WATER UPDATE

Water Quality

�        Water quality during December met or exceeded State and Federal drinking water standards.

�        The Valley Pumping Plant blend ratio for the month of December was 53% MWD to 47% BOU.

Financial and Operations Update

�        Potable water sales for December were 729,073 billing units. This was 1% lower than the budgeted sales. Revenue for December was $1,235,274.

�        Reclaimed water sales for December were 12,941 billing units. Revenue for December was $16,905, not including Power Plant sales.

�        The Water Cost Adjustment Charge (WCAC) account had a balance of $1,324,730 as of December 31, 2003.

�        Fiscal Year 2003-04 Year-To-Date preliminary Water Fund Financial Results as of December 31, 2003:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(  ) = Unfavorable
(1) Purchased water expenses are higher due to reduced production from the treatment plant resulting in higher Metropolitan Water District (MWD) water purchases.

�        Fiscal Year 2003-04 preliminary Water Fund Financial Reserve balances as of December 31, 2003 are summarized in the following table:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

�        Modifications to the Liquid Phase Granulated Activated Carbon (LPGAC) units are complete.

�        Modifications to the Vapor Phase Granulated Activated Carbon (VPGAC) units are being negotiated with Calgon Corporation. The design will begin in January with construction to follow in February through May 2004. The Treatment Plant will experience reduced operating capacity during construction. Reduced production will result in the need for additional purchased water.

Capital Projects

�        Replacement of interior joints at Reservoir No. 2 is complete. The reservoir has been cleaned, disinfected, and is leak tested. As a result of the leak testing, additional work by the contractor is required. Localized problems with the bonding of the lining are being resolved. Additional testing is planned for early January and the reservoir will be returned to service by late January 2004.

�        The project to install 1,100 L.F. of 12-inch water main in Buena Vista St. from Alameda Ave. to Olive Ave. was completed at the end of October. The water service connections to the new main were completed in December. Abandonment of the old main will take place in January 2004.

�        Construction of a new reclaimed water main from the intersection of Mariposa St. and Chestnut St. to the railroad crossing on Griffith Park Dr. began in November with the intersection crossing at Victory Blvd. and Griffith Park Drive. The intersection crossing at Burbank Blvd. and Griffith Park Dr. will be completed in early January. The reclaimed main project is scheduled for completion in April/May. This work is phase II of a project that will bring reclaimed water to the Empire Center and connect to the main that goes up Empire Ave. to the Airport entrance near the A-1 site.

Legislative Update

�        Refer to the attached legislative reports.

ELECTRIC UPDATE

Electric Reliability

�        During December 2003, there were five outages affecting a total of 3,129 customers. Three of these outages occurred simultaneously and were 8 minutes long, affecting 1,775 customers. This represents a systemwide average of 0.1965 outages per year, compared with an industry average of 1.2 outages per year. Since July 1, the average service availability is 99.9948%, exceeding the City goal of 99.99%. The average outage length was 68 minutes, compared with an industry average of 80 minutes.

The following table shows the systemwide reliability statistics through December 2003 for Fiscal Year 2003-04 as compared to Fiscal Year 2002-03:

Financial and Operations Update

�        MWh sales of 83,302 for December were below the budgeted amount of 84,631. Year-to-date MWh sales remain above budget due to warmer temperature during summer months and cooler temperature during winter months.

�        Wholesale gross margins were above budget for the month of December due to BWP�s ability to utilize its assets to increase sales in the wholesale market.

�        NEL sales for December 2003, and on a year-to-date basis, were 89,573 and 1,125,752, respectively.  On a calendar year basis, 2003 sales were 4% higher then calendar year 2002.

�        Fiscal Year 2003-04 year-to-date preliminary Power Financial Results as of December 31, 2003:

�        Fiscal Year 2003-04 preliminary Power Fund Financial Reserves as of December 31, 2003 are
summarized in the following table:

Local Generation Operations Update 

Unit Status 

�        Olive 1 is in hot-standby and available for service.

�        Olive 2 is in hot-standby and available for service.

�        Olive 3 is unavailable for service as of December 31, 2003. This unit is decomissioned per SCAQMD permit requirements. 

�    Olive 4 is unavailable for service as of December 21, 2003.  This unit is decomissioned per SCAQMD permit requirements.

�        Magnolia 5 is unavailable for service as of December 31, 2003. This unit is decomissioned per SCAQMD permit requirements.

�        Lake One is available for service.

�     The Microturbine Project has been awarded to SCS. The project is now in the planning stage.  The Microturbines will not be running until the spring of 2004.

December 2003 Unit Data

Power Supply

�    Sylmar Converter Station Replacement Project

 

Engineering and fabrication work associated with this project continues with a scheduled completion date in late 2004.

 

�        Restructuring of the Gas Industry in Southern California

 

BWP staff members attended a public meeting with Commissioner Gregory Brown on December 12, 2003 regarding implementation of the SoCalGas Comprehensive Settlement that would restructure the way transportation is handled on the SoCalGas systems. SoCalGas is currently against implementing the Comprehensive Settlement. A decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on whether to drop this restructuring can be expected anytime.  

 

�        BPA Litigation

 

In late October 2003 Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena were represented by Washington D.C. counsel at oral arguments on Bonneville�s Motion to Dismiss before the DOE Board of Contract Appeals.   As of the date of this report, there has been no decision made. If the Board decides to disapprove Bonneville�s Motion to Dismiss, the hearing is expected to occur in February 2004.

Magnolia Power Project (MPP)

The items in this report are provided as a general overview of the status of the Project.  These items are discussed in considerable detail among the Project Participants at the Project Coordination Meetings and at Coordinating Committee meetings.

Safety

Through December, Kvaerner has worked 63,444 man-hours with no lost time cases and two recordable cases.

Budget

Refer to the attachment for detailed information on actual expenditures.

Schedule

The project remains on schedule for a commercial operation date of May 25, 2005. Refer to the attachment for detailed information on Project milestones.

Finance

No Project A refinancing is planned at this time.

CEC Compliance

Excavation monitoring continues pursuant to the Conditions of Certification. Monthly reports are being made as required by the California Energy Commission (CEC).  No violations of conditions have occurred.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction Activities since last Project Director�s Report of December 15, 2003

Transmission

It appears that LADWP has persuaded the City attorneys in Los Angeles to accept the Letter Agreement route rather than the route of obtaining approval from the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. LADWP staff has raised an issue of whether the Facilities Agreement should reflect the impacts of other LADWP stations besides Receiving Station E, minor though they are. Staff has taken the position that the Facilities Agreement should continue to reflect only the impacts on Receiving Station E.

The management teams of Burbank and Glendale have reviewed the economic feasibility of scheduled service, and have concluded that they can offer significant savings to the ISO participants in comparison to the Open Access Transmission Tariff. The Magnolia ISO participants have been informed of the deal points and the proposed savings that could be offered.

Physical ties involving Edison continue to be actively pursued. Staff met informally with Don Allen and reached a preliminary conclusion that the physical option, while likely to be contested, is legally feasible.

Staff is continuing to review LADWP�s proposal for operational arrangements with LADWP that would provide opportunities to deliver Project output to the ISO under an integrated facilities agreement.

At the December 18 Coordinating Committee meeting, a presentation was made on the various transmission issues and there was preliminary agreement to take steps to form a separate study group to pursue physical transmission alternatives.

Coordinating Committee Action at its Meeting on December 18, 2003

�        Approved Semiannual reports

Project Manager�s (Project Director�s) Actions Since Last Project Director�s Report of
December 15

With consultation and agreement from Project Participants, the following actions have been taken:

�        Authorized $36,559 for Kvaerner to provide the required Construction Mitigation Management assistance services for the project during October and November of 2003.

 

�        Authorized $130,050 for Kvaerner to continue to provide Construction Mitigation Manager services for thirteen months starting December 2003.

 

�        Authorized $53,411 for Kvaerner to apply custom paint to structures that are visible beyond the site perimeter in compliance with CEC and Burbank requirements.

Key Milestones and Anticipated Significant Activities For Next 30 Days

Coordinating Committee Meeting

The next meeting of the Coordinating Committee will be on January 15.   

Power Supply Capital Projects

�        SCADA/EMS

 

All drawings for the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) upgrades have been issued.

 

Testing of the Pacific RTU was completed. Conversion of the map board is nearly completed and currently displays breaker status for all stations converted to date. There is one RTU remaining to be installed and tested for the new Hollywood Way Station. This RTU is being designed and installed by ABB, Inc and it is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2004.

 

To date, staff has developed screens and configured 20 station annunciators into the SCADA database. These new displays mimic the annunciator panels at the various stations and inform dispatchers of the specific reason for an alarm.  This allows the dispatchers to operate more efficiently and avoid making unnecessary trips to stations.

 

Change orders were issued by the Purchasing Department in late December 2003 to allow delivery and installation of the Emergency Back-Up Server.  Finalization of the advanced application software and network communications with selected users will be completed.   

 

The Scheduling and Transaction Management System (STMS) software is being implemented. The web-based OATI software, and integration with the Telvent SCADA system, is progressing on schedule and estimated to be completed by March 2004. The initial training of the new OATI software was held in December. 

 

�          Telecom

 

BWP Telecom Engineering provided a proposal to the City of Glendale to relocate a fiber optic termination cabinet at Disney�s facility at 620 Paula Street in Glendale.

 

Engineering provided a proposal to Warner Turner Technologies Services (Cartoon Network) for fiber optic service to connect 300 N. Third St. to 204 N. San Fernando Boulevard.

 

Engineering provided a proposal to CCI Digital for fiber optic service to connect 2921 W. Alameda Avenue to both 2600 and 2625 W. Olive Avenue.

 

Engineering released a job order to the Operations Section to install fiber cable and provide a fiber link for the substation multiplexer between the old and new Hollywood Way Stations.

 

Field personnel completed a fiber optic job for Plus 8 Digital to connect 300 S. Flower Street and 111 W. Verdugo Avenue.

 

Field personnel completed a fiber optic job for The Switch TV to connect NBC Studios to LADWP Receiving Station �E� in North Hollywood. (This is a test connection between LADWP and BWP).

 

�        BWP Administration Building Remodel

 

The status of Burbank Water and Power�s Administration Building remodel remains on hold pending design changes, plan revisions and final approval.

 

�        Electrical Distribution

 

Rerouting of the 34.5 kV Burbank-San Jose line is complete.

 

Construction work for extending the ducts and manholes along Hollywood Way from the Warner Ranch Gate to Oak Street, along Oak Street to California Street, along California Street from Oak Street to Alameda Avenue and also along Avon Street from Oak Street to the alley north of Alameda is complete. Perry C. Thomas, the private contractor for the Phase-2 underground ductwork, started construction on October 27, 2003 and completed the installation of all manholes. They are currently working on the installation of a duct system on Oak Street near Catalina Street towards Buena Vista and California Street. This work is approximately 30 percent completed.

 

Since July 1, 2003, a total of ninety-three pole replacements/installations have been issued to the field, with seventeen replacements issued in December. Sixty poles have been replaced in this fiscal year, eleven of which were replaced in December.

 

Since July 1, 2003, eleven pad mounted customer stations have been engineered, one of which was engineered in December. Since July, there have been six pad mounted customer stations issued to the field and seven pad mounted customer stations have been energized.

 

Since July 1, 2003, three series circuit conversions to low voltage have been completed. Three street light improvement and undergrounding projects have been issued and one has been completed. All work for the final phase of the Ben Mar Hills Project and the Magnolia Boulevard Project-Phase 1 is complete. The second phase of the Magnolia Boulevard Project between Pass Avenue and Buena Vista Street is being engineered.

 

Three oil switches were replaced with air break switches in December.

 

BWP staff is participating in a Caltrans meeting to lengthen the Alameda, Hollywood Way and Pass Ave. bridges over SR-134, and developing cost estimates for Phase 2 of this project. Phase 1, which includes construction of the new Hollywood Way Substation and a transfer of load, is 60% complete. Construction of the new off-ramp was completed on June 30, 2003. BWP staff expects the new Hollywood Way Station to be completed by April 2004. By June 30, 2004 most of the 34,500 volt system will be reconfigured to connect four or five lines from Capon Switching Station.

 

SCPPA awarded a contract to ABB Inc. to design/build the Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Expansion at the Olive Switching Station. This will connect the Magnolia Power Plant to the Olive Switching Station. The preliminary design is in progress and construction is expected to be completed by November 2004.

 

Bock Co. is installing a new underground duct system in the BWP Yard to underground two 69,000 volt overhead lines as a part of BWP�s overall plan to improve and modernize the BWP generating site.

 

BWP staff has started work on the Olive Switching Station retrofit by upgrading circuit breakers, busses and other equipment. This upgrade is needed because of the Magnolia Power Project.

 

A total of 775 remote meters have been installed; 444 of which were requested by Customer Service, and 331 in the course of meter change outs by the line crew or Test Shop.

 

�        Customer Service

 

The Customer Service Division is implementing the Indus Banner billing system to enhance customer bills. The system is expected to go live in June 2004.

Project Overview

• 78 deliverables, 54 completed, 69% completed.

• Indus implementation budget $ 2,261,012, expended $ 1,395,596, or 62%.

• Total project budget, $ 4,678,300, expended $ 3,155,943, or 67%.

• Supplemental budget, $ 1,000,000, expended $0.

• On target for go-live by June 2004.

 System Testing

• November and December have been devoted to total cycle system testing. System testing is done on converted data and used as a very powerful tool for the team to find and fix problems. Issues and problems arise with the converted data, system set-up, and coding through the iterative process of system testing. Problems are identified by severity and are addressed in priority order. Level 1 problems cause the system to crash. Level 2 problems result from some kind of defect and Level 3 problems are irritants.

• To date, there are 85 issues from the system testing, of which 49 issues are now closed. We have not had any Level 1 problems, only Level 2. The most current issue list is attached for your information.

Conversion

• Phase III data, the financial data, was converted. Testing revealed that some of the rates didn�t come over to the new system properly. Indus is working on this issue.

• The full conversion of Legacy data into Banner has occurred multiple times to support system testing. Each new conversion incorporates the corrections made to the system as a result of system testing. A final conversion for system testing will be completed on December 12. 

• Legacy data clean-up continues. To ensure the most important items are addressed first, staff prioritized the clean up work. First priority is on issues related to customer names, followed by addresses, phone numbers and others. Some items must be corrected in the Legacy by Customer Service staff, but some will be corrected en masse with scripts written by Indus staff. 

• Staff continues to work on cleaning up the City accounts, GL numbers, and Caltrans accounts.

• An extract from the Legacy system will be completed on January 5. This will be used as the base for the User Acceptance Testing (UAT), which is scheduled to begin on
  January 7.

Training

• Navigation training was conducted in November with 32 �testers� who are representatives from the three primary user departments. These 32 testers will assist with UAT scheduled in January, February, and March.

• In December, the testers were provided with personalized instruction on the key business processes, which will be tested in the UAT. The UAT process is vital to Customer Service success. Staff will ask the testers to sign-off on their business processes and accept them for on-going use before the entire system will be accepted. A matrix of the testers and the business processes is attached for your information.

• The end user training will begin in February or March. Staff has identified seven different classes, each containing several modules. Staff has asked other departments to supply names of people for training. A matrix showing the classes, modules, and business processes is attached for your information.

Technical Issues

• Indus began working against the new addendum, which provides Systems Administration, DBA, Operations, and Conversion supports. With the exception of Operations, all Indus technical staff were on-site during this period.

• A draft of the configuration management plan was delivered. This plan outlines the process to ensure that each environment (Train, Test, Development, and Production) has the expected software, data, and interfaces.  This allows changes to any of these items to be thoroughly tested before being passed into Production.

• Indus staff, in conjunction with City IT staff, created a System Test environment.\

• Upgrades to Indus� software were installed: BillGen 8.6; Banner CIS 3.1 Service Pack 2.

• All coding work and testing has been completed for the six modifications and three interfaces. Completed modifications include Customer Maintenance Fields; Empire Center Qualifying Loan Counter; Mass Create Service Order Based on Meter Age; Water Demand; Electric Demand; and Mass Create Premises and Service. Completed interfaces include IVR; Cashiering for Windows; and Bill Print Enhancements. Two interfaces, which have not been completed, are Itron and GL.  

• Indus has begun the process of documenting all processes. They will provide customized hard copy documentation as well as on-line documentation in the form of �help buttons�.

• Staff has been working with Bank of America, Systems Innovators (cashiering system), Technology Unlimited (payment processing system), and Indus to ensure that all file formats are updated to include the new Banner account numbers as well as the old Legacy account numbers for all of our electronic payments, both direct debit and customer initiated.

• To avoid unnecessary purchase of hardware, a decision was made early in the project to have the System Innovators (cashiering) application and Banner forms sit on the same server with the City�s Oracle Financial application. This method has not worked well because the IT Department wants to limit access to the server for City personnel only. Problems exist when Indus needed to get into one of the Banner applications after hours. Hence, the decision was made to temporarily move the Banner applications to the Banner web server and, ultimately, purchase a separate server for those applications.

Bill Print

• Group 1 installed their software and completed modification and interface testing.

• Customer Service has successfully produced sample bills from the test environment; however, we have yet to produce a bill using converted data which should occur before the next progress report. 

• Staff is still working on the bill format for the Time Of Use (TOU) customers.

Project Issues

• E-Dash is a management tool which allows flexible compilation and display of data. The Indus trainer for their e-Dash module was not available as scheduled for two days of on-site training. In lieu of the on-site training, staff received a complimentary one-hour overview via the internet. The on-site training will be rescheduled for later in the project year. The overview didn�t provide sufficient detailed information to determine its eventual usefulness. If e-Dash is not able to create system reports, Crystal Reports will be used.

• As reported before, it is our contention that Water and Electric Demand was supported by the Banner product when the product was purchased.  Unfortunately, this was not the case and Indus had to write two modifications to handle the requirement. After a thorough review of the Indus proposal, the Indus Project Manager is working with Indus to absorb the cost. As of today, it looks promising for us with an estimated cost saving of $52,000. 

• BillGen software (complex billing) has been installed and tested in a BWP environment.  However, BillGen system testing is behind schedule. There are several outstanding functional issues that must be resolved.  Indus committed an additional week of on-site time for the BillGen programmer to work face to face with BWP staff.

• Indus experienced severe server problems that affected the coding team causing a three-day work delay. This may affect the delivery date of some codes but is unlikely to affect the system-testing schedule.

• Staff is working on how to handle intra-City payments. Payments must actually be input in Banner at some point or they will not flow to the GL. Staff can continue doing this manually, or issue bills to other Departments for the payment process along with all of their other invoices. Master accounts for each department can be set up so only one check will be cut for each department.

Personnel

• A CIS IT Project Manager was hired in December to coordinate IT resources for the project and provide IT project management capabilities.

• A new Data Base Administrator (DBA) was hired, and began working in December.  This person will support the CIS implementation and the Banner product.

Legislative Update

Refer to the attached legislative reports.

RED:RAC:FCF:JWL:GLS:JLF

H:JANUARY W&E OPERATIONS REPORT

Attachments

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