Ratepayers Turn Out For Public Meeting
Posted on May 16, 2017 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Energy
There was an overflow crowd of ratepayers at a Public Meeting, on PGE’s resource plan, that took place on Monday May 15th, 2017. Most were there to oppose replacing the Boardman coal plant with new natural gas plants. It is unusual for the PUC to hold an evening public meeting to get input on a utility’s Integrated Resource Plan, but the meeting’s turnout showed that there is a great deal of interest.
Replacing Boardman has become controversial. PGE has proposed issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP) to identify the least cost resource, while pursuing a new natural gas plant which would be considered in that RFP process. Just last year, PGE added a new natural gas plant (Carty) that has a 45-year useful life.
CUB has asked the PUC to reject PGE’s proposal. Instead, CUB believes that PGE should pursue shorter term options. The electric industry is rapidly changing as more customers add solar, as storage options become cheaper, and with the development of more opportunities to shift load away from peak periods. Building resources with useful lives of 30-45 years means that customers will be on the hook for these resources for decades. But it is not clear that the electric industry will want large central gas plants after 2050.
Carbon regulation is inevitable as this country deals with climate change, and retrofitting coal plants has seemed increasingly like a bad investment. CUB worked with PGE to get the company to agree to phase out the Boardman coal plant by 2020. This allowed PGE to avoid a $500 million retrofit that would have required running the plant until 2040. At the time, PGE was the first utility in the country to agree to close a modern coal plant – today, hundreds of coal plants have closed or are scheduled to close.
But closing coal plants will not reduce carbon emissions from the electric sector down to the levels that scientists say are necessary. This means that there will also be a need to reduce natural gas generation in the future.
The good news is that PGE is listening and has been pursuing shorter term contracts to fill their energy needs. CUB believes that contracts that are 5 to 10 years in length are a good option because they will give us time to see how the electric industry evolves over the next few years and make investments that fit with a carbon constrained 21st Century utility.
It was gratifying to see customers turn out last night with the same message. If PGE responds to its customers’ concerns, it will have an opportunity to create a sustainable modern utility.
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05/16/17 | 0 Comments | Ratepayers Turn Out For Public Meeting