Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
November 15, 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, November 15, 2022.
Present: President Nancy Barnes, Vice President Jane Van Dyke, Secretary Jim Malinowski Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Lena Wittler, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Information Services Jeff Groff, Director of Employee Resources Nichole Reitzenstein, Director of Communications Erica Erland, Director of Operations Gene Morris, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Water Doug Quinn, General Counsel John Eldridge, Energy Services Manager Debbie DePetris, ComCare Manager Chiharu Russell, Program Coordinator Ashley King, Community Engagement Specialist Morgan Van Fleet, Senior Key Account Manager Zeecha Van Hoose, Key Account Managers Bill Hibbs, Lori Froehlich, Michael Wallace and Assistant to the CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Staff present via digital conference (phone or video): Energy Resource Manager Terry Toland, Loss Control Manager Carly Nelson and Marketing Communications Specialist Martha Foley.
Others present via digital conference (phone or video) or in person: Rick Marshall, Robert Mash, Cathryn Chudy, Virginia Nugent, Jean Avery, Mike Lyons, Tom Gordon and Don Steinke.
Press representatives: None
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:
Cathryn Chudy thanked Utility staff for its attendance at the City of Vancouver council meeting and provided comment on the updated Washington State building codes and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Done Steinke congratulated Commissioner Barnes on her re-election and provided comment on his support for more solar in our county, electric vehicle forecast and the impact on load and his recognition of the difficulties in managing distributed energy.
Rick Marshall provided comment on the increased scrutiny surrounding air quality and the work being done by Washington State and the Department of Ecology regarding air quality issues in our area. Mr. Marshall referenced an article written by David Wallace-Wells on air quality and the toll it takes on the population.
Jean Avery provided comments on her support of renewable energy, the increase in health issues related to carbon emissions and her desire for Clark Public Utilities to set climate-related goals.
Virginia Nugent provided comments on the effects of climate change on our children’s future, concerns surrounding CO2 emissions and her desire for Clark Public Utilities to shut down River Road Generating Plant as soon as possible.
Written comments were submitted by Cathryn Chudy, Don Steinke, Virginia Nugent, Rick Marshall and Jean Avery and copies may be obtained by contacting Margaret Anderson at [email protected] or 360-992-3378.
Consideration of the Minutes of November 1, 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 November 15, 2022 from the District Auditor (Materials C):
Electric Revenue Fund – $7,696,610.10
Water Revenue Fund – $499,964.00
Generating System Fund – $133,792.32
For a total of $8,330,366.42
Emergency Management and Storm Response
Director of Operations Gene Morris provided an overview of how the Utility prepares for storm season and emergency preparations for a large county or statewide emergency. Mr. Morris outlined the emergency response levels, incident command structure and logistics. The Utility is continuing to evaluate processes after every storm event with a cross departmental post event after action report (Materials D).
ESource 2022 Business Customer Satisfaction Results
Energy Services Manager Debbie DePetris reviewed the ESource results that placed Clark Public Utilities second with a score of 9.28 just slightly below (.04) the top utility (Materials E). Ms. DePetris thanked the team of key account managers and project coordinators for the service provided to our large business customers, which was clearly recognized in the survey results.
Energy Assistance Programs 2021-2022 Season Update
ComCare Manager Chiharu Russell provided the board with an update on Utility energy assistance programs for the 2021-2022 seasons (Materials F). Ms. Russell shared season results for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, Low Income Home Water Assistance Program, Operation Warm Heart, Senior Rate Credit, Guarantee of Service Program and the Treasury Rent Assistance Program/Treasury Emergency Rent Assistance Programs.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his attendance at the Energy Northwest Executive Committee meeting.
Commissioner Barnes thanked utility staff for the good work they are doing and the milestones reached in the past few months.
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 10:45 a.m.