Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Central Ferry-Lower Monumental Transmission Line Project moves forward (Bonneville Power Administration)
38-mile line in southeast Washington will move wind and
hydropower west
(PORTLAND, OR) -- The Bonneville Power Administration is
moving forward with construction of the Central Ferry-Lower Monumental
Transmission Line Project in Washington. The 38-mile, 500-kilovolt line will
connect the new Central Ferry Substation in Garfield County to the existing
Lower Monumental Substation in Walla Walla County. Construction is set to begin
in spring of 2014. Energization is expected in December 2015.
The project was put on hold in August 2011 because of
uncertainty regarding the readiness of customer utilities. BPA customers
requested and were given the opportunity to reconsider transmission service
commitments that would have required BPA to build the Central Ferry-Lower
Monumental line. Now, a recent agreement between Puget Sound Energy and
Portland General Electric gives BPA the confidence to move forward. As part of
the deal, PSE will transfer 267 megawatts of energy from phase two of the Lower
Snake River Wind facility, which PGE has renamed the Tucannon River Wind Farm,
and transmission service rights to PGE.
“Our Network Open Season process was designed to help BPA
build the right facilities in the right place at the right time backed by
strong commercial agreements,” said BPA Acting Administrator Elliot Mainzer.
“With this project, we are able to help PGE meet its renewable resource needs
at minimal cost to existing network customers.”
BPA completed an environmental review and a preliminary
engineering design in early 2011. The agency issued a record of decision to
build the line in March 2011.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Salem Electric Selects Terry Kelly as General Manager For 2014 (Northwest Public Power Association)
(SALEM, OR) -- The Salem Electric Board of Directors (Ore.) announced that
effective May 1, 2014, Terry M. Kelly will become Salem Electric’s new general
manager, replacing Robert J. Speckman who will retire on April 30, 2014.
Kelly, who began work as a contract employee for Salem
Electric, was hired in 1983 as an energy analyst, was named senior energy
analyst in 1984, and promoted to Member Services manager in 1997. In January
2011, he was named assistant general manager.
Throughout his career Kelly has served on numerous boards
and committees and currently serves as president of the West Salem Business
Association in addition to his ongoing work with the Travel Salem Board, Polk
County Sanctions Court, and various City of Salem and Salem-Keizer School
District committees. In 1998, Kelly received the City of Salem Distinguished
Service Award and in 2004 the City of Salem Vern Miller Key Citizen Award.
Kelly has also participated in several industry-related
organizations, including NWPPA, where he was awarded the 2007 Lacy People’s
Award for a lifetime commitment to the public power industry, and the Oregon
Rural Electric Cooperative Association, where he was awarded the Rural
Electrification Award for outstanding achievement communicating the benefits of
electric cooperative membership in 2009.
Speckman was a lobbyist for ORECA from 1978 until when he
was hired as the Customer & Community relations manager for Salem Electric
in 1982. In 1988, he was appointed assistant general manager, and in 1997 he
became general manager. Speckman has also served on many community boards of
directors and is currently president-elect of the Salem Art Association Board
of Directors. He has also served on industry-related boards and committees and
is a past-president of NWPPA.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Fire Weather Watch - For the Black Hills & Southwest Interior Lowlands (Which includes south Mason County)
Event:
Fire Weather Watch
For the
Black Hills and Southwest Interior Lowlands (Which includes south Mason County)
Scattered
lightning expected for parts of western Washington from Friday afternoon
through Sunday evening
An upper
low off the northern California coast this afternoon will slowly lift north
just off the Pacific Northwest coast, reaching the Washington coastal waters by
Sunday evening. The low center will support thunderstorm development over the
cascades each afternoon and evening from Friday through Sunday. On Friday night
particularly, easterly steering flow may cause thunderstorms over the cascades to
spread west into the southwest Washington interior during the late evening and
overnight hours.
- Fire weather watch in effect from Friday evening through Saturday morning for scattered lightning for fire weather zone 655
- The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a fire weather watch, which is in effect from Friday evening through Saturday morning.
- Affected area: fire weather zone 655. This includes the southwest interior lowlands.
- Thunderstorms: scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop over the Cascades on Friday afternoon and evening, possibly spreading west into the southwest interior lowlands on Friday night and early Saturday morning.
- Wind: thunderstorms often produce gusty and erratic winds. The strongest wind gusts are frequently at the leading edge of a thunderstorm.
- Impacts: scattered lightning in dry fuels can cause multiple fire starts. Thunderstorms can also bring erratic and gusty winds to existing fires.
- Instructions: a fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible red flag warnings.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Northwest Utilities Add Muscle to Fight for Customers in Columbia River Treaty Talks (Columbia River Treaty Group)
Utilities combine with law firm Van Ness Feldman
and former U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks
(SEATTLE,
WA) -- With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake for 6.4 million Pacific
Northwest electric utility customers, a coalition of 70 Northwest utilities,
industry associations and other entities has hired Washington, D.C. and
Seattle-based law firm Van Ness Feldman. The coalition known as the Columbia
River Treaty Power Group plans to share its views with policy makers and
regional stakeholders on economic, environmental and operational issues as the
United States prepares to renegotiate the 1960s-era Columbia River Treaty.
One
member of the Van Ness team is no stranger to Washington state residents -
former Congressman Norm Dicks. The 18-term former congressman joined the
Washington, D.C. and Seattle-based firm of Van Ness Feldman earlier this year.
The
Treaty has no expiration date, but could be terminated as early as 2024 with a
10-year notice. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers will make a recommendation to the U.S. Department of State
on the Treaty’s future by the end of 2013.
“We
understand the major impact that this Treaty has on the customers we serve,”
said Bill Gaines, Director & CEO of Tacoma Public Utilities. “This
partnership signifies our continued commitment to negotiate the best possible
deal for power customers throughout the Northwest and to best protect the
interests of the United States.”
The
Power Group became concerned about the direction of potential Treaty
negotiations when a draft recommendation was released by BPA and the Corps on
June 27. The draft proposes to add ecosystem functions as a “third primary
purpose” of the Treaty, which was ratified in 1964 to facilitate international
development of the Columbia River for improved flood control and power
generation. Unfortunately, the draft fails to recognize that U.S. hydropower
operations have already been adapted to ecosystem concerns pursuant to numerous
laws and regulations passed since the Treaty was enacted.
“As
a former member of Congress and Northwest representative, I am keenly aware
that this region has invested billions of dollars in the Columbia River Basin
during the last five decades to protect fish and water resources,” said Dicks,
Senior Policy Advisor for Van Ness Feldman. “We need to make sure that people
across the country know we have programs in place - independent of the Treaty -
that will protect these resources going forward.”
A
priority of the Power Group is reaching an equitable allocation of Treaty
benefits between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. returns hydropower to Canada
valued about $250 - $350 million annually under a provision of the Treaty
called the Canadian Entitlement. If the Treaty continues beyond 2024, the
region will be paying much more than the actual benefits of coordinated power
operations with Canada, impacting Northwest jobs and the economy.
“BPA
customers need an additional advocate to make sure our views are heard at the
highest level in the region and in Washington, D.C.,” commented Will Hart of the
Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association. “Our organizations are intensifying
our work on the Treaty to bring more balance to this process. This is an
incredibly important economic issue for the region.”
Flood
control is another critical issue. “People in this region also need to be aware
that the flood control provisions of the Treaty change in 2024 regardless of
whether the Treaty is terminated or continued,” said Scott Corwin of the
Portland-based Public Power Council. “The implications for hydropower
operations, irrigation, navigation, recreation, and property are an important
aspect of this agreement that needs to be broadly understood.”
Another
increasingly important consideration is the impact of potential operational
changes on grid reliability. “Going forward, we need to ensure that future
river operations preserve hydropower generation to support grid reliability,
given the integration of a large amount of variable energy resources like wind and
solar,” said Joe Lukas, Manager of Western Montana Electric Generating &
Transmission Cooperative, Inc.
The
coalition believes that the Van Ness Feldman group and former Congressman Dicks
will help elevate the concerns of electric customers before a final
recommendation is sent to the U.S. State Department later this year.
For
more information about the Power Group, visit www.crtpowergroup.org
