Rating:

2.0 (2 votes)

An independent study of Electric City Power is under review by the Great Falls City Commission after a joint work session this week.

Representatives of Burns & McDonnell, a Missouri-based company that was contracted to study the city's involvement with ECP, gave commissioners this advice: stay the course.

Burns and McDonnell representatives say liquidating ECP now would result in losses to the city of over $4 million dollars, but ultimately, they say, the city will start to see a return on its investment.

They also say that sticking with the 2003 decision to keep the electric utility as an alternative power supplier to Northwest Energy will keep competition in the state's power industry.

One utility customer drove five hours to attend last night's meeting and disagrees.

Arleen Boyd, a Beartooth Electric Cooperative member, said, "You, under that contract, are required to buy all of your power from Southern Montana Electric Generating and Transmission. I don't know how competition would come into that picture. You can't go out and say I'm going to get my power from someone else. That's not how an all requirements contract works."

Boyd says as a member of the Beartooth Electric Co-Operative, she and the Co-Op"s other 4,000 members saw rates increase by over 24% since the blended rates were implemented about a year ago.

Burns and McDonnell representatives told commissioners that money coming in from ECP will cover the costs of money going out - but barely.

They brought up the idea of a sweeping 10% rate increase across the board for all ECP's customers.

City staff replied that may not be appropriate since each of the customers are in very different situations.