BG gets questions on electric rates and sources

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Bowling Green’s Board of Public Utilities spent more than half of its nearly 2.5-hour meeting last week
dealing with questions about electric rates and hearing a report on electric projects.
Several citizens asked questions regarding bills and expressed concerns about the Prairie State
coal-fired plant in Illinois. One person presented a petition he said was signed by 7,500 Bowling Green
State University students asking that the university convert to 100 percent clean energy. There were
questions about a canceled coal plant in Meigs County, Ohio.
Late in 2013 the BPU approved a multi-year rate hike plan following a cost of service study. The first
increases, averaging five percent for residential customers, were effective in March.
Four officials from American Municipal Power Inc., Columbus, answered questions and also presented a
lengthy update on projects that will affect the city and its electric customers. Bowling Green is one
128 communities in seven states that purchase their electricity through AMP.
John Bentine, senior vice president and general counsel for AMP, said a feasibility study conducted when
AMP members were looking at coal-fired plants did take into account the possibility of the federal
government imposing a carbon tax by 2010. He said AMP also looked at developing additional wind
generation but had to keep in mind that a baseload backup such as coal needed to be available when wind
was insufficient to operate turbines.
With regard to the Meigs County project, Bentine said it was AMP participant members, of which BG was
one, that decided to cancel the project. The same action was not possible with Prairie State because AMP
members own only 26.2 percent of the project, he said.
Pamala Sullivan, senior vice president of marketing and operations for AMP, said electric rate increases
the city is expecting in the next several years are the result of steep increases in transmission and
congestion charges over which AMP has no control. She said completion of several hydro-electric
projects, which the city became involved in several years ago, also contribute to increased power costs.
Sullivan explained the transmission charges are the result of a decision by FirstEnergy to change
transmission companies, a move which AMP fought but was denied by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. Those charges will be figured into bills in 2015 and 2016. The BPU has already adopted a
four-year rate increase and rate levelzation plan to help deal with the issue. "We (AMP members)
made long-term decisions before First Energy changed transmission companies," she said.
In looking at renewable energy operations, Sullivan said hydro projects are expected to provide power at
56 percent of capacity, wind projects at 25 to 30 percent of capacity, and solar projects, such as one
at Napoleon, at 17 percent of capacity. Capacity was explained as the amount of time in a year those
assets could be expected to produce electricity, because the fuel, water, wind and sun is not always
available.
Mike Perry, senior vice president of generation operations for AMP, said 84 percent of the problems in
the first 16 months of Prairie State operation have been mitigated. "All of this is
state-of-the-art and getting it all to work together is not easy. It’s not like going to the Chevy
dealer." Perry said 7.1 percent of the lost production can be traced to human performance. He said
the training has been "massive" because of the new equipment and its operations.
Hyrdo power from three plants on the Ohio River owned by AMP members is expected in 2015. Another hydro
project led by the city of Hamilton in southwest Ohio is also expected to begin service in 2015. At that
point, BG will get somewhere between 37 and 40 percent of its power needs from renewable sources.

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