Moorhead Public Service Commission Meeting

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - Last night the Moorhead Public Service Commission held their first meeting for the month of May. It was a meeting that covered many topics. MPS General Manager Bill Schwandt said in a staff meeting, "this meeting is a pretty wide spectrum, we've got it all on this one." This meeting covered topics ranging from the 2008 Audit Report, to Energy-Efficient Street lighting, to Voluntary Watering Restrictions and more. Let's try to highlight a few of the topics discussed:



Audit Report. Each year MPS engages Eide Bailly LLP to conduct an audit of the financial statements of Moorhead Public Service. Again, this year there were no major areas of concern from the audit. Brian Stavenger, CPA, (Senior Manager with Eide Bailly) said that all MPS financial records were "fairly stated and materially accurate," which is a thumbs up in auditors language! MPS had a $6.5 million increase in net assets and all three divisions (electric, water, and broadband) ended the year with positive changes in net assets. All good news for the audit report.



Energy-Efficient Street lighting. MPS Electric Division Manager Dave Kahly gave a report on our street lighting program here in Moorhead and offered an opinion on some emerging technology, such as LED lighting. Although LED lights are more energy efficient, they are still very costly. MPS currently has a few LED lights on our system for testing and we needs to continue to monitor the activities and developments with this technology.



2009 Flood Update. The Commission heard an update on the 2009 flood and MPS' response. The report including highlights and areas of improvement for MPS. If you would like to see the list of the items, check out the Commission agenda at mpsutility.com. Also, if you have any comments for MPS, please let us know what we did well, or what we could improve on.



Watering Restrictions . There were a couple items in last night's meeting that came from the Water Department. The first was a voluntary watering restriction for the residents of Moorhead. It seems odd to think about conserving water after the flood we just experienced; however, as we move into the summer months, the Commission is asking the residents of Moorhead to be smart about their water use. The Commission is asking residents to observe an odd-even water schedule. Lawn watering and car washing is asked to be limited to customers by street address. All customers with even-numbered address can use water for these two items on even-numbered days, and vice-versa for odd-numbered homes. Again, this is a voluntary program that is established to remind residents to use water wisely. We have tips for keeping a lush lawn on our website. Visit the "Water Conservation Page" under "For Your Home" on mpsutility.com.



There were many other items on the May 12, 2009 Commission agenda that were discussed. The minutes for this meeting will be made available online at mpsutility.com as soon as the Commission approves them. As always, everyone is encouraged to attend the Commission meetings. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 4:30pm.



Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness

Flood 2009

Friday, April 24, 2009 - As I was thinking about something to post today, I thought I would give you a quick recap of how we (MPS) fared during the Flood of 2009. Below is a summary (by division) of what happened over the past month of so.

Electric:

• All major electric facilities were protected.
• The Brookdale substation (located just south of I-94 along the river) was protected by a clay dike created by the City of Moorhead and was protected to 44'. Additional dikes were added around the control house as secondary protection.
• At the Power Plant, water came right to the wall during the first crest (resulting in no damage). In preparation for the second crest a clay dike was added for protection to 44'.
• Various switches and other electrical equipment was protected during both crests.
• Individual homes had power turned off based on customer requests if the homes were lost to water.
• There was only one area (in the Woodlawn area, north of the Power Plant) that had power turned off. After the area was evacuated by the National Guard, MPS Electric Division Manager Dave Kahly monitored water levels in and around the area for 24-hours. Once water was found on the inside of the dike, house fires became a concern, and with limited access for the fire department, the fear of a neighborhood fire resulted in MPS turning off power for a few days.

Water:

• The River Pumping Station was really the only asset from the Water Division that was a concern during this flood. Located right on the river, after 1997, MPS built permanent protection to 40 feet. Additional measures were added and the River Pumping Station was protected during both crests.
• After concern for the integrity of the entire Moorhead city water system, MPS made the difficult decision to cut water service to Oakport Township. As basements flood, uncontrollable water leaks can occur and cause the entire water system to loose pressure. After 24-hours, it was determined that the Oakport Water Tower maintained water pressure to the Oakport area allowing MPS to restore water service to the township.

GoMoorhead.com:

• Many residents were displaced from their homes and many more were in need of Internet access to monitor river levels and stay in touch with concerned loved ones.
• MPS was able to open the GoMoorhead.com Wireless Internet Service to all residents of Moorhead through a special guest access. This guest access allowed residents to use the Internet at reduced speeds for a limited amount of time. Although the cumulative number of guests on the system was unable to be tracked, a snapshot look at the users indicated approximately 400 guests were utilizing the GoMoorhead.com Flood Access.
• MPS was also able to provide emergency personnel and organizations with GoMoorhead.com while they were in town assisting with the flood fight. 18 organizations utilized this special access.

Check Out the Flood Page:
MPS has a lot of information from the flood online at www.mpsutility.com. Features on that site include a daily journal from MPS General Manager Bill Schwandt and photos from the flood.

MPS wants to thank all those who worked so hard to protect this great community! THANK YOU!

Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness