommittee, which includes review of the static VAR compensator (SVC) contract. Additionally, GVEA requested access for Douglas, and the Relay Subcommittee is examining that request. Chair Bishop suggested the 230 kV report of the study that was conducted could be modified to explore beyond some of the arbitrary limitations on how far the transfer limits were projected, and could look beyond the most limiting contingency. Chair Bishop hopes to see the study modified as such. Chair Bishop requested that the IOC Subcommittee Chairs are rotated more frequently. He believes that some of the IOC Subcommittee Chairs have not been rotated in quite a few years. Chair Bishop expressed appreciation for the active and good work of the IOC and for their benefit to the utilities. There were no other comments or questions. 9C. Operator Report Russ Thornton, CEA, presented the Operator Report. Mr. Thornton stated that usage on the tie is down by 46%, which is led by GVEA's reduction of 49.3% compared to the same time last year in IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025 6 FY24. The Intertie experienced two trips in January. The first trip was on January 12, 2025, during the windstorm in Southcentral, Anchorage, and the Valley. The load was 18.3 MW. A 60.3 frequency was reached in the southern part of the remaining Railbelt. The beta was 5.2. The cause was a C-phase to ground fault. An additional oscillation was experienced when the tie tripped, and the SPP combustion turbines were taken out of droop to stop the oscillation. This new information has been included in the current and ongoing study reviewing the oscillations and ways to mitigate them. Mr. Thornton discussed the second trip was on January 23, 2025. It was a single line to ground fault between Douglas and Healy. The load was 16.2 MW. A 60.31 frequency was reached in the southern part of the tie. The beta was 5.7. There was no oscillation on this event. Mr. Thornton noted that the IOC Reliability Report shows the four trips during January. Three events occurred at Healy, and one occurred at the University Substation 1132. Mr. Laughlin asked if there is understanding why the MW/0.1 Hz were so low during the January 12 trip, January 23 trip, and January 12, UVSS trip. Mr. Thornton answered that he has not examined the relative participation during those times and does not have an analysis. He believes that GVEA's battery was online. In that condition, he noted there would be spin split between GVEA, MEA, CEA, and that GVEA would be islanded with less spin available while the battery covers CEA's portion of spin. Chair Bishop commented that the implication was that during the events with a higher beta were ones where the entire Railbelt was interconnected. Mr. Thornton agreed, and noted the contribution of the generators that remain are all low inertia machines. The heaviest machine online in the small island is the OTSGs at SPP and 2A, and that inertia is not significant. The battery should be responding. Mr. Thornton commented that the response for this level of trip is not unexpected. There were no additional comments or questions. 10. MEMBERS COMMENTS Mr. Laughlin expressed appreciation to the subcommittees for their diligent efforts and to those presenting reports. Mr. Price echoed the comments of appreciation. Mr. Zellers echoed the comments of appreciation. Chair Bishop echoed the comments appreciation, and is glad to see the improvements on the Railbelt. IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025 7 11. NEXT MEETING DATE — Special Meeting — February 18, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. Chair Bishop and Ms. Bertolini confirmed that the correct time for the special Teams meeting on February 18, 2025 is 8:00 a.m., rather than 8:30 a.m. Public comment will be considered on the proposed budget amendments at that time. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business of the IMC, the meeting adjourned at 9:44 a.m. Z;k lin, Chair l`- Bi,ll_P ice EA Secretary IMC Meeting Minutes — February 14, 2025