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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report STAFF REPORT January 10 1997 TO: Board of Directors FROM: Kathy Neus, Support Services Manager SUBJECT: December Staff Report AGENDA r p 4�ElY©/�y�i # O METER READERS 1. The Meter Readers have kept current in their readings even with the bad weather at the end of the month. For the December reading cycle, there were 10, 161 meters read, 438 service reports completed and 132 48-1013 notices delivered. 2. The Meter Readers have helped the Water Department in their attempt to sort out the water services at the Lucky/Longs Center. So far, between business owners not showing and the holidays it's yet to be completed. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 1. Tom continues to remain busy. There were 32 repair orders for the month, BIT inspections, preventative maintenance, new tires mounted and miscellaneous repairs. 2. Also, Tom worked on getting the new truck for the Electric Foreman into service by installing the emergency lights, two-way radio, scanner, material rack and tie downs. The vehicle was placed into service on December 30, 1996. BUILDING AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE 1. Sam has been working on the Fire District's inspection list. Most of the items have been completed with some electrical yet to be done. 2. The yard was cleaned, organized and a map drawn of all the wire in anticipation of winter. PURCHASING AND WAREHOUSING 1. Staff is continuing to learn the ins and outs of the purchasing and warehouse system. 2. The last cycle count of the year was completed and we are ready to start cycle counts for the 1997 year. I have been working on purchasing a used loader, snow removal costs, inventory and setting up files for the new Electric Foreman's truck. KN/smc TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT . PLANNING DIRECTOR ACTIVITIES DECEMBER, 1996 Note: Since most of these projects are ongoing, Staff continues to report the basic information and highlights the activities that have occurred during the reporting month. When a project or activity is completed it is reported, then deleted from this report. Strategic Planning/District $Savings Business Customer Key Accounts Program- Staff has drafted a Key Accounts Management Program proposal to review with the Board. This newly developed program is designed to foster a positive, open line of communication with our business customers and determine how they feel about TDPUD's service and how they see working with TDPUD in the future. This program will be tied into a marketing program for TDPUD. The goal of the program is customer satisfaction and retention. TDPUD Staff will be looking at the possibility of developing a Time-of-Use rate for TTSA. TDPUD Competition Plan- Staff is planning to prepare a report about the different utility issues we are currently being challenged by. The report will include a discussion of the different approaches TDPUD can take to meet these challenges as well as an analysis and recommendations to respond to competition. This comprehensive report is being . postponed until the evaluation results of the GSHP pilot, the large Business Customer meetings and other competition related projects and issues are available. Energy/Water Showcase Program- TDPUD Staff, Sauer's Engineering and Sandel- Avery Engineering have provided their final comments to HDR Engineering on the energy-efficiency TDPUD water system report. Once we receive the final report in December we can decide whether the water system control strategy as well as other options may be worth implementing based on their cost-effectiveness to the District. HDR Engineering has almost completed the study of the energy efficiency of TTSA's sewage treatment facilities/activities. TDPUD GSHP Cost/Economic Study- A study to determine the cost-effectiveness of installing GSHPs into the TDPUD building for heating and cooling has been completed by the Davis Energy Group. DEG has completed a life-cycle costing analysis on the project in addition to the simple payback analysis. The report indicates that TDPUD can benefit by using GSHP in the building and also act as a community GSHP demonstration project along with the pilot sites. Conservation/DSM/Economic Development Ground Source Heat Pump Pilot Site Activity- Nine GSHP pilot site units are currently in operation. A tenth site is partially completed in Glenshire. This final pilot site will be • completed in Spring as a result of some minimal damage to the heat exchangers. Truckee Community GSHP Pilot Project Monitoring- The monitoring stations for the . Truckee GSHP pilot program have been installed at the five designated pilot sites. There are still a few data collection items needed to be installed(i.e flow meters). DEG has also installed a weather station east of Olympic Heights for the pilot program. The weather station is collecting ambient outdoor air temperature, solar radiation and wind speed and direction data. This data is being collected at 15 minute intervals and may be useful for power planning purposes too. The preliminary research findings will be completed by the Spring of 1997. GSHP Bulk Purchase & Installation Program- There are currently about seventy-five potentially interested participants, determined based on their filling out an interest form. Staff will be working to try and identify the actual number of potential participants seriously interested in going forward with the program. An introductory GSHP meeting was held December 3. A GSHP Core Planning Group meeting was held December 10. The GSHP BP & I Core Group Planning and All Potential Participant meeting is scheduled for January 7. 1 may schedule one more introductory meeting in February. The goal is to have interested BP & I Participants commit by May and begin installations in June, 1997. Sierra-Pacific is assisting TDPUD with this project in exchange for allowing a few Sierra-Pacific customers to participate. January 21 GSHP Contractor's Meeting- There is an all day meeting scheduled for January 21, 1997 to educate Heating Contractors, Builders, Architects, Building Engineers, ect. about GSHPs, the Industry & Opportunities and the Bulk Purchase Program. There have been over 120 invitations mailed out to Contractors. There will be a display ad in the Sierra Sun as well as the Builder/Architect magazine. February 18-19 GSHP Contractor's Certification Training- This two day meeting co- sponsored by TDPUD, Sierra-Pacific, Geothermal Resources Association and Econar GSH Manufacturing will provide heating contractors with the necessary training and certification to install GSHP systems anywhere in the United States. March 3 GSHP Contractor's Marketing Class- The Geothermal Resources Association out of Davis, CA is holding a one-day class that will assist GSHP contractors in educating and marketing the GSHP product for their business. CFIA Demonstration Project- Staff has been in contact with Professor Samuel Sami of Moneton University in Canada regarding his testing of a Combined Cycle Fully Integrated Air/Air Heat Pump(CFIA). Tests so far have shown that it has comparable performance benefits of GSHPs without the cost of a ground loop. Staff has developed a CFIA mini-pilot draft proposal and a draft confidentiality agreement. These documents are currently being reviewed. GSHP/Water Heater Promotion- Staff is working toward getting the Truckee GSHP • pilot monitoring program in place so that we will have data available to perform an analysis of the benefits and costs of using GSHPs in Truckee. The results of this study . will be used to determine GSHP's role in TDPUD's Strategic Plan. A draft proposal has been developed to promote the benefits of high efficiency electric water heating to TDPUD customers. Energy Surveys/High Bill Assistance- Staff completed 0 commercial and 3 residential energy survey(s) this month. Staff also responded on-site to 1 "high" bill complaint(s). Communications/Public Relations/Education Newsletter- The Winter Current Issues newsletter is currently being discussed. The focus of this newsletter is planned to be deregulation. The newsletter is planned for distribution in January/February. Public Information Plan- Staff with the assistance of A.D. Marketing and Creative Concepts is currently developing a Public Information Program for 1997. Staff anticipates presenting the proposed public information program to the Board in January. Business & Energy Efficiency Partnership- The incorporation of energy and water efficiency measures are expected to be retrofitted into the Chamber building by early 1997. Currently about 90% of these measures are installed. As soon as all the . proposed measures are installed, Staff will finalize and print the Chamber building energy and water efficiency measures self-guided tour brochure. The finished brochure may be disseminated to all customers as a bill stuffier. The Partnership is designed to foster economic development in Truckee by promoting local businesses products and services as well as give customers information on lowering their energy bills. The Chamber Partnership project is also designed to encourage local groups, clubs and individuals to tour the facility. TDPUD Staff is available for guided tours. CA GEO-Heat Pump Show- TDPUD, Sierra Pacific and the Geothermal Resources Association out of Davis, CA will be pursuing tying a GSHP section into the Truckee Home & Building Show scheduled for May 24-25, 1997. Community/Statewide Involvement Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee- Working with other businesses in reviewing: the Downtown Specific Plan, Business Questionnaire, Doing Business in Truckee Guide, ect. The December EDC meeting was canceled. Tahoe-Forest Hospital Healthy City Committee- Working with other agencies and community groups in the development of a Healthy City Plan for Truckee. There was no meeting scheduled in September. Current plans include developing a presentation to the community on areas of need within the community as derived from surveying local groups and organizations responding to a survey. This Committee currently has . no T-F Hospital coordinator and is on hold. Town of Truckee Air Quality Management Plan Advisory Committee- Staff attended the December 10 meeting. The Committee is currently evaluating different options for mitigating the PM 2.5/10 problem in Truckee. GSHPs are one of the options being considered. The end result of the Committee's efforts will be to recommend mitigation efforts to reduce PM 2.5/10(particulate matter <2.5 and/or 10 microns) in Truckee. The two main causes of PM 2.5/10 in Truckee are road sand dust and burned particulate matter from wood burning. Train emissions from the railroad merger will be another problem source. The railroad is providing the Town of Truckee with $300,000 to help solve this problem. Northern California Power Agency Member Services Task Force- A meeting was not scheduled for December. An AB1890 Workshop is currently being planned for member utilities to attend. The event is being co-sponsored by SMUD. California Municipal Utilities Association Energy Services and Marketing Committee- This Committee meets quarterly and is expected to meet next in February. The Committee is working on projects and programs to help CMUA member utilities prepare for the deregulation competition. CEC California Ground Source Heat Pump Collaborative- Staff participates in quarterly meetings of the California Energy Commission's GSHP Collaborative. The Collabora- tive was formed to oversee the development and promotion of the GSHP industry in California. The next meeting is being scheduled for sometime in February, 1997. Utility Energy Forum Planning Committee- The May 7-9, 1997 UEF meeting will be in Granlibakken. The focus of this year's UEF meeting is Customer Retention and Growth Strategies in a World of Customer Choices. Employee Safety/Training Safety Committee- The TDPUD Safety Committee met December 13. The Safety Committee began working on the 1996 Facility Safety Audit. A hantavirus safety procedure has been developed in draft form at the Water Department's request. CPR Training- Staff annual CPR certifications expire in late January. Scott will schedule CPR training January 17, 1997. Wellness Program/Healthy Meals- This continues to be a popular program with TDPUD employees. We had a "healthy" lunch December 4. The menu included: Shrimp Gumbo, Focaccia Sandwiches, and Almond Dacqouise Torte(see attached recipes and nutritional analyses). Wellness Program/Health Education- T-F Staff Hospital conducted the 1996 Health Screenings Group Interpretation December 18. T-F Staff also provided a one hour . seminar on Back Health.