Trending
The BPU's aging district heating system is projected to have a 10% rate increase to pay for increasing capital costs.
BPU board members learned more about the proposed district heat rate hike as well as an increase in solid waste rates during a recent board meeting. During their latest meeting the board heard a report specifically on the district heat and solid waste budgets, along with key items from the water and wastewater budgets.
Jami Rishel, BPU accounting supervisor, went through draft district heat and solid waste budgets as well as initial key items for water and wastewater budgets. The district heat draft budget uses a 10% rate increase to cover increased capital needs for the division's aging system. Solid waste also includes an increase of $2.50 per customer per month generally due to increased fuel, vehicle, and labor costs. The other divisions are not expecting to have any increases at this time but the BPU is still working through developing those budgets.
Also noted by General Manager Kris Sellstrom was the current state of the BPU's fiber project, which has begun the construction phase.
"The downtown fiber construction started last week with the BPU electric crews pulling in the underground fiber into existing electric ducts and Quanta is starting this week to work on aerial installations and splicing," Sellstrom told the Post Journal. "Customers had two days left to sign up to get the BPU’s free 90 day internet offer at the time of the meeting, which has now passed. If BPU electric customers are paying more than $38 a month for symmetrical high speed fiber internet, they should call their current provider and negotiate a better rate or better yet sign up for the BPU's fiber system with one of its providers Sumo or Fiber Spark to ensure they don't have to call and fight about rising internet bills when their current pricing promotions expire."
The BPU's goal, Sellstrom said, was to drive down the cost of internet for local customers and to increase their speeds, and Sellstrom said for those that have already switched he believes they are seeing that already. The BPU is continuing to work through the backlog of installation requests, but Sellstrom said they will continue to get dozens of those installed each week. He assured customers that signed up before October 1 that their 90 days of free internet do not start until their service is installed.
Resolution wise, the BPU looked at and approved multiple resolutions including a new 10-year agreement with the county for transporting and treating landfill leachate at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, replacing the previous agreement that has reached the end of its 20 year term; a change order for GE Steam and Power for reassembly support on the steam turbine number six; a change to the Douglas Pipeline contract to allow them to provide additional services and operator qualifications to comply with new requirements from the state; along with a study on how much of an additional electric load can be served through the Dow Street Substation.
Two resolutions of note were for the establishment of the BPU's Digital Infrastructure Division, and an agreement replacing the current Clean Energy Standard agreements with NYSERDA, as required by law. For the second one, Sellstrom said the BPU intends to meet the requirements placed on them, but they have an objection to the agreement as well.
"Our objection is to the cost imposed on our customers," Sellstrom said. "Jamestown has made a long-term commitment and significant investment in hydropower through the New York Power Authority. We believe the mandated requirement to procure certificates with state determined attributes and costs without recognizing the attributes already provided by the NYPA contracted hydropower and associated long term investments causes our customers to pay more than their fair share for clean power."
Signing the resolution under protest, Sellstrom said, allows them to comply with the PSC's requirement while making the BPU's position clear in writing. It does not mean the BPU accepts that this treatment is fair, and Sellstrom added that they will continue to advocate for their customers on this issue.
The resolution establishing the BPU's Digital Services and Infrastructure Division recently came before council as a local law, and was automatically tabled for 30 days because of it being a local law. The law is expected to be approved during this month's voting session.
"BPU staff is making this recommendation with the understanding that council's amendment will recognize the new division within the BPU's existing governance framework and preserve all authority the board currently holds under the charter," Sellstrom said. "That includes its authority over the construction, improvement, operation, and contracting of its existing utility systems. We expect council's action to respect those existing powers and recommend that the board approve the resolution on that basis."
Other items of note that Sellstrom discussed at the meeting and shared with the Post-Journal include; the gas turbine overhaul is underway at the power plant, and staff are evaluating findings from the initial inspection. BPU water flushing has begun and is expected to continue until Wednesday, October 7. Customers may experience discolored water during this time.
The BPU was also beginning work on the Harrison Street bridge replacement project, which had the potential to cause some district heat customers east of the bridge to experience an outage on Friday, October 2. Sellstrom said any outages were expected to last most of the day but to be restored by that evening, and work was also expected to continue through the weekend to complete the project, but no other outages were expected.