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Thursday, October 02, 2008 3:58 PM City leaders explore electric contract options By Rochelle Moore Daily Times Staff Writer An ElectriCities senior vice president told the Wilson City Council Thursday that it would have an expensive, cumbersome uphill battle if it decided to cut its ties with its electricity provider. "Can you get out of that agreement?" asked Ken Raber, senior vice president of ElectriCities Services and the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency. "The answer is 'yes' you can get out of that agreement. You may not like the conditions of it but you can get out." Raber answered the question that has been raised in previous City Council meetings related to the city's contractual agreement to remain a part of NCEMPA, help pay down its debt and only purchase power from the agency. Wilson is one of 32 cities that joined NCEMPA in 1982 and signed contracts promising to pay $3.6 billion in debt it took on after partnering with CP&L to build the Shearon Harris nuclear plant. NCEMPA also took on debt to partially own the Brunswick nuclear plant and two coal-fired plants in Mayor and Roxboro. The debt extends to 2026 and Wilson's current share is $400 million. "Did you not read into this when we signed into this?" Councilman Bill Blackman said. "It seems like a money pit we just keep putting money into." Another contract Wilson has in NCEMPA is a supplemental sales agreement that requires the city to buy all of its electricity through NCEMPA. The city would need to give a 10-year notice if it wanted to get out of the contract. "The supplemental sales agreement says that the power agency will be your supplier," Raber said. "That means you have agreed to buy all of your power from NCEMPA." Even if the city cut its ties with NCEMPA and went into the market to buy electricity, Raber said that the city would probably have to pay more for electricity. "Your ownership in the (plants), these are among the best operating, lowest cost plants in the country," Raber said. "So, it's unlikely that you'll be able to replace that with something cheaper, especially after you've already had to pay your sizeable debt payment." Councilman Donald Evans asked city attorney Jim Cauley to contact cities that have already spent money studying their options of getting out of the NCEMPA contract. The council did not make any decision at the meeting. Evans said the council could revisit the issue after taking in what ended up being a lengthy discussion about power sales, NCEMPA history, the difference between investor owned and government owned electric systems and alternative energy sources. See the Wilson Daily Times Friday edition for more on this story. |
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