CITYSCAPE

Pride in Public Service
The management team recently developed an internal training
program for employees, featuring sessions on topics such as
finance, communication, decision making and customer service.
Congratulations to the following employees who completed the
program: Aaron Owen, Allen Roseberry, Craig Schmitt, Dave
Cavanaugh, Debra Nelson, Elizabeth Haskell, Jaime Licea, Janet
Kinney, Jason Boaz, John Haviland, Katherine Ahlborn, Linda
Collister, Luis Rodriguez, Mario Landeros, Matt Jenkins, Patty
Lozinto, Ryan Kirchner, Scott Carter, Scott Ward, Sonja Drown,
Tanya Potter, Tina Lindenberg and Todd Woolman.
Strong Cities/Strong State Campaign
This month Healdsburg will be profiled as part of the ongoing
Strong Cities/Strong State campaign highlighting local government
success stories across California. The Strong Cities/Strong State
website is the centerpiece of a campaign broadly promoting city
success stories alongside profiles of the elected officials and
city managers working together to build and maintain a high quality
of life for California city residents. The overarching goal of the
“Strong Cities” campaign is to promote the innovation and
experience of local officials in delivering vital services at a
time when this expertise is vitally needed by state leaders
struggling with fundamental issues of governance. Strong
Cities/Strong State seeks to position cities as vital, necessary
and equal partners in building a better California. The Healdsburg
profile is accessible at:
www.strongcitiesstrongstate.com/healdsburg.
Department Profile: Healdsburg Electric
Utility
The City of Healdsburg, as a full service provider, has for over
100 years owned and operated an electric distribution system. As
the City has grown, so too has the electric system that now serves
over 5,500 customers through 59 miles of high voltage wires. As a
community owned electric system, Healdsburg’s Electric Enterprise
is structured to simply recover costs as opposed to maximizing
profits. This structure has consistently resulted in lower electric
rates, long-term rate stability, and a quick responsiveness to the
community’s needs. As a result, Healdsburg’s electric customers
collectively saved over 2.9 million dollars in the previous fiscal
year when compared to the energy costs of Pacific Gas &
Electric. For residential customers, the average twelve-month
savings is over $230. For businesses located within Healdsburg, the
collective annual savings exceeds $1.8 million.
To keep electric rates as low and stable as possible, the City
has maintained a long-standing policy of working cooperatively with
other municipalities and public agencies to purchase generation
plants throughout California. The direct ownership of generation
plants provides stability in the supply and costs of current and
future energy needs. Today the City of Healdsburg owns shares in
five major generation plants; the Geyser Plants near Middleton, the
Spicer Meadows Project in Tuolumne County, the Collierville Hydro
Project in Calaveras County, the Combustion Turbine #1 project, and
the Lodi Energy Center. Combined these generation plants can supply
the City of Healdsburg with over 60 million kilowatt-hours
annually, or approximately 75 percent of the City’s energy needs.
Energy needs not met by City owned generation plants are sourced
through short-term contracts from various market suppliers.
Healdsburg’s Electric Department maintains a staff of 11
fulltime employees to perform the routine maintenance, planned
equipment replacements, system upgrades, new customer connections,
and emergency repairs required of the City’s electric distribution
system. In addition, the Electric Department relies on various
other City Departments to assist in the administration and
operational needs required of a 24/7 service provider.
Collectively, the City of Healdsburg’s staff has achieved, and will
continue to achieve, a superior level of service at the lowest
possible cost.
Marjie Pettus is the Healdsburg City Manager. To submit
ideas or questions for this column, email cityscape@
ci.healdsburg.ca.us.