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Show Current IJg Speakingf 0 NRECA By Moon Lake Electric Asso., Inc. Deseret Generation and Transmission Tran-smission Cooperative recently announced an-nounced that they had reached an agreement with Utah Power & Light Company for the purchase of about 40 percent of UP&L's Hunter II plant in Emery County. Negotiations are underway un-derway between Moon Lake Electric Association and Deseret G&T for a power supply contract with Hunter II as the power source. If everything goes according to schedule the Association should be using that power sometime in October. How Do Moon Lake Electric's Consumers Benefit from The Purchase of a Portions of liP&L's Hunter II Plant? Ease of us depends on electricity and each of us expects it to be there when we need it, whether we run a business, operate a farm or manage a household. A reliable supply of energy, which ownership in Hunter II will provide, is important in a broader sense. Our consumers, the state and the nation depend on the Uintah Basin for vital energy products. Oil, shale and coal lead the list. The development of these products requires a firm supply of electricity. In addition, developing these energy products means jobs for many of the people in our area. Would It Be Cheaper To Continue to buy Power Directly from UP&L and Western Area Power Administration? It is not a question of being cheaper but rather a question of availability. Electricity from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is being purchased by the Association to the maximum extent possible and we will continue to purchase this power. There is a limited capacity in the hydro dams on the Colorado River and that capacity has already been divided among WAPA customers, including Moon Lake Electric Association. If we continued to purchase power from Utah Power & Light Company (UP&L) it would be cheaper than getting the power through Deseret's ownership of Hunter II for the first three years and after that it would level off and start becoming more costly coming directly from UP&L according to studies which have been made. However, because of the Utah Public Service Commission's order to UP&L requiring them to discontinue wholesale power sales as soon as possible, we could only purchase power directly from UP&L until 1985. when our present contract expires. At that time we would have to depend on the open market for a new source of power, which, if it could be found, would most likely be considerably higher priced than the power from Deseret's portion of the Hunter II plant. How Will The Purchase of Hunter II Affect the Cost Of Electricity for Moon Lake Electric's Consumers? It is difficult to say just how it will affect it because not all of the costs are in at the present time, but it appears that it will increase rates in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of 35 percent, depending upon the usage of each individual. At the time an increase is requested a hearing will be held. The time and place of the hearing will be properly advertised so that interested parties will have the opportunity to attend and cross-examine Moon Lake's testimony. |