Public Power - June 2008 - (Page 72)

FOR GOVERNING BOARDS Advisory Panel Keeps Seattle Utility on Track By William Atkinson pulation of deregulated electricity markets in California and a protracted drought in the Western United States combined to trigger high electricity prices in the West in 2001. That crisis was a warning signal to political leaders in Seattle. The mayor and City Council appointed an advisory board to make recommendations on what the city could do to be better prepared for a future crisis of the same magnitude. Created in May 2003, the Seattle City Light Advisory Board was set up to focus on the financial health of the utility. “They provide very high- Mani level, non-partisan advice,” said Jorge Carrasco, superintendent of Seattle City Light. “These are people who can provide sound advice on issues of interest to policymakers, especially since the attention of the policymakers is spread over so many different elements of running a city that go well beyond the energy field.“ To manage the utility, Seattle City Light reports to the mayor, and also submits its budget to the mayor,” said Alec Fisken, Seattle’s strategic policy adviser. “The City Council approves rates and major expenditures, and the mayor also sends the budget to the council for its approval.” While public power utilities with stand-alone governing boards often have members with specialized expertise in the management of a municipal utility, a utility like Seattle City Light, with the community’s mayor and city council acting as the managers, is more likely to have a governing board with a broad range of expertise – not necessarily specialized in utility management. “The crisis hit Seattle City Light very hard. There were a number of causes of the crisis, of course, including market manipulation,“ said Carol S. Arnold, a member of Seattle City Light’s advisory committee. City Light had to engage in substantial short-term borrowing to get through the crisis. The utility had to purchase power on the market when prices were escalating, she said. “The board, the city council, and the mayor all got behind the concept of a stringent financial policy.“ Sempra Energy Trading Corp. (SETC) is one of the largest full service energy trading companies in North America. We market an array of physical and financial products throughout the entire energy sector. SETC provides their customer base with hedging services to help mitigate risk and maximize opportunity. Our experience and relationships in the public power sector span over 12 years. Sempra Energy Trading Corp. Contact 203-355-5072. 72 JUNE 2008 PUBLIC POWER http://www.sempratrading.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - June 2008

Public Power - June 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Solutions A Patchwork Approach to Renewable Energy Whose Grid Is It Anyway? The Little Utility That Could Benchmarking Customer Service Can Prairie Hay Power Your Town? Storming the Control Room Investing in the Smart Grid Coming of Age: Superconducting Cables Community Broadband Economic Development Customer Service Human Resources For Governing Boards Safety Parting Shot

Public Power - June 2008

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