HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 Facts of Mountain Livingliem a
From: Steven Pon�;elet
Date: November 01, 2017
Subject: The Facts of Mountain Living
1. VtIFiY TFIIS MATTER 15 BEF®RE TIME BOARD
This Board item, Facts of Mountain Living, is the third in a new series of Board
workshops concerning how we communicate with and serve our customers and
community.
The Mission of Truckee Donner Public Utility District is to provide reliable, high quality
water and electrical power services while meeting customer demand, and to manage
District resources in a safe, open, responsible, environmentally sound manner at the
lowest practical cost. To achieve this mission, the District operates an electric and
water utility along with the necessary supporting departments and programs. It is
imperative, given the complexity of the energy and water sectors, that the District
communicate effectively with our customers and community in order to educate them
on the value of public power and water and to engage customers to participate in the
many programs and services that we offer.
These communication and outreach efforts, along with the associated progrars and
services, fall into well known themes that communicate the essence of how fhe
District's efforts serve our customers. Our current key themes include:
• The Best Water Right From Your Tap (9/6/17);
Save Energy, Water, Money and Live More Comfortably (10/4/17);
® The Facts of Mountain Living (tonight);
Your Public -Owned Local Electric and Water Utility (future);
® Your On -Line Account Anywhere (future);
Truckee is Elf Friendly (future);
® Clean, Reliable, and Affordable Electric Services (future); and
Your Local Community Partner (future).
3. NEW INFORIVIATI®N
The Facts of Mountain Living:
This theme has emerged after Truckee's recent historic winter but the reaes and
challenges of living in the high Sierra's are a part of nature. The Facts of Mountain
Living encompasses the District's efforts to help our customers be aware and
prepared for:
Winter storms and power outages;
Protecting homes and businesses from frozen pipes and water damage; and
• Living in harmony with our natural environment and the associated local
wildlife.
The District works hard to maintain our electric and vvater distribution system and has
made significant investments in system reliability. For the electric utility, the District's
tree trimming program is a key component in preventing outages during winter storms.
Despite our efforts, we do live in a forest and during severe winter storms as
evidenced countless times during our recent historic winter - trees and branches do
fall and sometimes cause power outages.
Being prepared for these eventual outages is critical for remaining safe but can also
dramatically reduce the negative impacts of being without electricity. This includes
having r`lashlights/candles readily available, a way to provide heat, emergency
supplies and batteries - including for your mobile phone, and extra fuel for
snowblowers, generators, and vehicles. For those who can't or don't want to be
without power, a back-up generator can be a worthwhile investment. It should be
noted that some outages are caused by a failure of the NV Energy transmission
system which are beyond the District's control.
The District has back-up generators that power key equipment during power outages.
So do many other local agencies and business's around town. This includes the
District's headquarters which allows us to respond quickly and effectively to power
outages in our electric distribution system. The District follows industry standard
practices for installing, maintaining, and testing back-up generators.
Customers who want to purchase aback -up generator have two options: portable
generators that use extension cords or permanent generators that are wired into the
home or business's electric panel. Generators can be very effective but must be
properly installed and operated. In all cases, a gas/diesel generator must be
operated outdoors or in a ventilated area. If a generator is permanently installed and
wired into a house's electric panel, a qualified electrician with the proper equipment
and permits is required. Always follow instructions provided by the generator
manufacture.
During the winter months, very cold periods create the risk of frozen pipes in homes
and businesses. This is especially true for vacation homes that may be vacant for
long periods of times and which are often winterized with the heat turned down very
low or off to save on energy costs. Winterizing a home typically involves draining the
water pipes and turning off the main supply of water to a home or business. If done
correctly, winterizing a home can save energy and money. In very cold temperatures,
however, even in homes properly winterized there is a risk of frozen water pipes that
lead to small or sometimes catastrophic water leaks.
A burst water pipe in a house can do significant damage. Leaks outside of a house or
in an irrigation system can result in loss of 10's of thousands of gallons of water per
day. If not corrected quickly, the damage and water bills can be significant. The
District monitors for leaks, both within our distribution system and at our customer
premise, and strives to provide timely notice and support in the event of a major leak.
Thanks to improving technology with our water meters, the District can now more
quickly identify potential leaks. If our customer uses the SmartHub on-line account
program and our water tool, they can look at their water usage on-line and check for
abnormal usage and/or leaks. In the event of a problem, the District offers the $100
Customer Leak Repair Rebate to help customer to quickly address unaccounted for
water.
A final aspect of The Facts of Mountain Living that the District does our best to help
with local education efforts and stewardship is helping everyone - including
ourselves - to try to live as much as possible in harmony with our natural environment
and wildlife. This includes being bear aware, creating defensible space in our
community to protect life and property, and only using what resources we need.
Where possible, as demonstrated in a District social medial posting of a bear caught
by our security cameras at the District headquarters, we try to educate and celebrate
4. FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associate with this workshop items.
5. RECOMMENDATION
Receive this report and provide input.
Steven Poncelet
Public Information &Strategic Affairs Managf
Michael D. Holley
General Manager