6.1. ERMUSR 11-17-2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Staff Update Director of Operations Page 2 An analysis on ERMU's energy source (Great River Energy) was done for use by Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association in future cap and trade legislation preparedness. Enclosed for your review is a graph depicting our energy sales broken down by fuel type (including hydro, wind, methane from solid waste, natural gas, oil, and coal). It is interesting to see how Great River Energy's portfolio has changed over the years. Even though there has been a substantial effort placed on adding wind resources, it is still a small percent of their overall generation. Early this month, I attended the Minnesota Power Systems Conference (MIPSYCON) held in Brooklyn Center, MN. The event ran for 2 '/z days and covered technical, management, and industry topics geared towards electric utility engineers and management. The conference occurred one day after the announcement that Big Stone II (BSII) would not be built. One of the speakers was from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. He was scheduled to discuss "Regulatory Perspective on Regional Transmission Expansion". The bulk of the questions directed his way were in regards to BSII. This made for a lively discussion. It is a given that the recent shift in the economy has resulted in an increase in delinquent accounts and shut-off for the Utilities. Related to this trend is the change is how ERMU employees are treated by these customers experiencing hard times. During the last wave of electric shut-off prior to the cold weather rule going into effect on Oct 15, there were instances where a customer's interaction with an employee became a concern. To help alleviate these situations, staff will be undergoing some proactive training. The Elk River Police Department will be speaking with office staff regarding the panic buttons located within the office. Also, staff will be getting some training on defusing potentially hostile customer situations. We will also be looking into options to providing a safer point of customer contact at our front counter. Staff will keep the commission apprised as these options are researched. As directed by the commission, I have sent a letter to the commercial customer who had the billing issue discussed last month. The letter extended the commissions offer to discount the past due amount by 20% if paid in full within 30 days. I will provide an additional update at the December commission meeting. Also, enclosed for your reading is the current issue of the MMUA Resource.