Archive for category: General Information

After suddenly being kicked off the grid in the wee hours of Monday morning, December 14th, the City of Jetmore saw firsthand the value of having behind the meter generation. According to City Administrator, Michael Ort, the city’s newly installed generator picked up the city load, running from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

“We completed the testing on the new engine and generator on November 20th. As luck would have it, it was just in time for us to put it to good use. We are very pleased and grateful to have the new engine online, ready to serve the residents of Jetmore.” Jetmore recently invested $995,000 installing a 2.5 MW opposed piston engine and generator set, a new breaker, controls, switchgear, piping, a diesel day tank, and associated equipment.

Even with the EIA reporting on Thursday a larger than expected withdraw volume from storage, natural gas prices continue to fall. US gas in storage fell 76 Bcf to 3,880 Bcf for the week ending December 4th. The withdrawal from storage was above consensus expectations of a pull between 59 Bcf and 63 Bcf.

Weather forecasts continue to indicate relatively weak demand. WSI’s 11 to 15 day forecast from Thursday showed above average temperatures across much of the central and eastern US. Analysts in the industry note that it’s going to be very warm in all the wrong places as the midcontinent and eastern US are typically the large consumers of natural gas this time of year.

Since November 1st, midcontinent daily index prices have averaged around $1.95 per MMBtu, with $1.705 being the lowest price posted during this time, and $2.155 being the highest price posted. Last year for this same time period, $3.21 was the lowest price posted and $4.695 was the highest posted price.

The projected average for the NYMEX futures monthly contracts is $2.66 per MMBtu for the next 24 months. During the winter months the futures contracts are forecasted to be around $3.00, and during the non-peak months they are projected to fall to around the $2.30 – $2.40 mark.

 

The City of Garnett has recently completed the replacement of a city distribution line from their south substation to the newly constructed hospital. The new line includes the addition of one new circuit and the upgrades of two 4160 circuits and one 2400 circuit. The new circuit was built with 477 ACSR wire to allow the city to tie into the north substation in the future which would allow the city to be fed from both directions. The poles and the three circuits that were upgraded date back to 1942. The new line is about one mile in length and cost approximately $500,000.

In addition to electrical upgrades, the city is installing a new sewer pump station to service the north side of Garnett. A 10 year improvement plan has been approved by the City Commission, which will see a minimum of $100,000 per year spent for improvements to Garnett’s collector system.

Finally, the City Commission has hired Ponzer & Youngquist Engineers to develop plans for a new water treatment plant. A preliminary plan has been provided for commission review. Their engineer and the city’s water plant superintendent have been busy touring new water plants to make sure they recommend the right facility for Garnett.

For those of you I have not had the pleasure to meet, I am Dixie Riedel, Director of Natural Gas, for KMGA. Among the more impactful and enjoyable opportunities I have is traveling to KMGA communities to provide personal consultation to our members. Whether it’s answering questions about a city’s natural gas system, calculation of rates, discussing services KMGA provides, or a host of other items of interest, city visits are always fruitful.

This Thursday, November 19^th, I visited the City of Kechi and met with City Clerk, Laura Hill, and Finance Director, Mitch Kolf.  After leaving Kechi, I travelled to the City of Walton and met with City Clerk, Stephanie Ashby.  Each city was interested in a review of their process for calculating rates. After evaluating each cities process, I recommended some changes to ensure that each city captures all costs associated with their natural gas supply when calculating rates.  I also created and provided spreadsheets to each city in order to simplify their rate calculation process for their end-use customers.

Thanks to both cities for their hospitality, trust, and support. As I mentioned before, city visits always prove to be worthwhile and productive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2015 Gil Hanson Jr. Outstanding Service Award and Max Embree Distinguished Service Award were presented to two distinguished individuals, Greg DuMars and Duane Banks, respectively. We were honored to present the awards at the recent KMEA Annual Conference and we are privileged to recognize them here.

Greg DuMars receives Gil Hanson Award

 

Greg has a long and distinguished record as an exceptional leader with respect to municipal joint action and serving his community, KMEA, and public power. In his 17 years as City Administrator for the City of Lindsborg, Greg has been deeply involved in the planning and design, not only of his city’s electric distribution system, but also the water and wastewater systems and numerous other street and community betterment projects. Greg honorably served as President of KMEA from 2010 – 2015. He currently serves on the KMEA Finance Committee and is the first-ever Chairman of the KMU Advisory Committee. He is viewed by the public power community across the state of Kansas as one of its top leaders and was one of eight winners of the 2015 American Public Power Association Larry Hobart Seven Hats Award.

 

 

 

Duane Banks receives Max Embree Award

 

Duane has served the city of Russell for 25 years, including nine years as a police officer and the last 16 years working in the Electric department. During his public power career he has held several positions and was promoted to his current position of Electric Utility Director in 2006. Duane has been involved with and has overseen many projects enhancing the city’s ability to serve its customers, including the construction of a natural gas turbine plant, the addition of a new substation, and upgrading three existing substations, just to name a few. Duane has been devoted to serving KMEA and the membership for many years as a member and Officer of the KMEA Executive Committee since 2010. Currently he is the President of the KMEA Executive Committee, Chairman of the Joint Board, and a member of the Power Supply Committee.