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 business meeting of the Littleton Water and Light (LWL) Board of Commissioners (BOC) began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 15, 2024 in the LWL conference room. Present were Commissioner Linda MacNeil, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Commissioner Peter Cooper, Director of Finance Lori Hogan and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the April 1, 2024 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Cooper.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0
APPOINTMENTS:
Convergent Energy and Power representatives Frank Genova the Chief Operating and Financial Officer and Laura Meilander discussed (remotely via zoom) with the BOC the proposed energy storage system plans for LWL. The discussion focused primarily on two (2) of their energy storage facilities in New York that caught fire in 2023.
Mr. Genova detailed the root cause of the fire that transpired in late-June of 2023 at their Warwick NY facility. The incident was attributed to water leaking into a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). This caused a malfunction in the battery containers, resulting in an electrical short which initiated the fire. Mr. Genova stated that he did not have enough information to discuss the other fire that happened in Chaumount, NY. This also involved a BESS operated by Convergent, as the root cause investigation has not been completed, they are reluctant to discuss the incident before the cause has been determined. Fire suppression systems are in each battery container, and they utilize both fire and smoke sensors but if the batteries catch fire, these systems will not put them out, they are more of a deterrent/ alarm system.
Ms. Meilander stated that test results following the Warwick incident found that no toxins were released into the surrounding environment.
Mr. Genova stated that the failure was product related. A direct result of poor-quality control of the vendor providing the battery container units which were supposed to be watertight. He explained that Convergent purchases the materials and assembles them on site. Mr. Genova claims that the product issue has been corrected and the LWL units will be provided by a different vender.
Commissioner Cooper asked if water can be used on a lithium-ion battery fire?
Mr. Genova stated that water can be used but it is not generally successful in putting out an electrical fire, especially when lithium-ion batteries are involved. Typically, water is used to keep the surrounding area cool. The batteries, once they are fully engaged, are typically allowed to burn themselves out. Mr. Genova stated that elemental (raw) lithium will react violently when it encounters water, though lithium-ion batteries are a compound and much safer.
Commissioner MacNeil asked if any other property near the BESS was damaged and is there any litigation pending. Mr. Genova stated that except for the battery box enclosures where the fire took place no other property was damaged or affected. There is no pending litigation to their knowledge for either incident currently.
Commissioner MacNeil stated that LWL was blindsided at the February deliberative session and felt that Convergent should have been more forthcoming with LWL as to the recent fires.
Mr. Genova apologized for the lack of communication. He stated that it was not Convergent’s intent to hide the incidents from LWL, they are just cautious of discussing any incident prior to the final report of the root cause(s) due to the potential of litigation. That is why they are reluctant to discuss in public the Chaumount, NY incident as it is still under review. Though he admitted that Convergent should have given LWL a heads up.
Commissioner Cooper asked if Convergent operated any other facilities in NH?
Mr. Genova stated that they did not. He also stated that though BESS may seem like newer renewable energy technologies Convergent has been successful in the business for over ten (10) years working with BESS.
There was some back-and-forth general discussion as to how to proceed as the process is currently under consideration with the Town of Littleton Planning and Zoning. The remote zoom conference ended at 2:15 p.m.
DIRECTOR of FINANCE and HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT:
1. Mrs. Hogan stated that she needed to make an adjustment to the 2023 financial statement to correctly code work that was done in December 2023 but was invoiced by the contractor in January 2024. The work was related to the replacement of several utility poles that required specialized off-road equipment to access the location. Accrual accounting principles require that costs are incurred at the time of service, not when invoiced. This will also affect the funds being transferred from operating to the reserves.
2. Mrs. Hogan reviewed the highlights of the financial statements for the month ended January 2024 with the Commissioners. Several variances as compared to the budget were discussed and explained by Mrs. Hogan. Though LWL was slightly under budget for the month, margins were lower than expected. This was generally due to increased costs in power supply and lower than expected sales. February 2024 preliminary financials appear to be trending on budget as well with lower margins and sales.
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
1. The NH Department of Energy recently distributed the proceeds from the 63rd Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Cap and Trade auction to LWL for disbursement in the amount of about $100,981. Once LWL receives payment from the NHDOE eligible LWL electric customers will receive a rebate (credit) in the amount of about $21.00/1,000 kWh ($0.02114/ kilo-Watthour) applied to their next LWL statement.
2. LWL with the assistance of Daymark Energy are planning to solicit a request for a quote for power supply resource for the fiscal operating years 2025-2027 in varying volumes totaling about 31,000 MWH. Wholesale future prices on the NYMEX market are trending between $55/MWH - $65 MWH about $20 lower than LWL last procurement.
3. Grafton County is moving forward with their North County Link project that is expected to bring high-speed internet service to town governments throughout the county. The project is being managed by eX² Technology LLC. They have been working with LWL for several months to develop a pole attachment agreement that is now complete and partially executed by Grafton County. Mr. Considine stated that he will execute on behalf of LWL like other agreements in place with CATV and telephone.
4. A geotechnical proposal submitted by Stantec Engineering was discussed with the BOC. This work is needed to determine the earth/ground resistivity and underground formation regarding the design of the new/upgraded Lafayette Substation. The proposal was in the amount of about $21,000 to conduct the required work.
There was some discussion related to the need for such a report and the associated cost as an existing substation is on-site. Mr. Considine stated that this is more a matter of design liability on the part of the engineering firm than a matter of functionality but would have a discussion with the engineers. The existing substation design plans are not specific and lack the needed data justifying the need for the geotechnical work.
5. April 15th ends the NHPUC winter rule moratorium on disconnecting electric services on accounts that are in the arrears for nonpayment. LWL mailed about 50 notices (red/pink paper) advising customers that their accounts are 90-day past due and meet the criterion for disconnect due to nonpayment.
6. Installation crews working for Consolidated Communication Inc. (CCI) new Fidium Fiber Internet are working through Littleton lashing fiber optic cable to telephone lines. LWL has received several calls from concerned citizens inquiring about what is taking place. CCI anticipates that the fiber will be placed in service by July.
7. As a follow-up to LWL capital improved project approved by the BOC in January 2024. Mr. Considine discussed a quote provided by Holliston R.I. Sand for about 150 CYDS of graded sand for the Gale River filtration facility. The gradation of the sand is specifically designed for applications like the LWL treatment facility. The cost to supply and transport to Gale River about 200 tons of sand is about $54,000. This volume will restore/replace about 8-inches of sand in one filter. The filters have been in operation since November 2001.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the board Commissioner Cooper made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
The meeting adjourned at 2:35 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.