City utility leaders outline $268M bond plan, new $155M gas facility and mutual-aid ordinance coming

Columbia City's electric leadership told the Common Council on Jan. 14 that the city will participate in a planned $268 million bond issuance that includes roughly $155 million intended to finance a new natural-gas-fired generation facility and about $113 million in refunding for previously issued bonds.

Sean, Columbia City's electric superintendent, said the refunding is intended to lower interest costs and that the new $155 million generating facility would reduce the city's exposure to buying expensive market power during peak demand. "We're trying to get ahead of the game here," Sean said, describing the proposed plant as a way to avoid purchasing top-of-market energy when demand spikes. He estimated a project payback of about seven to eight years.

Sean said the city is scheduled for bond pricing the morning after the meeting and expected bids on the debt. He said that refunding roughly $113 million of prior bonds could save $20 million to $30 million depending on pricing.

The superintendent also reported on operational and workforce items: Columbia City is pursuing expanded apprenticeship and lineman training, has contracted to add CDL training into lineman programs to reduce per-person training costs (noting CDL training has risen to approximately $5,000 per person), and has secured space at the former Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer for classroom and dormitory use to serve statewide training needs.

On equipment and capital costs, staff noted supply-price pressures: a bucket truck expected earlier will arrive later this year; build times have fallen from three years to roughly 18 months but purchase prices have risen (one example moved from roughly $300,000 to about $400,000). Sean said transformer prices are up roughly 233 percent. Those supply-cost increases were presented as background for future capital budgeting and rate considerations.

Sean said he plans to bring a mutual-aid ordinance to the council in about a month. The draft ordinance would specify how the city charges for labor and how employees are paid when deployed to assist other utilities, and it is intended to document the terms needed for FEMA reimbursement after major events.

Council members and staff also reported several operational updates in related departments: server migrations for utility GIS and other systems were completed; crews repaired recent outages believed to be caused by animal interference; Eagle Park lighting and skate-park electrical work are completed; and work continues on the test kitchen lease and fiber connections. No formal council vote on the bond participation or ordinance occurred at the meeting; the mutual-aid ordinance was presented as forthcoming staff action.