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Elk River <br />Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br />TO: <br />FROM: <br />ERMU Commission <br />Sara Youngs — Administrations Director <br />MEETING DATE: <br />AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />April 8, 2025 <br />6.1b <br />SUBJECT: <br />Staff Update <br />ACTION REQUESTED: <br />None <br />DISCUSSION: <br />• Office walk-in traffic for March consisted of 123 customers, averaging 31 customers per <br />week over the four -week period. <br />• ERMU disconnections for March: The Cold Weather Rule is in effect, meaning customers <br />cannot be disconnected until 30 days after they receive their disconnection notice. The <br />cold weather rule ends at the end of April. <br />o Cycle 1— 12 disconnections. <br />o Cycle 2 — 6 disconnections. <br />o Cycle 3 — 9 disconnections. <br />• During the month of March 2025, the customer service team entered 38 payment <br />arrangements with customers. During March 2024 there were 34 payment <br />arrangements. <br />• A significant amount of staff time is dedicated to the Advanced Metering Infrastructure <br />(AMI) project, including daily follow-ups with customers and coordination with both <br />internal and external teams. <br />• Customer service staff has started making outbound calls to schedule water meter <br />replacements for customers with ERMU's water department. At the moment, we are <br />scheduling ten appointments per week with plans to increase this number as the water <br />department gains additional resources. <br />• As the AMI project transitions in-house, I want to take a moment to recognize Michelle <br />Venema, our billing specialist, for her exceptional efforts during Allegiant's involvement <br />in the project. Michelle carefully reviewed the daily meter exchange files to ensure the <br />accuracy of customer billing statements. This was no small task and required significant <br />attention to detail and organization to meet our billing deadlines. <br />• The IT team has been collaborating with the city's IT staff in preparation for the <br />upcoming Information Security Committee Tabletop Exercise. This interactive exercise <br />will serve as a valuable opportunity to assess and strengthen our defense strategies. <br />• Currently there are ten active residential solar photovoltaic projects planned or under <br />construction in the ERMU service territory. <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />210 <br />