In an earlier post I speculated that PUB was up to something when they lowered the monthly account fee. After thinking about it, I realized that the options open to them for something to do that might be a bit of a hard sell to the citizens of Brownsville were limited. I may have it figured out, as I am not privy to all the meetings at PUB. This time I am going to grossly speculate that they are trying to buy out the remaing partners in the Okla-Union coal fired plant. If this is so, how come they aren't telling us? The power produced at that plant produces electricity at a fraction what it costs to fire up the natural gas Silas Ray plant which I think is a pretty good thing, but isn't the extention cord just a bit long?
It would nice if Brownsville were a net producer of electrical power, but with the main power plant located a full state away any grid damage between here and there could still problems with power delivery to Brownsville in the event of some natural disaster that otherwise did no damage to the city.
"Of course I know. It is my business to know" -The Merovingian
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Conjecture as to the Recent Rate Lowering
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15 comments:
You're writing and saying nothing. Speculation is the game of the mini-minds, of those who know a threadbare of info and who choose to posture it as some sort of Revelation. Why don't you get the full story and then write?
Anony,
Actually, as pretentious and often condescending that the ol' Merov sometimes is, on this occasion he also clarifies that;
A- "I am not privy to all the meetings at PUB"
and
B- "This time I am going to grossly speculate"
I'm okay with opinion.
"I am not privy to all the meetings at PUB"
My point exactly. Then, why do you play at publisher? Why not offer this site as a Border Sesame Street - the playground of a Wannabe. All you do is add noise to the meaningless chatter, and that serves no one other than the Ego of the Purveyor of Nothingness. My advice: Shoe leather. Get your ass out in the streets, to the meetings, to the governmental agencies and dig for truths. If you wish, I can forward the relevant questions you'd need to ask. You can't just grab at free Internet space and call yourself a defender of whatever it is you think you defend. You have a right to know, yes. But why appear as some Washerwoman, Midwife or Gossiper with the poorboy Journalism currency of an "I'm not privy to all meetings at PUB" Moron? Are you in high school, BTW?
Wow, that's ALOT of english!
Dude, (high school reference)
"You can't just grab at free Internet space and call yourself a defender of whatever it is you think you defend."
Uhhh, umm... Yeah,.. you can. It is called a blog.
You are funny, you make me laugh. I like you.
Seriously, I am just as casual reader who is not a Merov cheerleader, yet I will defend his right to post what he wants and how he wants it.
I could be wrong, but I don't recall him stating that he was the next Mike Wallace, sent to the Valley to uncover all bad things in Browntown. I think he predicated his administration of this blog as the posting of his self inflated opinion, nothing more.
You seem passionate and articulate enough that once the Ritalin kicks in, you should give some serious thought to "shoe leather" yourself.
As opposed to hiding behind the cowardly ANONYMOUS (wink-wink CD) moniker, you "can forward the relevant questions you'd need to ask" to yourself.
Barring the Doc kicking up the dosage, I will suggest you take a couple of "sense of humor" pills as an alternative.
Signed,
The Cowardly Anonymous Poster
PS: Merov - I stand corrected. You are not the king of pretentiousness and condescension.
I say this: If you can't defend it, it's likely no good. MeroMero, apparently lost in a time-warp and geography if we are to consider his Border-silly nickname, ought to come out and spar for himself. Is this child an aspiring Leon Spinks or is he merely a home-schooled Pee Wee Herman? Is he dashing off to hang with his Do-rag pals, to weep-off the evenings, or is he gearing-up for yet another roll of the pseudo-boulder up the mountain (the Myth of Sisyphus). And, absolutely, MeroMero has every right to spout whatever his wont may be. I simply wonder why the closet sabre-rattling isn't as sharp as it ought to be. Maybe we've grown accustomed to "Los Llorones" in this neck of the woods. At the very least, ElRocinante.com comes at you with a clearcut sense of authority. ElRocinante's writer knows the landscape. He paints and the oils burn off the canvas. MeroMero paints and the Crayolas just can't stay on the lines...
PS: Merov - I stand corrected. You are not the king of pretentiousness and condescension.
Darn, I guess I'll have to work harder. ;)
M.
The electricity from Oklaunion is not actually used in Brownsville. It is fed into a grid along with production from other plants, and PUB is entitled to draw its share from the grid, less transmission fees to the companies that own the lines and the state Electric Reliability Council. If it uses less than it share, it can sell that electricity through markets that exist, and if it needs more, it can buy additional electricity.
Yes, although there are other electricty generating plants in the Valley, plus PUB's own, there is generally a risk from disruption to transmission, but it is low and there is not much you can do about it. Apart from the huge capital investment that would be required, it would probably not make sense to build a coal-fired plant in the Valley. First of all, we dont't have the kind of transportation infrastructure needed to transport coal (just one rail line and the GIWW), and we are pretty far from coal mines, which raises the cost. It is cheaper to move electricity than coal.
The problem with a small utility like PUB becoming a net producer in its own right, is that there is a lot of risk. Unless PUB can find some way to produce electricity at a big cost advantage (unlikely), it probably makes more sense for PUB to continue investing in medium cost/medium risk ventures like Oklaunion to fill the bulk of its needs, while maintaining some higher cost local capacity. That way, it can fill the balance of its needs by purchase or local production, balancing demand and market conditions.
Anony,
That's it? That's all ya got?
You do acquiesce with a hell of a style, though.I like it, keep writing.
Merov,
Who loves you? WE DO !!!
There are two types of people who run for office; those looking for money and those looking to do what they feel is the right thing. I am not sure which is more dangerous. The greedy are predictible.
Follow the money.
Best wishes,
The Cowardly Anonymous Poster
With all due respect to The Cowardly Anonymous Poster:
There are maybe 30 people in town that could have posted the grid system explanation. There are maybe 20 people in town that would have posted the other comments. The two groups have very little overlap, if any at all. It is a fair assumption that they were different people. That being said, it is obvious that we have a reader online that is in a position to know the truth about my wild conjecture. So I will simply ask for a straight answer to the people, Is BPUB buying out a larger share of the Okla-Union facility and what will be the effect on ratepayers in Brownsville? We don’t want to wait until it is a rushed decision by the board with a small window of opportunity. That has happened far too often around here. We want time to think about it, study it, and discuss it. It may be the right move, it may not be. I won’t know until I get to look the proposal over and if there is a deal out there and I don’t have the facts on it to work with, I’ll just have to assume that someone has something to gain by withholding the information. It’s ok, you can say it. If it is true, so many people already know that a leak was bound to happen.
“Of course I know. It is my business to know.” -The Merovingian
Oh joy! Barbara f****g Walters scoops everyone again! Grow up. Your air of self-importance is making me sick.
“Of course you blow. It is your business to blow (me). -The Machiavellian
I posted the very simplified grid explanation, but I don't have anything to do with PUB, and don't have any idea what their intentions are.
Without knowing what price they intend to pay, and where electricity costs are going (probably up, but nobody knows for sure), I can't say what the impact of the purchase on rates would be.
If you asked me to guess, I would say that the purchase will reduce rates in the near term and and may help hold down rates over a longer period. The current share of Oklaunion has done well for PUB from an electricity cost perspective.
At the same time, PUB's electrical rates may be artificially low when compared to its debt. Buying more of Oklaunion would obviously increase PUB's debt. Also, the demand for coal is increasing, and new environmental regulations for coal-fired plants are possibly on the horizon. Either of these would have an impact on the economics of the purchase.
It is good to hear that we have some people in the area that know how things actually work. Please forgive me for assuming that because of your explaination that you worked for PUB, but what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained. ( Boy, do I feel stupid.) Certain levels of debt cannot be avoided with operations of municipal size. My primary concerns are when debt levels prevent getting the best rate on borrowing (bond rating) and that heavy debt levels put an operation on "autopilot" severely limiting options because so much of the budget becomes predestined for years to come.
I will agree that the share of the Oklaunion plant has been a net gain for PUB to date. At present, coal plants are the best "bang for the buck" next to nuclear technology. I do not see a nuclear faciltiy on the horizion for our area. In the big picture, I believe it would be in our best interest to have some larger share of locally produced power, or barring that, some offseting of the increasing demand curve as our area grows.
There are potential power source assets everywhere. It kind of baffles me that there is not a methane run generator at the landfill, for instance. It isn't a lot of power, but it is right there. Wind generators do not necessarily need to be 300 foot swinging arm type that pose a hazard to migratory birds. Geothermal generation is also possible, without burning fossil fuels and without the transportation costs associated with a coal facility.
I wish to thank you for your informed comments on the subject. So many others who could have had something useful to say might have just clicked away from the subject. Welcome, and I hope you hang around, or at least pop in from time to time and add to the discussion.
M.
Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day.....
M.
Good posts, Merovingian!
Looks like a lot of people are becoming nervous when you talk about the almighty PUB.
Keep up the good work!
Look forward to your next post.
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