Great Falls Tribune

 

November 4, 2008

 

Electric City Power board members discuss offer of blended rate

By RICHARD ECKE
Tribune Staff Writer

City government might be able to make money selling its electricity by accepting an offer of a blended rate made recently, Great Falls Fiscal Officer Coleen Balzarini said Monday night.

Balzarini told Electric City Power board members that Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, to which the city belongs, has offered a blended rate for power that includes a variety of sources.

Based on the current rate, the city could buy power from SME for less money than it bills its customers, she said. Since Electric City Power has lost more than $1 million over the past several years, the new blended rate would be expected to chip away at the city's deficit, Balzarini said.

Board member Bob Pancich noted Electric City Power would have seen a gain in June of about $80,000, instead of a loss of about $23,000, according to Balzarini's figures.

Board members said they plan to make a recommendation to the City Commission in the coming weeks on whether the city should accept the blended rate.

"Do you think this would hold for the future, though?" Chairman George Golie asked.

Balzarini replied, "We can expect it to be more stable and we can expect it to be less" than the current billed rate.

The city's customers are primarily government agencies and businesses in the Great Falls area.