08/11/1986 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Sloat said that south Eugene residents are concerned about inconsistent power and the number of power outages in that area. He said that quality power e and the need for back-up power are critical to Willow Creek and staff believes that EWES is in a better position to provide the type of industrial power needed to that area. Mel Damewood, of EWES, said that EWEB could provide a higher quality and more reliable power supply than LEC. He said that EWES's Willow Creek Substation runs along the east boundary of the Willow Creek basin. He sa i d that all the areas within the urban growth boundary were reviewed in EWEB's long-range planning. A future substation is planned near the railroad tracks on Greenhill Road. To serve the adjacent areas between the Willow Creek and Greenhill substations, he said that EWES will ha ve to either go around or through LEC areas. He described EWES's "loop reliability system" and said there was a transmission loop that is fed from either direction in case of a power outage. He said there are two such loops within the city and another one is planned as development takes place. He said that the transmission lines are in place in the Southeast part of Eugene and substations can be added later. Ms. Wooten asked EWES and LEC what the advantages were to serve this area in terms of revenue to the utilities and how much money the firms could make at Willow Creek's ultimate growth. Mr. Damewood said EWES does not necessarily compare revenues when considering investment on a long-range plan. He said that EWES looks to the metropolitan plan in terms of land use densities to project load growth over a 5-10-20 year period and at ultimate growth development. He said that revenue is analyzed only when capital improvements will be put in an area that EWES will serve. In December 1985, EWES said it performed an ana lys is, whi ch was based on the January 1985 CH2M Hi 11 study that projected load growth in the Willow Creek basin over a 20-year period. e EWES estimated that about $3.5 million in total annual revenue is associated with the anticipated growth in that area. He said that this figure did not take into account what the net "profit" would be on those revenues--this was only the gross revenue that EWEB expects to realize at current rates for that load level. Norm Oakley, of LEC, said he thought that LEC should continue to serve Willow Creek, and that LEC is capable of supplying power to that area. He said that LEC has existed for 48 years, its service territory encompasses two-thirds of Lane County and it has 10,000 residential, commercial, and industrial accounts. He said that LEC is consumer-owned and that any profits are returned to the members in the form of capital credits (a delayed refund) which ultimately reduces the price that the consumer has to pay for electricity. He said LEC has the same federal benefits and a Bonneville Power Administration contract for full requirements which expires in 2001. He said that there is no supplemental resource obligations or commitments. He said that the service boundaries were developed so that utility companies could do long-range planning and to eliminate any potential legal conflicts. He said that the LEC service area had been certified since 1968. Mr. Oakley discusssed the 16th, 17th and 18th amendments to the Metropolitan Area General Plan, which Lane Council of Governments ratified June 26, 1986, and he questioned if the amendments occurred to support Willow Creek. He said that LEC believes that this is not a land use issue, but if it is, LEC has a e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner Session August 11, 1986 Page 2