~·~ EDERATION "\'f.§ OF ALBERTA GAS CO-OPS LTD. Federation Status Report October 2019 GOVERNMENT & INDUSTRY RELATIONS Fedc;":;.Uon Board and Adm!oii;trc;tion frequently meet governmf.':)t anrl indust1v tD di~'CLi55 fssut?s ~ r;fevo•)I to utJr;ti!~'~ o.~vJ ,chc 'WtUffJf ~Jfh inrtu~tr'/ GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Federation Board and Administration have frequent meetings with Government Members and officials. Primarily, these are with Alberta Agriculture, but may include other Ministries or meetings with MLAs for educational purposes. Updates • Met with Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish on July 3 for a discussion on rural internet and how gas utilities could play a role for rural communities • Met with Transportation Minister Rick Mciver on July 17 to discuss issues with pipelines and rights of ways • Met with MLA Mike Ellis (Government Whip) on July 18 to discuss the Convention MLA Forum • Met with Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson, and Associate Minister of Natural Gas Dale Nally on July 30 to discuss a number of issues facing Member Utilities • Upcoming November meeting with Finance Minister Travis Toews to discuss Rural Gas Grant and Alberta Capital Finance Authority Act INDUSTRY RELATIONS The Federation meets with other organizations to discuss areas of common interest. Organizations may include, but are not limited to: A TCO, AltaGas, Alberta Community and Co-operative Association, Alberta Common Ground Alliance, Alberta One-Call, Canadian Gas Association, Measurement Canada. Updates • Meetings ongoing with Rural Utilities, ATCO Gas, and AltaGas to revise the Technical Standards Manual • Working with AltaGas on developing PE Fusion training. • Bringing member utility concerns to Alberta One Call to develop solutions • Sponsored Alberta Common Ground Alliance for the current year • Sponsored CAPULC AGM and Locate Rodeo in April • Federation will present at CGA Operations, Engineering and Integrity Conference in Calgary in 2020. • AUC hearings • Met with Alberta Community and Co-operative Association on how to work better together OPERATIONS D Federotfrm undt<ftOkt•s activities fO ~55ist rv1cmber Uti/iaes in their fieid 0J..'><2rLJtions, incfudirro Measurement (J(id i\t1eu_•;• MQ!)0i]-ClfW1!t s'-'! vi~-es/ O&M Gwdciines. and O&M Audits, and Odnront dehverv MEASUREMENT Measurement inspects all RMO stations on a biennial basis, and performs modifications to stations if requested. It oversees the residential AMR program, the Meter Management Program, collects station data, and monitors station/pressure alarms. Updates • Measurement inspection program almost complete for southern Alberta. • PowerSpring updated in July to allow for more web-based reports and members access to the system from the field. New server purchased to allow for this without coming into Federation servers. Tests have been conducted with several utilities with good results. • AMR program ongoing as utilities continue to install, and for meter changeouts. Audits are conducted to ensure the accreditation process is being followed. If residential AMR training is required, please contact Ed Keef. The Federation strongly emphasizes that all Member Utilities participating in the Federation's Residential AMR Accreditation follow the reporting guidelines to the letter. If even a single Member Utility does not follow the guidelines, Measurement Canada could pull accreditation from the entire Federation. O&M O&M Committee meets 10 times a year or more to review O&M Manual sections (all sections are reviewed at least once every three years). O&M Audits, along with follow­ ups, are scheduled to ensure utilities are meeting the O&M Guidelines. Updates • Emergency Response Planning review complete. Training course to be updated. • 2019 O&M audits completed • O&M inspection cycle will be moving to a three-year cycle beginning 2020. Schedules are being circulated. • O&M Committee providing comments to the Technical Standards Manual Review Committee. ALBERTA ODORANT SERVICES The Federation along with Bow River Gas Co-op Ltd., East Smoky Gas Co-op Ltd., and Smoky Lake County administrate the subsidiary Alberta Odorant Services to provide mercaptan deliveries to Member Utilities and third parties. Updates • Odorant committee has provided feedback on changes to the Odorant Service contract to members and third-parties. Changes for consistency and administration are being reviewed. Changes would not impact odorant delivery. • A program to pick up unused odorant tanks is being scheduled for 2019. Odorant delivery co-ops will be inquiring with Members. • AOS is in the process of completing an assessment of odorant "pig tank "vessels at RMO stations. Purpose of the assessment is to confirm the vessels are rated for mercaptan service and have current certification dates. GIS 2JPage The Federation works with the GIS Users Group and GIS Users Group Executive Committee to develop a central GIS accessible by Member Utilities. Updates • GIS program ready to launch but has been delayed by working with legal on an agreement with Silvacom. The proposed legal agreement was received in October and has been forwarded to the GIS Executive Committee for their review. • Under the proposed agreement, when launched the program will cost participating utilities $350 per month. • Federation is now the mapping repository for non-investor-owned rural gas distributors. The GIS will be used to keep the repository up to date. • Rural Utilities is no longer accepting in-fill files but will require a single overall plan of the utility showing only the low-pressure pipelines and customer symbols. The Federation plan is to deliver this to the Province as a single GIS submission. Each Utility would still need to list all prior year construction, including: o total number for each type of service installed (Rural, Urban, Non-grantable, Federal Lands, Re-routes, Re-installs, etc.) o a list of all upgrade projects constructed in the year o Summary of costs (only for distributors receiving grants) o List of all abandonments during the year o Total kilometres of pipe installed (low-pressure only). Health & Safety The Federation Health and Safety Program is a suite of services allowing individual utilities the ability to maintain their health and safety programs, and to audit utilities on their individual programs. Updates • Dave Koopman has been hired as the Health and Safety Program Specialist • A Health and Safety Working Group is being formed from Member Utilities • The Health and Safety Program is being finalized in preparation for launch ADMINISTRATION & CORPORATE SERVICES U Admini~1.1ation ono' Frnonre manages 1nost of the day to drry operatirn?s of the Fl::d~'1 otion Tlfrs inciudes n>~po1t;.·/i)fl1fi<?::. ;,uch us: Finance, ~{fii e Admlnfs.tration Comnw·nication~~ aod Human Resources. il also Includes f'l1ember Service>, :..u-rh or;. Conv1:?ntion 01Hi Ttaimng arkninistrotion FINANCE The Finance section approves purchases, sends out invoices, maintains payroll and tax rolls, provides assistance to financial auditors, develops and monitors budgets. It also provides accounting for the Federation, grant program, measurement, Federation Insurance Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE}, RUBIS, Alberta Odorant Services, and Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-operatives. Updates • 2019-2020 Federation budget completed and distributed for information at Fall Zone Meetings. • 2018-2019 financial audit completed and forwarded to Annual General Meeting • Zobia Pearl has been hired as the Finance Analyst • Discussions on investments have continued with Rural Utilities. It is their position that deposit reserves need to be protected under legislation, but operating reserves do not require supplemental bylaws to allow the utility to invest the funds in the manner so desired by the utility board/council. ADMINISTRATION Administration is responsible for maintaining the Federation calendar and booking all meeting rooms or offsite meetings. It is also responsible for planning Federation meetings and events, filing, mail-outs, maintaining the Federation Centre and its tenants, maintaining information technology, maintaining Federation website and the Alberta Federation of Water Co-ops website, and is normally the first point of contact for enquiries or customer complaints. Updates • The 13th Annual Federation Charity Golf Classic raised $26,000 for the MS Society • RUBIS marketing materials developed and distributed. It has gained three new customers • Working on a researching lands and buildings for a new Federation Centre to accommodate increased staffing, services, and a new training centre. It is not expected that any special levy will be required to complete a building project. BENEFITS & PENSION The Federation works with Alberta Municipal Services Corporation (AMSC) to provide benefits and pension to employees and directors of Member Utilities. AMSC provides the actual administration of the benefits and pension program. The Federation negotiates rates and works with AMSC to ensure employees and directors are being treated as best as possible. The Federation sits on the AMSC Pension Advisory Group, and the AMSC Benefits Advisory Group. In addition, the Federation reviews Human Resources policies with legal and AMSC, and makes recommended changes to utilities as required. Updates • Eye examination benefit increased from $75 to $100. For over 18, this is every two years. For dependents under 18, it is every year. • Benefits renewal for 2020 being negotiated. All industries