Laserfiche WebLink
~/ <br />Elk River -= <br />Municipal Utilities <br />13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 <br />Elk River, MN 55330-0430 <br />January 7, 2009 <br />To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission <br />Jerry Takle <br />Jerry Gumphrey <br />John Dietz <br />From: Vance Zehringer <br />Subj: Power Supply Study <br />Phone: ?63.441.2020 <br />Fax: 763.441.8099 <br />As a result of the wholesale power supply contract termination notice from Connexus <br />Energy, efforts to find an alternate wholesale power source have been on going. To date, <br />we have had our legal firm examine the current contract to see if it can be terminated <br />without penalty prior to the termination date in 2018. The summary of findings is <br />attached. <br />Staff has met with representatives of Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency <br />(CMMPA). They are interested in having us buy into their group and purchasing some of <br />the 80 megawatts remaining from Bigstone II should it become a reality in 7 years. The <br />cost of output from this proposed plant looks attractive, but the buy in costs are quite <br />high. They think they will receive approval on their Certificate of Need from the <br />MnPUC on January 15th and will look for a decision from us immediately following that <br />date. <br />Staff met with Wright-Hennepin to gain some insight into their purchase agreement with <br />Basin Power Cooperative. Their initial comment was "we are really interested in <br />purchasing you." After assuring them that this was not even a discussion item, they <br />shared Basin's commitment that precludes sales to any municipal utilities. It appears that <br />this attitude prevails among the power cooperatives in the region! Wright-Hennepin is <br />very interested in becoming our wholesale power supplier, however, that source would be <br />Basin Power Cooperative. They are open to further discussions pending our interest <br />level. I told them we will get back to them. <br />