HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-06-19 RMLD Citizens Advisory Board Minutes � rN
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Meeting Minutes
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RMLD Citizens Advisory Board 21211 GCT 28 AM 11: 26
Date: 2019-06-19 Time: 6:30 PM
Building: Reading Municipal Light Building Location: Winfred Spurr Audio Visual Room
Address: 230 Ash Street Session: Open Session
Purpose: General Business Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Mr. Dennis Kelley Chair (Wilmington); Mr. Jason Small, Vice Chair (North
Reading); Mr. Vivek Soni, Secretary (Lynnfield); Mr. Neil Cohen (Reading)
Members - Not Present:
Mr. George Hooper (Wilmington)
Others Present:
Mr. Thomas O'Rourke, Board of Commissioners
Ms. Coleen O'Brien, Mr. Roni Holzer, Mr. Hamid Jaffari, Ms. Kathleen Rybak,
Mc Charles Underhill
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Mr. Dennis Kelley, Chair
Topics of Discussion:
1. Call Meeting to Order - D. Kelley, Chair
Chair Kelley called the meeting of the Citizens' Advisory Board to order at 6:30 PM and
noted the meeting was being audio recorded.
2. Approval of Minutes - D. Kelley, Chair
Materials: Draft Minutes from March 21, 2019, and April 18, 2019, meetings
Mr. Small made a motion that the Citizens'Advisory Board approve the Minutes of the
March 21, 2019, and April 18, 2019, meetings as written, seconded by Mr. Soni.
Hearing no further discussion, motion carried 3:0:2 (3 in favor, O opposed, 2
absent). Note: Mr. Cohen had not yet arrived.
3. General Manager's Update - Coleen O'Brien
Materials: 2018 NEPPA Annual Conference Agenda
NEPPA Annual Meeting - Ms. O'Brien reported that the Northeast Public Power
Association's Annual Conference will be held August 18-21, 2019, in New Hampshire.
Mr. Soni made a motion that the Citizens' Advisory Board authorize two members to
attend the 2019 NEPPA Annual Conference August 18-21, 2019, seconded by Mr.
Small. Hearing no further discussion, motion carried 3:0:2 (3 in favor, O opposed,
2 absent). Note: Mr. Cohen had not yet arrived.
RMLD Solar Workshop - June 20, 2019 - Ms. O'Brien reported that Chair Talbot (BOC)
has asked that RMLD hold a workshop to provide information on the new municipal
light solar program offered by the State. Staff will also include a detailed explanation
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of the current status of solar within RMLD's territory. This workshop will take place on 4
June 20th in conjunction with the Commissioners meeting.
4. E&O Report - H. laffari, Director of Engineering & Operations
Materials: Engineering& Operations Report, Revised RMLD Reliability Indices, and Meter Update
(presentation slides)
Mr. laffari presented the Engineering & Operations Report. Mr. laffari reviewed the
major construction projects that have been recently completed:
• 4W5/4W 12 Getaway Improvements - Two feeders have been rerouted directly out of
Station 4 in order to provide relief in the duct banks and reduce the thermal stress on the
cables. This was a major project requiring intensive construction.
• Battery Storage at Station 3 - Construction has been completed on this project,
and RMLD has begun to capture the transmission peaks beginning June 5`h. IRD
will be monitoring these transmission savings. RMLD will coordinate a safety
training with NextEra for the Fire Departments on what to do in the event of a fire
or electrical incident.
• Jonspin Road Switchgear Replacement - Two switchgear that had reached the end
of their useful life were replaced in May. The new switchgear is better technology
and safer to operate. The switchgear replacement program will continue as
scheduled; additional switchgear have been ordered.
Mr. Jaffari then reviewed major construction projects currently underway:
• 4W6 and 4W16 Getaways at Station 4 - the feeders are being upgraded from
500 mcm to 750 mcm cable, which will improve the ampacity of the cable.
Crews are currently working on 4W6 to replace 2,000 feet of underground cable.
• Grid Modernization - Scada-Mate Switches - Installation is scheduled for six new
switches at various locations. These switches will be used for fault detection,
isolation, and restoration.
Mr. laffari reviewed area upgrade projects that have been recently completed:
• Essex Street stepdown conversion in Lynnfield including upgrade of transformers,
poles, and primary and secondary lines and connectors;
• Underground upgrade on Gloria Lane in North Reading; and
• Aged transformers replaced at various locations. Mr. Jaffari reviewed some of the
criteria used to prioritize transformers for replacement including, age, loading
history, and condition of the transformer.
Mr. Jaffari reviewed the current status of the various maintenance programs, double
poles, reliability indices, and outages. Mr. Jaffari noted that RMLD continues to do well
with reliability numbers - well below the national and regional averages. Capital
spending through April is at $1.5m; preliminary estimate for May spending is $600k.
Meter Update - Mr. Jaffari reviewed a map (in follow-up to the last meeting) showing
the distribution and type of meter for the 3,600 meters incapable of communicating with
the outage management system (OMS). Mr. Jaffari then reviewed the plan and budget
to replace these meters. This is a two-step process: first the mesh network must be
completed so that the meters can communicate back to the office, and then the meters
must be replaced. To date, mesh network communication with 19 of the 24 feeders has
been established. This upgrade will also allow two-way communication with field
devices such as reclosers and Scada-Mate switches for fault detection, isolation, and
restoration. Replacing the meters will take approximately five years or could get done in
CY20, budget permitting. The overall cost (to upgrade the mesh network and replace
the meters) is $2.1m.
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5. Power Supply Report - C. Underhill, Director of Integrated Resources
Materials: Citizens'Advisory Board Meeting Presentation Slides
Mr. Underhill reviewed the presentation slides noting RMLD continues to perform better
than budget expectations; power costs remain low, and as a result of the moderate
season to date, loads are down so we are not pushing into less efficient, higher cost
resources in the market. We are approximately $500k ahead of budget. Energy costs,
which are the largest component of the budget, are tracking close - revenue neutral.
Capacity costs have picked up a little bit and transmission costs are also pretty much
breakeven. Mr. Underhill then reviewed the performance in the contracts, which is
about what is expect as we move into the spring - hydro load is starting to come up -
the solar generation is coming up as the days are little bit longer - the rest of the
coverage is not what we expected or what we had in the contract. It's a quiet period.
Mr. Underhill and Mr. Jaffari provided staffing updates: A Power Supply Engineer has
been hired in IRD, and the General Line Foreman has been promoted to Assistant
Director of E&O.
6. Scheduling: CAB Meetings and Coverage for Commissioners Meetings - D. Kelley, Chair
The July meeting will be scheduled once the BOC meeting date has been confirmed.
Mr. Soni will cover the June BOC meeting.
7. Adjournment - D. Kelley, Chair
Mr. Cohen made a motion to adjourn the Citizens'Advisory Board meeting, seconded
by Mr. Small. Motion carried 4:0:1 (four in favor, 0 opposed, 1 absent).
The CAB meeting adjourned at 7:12 PM.
As approved on October 23, 2019
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