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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes - June 24, 2024 - UBCITY OF AZUSA MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024 – 6:30 P.M. Chairperson: Edward J. Alvarez Vice Chairperson: Jesse Avila, Jr. Board Member: Robert Gonzales Board Member: Andrew N. Mendez Board Member: Dennis Beckwith Secretary: Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr. The Utility Board of the City of Azusa met in regular and closed session, at the above date and time, in the Azusa Light & Water First Floor Conference Room located at 729 N. Azusa Avenue, Azusa, California. Chairperson Alvarez called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. ROLL CALL: Roll call was taken by Secretary Cornejo. PRESENT: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., ALVAREZ, GONZALES, MENDEZ, BECKWITH ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: The pledge to the flag was led by Chair Alvarez. ALSO PRESENT Elected Officials: Secretary Cornejo City Attorney: Jeff Ferre Staff Members: Deputy City Manager Nico De Anda-Scaia, General Manager Tikan Singh, Assistant General Manager Electric Operations Hien Vuong, Assistant General Manager Customer Care Alicia Holmes, Water Treatment Superintendent Carlos Solis, Assistant General Manager Power Resources Richard Torres, Environmental Programs Manager Paul Reid, Utilities Admin & Finance Manager Danny Smith, Senior Management Analyst Yesenia Paez, Chief of Police Rocky Wenrick, Chief Deputy City Clerk Adrian Garcia. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None CLOSED SESSION None PAGE 2 – 6/24/24 REGULAR UTILITY BOARD MEETING Chairperson Alvarez called the Regular meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS General Manager Singh reported on the Mesa Wind Project, which was inaugurated on June 19, 2024. Located in North Palm Springs, California, the project can supply up to 30 megawatts of clean energy, enough for 22,500 homes, and has a lifespan of 25 years. This project has helped Azusa exceed the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard Mandate, potentially reaching over 63% renewable energy. Commercial operation began on June 19, 2024. ALW is partnering with Synergy Companies for a pilot program at Foothill Vista Mobile Home Park. The program includes a direct install program that parallels Southern California Edison (SCE), with no out-of-pocket fan controller, life cycle refrigerant management, duct testing ceiling, brushless fan motor crossover replacement, and smart thermostat. If successful, the program may expand to other mobile home parks. General Manager Singh answered Board Member questions. Assistant General Manager Holmes announced the upgrade of the utilities Customer Information System (CIS) Software to enQuesta V6, which went live in February 2024. The new system offers operational efficiency improvements, enhanced customer experience, security enhancements, and improved billing functionality. The upgrade also includes a full end-to-end web-browser solution, a new Capricorn web portal for customers, a powerful auto-scheduling feature for batch processes, and a Jettison feature for streamlined billing infrastructure. Assistant General Manager Holmes answered Board Member questions. UTILITY BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Vice Chair Avila Jr. expressed his regret for his absence at the Mesa Wind Project’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, while also extending his congratulations to the department and staff for their commendable achievement. Board Member Gonzales announced that he attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and extended his congratulations to all involved. Board Member Beckwith echoed the sentiments of gratitude and congratulations, acknowledging the diligent efforts that went into the successful completion of the Mesa Wind Project Board Member Mendez stated that he was also unable to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but he conveyed his appreciation to the staff for their dedication and hard work. SCHEDULED ITEMS PAGE 3 – 6/24/24 None. CONSENT CALENDAR Chair Alvarez asked if any Board members wished to pull an item. Board Member Beckwith pulled Item F-4. 1. Minutes of the Utility Board meeting dated May 28, 2024, was approved as written. 2. Fifth Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Northstar Chemical to Provide Water Treatment Chemicals and Equipment Services; and authorize the Mayor to execute the Fifth Amendment in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, on behalf of the City were approved. 3. 2023 Power Source Disclosure Report and subsequent 2023 Power Content Label was approved. 4. 3-Year Contract Extension with OATI, Inc. for webSettlement Software Services and have the General Manager execute the agreement was pulled for Special Call. MOTION by Board Member Gonzales, seconded by Board Member Beckwith, to approve Items 1-3 of the Consent Calendar. AYES: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ, MENDEZ, BECKWITH NOES: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE Motion Passed 5-0-0 SPECIAL CALL Consent Calendar F-4. 4. Approval of a Contract Extension with OATI, Inc. was approved. Recommendation: 1) Approve a 3-year contract extension with OATI, Inc. for webSettlement Software Services and have the General Manager execute the agreement. Board Member Beckwith requested more information about the benefit of the contract, which was then provided by the staff. MOTION by Board Member Beckwith, seconded by Board Member Mendez, to approve Item 4 of the Consent Calendar. AYES: BOARD MEMBERS: AVILA Jr., GONZALES, ALVAREZ, MENDEZ, BECKWITH NOES: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE ABSTAIN: BOARD MEMBERS: NONE Motion Passed 5-0-0 STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS PAGE 4 – 6/24/24 1. City of Azusa Wildfire Mitigation Plan (“WMP”) Dated June 19, 2023 Recommendation: 1) Receive and file the revised city of Azusa wildfire Mitigation Plan dated June 19, 2023. Assistant General Manager Hien Vuong discussed the Public Utility Commission Section 8387 (b)(2) mandate, which requires Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs) to update and submit their Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) annually by July 1 to the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board (WSAB) and to comprehensively update their WMPs every three years. In 2023, Azusa updated its WMP and hired Dudek Inc. to evaluate the plan. The updated WMP was adopted by the Azusa City Council on June 19, 2023, and submitted to WSAB before July 1, 2023. There will be no updates to Azusa’s WMP in 2024. However, PUC 8387(b)(3) requires POUs to present their WMPs at a public meeting annually for public comment, even if no updates are made. Dudek Inc.'s Independent Evaluation Report concluded that Azusa’s comprehensive WMP for 2023 meets all statutory requirements described in PUC Section 8387 (b)(2) for a POU. Azusa’s WMP is available for public viewing and comments on the City of Azusa website. The 2023 WMP will be submitted to WSAB as no changes or updates were made. Assistant General Manager Vuong answered Board Member questions. 2. Semi-Annual Report on Azusa Light and Water’s Energy Portfolio Recommendation: Receive and file the Semi-Annual Report on Azusa Light and Water’s Energy Portfolio. Assistant General Manger Power Resources Torres discussed the Energy Policy which requires staff to report to the Utility Board (UB) semi-annually in June and November. The reports will cover various aspects such as hedging, projected costs, changes in projections, market changes and opportunities, and potential stress events. The policy sets minimum monthly standards that need to be met with sufficient resources. The minimum hedge parameters are set between 50%-90% for a time horizon of up to five years. The staff has applied known generation output from existing resources and conservatively projected its newest wind resource, Mesa wind. This places ALW’s portfolio at 60%-100% hedged. Additional minimal hedges will be needed for the months of July – December based on current projections. The forward market projections show stability with sufficient summer resources in California. However, contracting for capacity is challenging for utilities without dispatchable generation. Mesa delays have stressed renewable compliance for 2023, but ALW has sufficient credits to meet the targets for the period 2021-2024. No specific local stress events are foreseen, but the market is subject to risks such as wildfires, cold fronts, transmission outages, and other natural disasters. ALW is on a firm renewable/energy path with future resources including the Bonanza Solar/Battery Project 2027-2028 and a future battery storage recommendation. Utilities Admin & Finance Manager Smith answered Board Member questions. VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Power Supply Update Assistant General Manager Power Resources Torres reported that in June, renewables served more than half of the demand in CAISO. At times, renewables met 100% of the demand, and Azusa’s peak thus far was around 51-52 MW. The current warm weather patterns are nationwide and are expected to continue until early July. The California snowpack melted quickly this year, with only 5 out of 130 stations still PAGE 5 – 6/24/24 registering snow. The major risk during the present summer season is wildfires, which could potentially cause transmission outages. General Manager Singh answered Board Member questions. 2. Water Supply Update Water Treatment Superintendent Solis reported that there was no rainfall in June 2024. Local ground water elevation was at 239.8 feet as of June 7, 2024, with the highest level for the year being 241 feet. The Morris Dam water level is approximately 250 CFS. The San Gabriel Dam is nearly empty due to the ongoing five-year cleanup project, which is in its third year and aims to remove 5 million cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir. The SWP 2024 Allocation stands at 40% with about 7,000 AF still to be supplied to the local groundwater basin. ADJOURNMENT THE AZUSA UTILITY BOARD The Regular meeting of the Utility Board was adjourned by consensus of the Utility Board. TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 7:22 P.M. _________________________________________________________ CITY CLERK/SECRETARY