Meeting Notes, Status Update & Membership Roster

[Matt Lafferty]

Greetings everyone,

 

Couple of things related to the group:

 

As you know (I hope), we held a meeting last Thursday, January 22, 2009, to kickoff the next phase of development... Yes, it's getting written up finally! Thanks a bunch to everybody who was at that meeting... If you weren't able to get through on the phone, Nick Chaset is sorry. (No, that's not an opinion... He admitted it himself.) Without belaboring all that, my notes for the meeting are attached in the Word document. Consider that a draft minutes only. If you participated in the meeting and have additional or conflicting recollection, please add your stuff to the document and re-distribute. I don't own this stuff. Just playing Solar Janitor. Still.

 

Also attached is our now-familiar Consensus spreadsheet. {5%_Meter_Test_Reqs_Develop_Rev012209.xls} There is a new tab added that corresponds to January 22, 2009.  As noted in the Draft Minutes, there were some minor edits (mostly small typos) during the meeting. In order to make it easy to compare the November 2008 sheet with the January 2009 sheet, I added a comparison tab to the spreadsheet. (I think it should open up to the comparison tab) Hopefully this will be self-explanatory and help you see the differences quickly. If you have any problems or issues with the current data, now is the time to send your thoughts to the whole group! 

 

On the housekeeping side of things... There have been a growing number of "ad hoc" folks on the email distribution that were not enrolled in the Onboardmeters_5 group. Some have been included in distribution that are also enrolled. Still others are on the distribution under a different email address than the one they are enrolled with. The last two classes are or may be getting all the correspondence in duplicate. It is important that we send all correspondence for the Working Group to onboard...@googlegroups.com in order to make sure that everybody gets the stuff they need and that they don't have to sift through duplicates.

 

I took sort of an "are you on the list and is there anybody at your company that needs to be" roll-call at the last meeting. I then compared that info to the most current email distribution list and Onboardmeters_5 enrollment. I added the "missing or maybe duplicate" email addresses to the enrollment roster on our homepage http://groups.google.com/group/onboardmeters_5 . Well, that added up to a total of 16 new additions and Google wouldn't just "add them" without a form submission explaining who and why and.... All to avoid scams & spams, so I didn't really mind.... Besides, any time I get to make some poor soul read long-winded explanations, you know I'm gonna do it!

 

Besides listing the reasons and so forth, I chastised them for letting the SolarPort at the GooglePlex get dirty and explained how embarrassing it is that this was seen on a nationwide TV program about California's energy future (NOVA on PBS)... I called their "Save the Universe Team" slackers and told them I was busting them for dirty solar panels... Threatened them with obstruction of CA law if they didn't add the invitees.... Told them how they were holding up solving the Climate Change Crisis by requiring "1-2 business days" for review... I figure they'll understand it's not Spam.  Hopefully they grin when they click "OK".

 

Those of you listed by name in the "CC" field above are (or should be) included in the list that is currently being "reviewed" by Google Staff... The attached "Members" spreadsheet lists all the emails, names, affiliations, and status of the Group roster. It is sorted by affiliation. (It is also included below my signature info, but you know how email scrambles these things...)

 

PLEASE check for your affiliation and make sure the right people are listed and that the correct email address is listed. Do not rely on the distribution for this email!!! Go by the attached list. There are some "?????" that mean I don't have a clue who this is. Each of these belongs to an affiliation with other members, so I'm expecting somebody to step up and fill in the gaps. If you find something that needs correction or addition or deletion or whatever, please let me know so I can get the right info into the list. You are responsible for your co-workers and former co-workers! Also, if you are getting this but no longer want to get the group correspondence, please just send email to: gilli...@gmail.com and I'll make sure your wish comes true! If you are affiliated with a manufacturer and notify me that a representative from another manufacturer should be removed from the list, I will NOT make your wish come true!

 

OK. That's about it. Thanks everybody!

 

Matt Lafferty

gilli...@gmail.com

415-252-0343    Old Fashioned Phone

 

 

E-Mail Address	Name	Affiliation	Status
jber...@sma-america.com	John Berdner	(Formerly with SMA)	Verified
gilli...@gmail.com	Matt Lafferty	At Large	Verified
jeff.ne...@bewengineering.com	Jeff Newmiller	BEW Engineering	Verified
bi...@brooksolar.com	Bill Brooks	Brooks Solar Engineering	Verified
jfle...@energy.state.ca.us	Joe Fleshman	CEC	Verified
psa...@energy.state.ca.us	Pete Saxton	CEC	Invited
ste...@ccontrolsys.com	Steve Whitaker	Continental Control Systems	Verified
n...@cpuc.ca.gov	Nick Chaset	CPUC	Verified
d...@cpuc.ca.gov	????? Damon	CPUC	Invited
mdar...@enphaseenergy.com	Marv Dargatz	Enphase	Verified
rbe...@enphaseenergy.com	Raghu Belur	Enphase	Verified
ri...@fatspaniel.com	Rich Eckman	Fat Spaniel Technologies	Verified
charli...@gmail.com	Charlie Wilde	Integrated Metering Systems	Verified
rsc...@kaco.com	Richard Scott	KACO	Invited
c...@kaco.com	Clint Porter	KACO	Invited
harry....@us.kema.com	Harry Stephey	KEMA	Invited
pete.ba...@us.kema.com	Pete Baumstark	KEMA	Invited
kmeh...@metlabs.com	Kevin Mehaffey	MET Labs	Verified
jr...@metlabs.com	Jim Reed	MET Labs	Invited
jma...@metlabs.com	John Mason	MET Labs	Invited
wmu...@metlabs.com	????? Murphy	MET Labs	Invited
bth...@outbackpower.com	Brian Thomas	Outback	Invited
cfre...@outbackpower.com	Christopher Freitas	Outback	Invited
wr...@pge.com	Bill Tirona	PG&E	Verified
c2...@pge.com	Cassie Mayall	PG&E	Verified
mg...@pge.com	Matt Heling	PG&E	Verified
lb...@pge.com	Linh Nguyen	PG&E	Invited
cl...@pge.com	?????	PG&E	Invited
roger...@pvpowered.com	Roger Hicks	PV Powered	Verified
Ben.G...@sce.com	Ben Garcia	SCE	Verified
robert...@sce.com	Bob Botkin	SCE	Verified
carissa...@sce.com	Carissa Hendrix	SCE	Verified
jerry....@sce.com	Jerry Pilger	SCE	Verified
jon.bon...@sdenergy.org	Jon Bonk-Vasko	SDG&E (CCSE)	Verified
ryan....@energycenter.org	Ryan Amador	SDG&E (CCSE)	Verified
jon.f...@energycenter.org	????? Jon Fortune	SDG&E (CCSE)	Invited
bsch...@sma-america.com	Bob Schmitt	SMA	Invited
oba...@smud.org	Obadiah Bartholomy	SMUD	Verified
ivan....@gmail.com	Ivan Cooper	SolarCity	Verified
iv...@solarcity.com	Ivan Cooper	SolarCity	Verified
brian...@sunpowercorp.com	Brian Farhi	SunPower	Verified
rjoh...@sunpowercorp.com	Rob Johnson	SunPower	Verified
robert....@sunpowercorp.com	Robert Johnson	SunPower	Invited
it...@aracnet.com	Pat Adamosky	Veris Industries	Verified
pat.ad...@veris.com	Pat Adamosky	Veris Industries	Verified
jb...@votesolar.org	Jim Baak	Vote Solar	Verified
andrew....@xantrex.com	Andrew Riegler	Xantrex	Verified

 

 

[Jim Baak]

Hi, Matt.  Sorry I missed the party last week, but I was at a conference in Vegas (waaay better than talking about meters!).

 

cl...@pge.com is my good buddy Chuck Hornbrook.  Jon Bonk-Vasko is now Jon Fortune (yes, really).  Don’t know the rest.  Keep me on the list – I’ll come when I can.

 

Jim

 

---

[Matt Lafferty]

Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Thank you for your feedback so far. Attached are a Rev 01 Draft Minutes and an updated Group Members List based on this feedback. At least somebody reads this stuff!  I was informed that the Google Groups invitation has been released and distributed, so I am sending this correspondence to the Group address only.

 

Updates (additions) to the Draft Minutes are indcated in red text. I also added a footer with filename and page numbering, which is not indicated in red. The document is set to Track Changes, but the footer filename field does not "automatically" update for those of you familiar with what that means. If you have any additions or concerns with the draft minutes, please communicate this to the group &/or myself so they can be addressed appropriately.

 

The Group Members List still has a "????? Murphy" from MET Labs in it. If your first name is Waldo, then I understand wanting to use ????? instead... Also, PLEASE make sure that everybody in your organization who needs to be in the loop on this Working Group, is on the list! If you notice that somebody is listed that no longer is affiliated, please let me know. Any related gossip that you might want to share is optional.

 

Note to instrument and panel-meter members: You are welcome to participate in the WG. If you prefer not to continue and wish to be removed from the email distribution, please let me know.

 

A Working Group Membership related note:  Currently there are several inverter manufacturers that are not represented who are likely to be affected by our work. Does anybody know if they were actually contacted last fall? It is my recollection that a letter was sent to the contact of record in the Eligible Equipment listkeeper's file... Have we heard back from anybody? I noticed that Outback is represented now but there are several others that are noticeably absent...

 

I just checked the Eligible Inverters list... http://gosolarcalifornia.com/equipment/inverter.php  A quick count comes up with ~31 "manufacturers" covering 441 total inverter models. There are 398 models with "Approved Built-in Meters". Currently we have the following 6 inverter manufacturers represented in the WG: Enphase, Kaco, Outback, PV Powered, SMA, SunPower, and Xantrex. 

 

I did a quick scrub to toss out 3 of the 4 ways that SunPower is listed, a couple of the known "I'm not really a manufacturer but I bought this here label and stuck it on somebody else's machine manufacturers", and the "big boys" that do central inverters and don't have any eligible onboard meters. I still come up with something in the neighborhood of approximately 8 or 10 companies likely to be directly affected that are missing on the WG. I am of the opinion that they are or should have been on notice regarding this development simply by doing business in CA, regardless of whether or not they "received" our outreach last year. I am not in favor of holding up anything we are doing or any other part of the process. I do, however, have at least a little concern that certain mfrs aren't represented in our group and at least receiving correspondence, including the wind-folks.

 

Can someone from the CEC &/or CPUC weigh in on this? Do we need to issue another round of outreach? Is there an existing communication vehicle within the Eligible Equipment List Maintainer World that might serve for broad notice to listed manufacturers? Something like a "Send to All" button?

 

Thanks for playing along,

 

Matt Lafferty

gilli...@gmail.com

415-252-0343    Old Fashioned Phone

 

---

From: onboard...@googlegroups.com [mailto:onboard...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Matt Lafferty
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 6:06 PM
To: 5% Meter Group
Cc: 'Stephey, Harry'; JMa...@metlabs.com; jon.f...@energycenter.org; jr...@metlabs.com; lb...@pge.com; 'Pete Baumstark'; psa...@energy.state.ca.us; rmcco...@metlabs.com; robert....@sunpowercorp.com; rsc...@kacosolar.com; Wmu...@metlabs.com; Bob Schmitt
Subject: {CSI 5 Meters} Meeting Notes, Status Update & Membership Roster

[Baumstark, Pete]

Matt,

If you give me a listing of manufacturers (if you have it handy) that you feel aren't represented, then I can check it out. In this day and age of re-branding products, I suspect most of them would be represented indirectly through the OEM. But I can find out if there's any that we really need representation from.

Thank you,
Pete Baumstark
KEMA, Inc.

________________________________

[Marv Dargatz]

Matt,

Just for your info, the Google groups thing doesn't work for me; never
has. I've given up trying, so if there's anything that's important for
me to see, please make sure it's e-mailed to me directly.

See Ya!

Marv
Enphase Energy
707 763-4784 x7016

Matt Lafferty wrote:
> Ladies & Gentlemen,
>

> Thank you for your feedback so far. Attached are a /Rev 01 Draft
> Minutes/ and an updated /Group Members/ List based on this feedback. At

> least somebody reads this stuff! I was informed that the Google Groups
> invitation has been released and distributed, so I am sending this
> correspondence to the Group address only.
>
> Updates (additions) to the Draft Minutes are indcated in red text. I
> also added a footer with filename and page numbering, which is not
> indicated in red. The document is set to Track Changes, but the footer
> filename field does not "automatically" update for those of you familiar
> with what that means. If you have any additions or concerns with the
> draft minutes, please communicate this to the group &/or myself so they
> can be addressed appropriately.
>
> The Group Members List still has a "????? Murphy" from MET Labs in
> it. If your first name is Waldo, then I understand wanting to use ?????
> instead... Also, PLEASE make sure that everybody in your organization
> who needs to be in the loop on this Working Group, is on the list! If
> you notice that somebody is listed that no longer is affiliated, please
> let me know. Any related gossip that you might want to share is optional.
>

> *Note to instrument and panel-meter members:* You are welcome to

> participate in the WG. If you prefer not to continue and wish to be
> removed from the email distribution, please let me know.

> //
> *A Working Group Membership related note*: Currently there are several

> inverter manufacturers that are not represented who are likely to be
> affected by our work. Does anybody know if they were actually contacted
> last fall? It is my recollection that a letter was sent to the contact
> of record in the Eligible Equipment listkeeper's file... Have we heard
> back from anybody? I noticed that Outback is represented now but there
> are several others that are noticeably absent...
>
> I just checked the Eligible Inverters list...
> http://gosolarcalifornia.com/equipment/inverter.php A quick count comes
> up with ~31 "manufacturers" covering 441 total inverter models. There
> are 398 models with "Approved Built-in Meters". Currently we have the
> following 6 inverter manufacturers represented in the WG: Enphase, Kaco,
> Outback, PV Powered, SMA, SunPower, and Xantrex.
>
> I did a quick scrub to toss out 3 of the 4 ways that SunPower is listed,

> a couple of the known /"I'm not really a manufacturer but I bought this
> here label and stuck it on somebody else's machine manufacturers/", and

> the "big boys" that do central inverters and don't have any eligible

> onboard meters. I still come up with something *in the neighborhood of
> approximately* 8 or 10 companies likely to be directly affected that

> are missing on the WG. I am of the opinion that they are or should have
> been on notice regarding this development simply by doing business in

> CA, regardless of whether or not they /"received"/ our outreach last

> year. I am not in favor of holding up anything we are doing or any other
> part of the process. I do, however, have at least a little concern that
> certain mfrs aren't represented in our group and at least receiving
> correspondence, including the wind-folks.
>

> /Can someone from the CEC &/or CPUC weigh in on this? Do we need to

> issue another round of outreach? Is there an existing communication
> vehicle within the Eligible Equipment List Maintainer World that might
> serve for broad notice to listed manufacturers? Something like a "Send

> to All" button?/
>
> Thanks for playing along,
>
> /*Matt Lafferty*/
> gilli...@gmail.com <mailto:gilli...@gmail.com>
> /415-252-0343 Old Fashioned Phone/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* onboard...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:onboard...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Matt Lafferty
> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 27, 2009 6:06 PM
> *To:* 5% Meter Group
> *Cc:* 'Stephey, Harry'; JMa...@metlabs.com;

> jon.f...@energycenter.org; jr...@metlabs.com; lb...@pge.com; 'Pete
> Baumstark'; psa...@energy.state.ca.us; rmcco...@metlabs.com;
> robert....@sunpowercorp.com; rsc...@kacosolar.com;
> Wmu...@metlabs.com; Bob Schmitt

> *Subject:* {CSI 5 Meters} Meeting Notes, Status Update & Membership Roster

>
> Greetings everyone,
>
> Couple of things related to the group:
>

> As you know /(I hope),/ we held a meeting last Thursday, January 22,

> 2009, to kickoff the next phase of development... Yes, it's getting
> written up finally! Thanks a bunch to everybody who was at that
> meeting... If you weren't able to get through on the phone, Nick Chaset

> is sorry. /(No, that's not an opinion... He admitted it himself.)
> /Without belaboring all that, my notes for the meeting are attached in
> the Word document. Consider that a *_draft minutes only_*. If you

> participated in the meeting and have additional or conflicting
> recollection, please add your stuff to the document and re-distribute. I
> don't own this stuff. Just playing Solar Janitor. Still.
>
> Also attached is our now-familiar Consensus spreadsheet.
> {5%_Meter_Test_Reqs_Develop_Rev012209.xls} There is a new tab added that
> corresponds to January 22, 2009. As noted in the Draft Minutes, there

> were some minor edits /(mostly small typos)/ during the meeting. In

> order to make it easy to compare the November 2008 sheet with the

> January 2009 sheet, I added a comparison tab to the spreadsheet. /(I
> think it should open up to the comparison tab) /Hopefully this will be

> self-explanatory and help you see the differences quickly. If you have
> any problems or issues with the current data, now is the time to send
> your thoughts to the whole group!
>
> On the housekeeping side of things... There have been a growing number
> of "ad hoc" folks on the email distribution that were not enrolled in
> the Onboardmeters_5 group. Some have been included in distribution that
> are also enrolled. Still others are on the distribution under a
> different email address than the one they are enrolled with. The last
> two classes are or may be getting all the correspondence in duplicate.
> It is important that we send all correspondence for the Working Group to
> onboard...@googlegroups.com

> <mailto:onboard...@googlegroups.com> in order to make sure that

> everybody gets the stuff they need and that they don't have to sift
> through duplicates.
>

> I took sort of an /"are you on the list and is there anybody at your
> company that needs to be"/ roll-call at the last meeting. I then

> compared that info to the most current email distribution list and
> Onboardmeters_5 enrollment. I added the "missing or maybe duplicate"
> email addresses to the enrollment roster on our homepage
> http://groups.google.com/group/onboardmeters_5 . Well, that added up to
> a total of 16 new additions and Google wouldn't just "add them" without
> a form submission explaining who and why and.... All to avoid scams &
> spams, so I didn't really mind.... Besides, any time I get to make some
> poor soul read long-winded explanations, you know I'm gonna do it!
>
> Besides listing the reasons and so forth, I chastised them for letting
> the SolarPort at the GooglePlex get dirty and explained how embarrassing
> it is that this was seen on a nationwide TV program about California's

> energy future /(NOVA on PBS)/... I called their "Save the Universe Team"

> slackers and told them I was busting them for dirty solar panels...
> Threatened them with obstruction of CA law if they didn't add the
> invitees.... Told them how they were holding up solving the Climate
> Change Crisis by requiring "1-2 business days" for review... I figure
> they'll understand it's not Spam. Hopefully they grin when they click "OK".
>

> Those of you listed by name in the "CC" field above are /(or should be)/

> included in the list that is currently being "reviewed" by Google
> Staff... The attached "Members" spreadsheet lists all the emails, names,
> affiliations, and status of the Group roster. It is sorted by

> affiliation. /(It is also included below my signature info, but you know
> how email scrambles these things...)/

>
> PLEASE check for your affiliation and make sure the right people are
> listed and that the correct email address is listed. Do not rely on the
> distribution for this email!!! Go by the attached list. There are some
> "?????" that mean I don't have a clue who this is. Each of these belongs
> to an affiliation with other members, so I'm expecting somebody to step
> up and fill in the gaps. If you find something that needs correction or
> addition or deletion or whatever, please let me know so I can get the
> right info into the list. You are responsible for your co-workers and
> former co-workers! Also, if you are getting this but no longer want to
> get the group correspondence, please just send email to:

> gilli...@gmail.com <mailto:gilli...@gmail.com> and I'll make sure

> your wish comes true! If you are affiliated with a manufacturer and
> notify me that a representative from another manufacturer should be

> removed from the list, I will _NOT_ make your wish come true!

>
> OK. That's about it. Thanks everybody!
>

> /*Matt Lafferty*/
> gilli...@gmail.com <mailto:gilli...@gmail.com>
> /415-252-0343 Old Fashioned Phone/
>
>
> *E-Mail Address* *Name* *Affiliation* *Status*

[John Berdner]

Matt:

I have had the same experience as Marv.
I could never get Google groups to work for me.
Obviously I am doing something wrong but I can't seem to figure out how to do it right.
If someone could whip out an idiots guide I would be grateful.
8x10 glossy pictures with arrows would be great. :^)

Best Regards,

John Berdner
Vice President of Technology

groSolar  
What the World Needs. NOW

900 Golden Gate Terrace, Suite E
Grass Valley, CA 95945

T: 541.291.4050
F: 530.273.9336 
M: 530.277.4894

groSolar is an award-winning company and has job openings available. Visit www.groSolar.com/careers for more information.

[Matt Lafferty]

Marv, John, and anybody else who doesn't think the Google Groups thing works.... Thanks for the heads-up. Maybe I can clarify a little.

I got your "it's not working" messages from the Google Group list, so I believe it is working fine for you. If you are receiving this message, the Google Groups email part is working for you! I ran down the tracking info on Marv & John's messages and it shows the full history of thread via the Group (as opposed to being forwarded from somebody, etc.). I also logged into the online portal and the messages are all on the same original thread. (I'll check in with Marv & John separately to make sure they got this message) NOTE: If you did not get this email, please click "Reply" in your email client

For normal email and correspondence you don't have to go to a website or anything. No login necessary. All you have to do is send and receive emails from onboard...@googlegroups.com to get all the correspondence. Pretty much works like Wrenches without a moderator.

If you want to go back through the historical discussions and view any documents that have been uploaded to the group's online portal, you can do that here: http://groups.google.com/group/onboardmeters_5 This may be a handy thing if you have changed computers or jobs since joining the group and want to go back through the archives. It is also handy for any new members that don't have the benefit of historical participation, want to get sort of up to speed and just happen to have the time to do it. (Note: All documents that have been distributed via emails as attachments are still attached to the original email messages. Find these under Discussions.)

New online access settings.  I just changed the Group's online viewing setting to "Anybody can view group content", which means non-members can view the discussions, pages, and files online. Non-members can also download email attachments, etc. Non-members are not able to post messages, view member lists, create & edit pages, or upload files. I changed this setting to make it easier for you all to access or share the archives and discussions without any hassle. (If this has been a source of confusion or inability to access the group easily, you should be all set now. I just tried it without any ID or login info and it works fine. Screen shot below.) NOTE: If anybody thinks that these settings are inappropriate or cause a potential problem, please let the group know! I'm not a monarch, it's your group.

Nobody has ever asked for this before, but if you really want to be able to do lots of things with the online portal (like upload files & make new pages), send me your Gmail address. I'll add you as a member and you will be able to Sign in and have an online holiday! If you already get Group correspondence on a Gmail account, you are all set. FYI - It's one of those costs for "free" services... They require you to sign up and tell them something about yourself... You might be surprised what they think about me! Or not...

All group emails should see the following at the bottom:
size=2>

Current group stats. We have 47 email addresses (members). Some of those represent a single person who gets twice as much of all this as everybody else. But that's their choice. Everyone on the list is approved to send (post) messages to the list. As of moments ago, no bouncing emails are being reported by the GG server and 44 out of 47 members are setup to receive every email. There are three of you who have set your preference to "Digest Version".  Yes, I can see who you are!  There are 3 "owners" of the list, which just means we can do janitorial work, including adding members, making up these informational seminars, etc. For the record, the 3 "owners" are: Jim Baak, Nick Chaset (he may not know it, but it's true), and Matt Lafferty (Solar Janitor of record. Hoping for promotion to Solar Slave, retired). NOTE: I'm happy to relinquish the Solar Mop to anybody who wants to push it around. Raise your hand if you are interested in a new career... 

If you know of someone that should be on this list, have them send an email to myself or either of the other owners. There is a link on the righthand side of the page at http://groups.google.com/group/onboardmeters_5 which says "Contact Owner to Join". Use of this option requires the user to have a Google Account and to sign in. Since it is not always obvious who the requestor is with a Google ID, I prefer getting a direct request with a simple intro. This policy is to help avoid non-constructive input to the group. The other group owners may have a different take on it and they are more than authorized to use their discretion on the matter.

As always, if I can be of any assistance, please attach a note to the left leg of the nearest carrier pigeon... I've opted for carrier pigeon service in lieu of smoke signals as a step toward reducing our mutual carbon footprint. Please don't attach notes intended for me to the right leg of the carrier pigeon. Those go to my neighbor. We share the service as a way to save money...

Matt Lafferty
gilli...@gmail.com