2.2 ERMUSR 02-13-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Sagstetter noted that the FleetCarma study results he had referenced in his staff report would be formally presented at next month's Commission meeting.Mr. Sagstetter also provided an update on the success of the DC fast charger at the Coborn's location. The Commission revisited the topic of the annual Holiday Lighting Contest,and talked about ways to increase participation including changing up the judging criteria. Commissioner Stewart suggested taking the word"contest"out of the name and promoting it as part of a tour of lights,and Chair Dietz suggested using Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association(MMUA)as a resource to poll other utilities that have lighting contests to see what they are using for criteria.Chair Dietz requested staff further evaluate this and report back in a couple of months. Mr. Sagstetter's staff report stated that staff has been working with MMUA and MMPA on standardizing the contracts,requirements,and processes that govern the interconnection of cogeneration and small power production in Minnesota.The initiative is to gain compliance with Minnesota State Statute based on the recent decisions of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC)pertaining to a few cooperative utilities.Mr. Sagstettter shared that although ERMU has not been in total compliance with the Statutes,they have been clear and fair with the small power producers so there have not been many challenges with the current policies. Commissioner Stewart asked staff to elaborate on the compliance issue and whether it was subject to a monetary fine for non-compliance.Mr. Sagstetter provided further explanation,including that most utilities were not in total compliance as they have been waiting for the resolution of proceedings at the MPUC before finalizing the interconnection of cogeneration and small power production tariff. There was discussion. Staff will continue to work on the requirements and indicated they should have something for Commission consideration within the next few months. 6.2 Bonding Discussion Mr.Adams provided some background on the MMPA membership.He shared that in 2016,ERMU made an advance payment towards the buy-in of approximately$10 million and that a true-up of the balance of the buy-in will be due prior to October 2018 when we begin receiving our wholesale power from MMPA. In preparation for the true-up payment to MMPA, staff is reviewing bonding options with our bonding consultants at Springsted.Two handouts containing graphs of the estimated bonds cost and MMPA savings for a 20 year scenario,and a 30 year scenario were provided at the time of the meeting. Mr.Adams shared that the purpose of this discussion is to talk through the true-up and bonding options so that the Commissioners can gain a better understanding should they get questions from members of the community. Staff had identified four topics relevant to the investment and provided an overview on the following: return on investment(ROI)and long term strategic analysis of the decision to join Page 4 Regular Meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission January 9,2018 32