In a recent interview with APPA, KPP Energy CEO and General Manager Colin Hansen details the benefits that flow to KPP Energy member communities from the services it provides including, among other things, distribution system assessments and rate design.
KPP Energy is a joint action agency based in Kansas that provides electricity and innovative power solutions to 24 Kansas communities.
One of Hansen’s goals since joining KPP a little over four years ago has been to have KPP Energy’s team be viewed as an extension of the staff of its 24 member communities.
“I've spent my entire career working for public power, and my passion throughout my career has been to find ways to support and assist our members, and particularly our small members to help their communities thrive. And that phrase is actually in our vision statement for KPP, to help our communities thrive,” he said in a recent episode of APPA’s Public Power Now podcast.
“And so while we are a small team here, we're made up of engineers, accountants, we've got two team members that operated public power systems for decades, we've got a former city clerk, an IT professional. Excellent legal counsel. We really couldn't be prouder of the team that we've got here,” he said.
“In fact, we calculated last year that between the eight of us, we have over 180 years of municipal and public power experience and so we want to make that available to our members.”
In terms of specific services that KPP Energy offers to members, “we provide a lot of assistance in the form of distribution assessments. We help with project management. We provide engineering assistance, accounting and budgeting help, help with grant applications and even setting parallel generation policies and quite a bit more.”
One area that KPP Energy has worked to build out over the past two years is on the rate side “and recognizing that the long-term success of our member utilities begin with proper rate structures,” Hansen noted.
“We significantly expanded our focus on providing several new services, including utility rate reviews. We do rate design. We do financial reviews and reports and even have gotten into doing limited cost of service studies just as a benefit for being a member of KPP.”
Over the last several months, “we've completed one comprehensive rate review and rate design. We've got two special rate designs that we assisted with, and we have three additional member rate reviews that are currently in progress.”
In addition to that, KPP Energy also assists members with developing specialized rate structures for large or unique customers whose size or their usage characteristics or demand requirements tend to fall outside of standard rate structures.
Hansen noted that KPP Energy is developing a new large load computational load policy and guidance.
KPP Energy Video Series
KPP Energy recently launched a first-ever video series, and in the first installment of the series, KPP Energy shares how it serves communities across the entire pool.
“At the end of the day, KPP really is just about the communities that we serve, and we think that they have some really great and compelling stories to tell,” Hansen noted.
“And so, because of that, we thought that initiating a video series where we highlight these members would be a great way to illustrate the interesting things that are happening in their communities and we also wanted something that the members themselves could use locally to show off their towns whether it's at a local community event, a rotary meeting, or what have you, or on their social media channels.”
The focus is on the community. “The focus of the video is on the community with a modest KPP angle. And our hope is that over time, we'll have short videos that feature all of our great member communities.”
In the first video of the series, KPP Energy shares the vision behind KPP Energy and the power of joint action.
The second episode released in July spotlights the Clay Center Public Utility Commission, showcasing the local plant operations, staff dedication, and community investments keeping the grid stable.
Solar Arrays
KPP Energy has been awarded funding from the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program for the development of 18 megawatts of solar arrays in seven rural communities across Kansas.
Hansen detailed how KPP Energy is working with its member communities to develop the solar arrays.
KPP was one of only a handful of public power entities that were able to receive funding from the USDA's PACE program and the funding is “allowing us to do is install 18 megawatts of solar arrays in seven of our 24 member communities.”
The installations vary in size from six megawatts in Winfield, Kansas, KPP’s largest member, down to four 1-megawatt arrays “in some of our smaller member communities, like Hillsborough and Marion, Kansas. We also have a five-megawatt array in Wellington, and a 3-megawatt array in Clay Center.”
One of the interesting aspects of this program is “we're using land that was owned by the city, and It's generally land that's not desirable from an economic development perspective,” he noted.
“Arrays will be going next to wastewater treatment plants, a water treatment plant, a runway, and even a shooting range in in one community, so we're using somewhat undesirable land for a desirable result.”
Under the PACE program, once operational, the projects are eligible for a low-interest loan from the USDA with 20% loan forgiveness “just right off the top, and then the projects are also eligible for additional elective pay tax credits, so stackable tax credits, if you will, that will further reduce the cost of the overall project.”
Moreover, KPP applied for and was successful in securing the go-ahead on a qualified low-income economic benefit program in six of the seven communities where the solar arrays will be going.
“Once completed, this should provide yet another additional bonus credit. And once those bonus credits are allocated, KPP will then provide half of that credit to qualified low and moderate income households in those six member communities,” Hansen said.
All in all, it should be a very affordable, sustainable new resource for our entire membership. I like to constantly repeat to our members, our focus remains first and foremost on affordability and reliability.”
