WATER UPDATE

Water Quality

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

• The Valley Pumping Plant (VPP) blend ratio for the month of December was 55% MWD to 45% BOU.

Financial and Operations Update

• The Water Cost Adjustment Charge (WCAC) account had a preliminary balance of $1,346,568 as of December 31, 2004.

• Fiscal Year 2004-05 Year-To-Date preliminary Water Fund Financial Results as of December 31, 2004:

( ) = Unfavorable

* Includes Power Plant Sales, Commercial and Industrial Reclaimed Sales

      ** Year-to-date actual: July-November actual and December budget

(A)       Staff is reviewing BWP�s accounting policy for WCAC. Presently, revenues are reduced by the amount of the WCAC over-collection by $482k.

(B)       Income from closing of old projects. YTD impact is $206k.

Fiscal Year 2004-05 preliminary Water Fund Financial Reserve balances as of December 31, 2004 are summarized in the following table:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Calgon Corporation is working on the alternative design requested by the EPA. Construction and fabrication of the new screens will follow the EPA�s approval, which is the controlling feature in proceeding with the project. Construction is projected to take three months once it is approved. EPA approval is still pending and could come in January. Construction could begin in late January or early February. The Treatment Plant will experience reduced operating capacity during project construction. Consequently, there will be an increased need for purchased water from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD).

Capital Projects

• �        Construction of the 12-inch reclaimed water main between the Empire Center and Chestnut St., along Mariposa St. and Griffith Park Dr. is completed. The remaining portion of the new main was flushed and the Empire Center received reclaimed water in mid-November. The Empire Center, Robert Gross Park and the traffic medians on Empire Ave. from Buena Vista Ave. to Valpreda St. are all now being irrigated with reclaimed water.

• Construction of a 12-inch water main in Third St. between Olive Ave. and Angeleno Ave. was completed in November and placed in service. This project is related to the Olson and Cusumano developments on the old Police block.

• Construction of a new 12-inch water main in San Fernando Blvd. from Santa Anita Ave. to Valencia Ave. began in December.  Once this water main is completed the existing 8-inch main will be converted for reclaimed water use.  This work is being done in advance of the South San Fernando Streetscape project.  Project progress has been slow due to the rain.  Completion is scheduled by the end of February.

• The McClure water storage tank is being recoated on the interior with an engineered coating system which has a useful life of 20 years.  The work will be completed in February.

Legislative Update

• Refer to the attached legislative reports.

ELECTRIC UPDATE

Electric Reliability

• One customer outage occurred during December 2004 involving 4 kV Feeder V-2. The outage was caused by a palm frond falling on the conductors during a severe rain storm on December 29, involving the loss of 894 customers for 1 hour and 51 minutes. As of December 31, 2004, the system-wide average is 0.12 outages per year, compared with an industry average of 1.2 outages per year. As of December 31, 2004 the average service availability is 99.9964%, exceeding the City goal of 99.99%. The average length is 71.1 minutes, compared with an industry average of 80 minutes.

The following table shows the system-wide reliability statistics for Fiscal Year 2004-05 through December 31, 2004 as compared to the entire Fiscal Year 2003-04:

Financial and Operations Update

• Fiscal Year 2004-05 year-to-date preliminary Power Financial Results as of December 31, 2004:

( ) = Unfavorable

* Year-to-date: July-November actual and December budget

(A)       BWP received a $525k reimbursement from SCPPA for labor and projects related to MPP. These funds are applied against MPP expenses and offset the retail power supply expenses.   

• Fiscal Year 2004-05 preliminary Power Fund Financial Reserve balances as of December 31, 2004 is summarized in the following table:

Local Generation Operations Update

Unit Status

• Olive 1 is down for boiler inspection.

• Olive 2 is in hot standby and available for normal service.

• Olive 4 is available for emergency service.

• Lake One is available for normal service.

• The Micro-Turbine Project is awaiting corrections and re-inspection by City of Burbank inspectors.

• Hydro energy production for October was 57,400 kWh compared to the goal of 60,000 kWh. The year-to-date actual hydro production is 347,000 kWh compared to the goal of 440,000 kWh.

December 2004 Unit Data

Power Supply

• Restructuring of the Gas Industry in Southern California

In early December, the Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) filed a revised proposal to restructure its intra-state pipeline system and to recover the associated costs. Although this proposal is still being analyzed in detail, the initial reaction is that it does not provide many benefits to SoCalGas customers. The general notion is to have customers bid against each other to complete for transmission access rights on the SoCalGas system.  It appears to be an effort by SoCalGas to pass on operating risks and its associated costs to customers in an attempt to insulate SoCalGas.   BWP will be forming alliances with other end-users to advocate that the existing structure is preferable to the SoCalGas proposal.

• Sylmar Converter Station Replacement Project

With the exception of some final testing, which is dependent on the ability to fully load the Intertie, the project was completed on time and within budget in December.

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 Meeting each Friday and at Coordinating Committee meetings.

Safety

Through December, Kvaerner has worked 683,260 man-hours with no lost time cases and four recordable cases.

Budget

Refer to the attachment for detailed information on actual expenditures for the period ending December 31, 2004.
 

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

The Magnolia Power Project Finance Committee continues to review refunding proposals and has taken no action regarding the refunding of Project A bonds.

California Energy Commission (CEC) Compliance

Monthly reports are being submitted to the CEC as required.  No violations of conditions have occurred.  Due to the retirement of Ila Lewis, the Compliance Project Manager (CPM), a new CPM, Marc Pryor, has been appointed.  A CEC audit of the Project�s safety and security measures was conducted on January 5.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction Activities since last Project Director�s Report of December 13

Transmission

• Southern California Edison (SCE) Tax Issues on Facilities Agreement.   Discussions will resume with SCE management to determine how they routinely handle tax issues on facilities improvements with municipal entities. The SCPPA attorney will be contacting Greg Simay to set up a meeting with Lawren Minor as soon as his work schedule permits.

• Transmission Legal and Regulatory Study. The final report was distributed on December 10.

• Scheduled Services Agreement. The Scheduled Services Agreement (SSA) is in the final stages of discussion before review by the respective city attorneys of each of the participants.

Coordinating Committee Actions at its meeting on December 16, 2004

• Approved Gas Company agreements.

Project Manager�s  Actions Since Last Project Director�s Report of October 18

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

• Amended Professional Service Agreement for on-going consulting services with John Gotham.

• Authorized $18,490 to AHBE Landscape Architects to provide a topographic survey and plans for entrance improvements on Magnolia Boulevard.

• Authorized $577,573 to Mariposa Horticultural Enterprises to provide landscaping services along Magnolia Boulevard and along the Flood Control Channel.

• Action items approved on January 14.

Key Milestones and Anticipated Significant Activities For Next 30 Days

Power Supply Capital Projects

�        SCADA/EMS

During December, the final invoice from Telvent for the original SCADA Replacement purchase order was received, approved and forwarded for payment. The system has passed all final acceptance criteria. 

Work continues to make the advanced software applications operational on the Telvent SCADA/EMS. The Disturbance Analysis application became operational in November. The Short Term Load Forecast application was tested and is available for use.

Access to the SCADA screens was provided to all remaining available BWP users on BWP�s network.

After visits by BWP management and energy trading staff to OATI in Minneapolis and a local utility using the OATI WebTrader software, a decision was made to continue to use and revise the OATI Web Trader software at BWP.

BWP staff will work with OATI to improve Web Trader functionality during the first quarter of 2005.

BWP engineering staff visited Trans Alta to observe the use of the Siemens New Energy Scheduling software that will be used for MPP. The staff was favorably impressed and New Energy is currently working with BWP staff in the implementation phase of the software for MPP.

Telecom

Engineering developed a proposal for Disney to connect the Team Disney Building at 500 S. Buena Vista St. to the Business Art Plaza at 3601 W. Olive Ave.

Engineering developed a proposal for Disney to connect the Team Disney Building at 500 S. Buena Vista St. to Disney at 800 S. Main St.

Engineering developed a proposal for Deluxe Laboratories, Inc. to connect 200 S. Flower St. to 2400 Empire Ave.

Engineering developed a proposal for Ascent Media to connect Ascent at 2130 Hollywood Way to the Team Disney Building at 500 S. Buena Vista St.

Engineering developed a proposal for the Public Works Department to connect the new CSB project to Burbank City Hall.

Engineering personnel released, and BWP field personnel completed, a fiber optic job for Disney to relocate the existing fiber patch panel at the Team Disney Building.

Engineering personnel released, and BWP field personnel completed, a fiber optic job for Warner Brothers to connect Warner Building 157 to the Time Warner Cable fiber ring.

Engineering released a fiber optic job to connect Disney ABC at 2100 Riverside Drive to the BWP fiber ring.

MPP Service and Control Building � Third Floor Tenant Improvements

BWP Administration Building, Phase III Interior Remodel

Tenant improvements began on the third floor of the MPP Service and Control Building with an anticipated completion date of February, 2005. Chairs were ordered and received. The furniture order was processed with an anticipated delivery date of February 15, 2005.

Purchase Planners Group is finalizing a series of work space diagrams for the Administration Building. These are being incorporated into the plans being generated by Perkowitz+Ruth (P+R). P+R and its structural, electrical, mechanical and plumbing disciplines are continuing work to complete the construction documents for the Administration Building.  

Electrical Distribution

Construction work for extending the ducts and manholes along Oak St. from California St. to Buena Vista, and along Buena Vista to Edison Rd. is complete. Underground cable has been delivered and installation is approximately 90% complete. The first line of 34,500 volt is completed and energized. The second line is expected to be completed by January 31, 2005.

Since July, 75 power poles have been replaced, with 21 poles replaced in November and December. BWP Electrical Engineering continues to design a pole line rebuild in the area between Clybourn and Pass Aves. north of Verdugo Ave. In November and December, 28 pole replacements were engineered, with a total of 120 engineered and 140 issued since July.

Since July, 8 pad mounted customer stations were engineered, 7 were issued to the field, 6 pad mounted transformers have been energized, and 2 have been upgraded to a larger capacity. A new service consisting of a 34.5 kV pad-mounted switch and a 34.5 kV to 277/480 V for Hydro Aire is one of the customer stations under construction and should be energized in January. A deteriorated pad-mounted switch has been replaced in the Bel Aire Dr. area.

The preliminary design of the Warner Ranch industrial circuit from Capon Switching Station at Warner Ranch is in progress. BWP has placed an order with Southwest Power to purchase a padmount switch and other related equipment on behalf of Warner Bros. All equipment and materials have been received. BWP has also purchased a 34,500 to 4,160 volt padmount transformer from ABB Inc. for this project and it is expected to be delivered in February/March 2005. Warner Bros. paid the full amount as a deposit for the purchase of these items. This project is expected to be completed by June 30, 2005.

The extensive preparation work necessary to remove power poles along the Flood Channel for the placement of trees is nearly complete. As soon as the Magnolia Power Plant construction power is transferred from the pole line to the new switchgear, our distribution crew will start the removal.

Construction for the second phase of the streetlight system undergrounding on Magnolia Blvd. between Pass Ave. and Buena Vista St. was completed in October ahead of schedule. Power sources for the Magnolia Park street decorations are ready for merchants. Engineering is working on the design of the last phase of undergrounding the streetlight system on Magnolia Blvd.

Engineering is working with the Redevelopment Agency on South San Fernando Blvd. street improvement projects and with the Public Works Dept. and Traffic Signal Division on other street/traffic improvement projects.

Since July, 20 additional streetlights (including 7 pole-mounted lights) have been engineered in response to requests from residents, with 17 lights installed.

Replacement of the remaining oil switches with pole mounted airbreak switches has been issued to the field with the exception of one, Pacific-16 distributing switch, which will be removed during the unloading of the feeder scheduled for November 2004.

The Southern California Public Power Authority (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. ABB had two design review meetings with staff and submitted the design for Chief Building Officer (CBO) approval in the first week of February 2004. Construction started at the end of March as scheduled. The GIS equipment is manufactured, tested, and ready to be shipped. The GIS equipment, control building, and all protection and controls arrived on site in June 2004. All GIS and control/protection equipment was set on the pad and assembly work is almost complete. Testing and commissioning of this project was completed as of October 29, 2004. ABB submitted a letter of substantial completion. BWP completed the energization of this project during the week of November 16, 2004, except the connection to MPP. The underground connections to MPP via step-up transformers was completed in December 2004 for testing purposes.     

Bock Co. completed the installation of a new underground duct system in the BWP Yard to underground two, 69,000 volt overhead lines as part of BWP�s overall plan to improve and modernize the BWP generating site. Both riser poles north of the Magnolia Bridge are completed along with cables to the first manholes at the northeast corner of the BWP Yard. Cable and all other related materials are ordered. This work is expected to be completed before MPP goes on-line. The 69 kV cable for the Olive-Lincoln lines was delivered by the end of August and the cable for Olive-Lincoln #1 and #2 has been pulled. BWP crews have completed the splicing and termination of lines. Both lines were energized in November 2004.

The 69,000 volt underground cable and devices for making the connections from MPP to the Olive Switching Station were ordered. The Generator Step Up (GSU) and other related power transformers were manufactured, tested, and shipped from Turkey in early June 2004. These transformers arrived on site and were set on the pads. The 69 kV cable was shipped on August 28, 2004 and arrived on site before September 3. Eighteen runs from the MPP GSU to the GIS were pulled. All terminations have been completed and cables are ready to be energized. All related work was completed and the GSU was energized for testing purposes in December 2004. BWP has also completed all work related to the connection of the MPP reserve transformer to Burbank Substation. The connection was tested in December 2004 and is ready to be energized when Kvaerner completes some remaining work on the 4,160 volt side of  the MPP switchgear.    

BWP staff is working on the Olive Switching Station retrofit by upgrading circuit breakers, busses and other equipment. This upgrade is needed for MPP. Approximately 40% of the work is complete. The Olive-Lincoln #2 breaker was replaced and is currently being tested. The B-3 bank breaker position initialized on September 9 is complete. The field crew has completed the A-3 bank position and will move on to Olive-1 and Olive-2 generator breakers.

BWP Electrical Engineering has completed the design for the new underground ducts installation along Verdugo Ave. from Kenwood to California St. The underground duct work at Verdugo Ave., from Frederick to Buena Vista and along Buena Vista, was started on October 6 and is expected to be complete by January 15, 2005. BWP crews will start pulling the cable in early January.  

BWP overhead distribution crews completed reconductoring and reinsulating the 69,000 volt line       (pole line joint with SCE) along Buena Vista from Verdugo Ave. to Chandler Blvd. The same crew is working to complete remaining reinsulation work in the direction of the Olive Switching Station. This will eliminate having to wash insulators as the replacements will be Polymer insulators.

Engineering completed the preliminary work to relocate Burbank Substation from its existing location to a new location at Lake St. and Olive Ave. in BWP�s yard. Navigant Consulting is doing an analysis of whether the new proposed reconfiguration of a 34,500 volt system in this area will work before the design is completed. BWP has completed preliminary engineering work and asked ABB to provide an estimate for this 3 year project.

A total of 222 remote meters were installed in December; 95 were requested by the Customer Service Division and 58 were meter change-outs performed by the Line Crews or Test Shop. A total of 69 remote meters were installed by the Test Shop to achieve a new goal of saturating an area.

The remote read meters that BWP has been installing are Itron Centrons with built in radio transmitters. The meters transmit at an average of one second intervals in the 900 MHz range. Each broadcast contains the meter�s unique ID number, kWh read, tamper codes and communication check code. The meter reader can read the meter from the sidewalk thus avoiding dogs, gates, and other hazards. The remote read meters also increase the meter reader�s efficiency and accuracy.

Customer Service

�           Commercial Solar Projects

Two of Burbank�s commercial customers, Saro Trading and Stockton Products, are building large solar photovoltaic installations. Saro Trading has installed a 73 kW system and Stockton Products is installing a 51 kW system, which is expected to be operable in January 2005. These will be the first commercial solar projects in Burbank, joining two residential installations. Each of these commercial customers will receive BWP solar rebates of $9,000. 

�           Award for Excellence for North American Municipal CIS Initiatives

Burbank Water and Power has won an award for its recent Customer Information System (CIS) implementation. CIS touches all aspects of a customer�s interaction with its utility. Boston�s Energy Planning Network (EPN) � a consortium of North America�s largest commercial and industrial energy buyers � received entries for its Awards for Excellence Program from utilities based in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, South America and Canada. With a tie vote, Burbank Water and Power and the City of Bellevue Utilities won the Award for Excellence for North American Municipal CIS Initiatives. 

�With entries coming in from utilities representing virtually every corner of the globe, this year�s winners deserve high praise for their efforts,� says John Hoggard, Managing Director of EPN�s Utility Consortium. 

Winners were selected based on the project�s innovation, benefits, management, and application quality. After two years of research and analysis of the emerging system, BWP selected a new CIS in January 2003 and moved forward with implementation. BWP took many steps to ensure a successful implementation and transition from the old system to the new. This included using the services of Langham Consulting, a firm with expertise in managing successful implementations, building a ten member interdepartmental team dedicated 100% to this project for 16 months, and preparing for success by ensuring that resources and infrastructure were in place before spending millions on the system. BWP also clearly documented requirements and re-tested the CIS throughout the process. On April 4, 2004, the switch was successfully flipped on Burbank Water and Power�s new CIS � ahead of schedule and within budget.

�        Project Share Update

In September 2004, staff launched a revamped marketing campaign to boost contributions to Project Share.  Funds from Project Share go to help Burbank families in need of temporary financial assistance.  As of November 30, we received 132 contributions, resulting in a total of $1,780.  During the same period, 12 customers received financial assistance towards their Municipal Service bill for a total disbursement amount of $1,117.

In addition, we also received commitments from 95 BWP customer accounts for recurring donations which will be automatically billed on a monthly basis.  The breakdown is as follows:

The grand total thus far for monthly commitments is $400 per month for a total of $4,800 each year.

BWP is truly grateful to all in the community who so generously contribute to Project Share, helping to ensure the success of this valuable program.

• Remove Meter Saturation

For the past five years, BWP�s billing section along with the electric shop has been gradually exchanging electric meters with newer remote meters. Remote meters were typically installed in response to an access or safety issue. However, BWP finally reached a point earlier in the year where we have enough remotes spread throughout the City that we can begin saturating certain areas with the meters. Remote meters give the meter readers the opportunity to gain efficiency, improve accuracy, and avoid safety hazards such as bad dogs and unsafe entryways. Meter saturation will also allow us to combine routes and reduce overtime.

Staff put a plan together and began a concerted installation effort in August, 2004 and will continue until our goal of 90% saturation has been reached. There are 159 routes that are completed by eight meter readers monthly. To achieve our meter saturation goal, the entire City has been mapped and prime areas have been selected. The selection process was based primarily on input from the meter readers along with the electric Test Shop�s preference of work areas. This coordination is necessary in order to provide the targeted areas with a seamless implementation.

The first two areas of saturation are:

�      Grinnell Street between Glenoaks Boulevard and Sunset Canyon; this part of the project has already been completed.

�      Fairmount Street between Glenoaks Boulevard and Sunset Canyon. (Once this phase is completed, the two routes can then be combined, thus eliminating one route)

The completion date varies due to the Test Shop�s workload, the availability of the remote meters and the arrangement of installation appointments. The City of Burbank currently has 4,093 remote meters with an estimated 300 installations per month. As technology improves, the progress of the implementation should steadily increase along with the productivity and efficiency of the billing section.

�        Council Approves Business Shade Tree Program

On November 9, the Burbank City Council approved a business shade tree program. This program will mirror Made in the Shade, BWP�s residential shade tree program, with the exception of offering businesses up to 20 trees (as compared to three in the residential program). Interested Burbank businesses will simply contact BWP�s certified arborist to schedule a meeting at the business location.  During the meeting, the arborist will discuss program parameters, approved tree planting sites, and tree offerings. The customer can select from 25 tree species. BWP will provide 15-gallon trees, stakes, ties, arbor guards, and delivery of all these goods for free to customers. They will, in return, plant the trees in the marked locations and take care of these trees to provide shade for years to come. As a result, air conditioning requirements and energy use may be reduced. The Fiscal Year 2004-05 budget for this program is $25,000. 

In further efforts to increase the number of trees planted in Burbank, BWP will also be providing funds to the Community Development Department for additional and/or larger trees to be planted along selected commercial corridors, such as the south of San Fernando Boulevard corridor. The Fiscal Year 2004-05 budget allows for up to $75,000 in support of these endeavors.

�           Water is Life

Water is Life is an art contest sponsored by Burbank Water and Power, which is open to all five Burbank High Schools grades 9 thru 12. Each school is invited to participate in February and they are given Rules and Guidelines along with complimentary art supplies. The program culminates in May for Water Awareness Month. The winners are then submitted to the Metropolitan Water District to compete for placement in its annual calendar.

For the fifth year in a row, �Water Is Life� has met with great success. This year, four students from Burbank�s high schools gained placement in the Metropolitan Water District�s (MWD) calendar. Burbank Water and Power has been very fortunate to have had at least three pieces of art created by Burbank students selected by MWD in their calendar each year, and twice Burbank students have graced the calendar�s cover. This is quite an honor. The annual poster contest provides Burbank Water and Power and the Metropolitan Water District the opportunity to work together emphasizing the importance of wise water use in our daily lives and in the community.

Legislative Update:

Refer to the attached legislative reports.

RED:RAC:FCF:WOM:GLS:JLF

H:JANUARY W&E OPERATIONS REPORT

Attachme

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