EMP2 Welcomes a New City

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The City of Cimarron began taking power through the EMP2 group on May 1, 2019.   KMEA staff visited Cimarron on April 30th to On-Board the City.    During the On-Boarding, Tom Saitta reviewed KMEA’s Sharefile, Glance and MCG IAM systems.  Then, Jennifer Moore reviewed the City’s EMP2 billing and 2019 budget.  Additionally, Sam Mills updated the City on their transmission and metering.  KMEA staff enjoyed meeting with Jeff Acton, City Administrator, Shannon Hoskinson, Electric Superintendent, and Amber Walker, City Clerk.  Welcome Aboard Cimarron.

Please contact KMEA if you are interested in staff visiting your City to review invoicing and access to your City’s operational data.

Results of Member Services Survey

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by Paul Mahlberg, General Manager

As part of the Strategic Planning effort that is underway for our two agencies (KMEA and KMGA), potential new and expanded member services was identified as a strategic area of focus. With that in mind, a survey was sent out last month to each member city requesting feedback on which type of service is most needed or desired. We received responses from a good percentage of the membership from both agencies and there was a common theme. System maintenance and cost-of-service/rate studies were at the top of both lists.

KMEA Top Priorities KMGA Top Priorities
1 System Maintenance 1 System Maintenance
2 Cost of Service/Rate Studies 2 Joint Purchasing/ Inventory Mmgt.
3 Project Management 3 Cost of Service/Rate Studies
4 Legal & Regulatory Support 4 Expanded OQ Support
5 Legislative Support 5 System GIS Mapping
6 Financing 6 Financing

 

Staff is currently working with the Executive Committees to come up with potential solutions/programs for some of the items listed above where KMEA and KMGA could implement to help out the member cities. We appreciate the challenges that our members face day in and day out and are hopeful that we can provide some assistance in a few of the areas above. I will be presenting the overall strategic plan during our May board meetings and will be able to provide further updates at that time. Stay tuned!

“Electric 101” and “What is KMEA”

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“Electric Utility 101” and “What is KMEA” are both introductory presentations that we have created to help tell the story of what KMEA is and how the agency benefits you as a Member.

Over the past several years KMEA has seen a growth of new cities joining the Energy Management Projects (EMP’s). We also have several new faces at KMEA member cities as well. KMEA staff has developed these presentations to introduce these members to KMEA and the electric energy market.

Last week employees from four member cities made the trek to KMEA’s office for an educational session. We presented Electric Utility 101, What is KMEA and had a spirted conversation on several topics that were of interest to the members. It was a good time and we enjoyed seeing everyone.

If you or someone in your city has an interest in joining us for our next educational session, please contact Tom Saitta, saitta@kmea.com or Gerry Bieker, bieker@kmea.com.

National Lineman Appreciation Day (April 18, 2019)

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National Lineman Appreciation Day is a time to express our utmost appreciation to the great men and women that work so hard for us every day. It’s our honor to celebrate the hard work, innovation, and dedication of Electrical Lineworkers. #thankalineman

The following is a video created by the Northwest Lineman College:

Public Power Governance Webinar Series

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City of Eudora, Maintenance Electrician

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The City of Eudora, KS, population 6,300, seeks responsible applicants with knowledge to perform intermediate technical work maintaining and repairing pumps, motors and electrical wiring on City Buildings.  Salary range varies upon qualification. Position reports to the Electrical Superintendent.  Valid Kansas Driver’s License is required.  Click here for more information:

Baldwin City Solar Project Groundbreaking

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The City of Baldwin City recently hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for their soon to be constructed solar array. Through an RFP process Baldwin City chose Westar as the developer for this exciting project. A project kickoff meeting will be held next week and KMEA will be working with Baldwin City and Westar throughout the project. Congratulations to Baldwin City for their vision in choosing solar energy for a portion of their power supply needs into the future.

Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day

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March 18 is now national Natural Gas Utility Workers’ Day! In 2015, the APGA Marketing & Sales Committee began discussing how they believed natural gas utility workers deserved a day to be recognized for their hard work and accomplishments. After several months of planning, the committee named March 18 the day in which natural gas utility workers around the country will be honored each year. The decision to hold this day on March 18 was made by a poll on the APGA Community. March 18 is the date of the New London, Texas school explosion in 1937 that led to the widespread odorization of natural gas and an increased emphasis on safety. Safety is a vital aspect to natural gas distribution and the employees of distribution companies endeavor to make natural gas delivery as safe as possible.

Please honor the natural gas utility workers in your community and at your system by celebrating on March 18! APGA has provided materials to use, which are below. We encourage you to plan events, communication, social media posts, etc., to celebrate this new and very important day!  Click Here for More Information

Resolutions adopted on grid costs, pole attachments at Legislative Rally

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The American Public Power Association’s members on Feb. 26 approved several new policy resolutions that highlight the Association’s concerns about rising transmission costs, its opposition to efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to regulate public power pole attachments and the Association’s push for certain improvements to tax exempt financing.

The resolutions were approved by the Association’s Legislative & Resolutions Committee at its 2019 Legislative Rally in Washington, D.C.

Association officials at the Legislative Rally also outlined the public power trade group’s top priorities for this year, which include infrastructure, grid security and being ready to oppose any effort by the Trump Administration to divest the transmission assets of federal power marketing administrations (PMAs) and the Tennessee Valley Authority…    Read More

The Rising Cost of Transmission and Distribution

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If I’ve told you this before don’t stop me. (I owe that line to my friend Charlie). Well so much for trying to be funny so on to the issue at hand.

I am concerned as most of you are with the issue of the rising cost of transmission and distribution charges and how those costs are going to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. I have attached graphs released by the EIA from 2017 and 2019 which confirm just that. It is interesting that the cost of power production is projected to decrease through 2050 as the T & D costs continue to rise.

The continued rise in transmission costs are mainly due to transmission build out and upgrades as identified by local and RTO planning. Much of this construction is driven by an aging and undersized  transmission system coupled with the congestion caused by the installation of large amounts of renewable energy. FERC has incentivized the construction of new facilities with a guaranteed rate of return based on the system costs. To that end there is considerable motivation to build new facilities. As for the rising distribution costs, those are needed to offset the increased costs of maintaining the distribution system along with those who support it behind the scenes.

The bottom line is that we are stuck with the increased cost of transmission and distribution to the point that some of our members pay as much or more for T & D than for their power costs. As indicated by the EIA this trend will continue at least through 2050. Just a few short years ago the T & D was less than 25% of your total bill. In the coming months and years, regulators will be looking at the process they created to determine if the result is what is best for our electric grid us ratepayers.