Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
December 6, 2022
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at Clark Public Utilities, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
Present: President Nancy Barnes and Vice President Jane Van Dyke, Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Communications Erica Erland, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, General Counsel John Eldridge, Power Manager Steve Andersen, Engineering Manager – Water Russ Knutson, Community Engagement Specialist Morgan Van Fleet and Assistant to the CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Staff present via digital conference (phone or video): Vice President Jim Malinowski, Commissioner, Media Specialist Dameon Pesanti and Water Operations Manager Oscar Maciel.
Others present via digital conference (phone or video) or in person: Peter Harrison, Bryan Kast, Don Steinke, Cathryn Chudy, Tom/Diana Thomas, Chris Thobaben and Rick Marshall.
Press representatives: Sarah Wolfe, Columbian
At 9:00 a.m., President Barnes called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business and noted a quorum was present and the agenda was approved with that addition (Materials A).
Public Comment
The following represents a brief summary of comments made by members of the public in attendance:
Don Steinke shared that he and Alona Steinke spoke at the Senate Energy Committee Hearing last Friday. Updates were provided regarding the Clean Energy Transformation Act, The Clean Fuels Program and the Climate Commitment Act.
Cathryn Chudy provided comment about the City of Vancouver’s Climate Action Framework that was recently approved and her appreciation for Clark Public Utilities working together with the City on their journey.
Written comments were submitted by Cathryn Chudy and Don Steinke, copies of these comments may be obtained by contacting Margaret Anderson at [email protected] or 360-992-3378.
Consideration of the Minutes of November 15, 2022
Minutes were approved as submitted.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated December 6, 2022 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $22,333,566.59
Water Revenue Fund – $1,010,672.26
Generating System Fund – $668,097.72
For a total of $24,012,336.57
Consideration of Establishment of LUD Nos. 1439, 1443, 1446 and 1449
Director of Engineering Cal Morris addressed the board regarding the Establishment of Local Utility District Nos. 1439, 1443, 1446 and 1449.
Resolution No. 7745 – LUD No. 1439 – 119th Street Cottage Subdivision
Resolution No. 7746 – LUD No. 1443 – Barberton Cottages
Resolution No. 7747 – LUD No. 1446 – Lalonde Park
Resolution No. 7748 – LUD No. 1449 – Felida Vista
After the presentation by Mr. Morris, Commissioner Barnes opened the public hearing for comments. There being none, a motion was made by Commissioner Van Dyke seconded by Commissioner Malinowski and unanimously carried that Resolution Nos. 7745-7748 be adopted (Materials D).
Consideration of Resolutions to Approve the 2023 Electric, Generating and Water Budgets
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny provided the board with an overview of the proposed 2023 budgets for the Electric, Generating and Water Systems (Materials E). Ms. Ankeny noted that there were no rate increases for the Electric or Water Systems for 2023 and that the budget principles continue to be customer service, reliability and cost control while staff remains committed to balancing revenue requirements and bond covenants.
Ms. Ankeny reviewed with the board the staff recommended use of the low income tax credit and the unallocated surplus credits in 2023.
Commissioner Barnes opened the public hearing for comments:
Don Steinke encouraged the Utility to do its own solar project rather than another community solar project in 2023 and asked the Utility to promote rooftop solar more.
Cathryn Chudy supported Mr. Steinke’s comments and asked the utility to include environmental considerations as part of its guiding principles.
Peter Harrison asked that the utility review the cost advantage of rooftop solar compared to a utility owned solar project.
The board thanked the public for their comments.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to use the low income tax credit as presented, $30,000 for emergency heat repair, $30,000 for weatherization related repairs, $13,456 for Operation Warm Heart and $15,000 for miscellaneous energy or water related repairs. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to use the unallocated pandemic relief credit funds as presented, $20,000 for emergency heat repair, $20,000 for weatherization related repairs, $57,000 for Operation Warm Heart and $10,000 for miscellaneous energy or water related repairs. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to approve the resolution adopting the 2023 Electric System budget to include use of the low income tax credit as approved in the previous motions. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to approve the resolution adopting the 2023 Generating System budget as presented. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Commissioner Van Dyke moved to approve the resolution adopting the 2023 Water System budget as presented. Commissioner Malinowski seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
The Board thanked Ms. Ankeny, the finance team and the entire staff for the work that went into preparing and presenting the 2023 budgets.
October Financials
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny addressed the board (Materials F). Weather was warmer and drier than normal, which resulted in electric revenues and off system sales coming in above budget. October residential sales were 95.3% of budget, commercial sales were 106.3% and industrial sales were 104.2% of budget. October ended with a net income $2.2 million compared to budgeted net income of $1.9 million. Year-to-date net income is $25.6 million compared to a budgeted net income of $7.1 million.
The Water System ended October with 701 new customers year-to-date, which is a growth rate of 2.13%. October ended with a net income of $731,000 compared to a budgeted net income of $497,000. Year-to-date net income is $2.4 million compared to a budgeted net income of $1.4 million.
September Wholesale Operations
Power Manager Steve Andersen addressed the board (Materials G). Mr. Andersen provided an update on power supply noting that Slice generation was 27 aMW above budget and loads in September were 1 aMW above budget.
A final 2022 quarterly review of Bonneville Power Administration was presented outlining the Reverse Distribution Clause for power and transmission as well as the final Slice true-up credit.
Mr. Anderson reviewed October daily and month-to-date purchases and sales in addition to providing a market-pricing outlook, River Road Generating Plant outlook and an update on the Utility’s year-to-date savings of $30.2 million due to its gas-hedging program.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his attendance at the Energy Northwest meetings.
Commissioners Barnes and Van Dyke reported on their attendance at the Washington PUD Association annual meeting.
Commissioner Van Dyke reported on her attendance at the Vancouver City Council Meeting.
Staff Reports
There were no staff reports.
Public Comment
There were no additional public comments.
Other Business before the Board
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:06 a.m.