Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Centralia Utilities Phone Scam (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
(CENTRALIA, WA) -- Another phone scam is going around, this
one targeting City of Centralia utility customers. City officials say
the callers are demanding payment and threaten disconnection of utility
services, usually power, if payment isn’t made to them immediately.
Officials emphasize the City of Centralia does not use this method to
collect payment for utility bills. Payment is not demanded over the
phone and payment is never taken in person at your door. If you receive
such a call regarding your City of Centralia utilities, hang up and call
the Customer Service Center at 330-7657.
Monday, February 22, 2016
All-Electric Lewis County Bus Purchase Approved (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
(Chehalis, WA) -- Bus riders in the Twin Cities could see
an all-electric bus on the street as early as late this year. Twin
Transit General Manager Rob LaFontaine says the transit agency’s Board
last Thursday approved the purchase of a heavy duty fully
electric-powered coach.He says the total cost of the 30-foot bus will be
$570,000 with almost $300,000 covered by a state Department of
Transportation grant. The remainder will be paid for with Twin Transit
funds. He says the bus will have 17 seats and two wheelchair spots.
LaFontaine says they will use the all-electric bus on Route 30, which is
Twin Transit’s intercity route.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Washington State Senate Passes TransAlta Sales Tax Break Bill (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
(OLYMPIA, wa) -- The Washington Senate has passed a bill
that would give a sales tax break to Centralia’s TransAlta coal-fired
power plant if and when it converts to using biomass or natural gas for
electric generation. Senate Bill 5575, sponsored by Centralia Republican
Senator John Braun, passed Friday on a 46 to 2 vote. The bill would
allow the TransAlta plant to receive a sales tax break on the
construction of a new or renovated facility once it is converted to a
natural gas or biomass facility.The bill now goes to the House for
consideration.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Ruralite Services Names New CEO (Ruralite)
(HILLSBORO, OR) -- Ruralite Services Inc.
has named Michael Shepard as its incoming CEO. Earlier this year Russell Green,
Ruralite Services CEO since 2005, announced he had accepted a new position with
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation as a regional vice
president.
Mr. Shepard is currently regional publisher for
Wick Communications, a privately owned media company based in southeastern
Arizona. Before taking the position at Wick, he was Senior Vice President –
Business Operations for the Seattle Times. He has a degree in communications
with a journalism emphasis from Washington State University (WSU), Pullman,
Washington.
Mr. Shepard began his career as a courthouse
reporter for the Moscow/Pullman Daily News, on the Idaho/Washington border. He
has served as president of both the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and was a longtime member and chair
of the professional advisory board for the Edward R. Murrow College of
Communication at WSU. His publications career has taken him to jobs based in
Walla Walla, Yakima and Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula giving him an
appreciation for rural communities.
“In Mike, we have found a candidate with the
skill set to take us into the future,” said Brad Reeve, Ruralite Services Board
Chair and CEO of Kotzebue Electric Cooperative, Kotzebue, Alaska. “He has been
both on the editorial and the management side of the organizations with which
he has been affiliated. And, he has experience in multiple location
publications, management and operations. We are pleased to have him join us at
Ruralite.”
“I am delighted and honored to be named the next CEO of Ruralite Services,” said Mr. Shepard, who will begin working March 14. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in North Plains, Oregon. “I appreciate this opportunity to lead Ruralite toward the Board’s vision of the future. Ruralite has great opportunities to grow and even better serve its customers and I look forward to working with the fine Ruralite Services staff to address them.”
“I am delighted and honored to be named the next CEO of Ruralite Services,” said Mr. Shepard, who will begin working March 14. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in North Plains, Oregon. “I appreciate this opportunity to lead Ruralite toward the Board’s vision of the future. Ruralite has great opportunities to grow and even better serve its customers and I look forward to working with the fine Ruralite Services staff to address them.”
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Friday, February 5, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Bonneville Power Administration Reaches Major Milestone with Release of Final EIS on I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project (Bonneville Power Administration)
More
work remains before a decision is made on how to address transmission
congestion in southwestern Washington, northwestern Oregon
(PORTLAND,
OR) – The Bonneville Power Administration is releasing its
final environmental impact statement on the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project
after more than six years of analysis and robust public involvement.
The
final EIS is a significant milestone in BPA’s National Environmental Policy Act
review for the siting of a potential 500-kilovolt transmission line from the
Castle Rock, Wash., area to Troutdale, Ore.
The
final EIS documents the completed analysis of potential impacts to a wide
spectrum of human and natural environments from various potential routes that
total more than 300 miles in length. BPA addressed nearly 10,000 comments
during the EIS process and worked with landowners and others to obtain input
for the analysis.
While
the final EIS includes a thorough environmental analysis and identifies a
preferred route, the final EIS is not a decision document. It does not include
a decision on whether to construct the line.
“Before
we make a decision, Bonneville will continue to evaluate the circumstances
around the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project to ensure we’re making the right
investments at the right time,” said BPA Administrator Elliot Mainzer, who will
ultimately make the decision to build or not.
Mainzer
added he does not anticipate reaching a decision before late 2016.
BPA
proposed the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project to address a growing
transmission congestion problem in southwestern Washington and northwestern
Oregon. While there is enough power generation in the region to meet energy
demands, the existing transmission lines that deliver the power from other
parts of the Northwest are becoming increasingly constrained in their ability
to move that power during periods of high electricity use.
As a result of this congestion, the possibility of brownouts
or power outages in this area from transmission constraints is increasing.
BPA’s studies currently show that if electric demand, or load, continues to
grow without any additional physical or operational changes, that scenario
might occur as early as 2021.
In
addition to considering whether to build the proposed line, for the past
several years BPA has been actively exploring possible “non-wire” solutions –
measures that do not involve building a new transmission line – that may
address the congestion issue as part of its mission to deliver power reliably
and at low cost to the Northwest.
Some
solutions have been found that have allowed the need for the project to be
deferred until 2021. However, to date, BPA has been unable to identify any
combination of non-wire measures that would address congestion and maintain
transmission reliability in this corridor for a longer term and that would be
operationally, commercially and economically feasible.
Even so, non-wire technologies are regularly evolving, and
BPA is continuing to explore these measures and their ability to meet
reliability needs, whether in the short or long term – or indefinitely, if
possible.
BPA has assembled a team of highly skilled engineers and
other subject matter experts to continue exploring non-wire solutions. BPA is
evaluating whether some combination of these measures would be sufficient to
maintain reliable electric service by offsetting projected increases in power
flow across southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon. Some of those
options might include:
- Generation redispatch: Refers to changing which large generation sources serve the load. This may alleviate congestion by reducing the amount of generation and power being transmitted along a path to more closely match the load or anticipated need.
- Demand response: Refers to managing the power consumption at the end user. This may alleviate congestion by reducing power consumption and pairing it with generation reduction in a location to reduce flows along the transmission path.
- Distributed standby generation: Refers to using small diesel generators or solar power generators near the source of the load.
- Other distributed energy resources: This includes battery storage and solar generation. Large-scale batteries near the load can be used during times of high power demand. Similarly, during times of high generation, the batteries can be used to store surplus generation that can later be returned to the power system during periods of high demand. Solar generation converts sunlight to electricity and can be scalable from residential rooftops to industrial acreage scale.
- Energy efficiency: Refers to increasing efficiency of existing buildings or appliances to reduce electricity use.
Jeff Cook, BPA’s vice president of Transmission Planning and
Asset Management, emphasized that it is unlikely a single solution exists among
the non-wire solutions.
“It’s important to also remember that any solution we arrive
at will have a cost associated with it, and not all solutions are equal in
terms of the benefit that they provide to our customers and constituents,” Cook
said. “Part of the ongoing analysis is whether one of these options, or a
combination of them, might help address the congestion problem and what
potential trade-offs BPA and the region would face as a result.”
In the meantime, Mainzer will continue to review the merits
of the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project along with any emerging information
on non-wire solutions.
“This line would provide a long-term transmission solution,
and so far, we haven’t found any other feasible and cost-effective options,”
said Mainzer. “We recognize the impact and uncertainty that this potential line
has on the affected communities in the I-5 corridor. But I want to be sure
every potentially feasible option has been explored before I make a decision of
this size and scope.”
For more information on the I-5 Corridor Reinforcement
Project, visit www.bpa.gov/goto/I5.