December 2023 Board Meeting Summary
PrintSDCEA Board of Directors meeting highlights, December 27, 2023
Schedule 6 – Net Metering – In accordance with state law, members of SDCEA who have net-meters (such as solar) and generate more energy than they consume in a year are eligible to receive a true-up payment by the end of the calendar year for the excess energy they produced that they did not utilize. SDCEA’s fiscal year is also the calendar year, so SDCEA pays customers for their banked usage as a credit on their December bill. The rate for payment is determined by policy. Current policy uses the Tri-State avoided cost of energy. The board approved a new rate for 2024 based on the Tri-State avoided cost figure, $0.02403, an amount more than last year’s $0.01632 per kWh.
Net-meter True-Ups in April – A member reached out to Director Boyle asking why SDCEA compensates for excess energy credits at the end of the year instead of in April. This would allow the banked energy credits to be rolled over for usage during the cold winter months.
Senior Energy Use Advisor Mike Allen presented to the board, examining how solar production affects SDCEA’s electrical system and power purchasing costs. The presentation outlined the reason behind SDCEA’s end-of-year true-up process, and an estimate of the negative financial impact to the co-op If SDCEA allows the roll-over of excess energy credits from low-demand summer months to the high-demand winter months of the next year. The use of energy credits in January through March would not cover SDCEA’s cost of Tri-State demand charges or of SDCEA’s operational costs.
In 2022, SDCEA issued $23,288 in bill credits for 976,858 kWh of energy credits. If credits were allowed to roll over to April 2023, it could have resulted in approximately $126,000 in lost revenue, which would significantly reduce margins and could impact meeting SDCEA’s loan obligations.
Treasurer elected – Director Jeff Fiedler was nominated and elected board treasurer. The office was made vacant by the passing of former director Dan Daly in November.
Wildfire mitigation rider – The 2024 Wildfire Mitigation Rate Rider will remain at 2023’s $8 after a one month increase in January to $9. This is due to legal requirements to post notice of the rate remaining the same amount for 2024. The charge was previously scheduled to increase to $9 in 2024.
C-99 Charges – Various fees and charges are updated at the cooperative as increases or decreases in costs occur. The board approved new charges for 2024, which can be viewed here. Comparison of SDCEA’s Fees and Charges for 2023 and 2024 – Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc. (myelectric.coop)
Board appointments – Board members from SDCEA represent the cooperative to several external organizations as either board members or as voting delegates to various meetings. Board representatives were named to the Colorado Rural Electric Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative and Western United.
Financial Report
Year-to-date (November 2023): Revenues are 3.4% over budget due to selling more energy (kWh) than forecasted in the budget. The 2023 budget is based on SDCEA’s year-over-year average of energy (kWh) sales, with a slight increase for growth in number of consumers and sales.
Year-to-Date, more energy (kWh) sales (2.92% higher) have occurred than 2022. The cooperative in turn purchased additional power to cover this increase in sales. This increased purchased power expense was primarily offset by a decrease in operating expenses due to several employment positions being open and lower than budgeted interest expenses on long-term debt. Overall, total expenses are within 1% of the budget.
Operations Report
Wildfire Mitigation Update:
Two crews will be working in Custer County for the rest of the year in order to stay within budget. The number of crews will increase to three or four at the beginning of the next budget year. SDCEA will begin developing a cutting plan in Buena Vista starting on January 2.
Project Totals since inception:
Total Overhead Line Miles in System: 750
Estimated miles to be Cut/Trimmed: 264
Total Miles Cust/Trimmed: 129
Percent Complete: 45
Estimated Project Cost: $9 Million
Total Project Spend: $4,864,378
Amount Remaining to Spend: $4,135,622
2023 Budget $1,965,976
2023 Spend Year to Date $1,750,007
2023 Budget Remaining $215,968
Total Trees Removed – 9660
Total Trees Trimmed – 2417
Hazard Trees Removed – 477
Board seat to remain open – After convening in executive session, the board reconvened the meeting and voted to leave the seat vacated by late board member Dan Daly open until the June board election.
