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September 30, 1999
PUC will sellpower to Willmar400 customersconsider GreenEnergy optionBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- A new venture for the Public Utilities Commission will be attempted this winter when it sells energy to the city of Willmar. The PUC, on Tuesday, gave approval for the sale of electric capacity of $525 per mega watt between November 1999 and April 2000 to Willmar. New Ulm will provide 10 MW of power per month to the Kandiyohi County community. "This is a first for us, and we are talking about a significant amount of capacity sale," Director of Utilities Robert Stevenson said. "This is a new step that should be profitable for us." The winter capacity will not be as significant as that provided during the summer, but it is a significant start for the PUC, he said. In other business, the PUC has received approximately 400 positive responses for Green Energy, which is energy generated by clean emissions-free sources. PUC officials are in the process of preparing a contract for those customers who have expressed an interest in using green energy at a cost of $3 more per month, based upon an additional 3 cents more per kilowatt hour. "It is our intent to begin purchasing energy in November and getting the people on a contract for a one-year period," Stevenson said. "We will be asking people to try the program in 12-month increments, and we will seek dialog when the 12 months expire. It will not be an automatic renewal." Some of the commissioners expressed concern with the wording of the contract because there was no indication that the renewal would not be automatic. The contracts will be rewritten to incorporate that information. "We need to give these people a comfort level so it will be clear that they have an option," Commissioner William O'Connor said, who also stated he had no plans to sign up for the program. The commission also awarded a bid for Phase One and Two of the Kraft Overhead feeder installation to North Central Line Service of Iowa in the amount of $99,837. "The bid price is high enough to cover the bonding contract, because they are responsible for our wire," Stevenson said. Phase One of the project includes an upgrade of the overhead lines along 20th South Street from Bridge to Valley and the construction of new lines from 20th South to Tower Road adjacent to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad line. Phase one is to be completed by Dec. 31. Phase Two includes an upgrade of the lines along Tower Road from the wastewater treatment plant to Bridge Street and along Bridge to Cottonwood. It is to be completed by April 30, 2000. The commission also approved a lease of 24 mega watts of portable diesel capacity for the summer of 2000, at a total cost of $177,750. This is needed so that the PUC can maintain a qualified electrical capacity of 115 percent during June, July, August and September.
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