by JENNIFER BRENNOCK
Special to the Islands’ Sounder
Are higher power rates on the horizon?
OPALCO could be charging its customers more starting Oct. 1.
During the board of directors meeting on March 19, discussion included the impact on more than 10,000 households due to a probable increase in the wholesale rate paid to Bonneville Power Administration.
“We provide electricity at cost to our members. When those costs go up we have to follow suit,” OPALCO communication specialist Suzanne Olson said. “We do really well here, as a co-op, at keeping our costs down but the thing we have the least control over is the cost from BPA. That is the main driver.”
Last month BPA proposed a 20 percent increase to its wholesale power rate. According to a www.bpa.gov news release, it would be the first time BPA raised wholesale rates since 2003.
The proposed rate increase for public utilities, including OPALCO, is 7 to 8 percent for the coming fiscal year beginning October.
BPA attributes the rate change to growing operating costs, funding of court-ordered programs to protect threatened Columbia Basin salmon, and economic downturn. The slowing economy has reduced BPA revenue generated from sales of surplus power.
OPALCO general manger Randy Cornelius and his staff are reexamining the costs of service provided to all cooperative members and future rate adjustments for both residential and commercial members. Members of the board emphasized retention of an efficient and economical rate structure.
“I think they are weighing how it would affect the co-op members in hard times,” District 2 board nominee Winnie Adams of Orcas Island said. “The reality is not surprising. Power is not simple. You can never simplify it. It’s a co-op, so we’re talking about all of us.”
Thirty-two percent of each OPALCO member’s bill pays for power purchased from BPA.
The BPA proposal is currently undergoing an extensive public review with a final decision expected in July.
OPALCO is one of more than 140 Northwest utilities affected by the possible rate increase.
OPALCO board member Roger Crosby of Orcas Island said that higher rates could lead to more conservation by members, but “there are a lot of people who the OPALCO rates mean something to them. I think most people have certain requirements for power and they are not going to conserve beyond those requirements if their rates go up.”
“You always hope that conservation is going to be one of the reactions,” Adams said. “Anybody can look around their house and find ways they can use less.”
Public comments on the proposed increase are welcomed by the BPA through April 24. Correspondence is accepted online, www.bpa.gov/comment, and via mail, BPA, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97293-4428 Attention: 2010 BPA Rate Case.
SIDEBAR:
OPALCO ballots out this month
The election of five OPALCO board members will take place at the Annual Meeting Saturday, May 16 aboard the ferry. Ballots and nominee bios will be mailed April 22. All nominees are from District 2, which includes Orcas Island. Every OPALCO member may vote either by absentee ballot or in person. Board members are elected for three-year terms.
