Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DPU reports hydropower volatility, hires, EV chargers and broadband planning
Summary
At the May 21 meeting the Department of Public Utilities updated the board on variable hydropower output amid low reservoir levels, new hires and interns, EV charger procurements, progress on the county’s broadband planning and upcoming electrification work by consultants.
Department of Public Utilities staff briefed the Board of Public Utilities on May 21 about operational items including hydropower generation variability, staffing changes, capital projects under way, and progress on electrification and broadband planning.
Why it matters: fluctuations in hydropower generation affect utility revenue and planning; the county’s broadband and electrification projects carry material capital implications; and staffing and operational pilots affect service reliability and customer programs.
Key operational updates reported by DPU staff included:
- Hydropower: Abiquiu was reported to be producing around 5 megawatts in one recent period and El Vado had produced about 2 megawatts the week before but was temporarily offline on the day of the meeting. Staff said generation varies with run‑of‑river flows and snowpack; board members noted a longer‑term downward trend in hydro output over the past decade. Chair Gibson said, “I have that information and can send it to you for the for all of the hydro sources easily,” offering to provide historical generation data going back about 25 years.
- Staffing and recruitment: DPU said it recently filled multiple positions, including a senior office specialist; it plans to add a power system operator apprentice, a data analyst (to be shared between admin and billing), four engineering interns and additional engineering and operations hires. Staff said some recruits remain in the reference/background check process.
- Pilot work schedules: a pilot alternative work schedule (4x10-hour days) is underway for crews in gas, water and sewer divisions, with wastewater treatment and hydro crews participating as well.
- Capital projects and grants: trenching for the Ski Hill waterline replacement has advanced using specialized rock‑trenching equipment; DPU is preparing a FEMA grant response for an undergrounding project and expects further direction shortly. Staff also described coordination with the Energy Community Alliance (ECA) and UAMPS on market and resource‑planning topics, including the energy day‑ahead market (EDAM) and membership levels within UAMPS.
- Electrification and EV charging: Burns & McDonnell will present a draft electrification plan to the board in two weeks; DPU has ordered six Level‑2 ChargePoint chargers and installed one RFID‑enabled charger for county fleet use at the Pareto Cliff site. DPU reported it operates four EVs with two more budgeted next year.
- Broadband and other regional projects: staff summarized regional activity including community broadband design progress (reported to county council) and noted a county CIP and bonding discussion; council liaison and staff cautioned that the project’s contingency could be exhausted if rock conditions are worse than anticipated during boring.
Board members asked for more historical generation and outage data. In response to questions about longer outages or system events caused by external factors (for example, shutoffs by the balancing authority), staff said they will provide a supplemental reliability report that includes major events so the board and public can see total customer impact as well as the distribution reliability metrics (SAIDI/SAIFI) the utility currently reports.
No board action was required on these updates; the briefing concluded with staff standing for questions.
