4.2. ERMUSR 11-15-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River: Municipal U 13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330-0430 UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING pBWEBErO' BY ~~ V~~ P O W EREO r O ~ "~ Phone: 763.441.2020 Fax: 763.441.8099 TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Tom Sagstetter -Conservation and Key John Dietz -Chair Account Manager Daryl Thompson -Vice Chair Al Nadeau -Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: November 15, 2011 4.2 SUBJECT: Review and Consider Water Conservation Program BACKGROUND: Per the discussion of fees and tiered rates at the September 13, 2011 Commission meeting, the water conservation prc;gram was discussed. The program will establish incentives for implementing water efficiency measures for commercial customers in 2012. Commercial customers with high intensity water use will be eligible for an exemption from the tier three rates provided they enroll and annually participate in the water conservation incentive program. DISCUSSION: There was particular interest in commercial tier three rates and providing the commercial customers in this category with incentives to implement water conservation measures. By taking advantage of the incentives and reducing water consumption, the customer would be exempt from tier three rates and allow them to be billed at tier two rates for all water consumption. The pilot program under review by ERMU provides financial incentives as well as points for implementing water conservation measures. The high intensity commercial water use customer will be required to implement water conservation measures that will earn Water Conservation Points (WCPs) and may also receive financial incentives for implementation of measures. Enrollment in the pilot program will require the customer to implement measures that achieve 10 WCPs in the first year. To continue to be billed at the tier two rates each participating customer must continue to implement measures in the incentive program that allow for the accumulation of 5 WCPs each year. Water Conservation Points 5 pts Install SMART Controller on irrigation systems ($500 maximum rebate per customer/year) 1 pt Install 3 Eco-Irrigation Heads (Buy 2 get 1 free). Need to identify local retailers of heads. ($250 maximum rebate per customer/year)