Show '' "TT" Page 2 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Saturday April 7 2001 announced that Logan Light and Power may not only be able 'to provide for its own needs this summer but that it may be able to sell excess power on the market A few pieces of that puzzle have yet to fit into place — such as the trade with ScottishPower — but in all likeli- hood the deal will go through Saville said To support its claim Logan Light and Power attached a dollar figure to its statement It declined to purchase power at a fixed rate from the Utah Power Continued from Page 1 ' i Logan Light and Power pleaded with the city for more money' It wasn't the first time Months earlier the city had repealed its competitive rate adjustment which was intended to keep Logan Light and Power competitive with Utah Power The result was a 3 to 5 percent rate hike uWe are not in a panic” Saville wrote in a letter to industrial customers “but we must do something to slow down the hemorrhaging as we cannot continue to lose money at that pace” But the hemorrhaging con- tinued By Thanksgiving the power department was soliciting the city for a rate increase “There was so much at stake” Saville said in retrog of the spect “The entire city rested upon our shoulders” ' A 35 percent increase was discussed in but a reluctant council whittled it down to a 24 feelhike The general percent ing was that the city had no other choice It' could either impose a rate hike or go bankrupt Many believed a second rate hike was imminent But January passed then February with no talk of a rate hike Indeed the dark rhetoric of Logan’s finance department had quelled implying that the bleeding had stopped — at least in the short term In the meantime Logan's ' budget was showing little “wiggle room” for discretionary spending Not only were power prices tugging at the city’s purse strings but a downturn in the economy had ' If correct then “miraculous” be a better terni may ' ity at $395 per megawatt hour “There was so much at stake The wellbeing of the entire resteidupon our shoulders " city ' ' ' - Ron Saville director and Power Logan Light Association of Municipal Power Systems All things considered price But then again the cost of power on the open market is projected to be considerably higher M $650 per megawatt hour this August Saville " has no second thoughts He said the power department has seen one of the most significant turnarounds in the industry “We have gone from being a 30 to 35 percent buyer in the market to being and a potential seller” Saville Logan city has come full was unacceptable UAMPS was offering electric dependence on outside power to independence And all in a period Though the industry remains in turmoil officials claim the storm has quelled on the local nine-mon- th ' ' ' nt the cir- - cle it seems from hefty said “It’s nothing short of phenomenal” HOP SATURDAY 8 : level By April 2002 Logan Light on Logan soil and the planned arrival of four more in May excess electricity could be sold cm the open market for a profit Critics of the city are easy to come by But the end result of a sweeping energy crisis is a power department that may be insulated from high power prices and rolling blackouts this summer and Power will receive an additional 40 megawatts from d a power plant in Delta With three new generators coal-fire- AM-1- 1 ' Reporter Jeremiah Stettler be contacted at jstettlerOhjnewscom Can PM well-bein- er ' still-startli- ng limited consumer spending and reduced the amount of sales tax flowing into city cof- - fers Logan Mayor Doug Thompson rallied his troops around the banner of energy conservation and urged residents to cut their power use by 10 percent Without -- community involvement he said rolling blackoutsi and higher power prices could occur during the summer months For the first time many residents were confronted with the gravity of the situation locally As lights were turned off at city hall talk of a new power plant filtered into the political arena If more: generation could be established on Logan soil officials thought then the city could avoid buying power on the market altogether But efforts to build another power plant were staunchly opposed due on the one hand to its location in southwest Logan and on the other to cost A fierce debate ensued pit- - — ' SATURDAY 8 AM NOON : Councilman ting Steve Thompson against the mayor and council Residents were up in arms against the plant claiming the city was abandoning its con- stituents in the southwest neighborhood and ing an item that would ulti-raately 'equate to poor public’ - fast-trac-k- 'policy CouncilWoman Karen Borg in a statement that reflected the opinion of most'eoun-ciimembe- rs disagreed “Do you understand that I work for 50000 people hot just for this neighborhood?” said Borg “I must look at the overarching public good" Hie purchase of three generators was accepted by the council with the existing diesel plant site recommended as the future location But as the controversy sutv sided power officials found themselves marching toward a new concept — att ' " cy ' - The genera- -' att tors would ensure by late fall which fit Cfoingilman Thompson’s argu- ' ment that a hew plant would be “too little too late” but a short-tersolution was suggested by Saville The answer lay in portable cy m and a power generation exchange with' ScottishPower thfc parent company of Utah ' Power If correct Logan city would be able to insulate itself entirely from the market this sum-- ' mer But the question was was a whether realistic aspiration? 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