Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Power Energy Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Beaver City utility updates projects at IPP site; council holds public hearing on up to $2.2 million electric revenue bond
Summary
Utility staff and Les Williams reported on public-power projects including IPP site planning, miller feeder and renewable options; council opened and closed a public hearing on an electric revenue bond of up to $2.2 million to help fund replacement of a hydro plant penstock as a 50/50 match with DOE grant funding.
Les Williams, giving the city’s utility project update, described ongoing public-power work and near-term priorities and told the council the utility is in budget review and following several project tracks.
Williams said the Miller’s feeder project is moving forward, the Power County (Idaho) base plant subscription has not yet reached required subscription levels, and the city is monitoring the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) site where staff completed a survey ranking potential projects including geothermal, wind, solar and even small modular nuclear as candidates for future development. Williams said utilization of existing transmission lines at the IPP site makes the location attractive for base-load resources.
He also discussed the Sunnyside coal project (a two-year lock-in that will come up for renewal), the Harsh Butte Wind expansion (a possible Harsh Butte 2), and troubleshooting with Rototherm (a geothermal developer) that was behind in arranging financing; Williams said staff is assisting Rototherm with financing efforts.
Williams invited council members to a public power reception at the State Capitol on the 16th or the 18th to speak with legislators and noted the utility is tracking several bills affecting public power.
Separately, staff opened a public hearing on a proposed electric revenue bond not to exceed $2,200,000. Jason (utility staff) told the council the bond proceeds would support the replacement of the hydro penstock for Plant No. 4 and related plant controls; the city expects the bond to be a 50/50 match with Department of Energy grant funding. Staff said a 15-year amortization was under consideration; the purchaser selected in initial underwriting talks was Bank of Utah, which offered a lower rate and flexible prepayment terms.
No public commenters addressed the bond during the hearing. No final sale or bond approval vote was taken at the meeting; staff said prior resolution action had been taken at an earlier meeting and the hearing was part of the normal issuance process.
Ending — Staff will continue due diligence with the selected purchaser and finalize financing terms in coming weeks; council took no immediate vote at the hearing.
