News 2010

POWER PROJECT RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

Alameda, California, January 15, 2010 – Alameda Municipal Power announced today that one of its power resources has received an award of Project of the Year from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ox Mountain landfill-gas-to-energy facility in Half Moon Bay received the award under the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program.

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PUB to Host Annual Planning Workshop

On next Monday, January 25, the City of Alameda Public Utilities Board will host a Special Meeting for the purpose of conducting its Annual Planning Workshop.

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Strengthening the Island's Power Base

An editorial column published in the Alameda Sun in the January 21, 2010 edition.

by Girish Balachandran

Last January, soon after deciding to sell the telecom business, the Public Utilities Board set a new course for the City’s municipal utility.  It approved a new name, a purpose statement, and ten strategies and five value metrics that would underlie a refocus on the core electric business.  Customer satisfaction and community value were the primary metrics by which Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) was to measure its progress.

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City of Alameda Prevails on almost All of Vectren's Telecom Claims

Concluding a three-week trial in the federal court litigation brought against the City of Alameda by Vectren Communications Services, an eight-member jury rendered a unanimous verdict yesterday afternoon in favor of the City on all but one of Vectren's claims.  Commenced by Vectren in 2008, the lawsuit alleged that, in managing the telecom system since 2002, the City had breached its contract with Vectren, the original builder and operator of the system, by not managing the system properly.  Vectren claimed that, as a result of its allegations, it was entitled to damages from the City totaling $10.3 million.

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PUB to Host Budget Workshop

Alameda, Calif., April 12 – The City of Alameda’s Public Utilities Board will host its Annual Budget Workshop on Monday, April 19, at 4:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers, City Hall.

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Alameda Municipal Power Receives National Award for Energy Innovation

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 22, 2010 — Alameda, Calif., Alameda Municipal Power received the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Energy Innovator Award at the association’s National Conference in Orlando, Fla.  This award recognizes an innovative utility program that provides better service to electricity customers or increases the efficiency of utility operations

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Planning for a Steady and Sustainable Future

An editorial column by Girish Balachandran, General Manager of Alameda Municipal Power

It’s been a busy year so far. At its Annual Planning Workshop the City’s Public Utilities Board discussed major initiatives, priorities, critical issues, risks and opportunities facing our electric utility. Subsequent efforts included development of a ten-year financial plan to identify and reduce potential financial risks. The plan seeks to balance revenues with expenses, reserve requirements, and bond coverage covenants over a ten-year planning period. Additionally, in order to meet the expectations of the agencies that rate AMP’s bonds, we are expected to maintain our revenue collections at a level that assures the rating agencies of our fiscal stability.

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PUB Adopts 2011 Budget, Adjusts Rates

The City of Alameda Public Utilities Board approved Alameda Municipal Power’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget which includes a 3.7% overall rate adjustment effective July 1.  The Board’s actions are the culmination of a 6-month effort, which included an Annual Planning Workshop, development of a 10-year financial plan, Annual Budget Workshop, and several rate analyses.

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Public Utilities Board Elects Officers

At its regular meeting Monday evening, the City of Alameda Public Utilities Board elected its officers for the 2011 Fiscal Year. Mr. Gregory Hamm, Ph.D., P.E., was reelected President for a second term, and elected as the Board's Vice President was Mr. Peter Holmes. The Board elected Mr. Girish Balachandran, General Manager of the City of Alameda's municipal utility, Alameda Municipal Power, as its Secretary

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AMP Refinancing Approved, Credit Upgraded

At its meeting July 20, the Alameda City Council and the Alameda Public Financing Authority approved a refinancing of two Alameda Municipal Power revenue bond series. The refinancing is an outcome of a comprehensive, 6-month review of AMP’s financial planning goals, existing certificates of participation, and bond coverage requirements by AMP staff, the Public Utilities Board, and an independent financial advisor. The refinancing is expected to reduce AMP’s financial risk by converting existing variable interest-rate bonds to fixed interest rate.

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