OCR Text |
Show 6A Wednesday, November 16, 1983 Emery County Progress Finally off the ground IPP holds promise DELTA a the Like boxer, The first choice of a site ran into a buzzsaw of opposition from environmental groups, and the federal government told IPP officials to look elsewhere. After an exhaustive search once-overwei- In- termountain Power Project (IPP) appears to be trimmed down to fighting size and ready to keep its promise as an important supplier of electricity to y a Western U.S. When it was conceived in the early 70s, the IPP offered an impressive package of benefits which promised to improve the lives of people from Utahs desert wastes to the palatial homes of Beverly Hills. and public hearings left the project apparently stymied, Utah Power & Light Co. came to the resuce. UP&L already had federal clearance to build a power plant on a site at Lynndyl, 10 miles north of Delta. That site was offered to IPP and accepted. The IPP was yanked into the political arena when a state legislator charged a proposal by its construction manager to provide labor for the project violated Utahs procurement power-hungr- But those initial bright promises of the IPP quickly began to dim as problem after problem beset the people tyring togetitoffthegound. Those problems acrimonous to confront them. Actually, it was a hodgepodge of problems based in economics, and at one point appeared to threaten the existence of the plant. The onset of the economic recession sharply curtailed the demand for electrical power and it became apparent the ranged through a broad spectrum of economic, potential hurdles environmental, political. From the outset, the IPP had trouble finding a home. deferring construction of one and perhaps two considering of the generating units. Meanwhile, UP&L officials were getting nervous about those increasing costs and the capacity was far more than would be needed. But while the demand for rapidly, inflation and interest rates werent. By skyrocketing inflation and interest rates had laws. IPP officials had barely cleared that problem when they came face to face with perhaps the most serious hurdle that was 23 Utah municipal purchasers Utah Power In April 1982, the IPP board postponed sale of a $600 million bond issue and said it was purchasers & Six cooperative " graphic Standard-Examin- Standard-Examin- Ogden DELTA Theyve cut it in half, but even with its reduced er the scope and magnitude of the Intermountain Power Project remains almost price tag mind-bogglin- g. At $5.8 billion it is the largest construction project in the history of Utah. IPP officials showed off their record-makin- public to Utah companies. IPP has spent more than $2.3 million to help local communities build a wide range of electricity g utilities, from schools and sidewalks to law enforcement facilities and sewer and water systems. And the economic impact of the IPP is far from over. Chairman Reece D. Nielsen told visiting news people last week the IPP will hire an additional 1,000 or so workers during the winter to prepare for a construction peak period beginning early next spring. Nielsen said it will require 1,200 miners to produce the coal project neared the 25 percent mark. The economic impact of IPP has been substantial. It has created 2,100 new construction jobs and several hundred secondary support jobs in Delta and Millard County. More than 350 contracts and subcontracts totaling more than $200 million have been awarded CLIFF THOMPSON generating facility last week as construction on the mammoth needed to fuel IPPs two giant generating units. Contracts have been signed for four million tons of coal a year from Utahs Carbon and Emery electricity counties. Initial delivery of the coal will start in April 1985. The IPP will supply on hand. keep a When the facility goes into operation it will have a permanent workforce of about 500. Nielsen said the first 70 of those workers have been hired and are now undergoing ex- 90-da- y tensive training. So far, all of the permanent workers have been Utah natives and we expect most, if not all, will be, said Nielsen, who was instrumental in initiating the IPP during the early 70s. This is a highly technical station and will have more electronic gear than any other plant in the country, he said. The first of the generating units, now 40 percent complete, is scheduled to begin operating in July 1986 and the second one a year later. Combined, the two units will Traction Tread generate Extensive r. V NEW SERVICE: Computer spin balancing available at most IFA stores. nvt .. i s n 21 which will remove 99.4 percent the particulates and 90 percent of the sulfur dioxide from the fumes generated by the coal . of . :l: i' i.i , . ' ' " burning.' The three cleanest power plants in the nation are in Utah. This is one of those three, Nielsen said. Plans for construction of the IPP began in the late 60s and early70s, when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told the 23 A DIRECTOR members of the Intermountain Consumer Power Association (ICPA) that the Colorado River Storage Project couldnt meet their demands for electricity after about 1975. Nielsen, who was mayor of Hyrum and president of ICPA at the time, asked for a study of potential sources of additional AW weather design provides excellent traction in all kinds of weather. Soft highway ride, free rolling for better All CO-O- REDI-GRI- P P COUNTRY SQUIRE PASSENGER PINNED FOR STUDS E $38.95 G 78x15 $43.95 H 78x15 $44.95 L 78x15 Plus F.E.T. 78x14 F 78x14 G 78x14 AP RADIAL Aggressive tread design. Raised outline white letters on some sizes. Polyester Cord Construction. Designed for positive traction whatever the road and weather condition. HR 78x15C LR 78 x 15 C 31 x 1 0.50 R 1 5 7.50 R x 16 D $45.p5 $47.95 $52.95 on precipitator and baghouse, Best Traction Long Mileage anti-polluti- facilities are being installed at the plant. These include a To keep you rolling in mud or snow Low Prices megawatts of 1,522 power for some 5.5 million people in six Western States. Almost 75 percent of the electricity will go to six cities in Southern California. $89.95 8.75 Rx 16.5 $94.95 9.50 R x 16 5 Plus F.E.T. $99.95 $99.95 D D power. One was construction of a new plant but the scope and cost was greater than the ICPA members could handle. We contacted Los Angeles and they were so interested in the possibility that they funded a feasibility study, Nielsen said. $99.95 $116.95 A were They participate. Light IPP impact on Utah is substantial By 6 per- cent. To assure the project would get off the ground, UP&L agreed to take 25 percent. We were the good kids on the said UP&L Vice block, President Darcie White. We felt OK when we agreed to 2, pushed the projected construction cost well past the $8 billion mark, about double the original estimate. When the initial project was put together in 1974 by a consortium of 23 Utah and 6 California cities, there was a requirement that 25 percent of the IPP electricity be sold in Utah. After the 23 Utah cities added up their most optimistic needs, it accounted for barely 11 percent. Six cooperatives agreed to take another Who gets what from the new power plant electricity was dropping mid-198- percent of IPP electricity. The power breakdown production 3,000-megaw- implications of the companys involvement in the IPP. Particularly troubling to UP&L were the take or pay provisions of its contract for 25 estimating generating costs comparable to ours. And the project was important. The IPP also needed a credit rating which would help sell the large bond issues that were to be required to finance the project. But as time went on, rising inflation and interest rates pushed construction costs up to a point where they were considerably higher than what UP&L could build and operate a power generating facility. The take or pay contract UP&L had signed began worrying company officials. If UP&L didnt take the IPP power it still had to pay for it. UP&L was concerned the Utah Public Service Commission wouldnt let it pass on the higher IPP costs to its customers. That could put UP&L in the position of having to sell electricity for less than its cost. UP&L also found its involvement in IPP was hurting in other ways. Legally, UP&L was responsible for 25 percent of the IPP debt if the project failed. That prompted rating companies to downgrade UP&Ls bond rating. The company found itself paying a higher interest on its own bonds. It was time for UP&L to get out, which it essentially did after lengthy negotiations resulting in two main actions. First, the project was cut in half. Instead of four giant generating units producing more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity, two units producing would be 1,522 megawatts constructed. Second, UP&L sold to other participants all but 4 percent of the power it had contracted to purchase. IPP General Manager Ronald L. Rencher is confident the revision has resulted in a financially stronger project which better fits the individual needs of each participating utility and the consumers they serve. The financial market apparently agrees. After downsizing the project earlier this year, the IPP successfully sold a $900 million bond issue, the largest of its kind ever marketed. The IPP bonds were rated A(conditional) by Moodys and A by Standard & Poors, the highest ratings ever given that kind of a bond issue. , -l ovj Pop Voop A (jCDvonOocao REDI-GRI- GOLDEN MARK COUNTRY SQUIRE STEEL BELTED RADIAL WHITEWALL tire with low rolling tread resistance compound for improved mileage with 2 full width stacked steel belts. An P20570R-1P19570R-1- 4 P20570R-1- 4 P21570R-1P22570R-1- 4 CO-O- P $55.95 $55.95 $57.95 $59.95 $63.95 3 4 P21570R-1P22570R-1- 5 P23570R-1- 5 P24570R-1- 5 5 traction design with 2 steel belts, 2 nylon radial cord plies, 2 nylon cap plies. Full $62.95 $65.95 $69.95 $73.95 P17580R-1- 3 P18575R-1- 4 P19575R-1- 4 P20575R-1- 4 $45.95 $49.95 $51.95 $53.95 P20575R-1- 5 P21575R-1- 5 P22575R-1- 5 P23575R-1- Plus F.E.T. 60 MONTH FORGET-I- 500 amps 500 amps 550 amps 550 amps 413 amps 500 amps $47.95 $47.95 $52.95 $52.95 $41.95 $47.95 5 I I 7.00 x 15 C 7.00 x 15 D 7.00 x 16 C 7.50 x 16 D 7.50 x 16 C 8.75 x 16.5 TL $59.95 TB 58.95 TB 56.95 TL 69.95 TB 58.95 DTL 69.95 -- ' p ,, Anti-Freez- Food Center 9 50 x 16 5 D TL 76.95 8 25 x 20 E TB 139.95 9 00 x 20 E TB 159.95 16 00 x 20 F TB 197.95 Plus F.E.T. " best but Co-o- rL, SERVICE Rugged traction with excellent durability provided with long wearing tread compound. c T Auto Battery 24 24F 27 27F 55 74 $55.95 $56.95 $61.95 $62.95 HEAVY P will be open 'til C 7 e 12 midnight days a week Permanent Ethylene Glycol Base One Gallon $3.29 j to change that. Prices effective through November 30, 1883. L 1 0V With your help, we're out INTERMOUNTAIN FARMERS STORES Price Riverton 6t. George 254-350- 1 673-363- Provo Roosevelt Spanlah Fork 373-768- 0 722-254- 2 798-741- 8 Richfield Sallna Tramonton 896-646- 1 529-740- 8 2 8alt Laka City 1147 W 2100 S. 9 Alton, Wyo. So Hwy 89 686-920- 7 9 o 6 Elko, Nev. 3 Praiton, Ida. Corlai, Colo. 9) de r American Heart Association 7 Wf RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR IMlkMl I Ilf |