08/08/1988 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mr. Fadeley said the boundaries make sense if one walks through the area and looks at the geographic configuration. He pointed out EWES is the utility with irregular boundaries that do not make sense since it serves Weyerhaeuser in east Springfield, customers up the McKenzie River to Vida, and Lane Commu- nity College. In 1968, LEC applied to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) for a certified boundary. It was awarded that boundary after input from LEC and EWES as to what boundary would make the most sense. He said legal coun- sel for EWES stated at that meeting that the utility accepted the authority of the PUC to act in this manner. He said EWES is now looking to change those boundaries because the area has become economical and efficient to serve. Mr. Fadeley said LEC is willing to spend whatever it takes to meet the load in the Willow Creek area. LEC commissioned an independent study by CH2M Hill that found LEC can provide the service needed. He disputed R.W. Beck's findings that LEC costs are higher because of outages. Since LEC has started serving the Willow Creek Industrial Park in 1984, he said there has been one small outage due to a fault in the system. He said comparing connection costs is difficult because policies vary between residents and connections. LEC connection policies are liberal and usually low-cost. Mr. Fadeley said the R.W. Beck study did not factor in LEC's added costs due to a loss of anticipated load. He pointed out electric utilities are capital intensive entities. The piecemeal ,taking of territory hinders LEC's overall efforts to provide efficient and economic operations. He asked how LEC can efficiently plan to meet its load growth if it does not know where it is e going to serve. He noted that six years ago LEC had lower published rates and did not come before the council at that time and ask for EWES territory. He said the council should not transfer territory based on a variable such as rates. He said LEC questions the assumption that the current rate differen- tial will always remain the same. Mr. Fadeley addressed the issue of economic diversification. He said LEC would like the City to stop sending letters to LEC customers that are inaccu- rate and disparaging of its service. He said the pace of economic diversifi- cation is not enhanced by inaccurate statements about service reliability and ability to serve. LEC has a proven record of service reliability. The CH2M Hill study states service is available from LEe for the projected load growth. Of the 20 prospective businesses noted earlier by the Metro Partner- ship, he said only three from the list considered locating in the Willow Creek area. Of those, two did not choose to locate in available light indus- trial land served by EWES. Mr. Fadeley said LEC negotiated at length with EWES. He said EWES rejected several alternatives including interconnection, territory swapping, and a provision that would let EWES serve ~he industrial park with some degree of permanence. He reiterated his request that the council provide additional opportunity to receive information. He said LEe would like to be a full partner in the area's economic development. . MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 8, 1988 Page 5