Holton’s Power Plant

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Ira Harrison

Ira Harrison- Holton’s Electric Production Superintendent

The charming City of Holton hosted KMEA Executive Committee and Power Supply Committee meetings on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The meetings were held at the Power Plant.

Holton’s Power Plant has been in service for over 100 years. It is composed of eight dual-fuel power generators that can provide up to 21 megawatts of energy. Three of the units are registered in the SPP Market. The oldest unit was installed in 1958 and the newest in 2000. Currently, the Power Plant employs seven full-time and three part-time employees.

The City of Holton is a member of EMP3 and is also part of the GRDA and WAPA projects.Holton

Ira Harrison is the Electric Production Superintendent at the Holton Power Plant. On April 1st he will complete 33 years of dedicated service at the Power Plant. Ira is a KMEA Board of Director, an active member of the EMP3 group and also on the Power Supply Committee.

KMEA staff appreciates Holton’s hospitality. We thank Bret Bauer, City Manager, Ira Harrison and all Power Plant employees for hosting our meetings and for the delicious steaks they kindly grilled for lunch.

Joint EMP Advisory Committee

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KMEA Executive Committee approved the formation of a new Committee at their December 16, 2015 meeting.  The Joint EMP Advisory Committee is composed of two members from each EMP. The representatives to serve on the Committee were appointed by each of their EMP groups.

EMP1 Representatives

Dennis Tharp -City Ottawa (Chair)

John Krievins- City of Gardner

EMP2 Representatives

Kenny Kreutzer- City of Pratt

Manny Milbers- City of Beloit

EMP3 Representatives

Bret Bauer- City of Holton (Vice Chair)

Lou Leone- City of Kiowa

 

The purpose of the Joint EMP Advisory Committee is to provide advice to the KMEA Executive Committee for matters that are common across all of the EMP groups.

The Joint EMP Advisory Committee received its first task from the KMEA Executive Committee on January 20, 2016 which was to draft and issue a Request-for-Proposal for energy management services for KMEA. The Committee met for the first time on February 9, 2016 in the City of Ottawa.

KMEA appreciates each member of the Joint Advisory Committee for their dedication and service on this newly formed Committee.

 

Our Visit To GRDA

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Photo 3-4-16

OUR VISIT TO GRDA

Last week the KMEA staff travelled to Vinita, Oklahoma to visit with the management team at the GRDA Headquarters. We were given the presentation from the customer appreciation meeting which proved to be very helpful information. The presentation included the 10 year financial projections including the projected energy costs through 2025. We visited about a variety of things and we appreciated the open and casual dialogue. KMEA has been partnered with GRDA to provide cost based capacity and energy since January 2000. Thanks to Dan, Tim and the entire management team at GRDA for their hospitality.

Burrton Joins KMGA

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Pictured left to right: Dixie Riedel, KMGA Director of Natural Gas, Burton Utility Director, Jon Roberts and City Clerk, Kim Ryan

Pictured left to right: Dixie Riedel, KMGA Director of Natural Gas, Burton Utility Director, Jon Roberts and City Clerk, Kim Ryan

This week KMGA staff had an opportunity to visit the City of Burrton for new member orientation. We met with City Clerk, Kim Ryan, and Utility Director, Jon Roberts. During the orientation we reviewed the monthly invoicing process and walked them through the rate calculation spreadsheets created for Burrton. Additional items covered included load projecting, data KMGA will compile for Burrton, and an overview of the annual conference of member cities.

The City of Burrton will begin purchasing natural gas from KMGA on April 1st. We warmly welcome Burrton as the newest KMGA member and look forward to serving them well into the future.

Natural Gas Pricing

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iStock Gas PhotoOn Thursday the EIA reported that natural gas storage dropped 158 Bcf for the week ending February 12th.  Analysts’ expected a withdrawal volume between 149-153 Bcf. Stocks remain 555 Bcf above the 5-year average. Gas prices continue to tumble as the biggest stockpile glut since 2012 threatens to overwhelm demand for the second half of the heating season.

Overall the average price of gas is down 19 percent since the first of the year. In its latest six to ten-day update, the National Weather Service, Tuesday, is predicting above-average temperatures across most of the continental US.

March futures contract fell 4.6 % on Thursday, to settle at $1.852 per MMBtu. The March futures contract is down $0.30 since February 1st.  Total US natural gas production has risen to record levels this February.  Production has increased by 1.7 Bcf per day over last February and a 0.6 Bcf per day over January.

APPA Cites J.D. Power Electric Utility Study

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APPA logo

We wanted to call your attention to a recent article published in APPA’s Public Power Daily titled Public power ranks high in J.D. Power customer satisfaction study. Most everyone is familiar with J.D. Power. It’s the most recognizable firm that conducts surveys of a wide range of customer satisfaction indicators in a number of different industries, ranging from automotive, cellphone, computer manufacturers, and yes, utilities, just to name a few.

For 17 years J.D. Power has conducted a customer satisfaction survey on U.S. electric utilities. APPA points out that four public power utilities are among the eight highest ranked utilities according to the J.D. Power report. These are midsize to large utilities, however, whatever the size of a utility, it’s an interesting read and may provide insights that all can glean about customer satisfaction in our industry.

Chuck Asbury Retires from the City of Wamego

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Wamego City Manager Merl Page thanks Chuck for his dedicated service

Wamego City Manager Merl Page thanks Chuck Asbury for his dedicated service

After faithfully serving the City of Wamego for over 35 years, Chuck Asbury, Supervisor of the Electric Department, was given a proper send off at his January 26th retirement party. Chuck began his career as a maintenance worker at the city’s municipal power plant in 1980. In 1985 he was promoted to Electric Department Supervisor.

As the City’s electrical demand grew over the years, Chuck presided over many expansion projects, building generating capacity at the plant from 8.3MW to 15.6MW. In addition to maintaining the plant’s nine natural gas/diesel generating units in top working order and operating the units during peak demand times and interconnect power losses, Chuck and his department assisted other City departments, as needed, to serve a growing community.

Please join us as we extend our gratitude and best wishes to Chuck in his retirement.

Michael Ort new City Administrator for Jetmore

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Michael Ort Photo 1.26.16We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Michael Ort, the new City Administrator of Jetmore. Michael assumed his position this past fall, so he and his wife, Jennifer, and their four children have already begun to settle into the Jetmore community.

Michael grew up in central Missouri and most recently lived in Kansas City. Michael’s path to city administrator started in 2011 after he left behind his career driving trucks to return to school to finish his degree in History at Columbia College and earn his MPA at American Public University.

After only a few short months on the job, Michael saw firsthand the value of having behind the meter generation, when the city was suddenly kicked off the grid December 14th. Jetmore’s newly installed generator picked up the city load from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

City Administrator of Jetmore is Michael’s first position in city government and he is excited and grateful for the opportunity to serve the good people of Jetmore in this capacity.

 

Randy Miller Retires After 32 Years

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Randy Miller PhotoAfter 32 years of service for the City of Hoisington, Randy Miller is retiring February 1, 2016.

Randy started working for the city in 1979 as a lineman, where he continued to serve until 1982. After a four year hiatus, Randy returned to the city, and in April 1991, he was appointed Electric Distribution Supervisor.

Randy was born in Barton County and raised in Hoisington where he attended school.  After high school, Randy attended KSC at Pittsburg and Barton County College in Great Bend, Kansas where he studied auto and machine technology.

Randy will likely be spending his time riding his motorcycle, working on street rods, hunting, fishing, and keeping up with KU basketball, the Royals and the Chiefs.

KMEA staff was privileged to be on hand for yesterday’s EMP2 meeting in Hoisington to congratulate and offer our best wishes to Randy.

A Great Week!

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CapitolThis has been a busy but very productive week. On Tuesday staff attended the KMU Day at the Capitol along with the staff of KMU, KPP, and other city representatives.  It was a great opportunity to learn about the issues affecting public utilities that will be considered during this year’s legislative session. The most prominent issue is the State budget and how the lawmakers plan to close the gap between income and spending not only in the current fiscal year but in the coming years. There are several issues on the utility front not the least of which is the EPA Clean Power Plan. We heard from Gary Mason of the KDHE about how KDHE and KCC are working together to craft a plan for Kansas that is acceptable to the EPA. We learned of other issues including new water rules and regulations and the latest on Kansas’ approach to Cyber security for power plants. We also attended a KMEA Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday in Topeka and an EMP3 meeting on Thursday in Seneca. What a great week and we really enjoyed seeing everyone.