6.1. ERMUSR 02-15-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Service Territory Hibbing Commissoner John Berklich, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Owatonna General Manager Steve Shurts and Alexandria General Manager AI Crowser, from left to right, at the APPA Legislative Rally. Rate Study There is an old management adage that "you can't man- age what you don't measure." It is important that policy makers know that generally, municipal electric utilities are at rate parity with their neighboring utility. We also need to know when these rates are starting to climb above neighboring utilities. For this reason, the Govern- ment Relations staff has completed a 20-year electric rate comparison using data collected by the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy. Elements of the study have already been provided to some municipal utility managers. History of Municipal Utilities In response to an inquiry from a legislator, MMUA Government Relations staff embarked on a study of municipal utility origins. This study demonstrated that municipal utilities grew only in response to local re- quests. Previously, we knew the date of origin of about 75 percent of our electric members. The study helped us find the origin dates of the remaining 25 percent and demonstrated that more than half of our municipal electric utilities have been in operation for more than 100 years. We also uncovered more information on the role the local power plants owned by municipal utilities played in the formative years of the utility industry in Minnesota. Through extensive research MMUA staff also rediscov- ered another facet of municipal history that could prove useful. Between 1914 and 1947 as many as 70 municipal electric utilities were established and then were pur- chased by private utilities. The reasons behind the sales provide important lessons for today. Water & Wastewater Clean-up In the past few years we have been increasingly con- cerned about the steep increase in the costs of construct- ing new water and wastewater treatment facilities. MMUA has begun tracking these costs to enable us to demonstrate the magnitude of the cost impact on cities. 6 - 2010 Year in Review MMUA continues to conduct research on a variety of fronts that could be useful to a municipal utility involved in an electric service territory issue. C¢rbon Reduction Efforts Although the election has put an end to the probability that cap and trade legislation will be passed in the fore- seeable future, for much of 2010 MMUA staff had to con- sider this legislation viable. Consequently, the Govern- ment Relations staff embarked on an effort to ascertain the potential impact of a cap and trade bill on individual utilities. The study will be important going forward be- cause the information we developed will provide a more comprehensive narrative to policy makers. Communicating with Policy Makers Legislative Rallies As stated before, the most important Government Rela- tions events for MMUA in 2010 were the APPA Wash- ington Legislative Rally (Feb. 22-25, Washington, D.CJ and the MMUA Winter Legislative Conference (March 24-26, St. Paul). The APPA rally, with another good attendance of 75 Minnesotans, concentrated on proposed climate change legislation and rail regulation. Meetings with members of the delegation went well. Much of that successful effort was directly attributable to solid advance work- meeting with Congressional staff, securing the meeting room, making appointments with delegation members, and developing clearly defined position papers in accor- dance with the wishes of the membership after several conference calls and many discussions. The MMUA rally, attended by more than 100 people, was very successful. Participants met with legislative leaders, who seemed to support our efforts to prevent expansion of renewable energy requirements and the Conservation Improvement Program. Several expressed outright support for our position that these programs should not be expanded for the next several years and, in the case of the CIP program, should be redefined. Meeting with Individual Policy Makers Throughout the 2010 legislative session MMUA held meetings with the chairs of the House and Senate en- ergy committees, with members of leadership, and with members of important committees. MMUA will make a special effort in the upcoming 2011 session to speak to all newly elected legislators about the importance of mu- nicipal utilities to their respective communities and find out their attitudes toward municipal utilities. MMUA will likewise meet with Minnesota's newest Congress- man, Chip Cravaak, (R, Ban District). Day-to-Day Lobbying Perhaps the least glamorous, but potentially most impor- tant, aspect of government relations is making sure we