TRUCKEE, Calif. —Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s board of directors oversaw a packed agenda at the April board meeting. After adopting TDPUD’s first-ever integrated resource plan, they also reviewed TDPUD’s report on electric power purchased in 2023. On the water side, they received the annual Consumer Confidence Reports detailing TDPUD’s water quality, and approved two efforts that focus on local watershed stewardship.

Integrated Resource Plan

The board voted to adopt TDPUD’s new integrated resource plan. An IRP is a powerful tool for an electric utility; it outlines the anticipated power demand and supply for our community for the next 15 years. As our community’s energy needs grow, TDPUD can better plan for the future by understanding our customers’ projected demand, and then forecasting what energy resources will be available in the future to meet that demand. The IRP also factors in regulatory mandates, market trends, reliability, affordability and more. The IRP is a living document that TDPUD’s electric team will continue to update as it tracks and analyzes our community’s growth.

“The district’s resources are adequate in the short term, but we have to plan for the future,” said Jared Carpenter, TDPUD electric utility director. “We have to keep looking for new resources and developing new projects. We’re not the only ones looking for these resources, even beyond other utilities; there are big companies who are permitted to buy power from the wholesale markets that we’re up against. There is competition today that 10 years ago I couldn’t have envisioned.”

To learn more about TDPUD’s energy planning efforts, visit tdpud.org/energy.

Purchase Power Review

The board also received the annual purchase power review for 2023. Staff reports out to the board on the type of power TDPUD purchased in the previous year, as well as the costs, and how they lined up to budget. In 2023, Red Mesa Tapaha Solar Farm came online, which drove up solar power’s percentage in TDPUD’s overall portfolio. While the final portfolio stats for 2023 won’t be finalized until the fall, TDPUD is projected to have increased its percentage of renewable/clean energy to 64 percent, over 60 percent in 2022. Carpenter explained to the board that this is a very positive result, especially given the volatility in the energy market.

Water Consumer Confidence Reports

The 2023 Consumer Confidence Reports were presented for the two water systems TDPUD maintains—the Truckee and Hirschdale systems. The California State Water Resources Control Board determined that TDPUD had “no reportable violations” in 2023, meaning Truckee’s tap water continues to be of the highest caliber.

“We have amazing water quality here and we’re very fortunate to have the groundwater source and well-maintained infrastructure that we have here,” said Chad Reed, TDPUD water utility director. “We’re very proud of the water department’s work and what our staff has been able to achieve.”

Martis Valley Groundwater Basin Management Plan

TDPUD has a long history of stewardship, management and scientific work in the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin, and more than a decade ago joined forces with Northstar Community Services District and Placer County Water Agency to collaboratively develop the Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan. A report is issued annually by an expert consultant summarizing the monitoring and state of the basin, and every five years the plan is analyzed and updated by a consultant. The board awarded the contract for this work to GEI Consultants, with local Balanced Hydrologics as a sub-contractor, to complete the five-year GMP update. The community will have an opportunity to engage with the partner water agencies and consultants at a public meeting following the completion of the plan update.

Truckee River Watershed Council Partnership

Continuing its commitment to local watershed stewardship, the board also approved a memorandum of understanding between multiple local water agencies with an interest in responsibly maintaining the Martis Valley Groundwater Basin and working together toward shared stewardship goals. TDPUD, Truckee River Watershed Council, Northstar Community Services District and Placer County Water Agency will sign on to the MOU in an effort to formalize and expand on existing partnerships, which will better position the agencies to seek outside funding for stewardship projects.