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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLight Comm Minutes 10/6/1997Board of Light Commissioners Minutes of Meeting October 6, 1997 12 PRESENT: Chairman Colella, Commissioners Madan and Royle. Commissioner Mahana arrived at 734pm, Commissioner Robinson arrived at 8:07p Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm MOTION: To approve the minutes of September 24, 1997, with a change to the last page, should read "now" instead of "not ". Madan/Royle Vote 3 - 0 MOTION: To approve the minutes of September 29, 1997, with a change to Page 4, Paragraph 3, should read "owe ", not "over ". Madan/Colella Vote 2 - I* `Commissioner Royle abstained **Commissioner Mahana arrive at this time (734pm) PLM GARY BOHAN LONG RANGE PLANNING STUDY Mr. Bohan, from PLM presented the Long Range Planning Study in a capsule format. Mr. Bohan began the presentation with a definition of Firm Power, as follows: Firm Power - a supply system capable of providing reliable power in the event of the unscheduled loss of a single major equipment item (ie. a power transformer). Reliable power implies: avoiding sustained equipment overloads and avoiding low customer delivery voltages. Of the thirty municipalities that PLM services, Mr. Bohan estimated that they see at least one or two major equipment failures per year. Review of Existing System PLM did a short term planning study in the Spring of 1997 and made several recommendations. The existing system load is 39 Mva, the existing system firm capability is 41 Mva. Mva is a megavolt ampere, it is a unit of power. The Manager explained that the typical household is 5 Kva, therefore, 1 Mva would supply power to approximately 200 houses. ( The Department is firm right now, however it is approaching capacity with 95% of firm capability. In order to add additional load, it is necessary to expand on the recommended improvements outlined in the short term study. The Short term study makes maximum use of the current equipment, it is now necessary to expand the system. Review of Long Term Study The Long Term Study took into account the next twenty years. Future system load levels are expected to increase from 39 Mva to 60 Mva over the 20 year period including approximately 15 Mva of industrial load growth and 5 Mva of residential load growth. This load growth represents only 1 - 2% rate of growth which is very modest and reasonable. Ivh•. Mahana asked what the Manager used to estimate growth, The Manager informed the Board that 3% was estimated for commercial /industrial growth and 2% for residential growth. Mr. Mahana then questioned why the Manager used a 5% estimated growth when the revenue for June and July was down due to lack of growth. The Manager advised Mr•. Mahana that the projected sales revenue were less than anticipated for June and July. Expansion Plans PLM developed four expansion alternatives as detailed in the long term planning study. These alternatives had capital costs from four million dollars to seven million dollars. PLM selected Alternative #1 for the following reasons: 1. Requires expansion of the Gilbert St substation, capital cost of 2.3 million dollars. 2. Requites expansion of the distribution system, capital cost of 1.6 million dollars. 3. Relatively low capital cost in comparison to other alternatives 4. Minimum construction cutover issues 5. Simple switching and restoration procedures in comparison to other alternatives 6. Avoids excessive regulatory concerns associated with building a brand new substation. The recommended expansion will provide 66 Mva of firm capability. Commissioner Madan asked what expanding the distribution system will do? Mr. Bohan advised that it will add two more power transformers to Gilbert St which would establish four new circuits (we currently have two power transformers and four circuits, this would provide four power transformers and eight circuits.) Mr. Mahana stated that it was his recollection that the original estimate for the expansion of the substation would be 2 1/2 million dollars, why is it now almost four million dollars? The Manager explained that the Gilbert St substation expansion would be 2.3 million, and it would cost another 1.6 million to expand the distribution system. Mr. Mahana then asked what was reviewed in order to determine the growth estimates for the Town. The Manager advised that he looked at the Master Plan, the number of lots available for residential, commercial and industrial. Also looked at spot load potential in the park, Francis Ave., School St. the White Property and along Route 140. Mr. Madan stated that currently a lot of the industrial park is warehousing, however it is zoned for office space. Mr. Madan wanted to ensure that this recommendation takes this factor into consideration. Mr. Bohan stated that PLM was exact to the extent that they could be, it is a take your best guess as to what might happen scenario. The basic premise should be that you are going to see load growth, determining exactly where doesn't matter. Mr. Madan just wants to make sure that we have enough to provide for whatever growth we may experience. Mr. Bohan stated that 60 Mva is very modest. He stated that the report address the 66 Mva limit and the need to strongly consider a second 115 Kv delivery system for future needs. Mr. Bohan explained that the Gilbert St substation will get the town "out of the weeds now for a substantial amount of time ". The Board should still consider acquiring land, identifying potential sites, all these issues should be addressed on a long range basis. Mrs. Royle stated that she would like to be assured that if we spend four million dollars to expand the substation, this will provide enough power for the Town for a considerable period of time The Manager advised the Board that a major industrial customer such as Merckens would use 2 Mva, Codes uses about 2.1 Mva for the six buildings in the industrial park. Mr. Madan asked if the possibility of building on the "Golden Triangle" had been considered. There was talk of three major hotels being built in this area. Mr. Bohan assured the Board that if they go ahead with the substation expansion they would have the potential to service large customers. Mr. Bohan explained that large customers are now demanding firm power, and cited EMC's decision to move from Hopkington to Franklin due to Hopkington's inability to provide EMC with firm power. The Manager stated that firm power is 100% redundant. He further explained that if the Golden Triangle was built out tomorrow we could service, but not 100 %. Mr. Mahana asked if we had looked at intermediate years; five, ten, fifteen years. The answer was yes. The Board asked how they should proceed. Nh•. Bohan stated that the next step is to have a substation engineering design performed. The Manager recommended that the Board proceed with Alternative #1 as recommended in the Long Range Planning Study. "Commissioner Robinson arrived at this time (8:07 pm) MOTION: To proceed with Alternative #1 as outlined in PLM's Long Range Planning Study as presented by Mr. Bohan and recommended by the Manager. Madan/Royle Vote 4 - 1M *Commissioner Robinson abstained. Mr. Mahana asked if PLM had any discussions with the IDC, Mr. Bohan stated that he personally had not. The Manager advised that he had not met with the IDC since June; however, there is not much industrial land left in Mansfield. School St., Francis Ave., GoldenTriangle had all been factored into this study. Mrs. Royle suggested that the Board should meet with the IDC, the Board agreed that this was a good idea. Amtrak Costs The Manager advised the Board that Gary and Michelle were working on putting together the costs associated with the Amtrak project and that this report would be ready for the nest meeting. Union Contract Negotiation Session The Manager requested that the Chairman and Mr. Mahana sit down with him prior to the scheduled contract negotiation session on Thursday, October 9th to ensure that everyone is of the same understanding. Mr. Mahana and Mr. Colella agreed to meet with the Manager on October 8th at 3-3 :30 at the office. Town Accountant The Manager advised the Board that he had talked with the Town Accountant who informed him that she had sat down and discussed the electric department financials with Mr. Madan. Mr. Mahana stated that the Town Accountant needs a computer and a modem. The Business Manager stated that she would ensure that the Town Accountant gets one of the old personal computers from the office. Personal Computers The Business Manager advised the Board that the COA had requested two computers, Lee Azinheira had requested one and Mike Ahern had requested one. The library did not need any. Enron Power Supply Contract The Manager advised the Board that he would be mailing the Enron Winter Power Supply Contract to them and asked that each member review the contract and if they have questions, to call the Manager prior to the next meeting. The Manager will need a vote on this contract at the October 20th meeting. Mr. Mahana asked why we wouldn't enter into a long term contract with Enron. The Manager stated that at this time, given the current market he could not recommend entering into any long -term power contracts. Mr. Mahana requested that the Manager obtain a long -term price from Enron. July Financial Statements The Manager advised the Board that the net income for the monthly of July was $21,416. The net loss of $72,055 for the six month period ending June 30, 1997 is decreased in July to $42,639. A discussion followed regarding net increases /decreases to surplus. Purchase Order Approval Two purchase orders were submitted for the Board's approval. 1. LD McFarland PO #17397 for 12 40' wood poles, and one 65" wood pole at a cost of $3,755.00 Mahana/Robinson Vote 5 - 0 2. Columbia Electric PO #17391 in the amount of $1,771.34 for 4" PVC direct burial conduit, 2 skids Robinson/Mahana Votes -0 Two other invoices had already been submitted which required the Board's approval. 1. Arthur J. Hurley Company, PO #17306 for cable for the Betterment Project in the amount of $2,955.50. This cable was needed on an emergency basis, the Manager approved the purchase and advised the Chairman. At this time he requested the Board's approval to pay this invoice Royle/Robinson Vote 5 - 0 2, American Express invoice in the amount of $1,857.79 for the NEPPA Conference held 1 in Hyannis MA. Madan/Royle Vote 5 - 0 July Line Department Report The Manager informed the Board that it was easier to identify overtime from the prior month, then to look back at a year ago. In the month of September, there were 15 trouble calls, 7 occurred during normal working hours, 8 calls were on overtime. The 8 overtime trouble calls were as follows: a. Primary fuse on Ware St. b. Two equipment failures c. Two squirrels d. Three customers with partial power, all inside trouble. Scheduled overtime There was schedule overtime for four weekends in September as follows: Pulling 3 phase at Forbes and Oxford, required a shut down to Datel and 171 Forbes Blvd, to accommodate the customer this was done on a Saturday. Tying two 3 kv lines together at Gilbert St. Mass Electric had to take out the 181 line at 5 am, we had to have a crew in to switch those customers to the 182 line so that they did not experience an outage. Working in the manhole at Plymouth St and Forbes Blvd. Had to shut down Belknap White, Ro- Jacks, Little Brown & Company, Grief Brothers and Chrysler. Some of these companies worked Saturday, this job had to be done on a Sunday. Working in the yard on the 23Kv. The Manager checked with the Chairman. Edison had to take transformer out on a Saturday. We knew of this in advance so we coordinated our work with Edison!s work, combining two shut downs into one.. MMWEC CONSOLIDATED BILLING The Manager recommended that we take advantage of the MMWEC Consolidated Billing. The Board needs to vote to allow the Manager to amend the purchase power agreements with MMWEC. This will eliminate paperwork and late charges. MOTION: To authorize the Manager to execute an amendment to MMWEC Purchase power bills to a consolidated billing arrangement under the Purchase Power agreements invoices issued by MMWEC (See attached Certificate) Royle/Robinson Vote 5 - 0 New Police Station Electric Bills The Board advised the Manager that they would instruct the Acting Town Manager to get this bill resolved with the appropriate parties. Motion to Adjourn at 8:55 pm Mahana/Robinson Vote 5 - 0 Clerk's signature & date