HEA Members Forum Update

HEA/AEEC Meeting ChangeThis month's meetings are scheduled for
Tuesday, November 6, 20129:00 AM -- Finance Committee
1:00 PM -- Operations and Special Projects 

3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Meetings normally take place on the second Tuesday of each month.

Location: Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way. Video conferencing is available in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551. Draft agendas are now available on the HEA website at http://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

2013 Budget (finance committee meeting)
Staff will present a Draft 2013 Budget for Board consideration in preparation for a November 27 budget workshop at 10 AM in the Kenai Board Room.

HEA/AEEC Loan Balances (finance committee meeting)
There will also be discussion of the cooperatives' indebtedness as of September 30, 2012.

Changes to HEA/AEEC Meetings Framework (operations committee meeting)
The Board is considering changing the times and format of future committee and Board meetings. One idea would involve combining AEEC committee with AEEC Board meetings and HEA committee with HEA Board meetings. The two would then be scheduled during the work day to eliminate the 5:30 evening meeting time.  

Alaska Railbelt Cooperative Transmission & Electric Company (operations committee meeting)
There also will be an update on ARCTEC and HEA participation.

Natural Gas Supply (HEA Board meeting)
HEA Member Tom Patmor will make a presentation on the Natural Gas Supply issue.

Don't Forget the HEA Energy and Conservation Fair

HEA Members Forum Update

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
10:45 AM -- Operations and Special Projects

1:00 PM -- Finance Committee
3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Location: Starting this month meetings take place in the Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way. Video conferencing is available in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551. Draft agendas are now available on the HEA website at http://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

HEA Energy and Conservation Fair
Saturday November 3, 2012, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Kenai Middle School
Saturday November 10, 2012, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, West Homer Elementary School
Workshops, demonstrations, speakers, and exhibitors related to all aspects of energy alternatives and conservation.

Rate Increase
As of October 1 the Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) increased from 3.603 to 4.884 cents per kWh. This raised your blended rate from 16.362 to 17.643 cents/kWh, or about $8.07 for a member using 630 kWh/month.The increase is due to lower than anticipated power availability from Bradley Lake due to maintenance work and improvements requiring longer than expected, increasing purchase of more expensive natural gas based energy.

Expected Rate Increase
If HEA decides to participate in Chugach Electric Association's new Southcentral Power Project, our wholesale cost of power is expected to increase by almost 5%. Pending RCA approval, the increase could be expected as of January 1, 2013. This is a first taste of how construction of new generation assets will begin increasing your electric rates in the near future.

HEA Line Extension Change
A Design and Engineering Agreement and Construction Agreement along with associated language for the proposed new line extension tariff has been filed with the RCA. A decision was expected as of October 8, 2012 but there is no word from HEA yet. Go to http://www.homerelectric.com/NewsEvents/CurrentNews/tabid/125/Default.aspx to download highlights of the proposed changes and RCA/HEA filing documents.

HEA Members Forum Update

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings
Tuesday, September 11, 2012

10:00 AM -- Operations and Special Projects
1:00 PM -- Finance Committee
3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Location: Starting this month meetings take place in the Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way. Video conferencing is available in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551. Draft agendas are now available on the HEA website athttp://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

HEA Area Wide MeetingsGeneral Manager Brad Janorschke will provide a short overview of present HEA issues. Bring your comments and questions. There will be complementary food and prize drawings.

•    September 12 at Seldovia Community Center -- noon to 1:30 PM
•    September 25 in Ninilchik Fair Grounds -- 5:30 PM 
•    September 26 at Chapman School in Anchor Point -- 5:30 PM
•    September 27 at the Funny River Community Center -- 5:30 PM
•    October 3 at the Sterling Senior Center -- 5:30 PM
•    October 4 at the Nikiski Community & Recreation Center -- 5:30 PM

Proposed New Line Extension Policy
Last fall HEA filed a line extension tariff revision with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. It was withdrawn due to scheduling problems but will be resubmitted next month (October 1). At the August 14 HEA/AEEC meetings there was some discussion over whether to resubmit the original plan or make modifications based upon HEA member comments. Should the Board wish to make modifications it will be discussed at Tuesday's Finance Committee meeting (see above meeting times). The topic is not on the meeting agenda, however. If the original plan is approved, there will be substantial changes in costs and conditions for installing some types of new electric service (summary attached). 

Proposed Battle Creek Diversion Project
The proposal is to divert water from the upper flow of the north fork of Battle Creek into Bradley Lake in order to allow the dam to produce somewhat more energy. The Alaska Energy Authority has been continuing field work necessary to support engineering design of the proposed Battle Creek Diversion in preparation for the draft license amendment application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Responses to the agencies concerns regarding such things as loss of side-channel connectivity, compounding impacts from beaver activity, loss of sediment transfer because of reduced flushing flows, reduced cold-water contributions to side-channel ponds and others discussed during the May 2012 workshop have been developed while preparing for the draft amendment application. Documents and information regarding these are available Bryan Carey, P.E., AEA & AIDEA, (907) 771-3065.

AEA will be provide a draft FERC amendment application, including supporting environmental analysis of the operations proposal to interested parties

The approximate schedule for the amendment application is:

·         AEA to provide Draft Amendment Application to agencies for review: September 2012

·          90-day comment period by agencies:  September -  December 2012.

·         Meeting(s) with Agencies Regarding Recommended Terms and Conditions: January - March 2013

·         Final Amendment Application Submitted to FERC: March 2013 

·         FERC Processes Amendment Application: Spring – Summer 2013

  

HEA Members Forum Update

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings
Tuesday, August 14, 2012

10:00 AM -- Operations and Special Projects
1:00 PM -- Finance Committee
3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Location: Meetings take place in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551.  Video conferencing is available in the Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way.  Draft agendas should available at least a day before meetings on the HEA website athttp://www.homerelectric.com/

BoardofDirectorsElections/
BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

Tomorrow -- the 8th Annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair
Saturday, August 11, 2012 -- 11:00 AM-9:00 PM -- Anchorage Parkstrip Between G & I Streets
This a FREE event with live music, food, a beer garden, craft and information booths, kids activities and renewable energy workshops.Go to http://alaskarenewableenergy.

org/events/alaska-renewable-
energy-fair/ for a complete list of activities.

New USDA-Funded Loans for Energy Upgrades
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced a $250 million program to allow rural electric cooperative customers to take out USDA-funded loans to make energy upgrades and then pay back the loans through their monthly utility savings.

Like the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation rebate program, a certified energy auditor first evaluates the home and makes recommendations for upgrades. Unlike the AHFC program, qualifying homeowners will get an upfront loan rather than a partial rebate after work is completed.

Two-thirds of the savings resulting from the upgrades would go toward repaying the loan. For example, if the drop in energy use results in a $100 monthly savings, $66 would go toward satisfying the debt, and the homeowner’s bill would still be about $33 less than without the improvements. 

Clean Energy Ambassadors (http://

cleanenergyambassadors.ning.
com/) will host a webinar on August 23 the USDA's Rural Economic Development Energy Efficiency Effort. Register at https://cc.readytalk.com/r/hmxz86da07q1 if you're interested.

City of Homer Sewer Treatment Plant Winner of Great Alaska Energy Challenge
In May 2012 the facility received the Renewable Energy Alaska Project award for biggest reduction in electricity usage, having cut energy use by nearly one sixth, saving enough electricity to power over eight homes in one year!

HEA Members Forum Update‏

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
10:00 AM -- Operations and Special Projects
1:00 PM -- Finance Committee
3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Location: Meetings take place in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551.  Video conferencing is available in the Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way.  Draft agendas should available at least a day before meetings on the HEA website athttp://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

Rate Reduction
As of July 1 HEA's Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) fell from $0.04997 to $0.03603 per kWh. This lowered your "blended rate" (COPA plus energy rate) from $0.17756 to $0.16362 per kWh. That's a $0.0139 per kWh reduction -- savings of $8.78 for a 630 kilowatt hour month.

What's In a Name?
After all the heartburn caused by adoption of the 150 kWh "minimum energy charge" HEA got the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to allow the name to be changed to "system delivery charge (SDC)." Either way it's all the same -- part of the real expense HEA incurs in maintaining all the equipment and facilities required to keep power flowing to your meter. You pay some more toward this expense through the monthly $15.00 customer charge. Since the amount of SDC can rise with your per kWh charge, the RCA limits the combined SDC and customer charge to $38.00 per month. While the minimum energy charge was formerly printed on every bill, even if zero kWh was billed, after August 1st. the SDC will print only on consumers’ bills that are eligible to receive the charge. Most HEA members will not see the SDC on their bill.

Net metering customers have been exempt from the minimum energy charge and will continue to be exempt from the SDC.  

Line Extension Policy Change
Review of the present line extension charges show that during the past six years, HEA invested over $2.6 million in developer projects resulting in zero kilowatt hour sales. Since these projects are not generating any revenue for our cooperative, the costs must be recovered through all HEA member rates. Earlier this year a new line extension policy designed to address the problem was sent to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. If added to the HEA tariff the new policy would increase charges for putting in electric service, especially for real estate developers. In the face of opposition from some developers the proposal has been withdrawn until next fall to allow HEA and RCA staff to look at ways to address those concerns. 

Grass Roots Clean Energy Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 27, 2012 – Fed up with the undue influence of the energy companies, utilities, lobbyists and other interests that are making it impossible for Washington to move forward decisively in achieving America’s clean energy future, 36 citizen organizations with more than 1.1 million combined members are joining forces to advance a nine-point “American Clean Energy Agenda” and to push for a serious renewable energy agenda no matter who is the next President or which party controls Congress.

Check out this interesting article forwarded to us by HEA Board of Directors Deputy Secretary, Jim Levine.
http://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/MeettheBoardofDirectors/tabid/254/Default.aspx 

Special Alaska Electric & Energy Cooperative Board Meeting

Special Alaska Electric & Energy Cooperative Board Meeting
9:00 AM
Friday, June 29, 2012
Kenai HEA Board Room (video conferencing from Homer offices)

This special meeting of HEA's generation and transmission arm was called to discuss and vote on approval of a contract for the Soldotna power plant construction, Phase 3 (Combustion Turbine Installation). The meeting is expected to last 30-45 minutes with the bulk of it in Executive Session.  

Have You Voted That HEA Election Ballot?

If so, give yourself a pat on the back. 

If not, you still have time. 

Mail-in ballots must be received by HEA no later than May 2. 

Elect capable, responsible, Directors to the Homer Electric Association Board.

David Thomas (District 1)    Ed Oberts (District 2)    Jim Levine (District 3)

HEA Members may also vote in person at the Annual Meeting on May 3 at Homer High School.

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings

Regular HEA/AEEC Meetings
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

10:00 AM -- Operations and Special Projects
1:00 PM -- Finance Committee
3:00 PM -- AEEC Board Meeting
5:30 PM -- HEA Board Meeting

Warning: On the meeting calendar page of the HEA website when you "hover" the cursor over a meeting title an incorrect time is displayed. For example, 9:00 AM will be shown as the Operations Committee starting time. Click on the meeting title to get the right time.

Location: Meetings take place in the Kenai Offices at 280 Airport Way. Video conferencing is available in the Homer Offices at 3977 Lake Street, 907-235-8551. Draft agendas are available on the HEA website at http://www.homerelectric.com/BoardofDirectorsElections/BoardMeetingInformation/Agendas/tabid/220/Default.aspx

. There are sometimes last minute changes in scheduling, so check the website.

Electronic Voting
Resolution 45.2012.02, proposing an amendment to HEA bylaws to allow electronic voting in annual elections is on the January 10 Operations Committee and HEA Board meeting agendas. If passed, an electronic voting option would not eliminate traditional paper ballots. At the October meeting, Operations Committee Chairman Jim Levine reported  members' concerns about potential vote tampering.  Hopefully, if electronic voting is approved, effective protection against hacking and vote manipulation will be incorporated into the system. If you are interested in this topic you should attend the 10:00 AM Operations Committee Meeting.

Energy from Garbage (thanks to Sustainable Homer for this reminder)
Wednesday the 11^th:  REAP Forum: Anchorage Landfill Methane Power Plant  Get the live podcast online at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/830056584 to hear from 6-8pm about the latest on Alaska's FIRST EVER Landfill Methane Power Plant, which in 2012 will tap methane produced by the Anchorage Regional Landfill to power Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER). There are many such plants around the country, but this will be the first in Alaska. Their speaker will be MARK MADDEN, Solid Waste Services Director for the Municipality of Anchorage. More info:  907.929.7770, www.REalaska.org

New HEA Rate Structure
If you received your January HEA bill you probably noticed the new rate structure. The components of residential electric bills include:

New customer charge -- $15.00
New Blended energy charge -- 16.917 cents per kWh (HEA base rate + Cost of Power Adjustment)
Regulatory charge
Sales tax

The $15.00 customer charge is a bit low. It covers less than half the amount the RCA allows a utility to charge for its fixed costs (basically, everything needed to provide service to a customer except the electricity). This leaves HEA still recovering a large part of those fixed costs through the per kWh energy charge. That's why the monthly 150 kWh minimum energy charge was added. The minimum is really just an additional, but variable, customer charge disguised as an energy charge. That's why the RAPA and the RCA were reticent to approve it. When they finally did, the RCA capped the combined minimum energy charge and customer service charge at $38.38. HEA can't exceed that amount no matter how much the per kWh energy rate increases without going back to the RCA.

According to HEA the typical residential member uses an average 630 kWh a month and will see a 7.2% decrease in their bill under the new plan. The lowest consumption members will see an increase in their rates, however. See the news story at http://homernews.com/stories/010412/news_nhrpa.shtml#.TwovSSNqNZg or the HEA press release at http://www.homerelectric.com/ for more information.

Renewable Energy Money for HEA Members
HEA has offered relatively low interest loans (up to $5,000) through its "Line of Credit Program" for a number of years.  These are designed to help members upgrade to more efficient appliances, improved electrical and plumbing systems and much more. At the December Board meeting, small scale renewable generation equipment and services were added to the list of acceptable uses for the loans. Learn more about the program at http://www.homerelectric.com/Residential/HEALoanProgram/tabid/93/Default.aspx.

Heating with Lower Cost Off-peak Electricity
HEA General Manager Brad Janorschke has proposed investigating an Electronic Thermal Storage (EST) pilot program for 2012. It would enable members to offset higher cost propane and fuel oil with lower cost off-peak electricity. Off-peak energy sales allow dispatchers greater flexibility in maximizing system efficiency. For example, shifting demand from peak use hours to lower demand times can avoid the need to fire up additional generation or purchase power from other producers -- both expensive options. This strategy was not a practical option under HEA's present power purchase agreement with Chugach Electric Association, however. Once HEA is generating most of our power, reduced off-peak electric rates become a real possibility. 

ETS units are designed to be used as energy storage devices that can help us incorporate fluctuating renewable energy resources like wind power by evening out and balancing energy demand. An out-of-budget expenditure will be presented to the HEA Board for approval prior to proceeding with the project. If you are interested in this kind of project you should attend the 5:30 PM HEA Board meeting to ask questions and tell the Board what you think.