HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-09-17 EMC Final Minutes1
TOMPKINS COUNTY
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
121 East Court Street Ithaca, New York 14850
Telephone (607) 274-5560
http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc
Final Minutes 1
February 9, 2017, 4PM 2
Tompkins County Old Jail Conference Room, 125 E. Court Street, Ithaca, NY 3
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Attendance 5
Members 6
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Member Seat Member Seat
Steve Bissen A Town of Dryden Karen Edelstein A Associate Member
John Dennis P Village of Lansing Dooley Kiefer P Associate Member
Brian Eden P Village of Cayuga Heights Dan Klein P Associate Member
Bill Evans P Town of Danby Jose Lozano E Associate Member
Pegi Ficken P Town of Groton Nidia Trejo A Associate Member
Michelle Henry P Town of Newfield David Weinstein A Associate Member
John Hertzler P Town of Ulysses Robert Wesley A Associate Member
Roy Luft P At-Large Anna Kelles A Legislative Liaison
Steve Nicholson P Town of Caroline Roger Yonkin A Associate Member
Susan Riley P At-Large Scott Doyle P EMC Coordinator
Tom Shelley P Ithaca CAC Kristin McCarthy P Administrative Assistant
Linda Spielman P Village of Dryden
Anna Kelles A Legislature Liaison
Susan Allen-Gil P Associate Member
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Guests: James Knighton (prospective At-Large member), Susan Mann (Avangrid), and Rosalyn Bandy (Cornell 9
Cooperative Extension) 10
A quorum was present. 11
Others –Vladimir Micic (former Town of Ithaca representative) could not attend and was excused. John Dennis 12
(former Village of Lansing representative) was present, and Ron Syzmanski (former Village of Freeville 13
representative) was absent. 14
Call to Order – Chair Brian Eden called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM. 15
Privilege of the Floor – No speakers 16
Agenda Review/Changes – None 17
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Opening Remarks – Chair Brian Eden welcomed everyone to the meeting. He remarked that it was a very tight 18
agenda because the Council hoped to focus on strategic planning for the new year. 19
Minutes approval (Jan. 12, 2017) – 20
The January minutes were accepted with minor editorial changes. The minutes were approved unanimously by 21
voice vote. 22
Presentation: Avangrid’s Energy Smart Community – Susan Mann and Rosalyn Bandy 23
Susan Mann, of Avangrid, spoke to the group about the utility’s Energy Smart Community initiative. Rosalyn 24
Bandy, of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), spoke on the role CCE has taken on as a community liaison 25
for the project. More detailed information can be found in the documents handed out at the meeting. However, 26
here are some of the highlights from the presentation: 27
Susan M.: 28
Along with the other utilities in the state, NYSEG (a subsidiary of Avangrid) filed a five-year road map 29
detailing their plans to upgrade and modernize the energy grid to allow for much more distributed clean 30
generation. Called a Distributed System Implementation Plan, or DSIP, the road map will enable 31
NYSEG to meet the greenhouse gas emissions targets set by New York State as well as compete in the 32
changing utility marketplace. As part of the DSIP, the company is investing in a suite of platform 33
technologies that includes software and hardware systems and processes necessary for creating a modern 34
grid. 35
• Overall energy demand usage is staying flat, but they’re experiencing increased peak demand periods 36
that are harder to meet. The hope is that by increasing energy efficiency they can avoid bringing 37
additional power plants online during times of critical peak demand. If system is more efficient in 38
general, then power plants will use less energy. 39
• NYSEG needs to test this core suite of technologies in an integrated fashion in a smaller environment. 40
Partnering with Cornell University and Tompkins County government, they have selected Tompkins 41
County as the launchpad for the program. 42
• In terms of the “customer market component” within the designated Grid Upgrade Area for the County, 43
they will be installing substation and line automation measures; the software that manages the 44
distribution grid (Advanced Distribution Management System); and smart meters. 45
• On the planning side, NYSEG will be focusing on load forecasting with distributed generation on their 46
circuits and hosting capacity analysis (i.e., based on circuit-level data, finding optimal places for new 47
larger- and community-scale solar generation). 48
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• All the basic technology is to be implemented this year. In March, they will roll out the YES, Home 49
Solutions online marketplace for energy products and services throughout Tompkins County. Sometime 50
between April and June, they tentatively plan to install smart meters in the Grid Upgrade Area. Once 51
they have the smart meters in place, they will launch the Energy Manager online portal in the fall. 52
Rosalyn: 53
• The role of Cooperative Extension in this project is to provide independent information in 54
conjunction with NYSEG’s Energy Smart Community and to capture and communicate the 55
concerns of residents within the Grid Upgrade Area. 56
• For instance, they will be holding public meetings in towns designated to be part of the upgrade. 57
• In addition, CCE initially conducted a focus group study with four sets of residents from within 58
the upgrade area and recorded their concerns. These included the effects of radio frequency 59
emissions from smart meters; questions of equity (e.g., when a time of use rate is rolled out, what 60
if a household can’t take advantage of it for scheduling reasons?); and the possible consequences 61
of automation – i.e., will their citizens who are meter readers lose their jobs? 62
• CCE is collating all that information and putting it into an initial report. They also plan to hold a 63
business-level focus group for small- to medium-sized businesses to report their concerns and 64
thoughts. 65
• Finally, Cornell University has received a sizable National Science Foundation grant to study the 66
feasibility and potential benefits of connecting rechargeable batteries (electric residential storage) 67
to smart meters. The idea is that when rates are lower the meters will automatically recharge 68
their batteries for use at a later time. 69
Q&A 70
• Roy Luft: Will County residents who already have rooftop solar get smart meters? Susan M.: They 71
already have upgraded meters. 72
• Susan Riley: How will the YES program be rolled out Countywide? Susan M.: Everybody in the 73
County will receive a letter from NYSEG about the program; however, only residents from inside the 74
Grid Upgrade Area will receive correspondence related to the next stage of the process. 75
• Tom Shelley: What is the concern with radio frequency, and at what frequency do smart meters 76
operate? Susan M: It’s 2.4. Roslyn: Poses a small risk. Susan M: Passed on answering the first part of 77
Tom’s question. 78
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• John D.: How was the “map” (Grid Upgrade Area) put together? Susan M.: NYSEG sought an area 79
where they could install around 12,000 smart meters (budget reasons), access whole circuits and whole 80
substations, and encounter diversity in terms of circuits, customers, and geography. 81
• John Hertzler: From the utility’s viewpoint, what is the purpose behind upgrading the grid? Will the 82
price of electricity go up or down or stay the same? Susan M.: In the short term, the cost will not be 83
affected. Their goal is to develop an efficient, affordable, reliable safe system with high levels of 84
distributed generation. 85
• Steve Nicholson: How will the time of use rates be set? Susan M: There is no rate proposal yet. 86
• Michelle Henry: How will NYSEG attend to non–computer literate individuals, such as some senior 87
citizens? Susan M.: They can continue to receive monthly paper statements and can always call 88
customer service. 89
• Pegi Ficken: Can people refuse the smart meters, and how is NYSEG addressing privacy concerns and 90
hacking? Susan M.: Yes, consumers can refuse to have a smart meter installed and at this time will 91
incur no penalty. They are heavily regulated and have an award-winning cyber-security program. All of 92
the data is encrypted from end to end. As for privacy, they’re looking at aggregated data and not 93
individual usage. They don’t and can’t sell customer data. However, customers will have the option of 94
connecting with third parties online directly. 95
Re-envisioning the EMC’s Work Plan – Strategic Planning Team 96
Committee chair Anna Kelles was absent due to a family emergency, so she didn’t give her presentation. Vlad 97
Micic was also absent because of a work commitment. Chair Brian Eden improvised a discussion. 98
• John H.: Interested in low-power and community radio as a way to get information out to the public on 99
the EMC’s work. Others commented that Council could do podcasts for people with bad signals. 100
• Brian: Many people in our community are highly concerned about what could happen to the 101
environment under the Trump administration. How does the EMC tap into that pent-up energy and use it 102
to increase our membership? We need a strategic outreach plan to reach these people, and more 103
specifically, we need members who can work on issues between meetings, even if just for a few hours a 104
month. 105
• Tom S.: What is the purpose behind distributing the TCPD work plan to EMC members? ∙ Scott: To 106
give members a better sense of the County’s priorities for the year and identify if any of the Council’s 107
prioritized issues are in sync with them. ∙ Steve N.: Would it be helpful for the County to prioritize their 108
goals even further and let the EMC assist with some of the smaller issues? 109
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• John D.: Can EMC legally apply for grants? ∙ Brian: Not sure if the Legislature would be amenable to 110
the idea since we are an advisory board, but it should be put on the priorities list. ∙ Scott: Perhaps certain 111
grant funds could be funneled through the County Planning Department. 112
• Brian: We have a role to play in water quality issues. 113
• Steve N.: We could resurrect the different liaison positions. ∙ Brian: We need a liaison for the WRC. 114
• Dooley Kiefer: Has seen the EMC go from being the premier environmental group in the area to being 115
surrounded by smaller self-organizing groups focused on specific issues. The EMC needs to remember 116
its purpose, which is to be an early-warning system for all of the environment. One idea: Members 117
could read municipal codes for deficiencies in how they protect the environment. Also, promoting Bill 118
Evans’ choice of lightbulbs is something important the EMC could start working on immediately. 119
• Dan Klein: He has always been interested in green building codes, but can’t seem to find much 120
information on them. Also, he could see the EMC advocating for concerns on a town-by-town basis. 121
Member Items/Announcements 122
• Brian: On Thursday, February 16, there will be a webinar to update the public on invasive species 123
regulation. 124
CCE is starting a 10-week master composter training (February 9 through April 27). ∙ Mothers Out 125
Front, a new grassroots group concerned with climate change, is organizing in the Finger Lakes region. ∙ 126
He sent a letter to Jim McGarry thanking him for his service. 127
• Tom S.: The Nominating Committee is still seeking a third vice chair. 128
• Dooley: She suggests Cuddeback Cliffs as a possible name for UNA-195. 129
• Scott: The work plan he circulated is for the board members’ reference. They should let him know if 130
they have any questions or concerns. ∙ He’s been updating the UNA database, of which 500-600 131
properties have been affected, and will talk with the UNA Committee. ∙ County is paying close attention 132
to big solar projects in agricultural lands. There are currently a half dozen such projects in the works. ∙ 133
Last, a priority for his work with the County this year is Natural Features Connectivity. 134
Adjournment – Chair adjourned the meeting at 5:35 PM. 135
Prepared by Kristin McCarthy, Tompkins County Planning Department 136
Approved by Board: March 9, 2017 137
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