The Board meets on the first and third Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. and are held in the department conference room at 65 Lafayette Ave, Littleton. Board meetings are open to the public and time is allotted for public comments at each meeting.
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The regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, August 05, 2013 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Perry Goodell, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of July 15, 2013 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
FINANCIAL DIRECTORS REPORT:
1. Mrs. Wilkins reviewed the financial statements for the month ended June 2013 with the Commissioners. Several discrepancies as compared to budget were discussed and explained by Mrs. Wilkins.
2. Mrs. Wilkins also stated that the invoice from the Local Government Center Property Liability Trust (NHLGC-PLT) was reduced as the excessive surplus fund distribution was applied as a credit against the department’s invoice.
SUPERINTENDENT/ MANAGERS REPORT:
1. A section of the water system along Meadow Street below Dells Road experienced a significant surge in water pressure late Saturday night (10:30 pm) on July 27, 2013. Apparently a compressor attached to the sprinkler system (dry) at The Home Depot failed which simulated a fire “like” event. It is likely that this event caused the surge in water pressure in this area. When the compressor failed, the system lost pressure in the sprinkler system and caused the flow control valve to open wide and fire pump to turn on forcing water into the sprinkler system at a high rate of speed (system rated at about 2,000 GPM). When the pipes were filled the incoming water had nowhere to go and most likely the flow stopped instantaneously.
The rapid deceleration of the water in the system pipes initiating a significant surge several times greater than the normal operating system pressure in that area. Several properties adjacent to The Home Depot sustained damaged due to the high pressure surge as water devices were damaged inside these premises causing localized flooding.
A claim was filed with the LGC- PLT (Department’s insurance agency) as the property owners felt that the department was responsible for the incident. The LGC insurance adjuster was on site Wednesday (July 31, 2013) and reviewed the available data and met with the department and the affected property owners.
2. The Department received an email from National Grid in response to an inquiry by the department following the system outage on July 17, 2013 as to why we lost power. According to the incident report submitted by National Grid the incident was caused by a tree that came down across a primary 3 phase line somewhere on the Green Mountain Power transmission feed. The fault current caused the main circuit breaker at the Commerford Hydroelectric Station to open shunting all power supply out of the station to the surrounding area. Additional inquiries have been submitted to National Grid for clarification into how this can be prevented from happening in the future.
During the outage of July 17, 2013 the department discovered that the revenue metering package was placed back in service two (2) days prior to that event. The metering package does not possess any remote access or telemetry capabilities at this time due to the lack of communication with the site equipment which means that the meter reading can only be retrieved manually.
In response to the department’s inquiry with regard to the operating condition of line 3315: National Grid stated that they “are starting to evaluate” the feed line and will present the department the results. National Grid also acknowledged the performance of the 3315 line is “historically poor”.
3. A “kick-off” conference call between NISC (utility billing and financial software developer) and the department is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2013. The meeting should result in defining an implementation schedule for the conversion to the new software system.
4. The Littleton School Board SAU 84 has asked the department to attend their August 5, 2013 meeting to discuss the proposed relocation of two (2) utility poles adjacent to property managed by the school. The department, due to several recent motor vehicle accidents involving utility poles along High Street, has proposed replacing and relocating of the poles behind the side walk along High Street from Pleasant Street to just beyond School Street. In addition to moving the poles behind the sidewalk circuit continuity will be improved as the department plans to “tie” two distribution circuits together near School Street. This will aid in future power restoration efforts and maintenance activities. As some of the relocated poles and or anchors are on private property utility easements were requested from abutters.
5. The department is working with officials of the Town of Littleton to address the deteriorated sidewalk adjacent to 105 W. Main Street that was approved at the 2013 Town meeting. As a result of a change in the scope of work on the project the department’s involvement has also changed from simply moving the anchor for construction to relocating the utility pole.
As the property line is along the back of the sidewalk a permanent utility easement will be required to accommodate the Town’s request. A meeting with the property owner has been scheduled to discuss alternative pole locations.
6. M2 Water Services (a contractor for the NHDES) will be providing the department with acoustic leak detection services for the next several weeks in accordance with a grant the department received last fall. It is expected that about thirty (30) miles of underground water main, beginning with the oldest pipes under the highest pressures will be checked for leakage under this grant. Under the terms of the grant the department will be responsible for locating all valves prior to testing and that all leaks are to be investigated and repaired if needed as soon as practicable after confirmation.
GENERAL BUSINESS:
1. La Capra Associates have suggested the Hydro-Quebec US (HQUS) be signed up as a prospective wholesale power provider/ counterparty with the Department for future RFP solicitations. Superintendent Considine advised La Capra that this needed to be discussed with the BOC before an agreement is reached due to the political consternation involving HQUS and the Northern Pass Project.
Following some discussion the BOC agreed that if purchasing power from HQUS made good business sense, was economical and in the best interest of the department that they would not object to doing business with HQUS.
2. Superintendent Considine stated that the pending wholesale power procurement solicitation that was previously discussed and authorized by the BOC will be executed this week as RFP’s where request and prospective bids are due on Wednesday, August 7, 2013. It is anticipate that over 90%, 75% and 50% of the estimate yearly loads in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively will be satisfied and hedged against spot market fluctuations following completion of this solicitation and acceptance by the department.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Ross made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Goodell.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 1:55 p.m.
The regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting is held twice monthly on the first and third Monday, at 1:00 p.m., in the Department’s conference room.