Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities Work Session - May 6, 2026
Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities Work Session - May 6, 2026
The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) held a work session on May 6, 2026, at the Municipal Building, Room 330, starting at 5:30 PM. The meeting included public hearings, consent agenda approvals, a recognition, and discussions on the electric energy coordination budget, fee schedule updates, and board business. Key actions included recommending a gas rate ordinance to Council and approving multiple construction contracts.
Consent Calendar
- Item 4.a: Award of Bid No. IFB 26-21 for the Jemez Mountain Fire Protection Phase III Project to Dub-L-EE, LLC in the amount of $3,904,195.98 base bid plus a 15% contingency of $585,629.40 (total $4,489,825.38) plus applicable NMGRT. Forwarded to County Council for approval.
- Item 4.b: Re-approval of a purchase order for a UV disinfection system from Trojan Technologies in the amount of $184,800.00 plus applicable GRT for the Los Alamos Wastewater Treatment Plant. The initial approval expired due to a price increase and shipping cost changes.
- Item 4.d: Approval of Budget Revision No. 26-69 ($550,000.00) and placement of an order for a Vactor (flushing and hydro-vacuum unit) in the amount of $549,720.28 plus NMGRT. Forwarded to Council.
- Item 4.e: Approval of Task Order No.13, AGR 23-58 for repair of an 18” water transmission line with Brad Parker Construction in the amount of $219,336.06 plus NMGRT and approval of Budget Revision No. 2026-58 ($234,827.00). Forwarded to Council.
- Item 4.f: Approval of reinstatement of contract for IFB 25-31 (Bayo NP Booster Station Rehabilitation) including two prior change orders totaling $1,427,586.41 plus NMGRT and approval of Change Order No. 3 ($34,983.25) with a new final completion date of June 30, 2026. Forwarded to Council.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gas Rate Public Hearing: Paige Ramsey (online) expressed concern about the large rate increase for natural gas, stating that lower-income families may struggle to afford heating in winter.
Discussion Items
- Item 4.c (separated from Consent): Award of Bid No. 26-31 for Trinity Drive/NM502 ADA and Safety Improvements Project to HASSE Contracting Company Inc. at $1,200,514.10 base bid plus 10% contingency ($120,051.41) for a total of $1,320,565.51 plus NMGRT. Approved and forwarded to County Council.
- Item 5.a – Public Hearing on Gas Rate Ordinance: Deputy Utility Manager Joann Gentry presented the proposed amended gas rates, including a 29% increase in FY2027 and 17% in FY2028 for residential/commercial customers (30% and 19% for County/Schools). The typical residential bill at 70 therms per month would rise from $67.45 to $78.53 (FY2027) and $86.93 (FY2028). The increase is needed due to lower sales (warm winter, efficiency improvements), operating costs, and to restore cash reserves. The board discussed the components (service charge, fixed charge, variable cost) and neighboring community comparisons. Motion to recommend Council adopt Ordinance 02-379 passed 4-0.
- Item 6.a – Recognition of Cathy D'Anna: The board recognized Public Relations Manager Cathy D'Anna for 20 years of service (May 2006 – May 2026) with a certificate and leadership coin.
- Item 6.b – ECA Budget Process for FY27 & FY28: Ben Olbrich presented the 24-month budget for the DOE/LAC Resource Pool. The process involves load projections, resource allocation, and cost sharing under the Electric Energy Coordination Agreement (ECA). Projected allocated costs per MWh: $79.41 (County FY2027) and $91.12 (FY2028). The budget is scheduled for approval at the next BPU meeting. Discussion included assumptions for Foxtail Flats solar project (operational April 2027 for phase 1) and the need for nighttime power purchases.
- Item 6.c – Biannual Review of Fee Schedule: Joann Gentry presented an update on EV charging station financials and proposed an 8% increase in EV charging session fees (Level 2 to $0.25/kWh, Level 3 to $0.63/kWh) to align with the planned electric rate increase. A new hydrant meter rental section was also proposed. Board discussed utilization trends: Level 3 at Municipal Building dropped from 75 sessions/month (July-Oct 2025) to 54 (Jan-Mar 2026) after Level 2 chargers were installed. Financial losses persist. Action will be taken at the May 20, 2026 meeting.
- Item 8.a – Reschedule July 15, 2026 Regular Meeting: Due to lack of quorum, the board approved rescheduling the July 15 regular meeting to July 22, 2026. Vote: 3-0 (Member Stromberg not responding).
- Item 8.b – Planning for Annual BPU Presentation to Council: Chair Gibson presented a draft outline for the July 14, 2026 Council work session. Topics include utility finances, water rights, natural gas phase-out, electricity supply (Foxtail Flats, ECA), transmission challenges, and organizational challenges. EDAM (Extended Day-Ahead Market) was suggested for inclusion.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda (minus 4.c) approved unanimously (4-0).
- Trinity Drive ADA project award approved and forwarded to Council (4-0).
- Gas Rate Ordinance 02-379 recommended to Council for adoption (4-0). The ordinance includes rate increases of 29% (FY2027) and 17% (FY2028) for residential/commercial and 30%/19% for County/Schools, effective July 1, 2026.
- July 15, 2026 BPU regular meeting rescheduled to July 22, 2026 (3-0).
- Next steps: ECA budget to be voted on at the May 20, 2026 meeting; revised fee schedule (EV charging and hydrant meter rental) to be presented for approval on May 20, 2026; annual BPU presentation to Council to be finalized by June 17, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
An order ticket. So somewhere there's a stop. Okay, I will call to order this May 6th, 2026 meeting of the Board of Public Utilities. Thanks. Thank you everyone for being here this evening. We do apologize for the uh alternate quarters. For voting. So uh right. Appreciate the staff setting this up in a way that I think will actually work out fairly well. I guess we'll find out. First time we've done this arrangement. Um, if there are any issues, we apologize for them. Uh first order business is public comment on any items that are not otherwise on our agenda this evening. Is there any public comment in the room? If not, is there any public comment online? Thank you, Chair Gibson. If you are online tonight on Zoom, when Chair Gibson called for public comment, you can use the raise hand function. And if we're participating by phone, you can press star nine to raise your hand. If you would like to mean public comment right now, please raise your hand on Zoom. No one has their hand raised, Chair Gibson. Okay, thank you very much. That takes us to approval of the agenda. And there was a revised agenda issued that uh you should all have on your uh uh uh place proceeding and it was published in adequate time. Um Saturday morning. And uh however I would like to amend it one step further, and that is item four C to make sure that we get the right motion in place. I'd like to pull that off the consent agenda and then just act on it immediately after the consent agenda was straightforward, but I want to make sure we get the right one. Okay, okay. So is there a motion to approve the revised agenda as amended? Do we okay? Yeah, in other words, and including the action to suspend procedural vote. We'll do that separately. I move that we order you call the approve the revised agenda for tonight's meeting as amended. Second. Okay, move to second. Um all in favor. Okay, motion passes four to zero. Now we need to uh uh a motion to suspend the procedural rules of the work session so that we can take action this evening. I move that the board of public utilities suspend the procedural rules for the May 6, 2026 work session so that formal action may be taken. Second okay, seconded. Um in favor and again Eric Eric votes yes, motion passes four to zero. Thank you. Now the consent agenda minus item four C will be the consent agenda as amended. All right, I move that the board of public utilities approve the items on the consent agenda as amended and that the motions and the staff reports be included in the minutes for the record. In second, okay. Seconded is there any comment or discussion? Shouldn't be on a consent agenda. Okay, seeing none, we will vote on the consent agenda. Uh Abby, are you doing the honors tonight? Or is it Kathy? You're doing the honors.
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