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Grant PUD Plans Power Auction
EPHRATA , WA - It’s not every day that a utility auctions a block of power, but on September 28, 2006, Grant County Public Utility District (Grant PUD) in Ephrata, Wash. is set to do just that, for the second time.
In 2005, Grant PUD conducted its first annual Power Auction. The auction was the brainchild of utility staff looking for a simple yet effective way to respond to a 1998 order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that required Grant PUD to sell a reasonable portion of its firm and non-firm power generation according to market based principles.
“The power auction was a simple idea, really,” said Jeff Atkinson, Grant PUD manager of power planning and marketing. “The FERC order required that the utility sell a reasonable portion of our power in a ‘fair and equitable’ manner. Once we reviewed our options, the idea of an auction seemed to fall into place.”
Grant County PUD owns and operates Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams on the Columbia River in Washington State. The two hydroelectric facilities, licensed together as the Priest Rapids Project, make up one of the nation’s largest non-Federal hydropower projects, with the capacity to produce nearly 2,000 megawatts of electricity.
Grant PUD’s 2005 Power Auction was the first of its kind for the utility and possibly the United States. In all, 13 utilities and power-marketing firms participated in the auction. The winning bid of $21,051,369 for 6.52 percent of the power output from Priest Rapids Dam was for the contract period November 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006.
Powerex, a participant in the 2005 auction process, was interested in Grant PUD’s initial auction because of their on-going relationship with the utility. “Powerex does regular business with Grant PUD,” said Linda Dong, Marketing Manager. “It’s not just the product that is important; it’s our business relationship with the utility that makes it easy for Powerex to participate.”
This year’s power auction will be for a minimum six percent slice of the Priest Rapids Development output for the period beginning January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Based on this assumed six percent, the auctioned amount of power could be approximately 29 average megawatts. The highest bidder will also receive approximately 40 megawatts of capacity, and 532-megawatt hours of storage. The exact percentage to be auctioned will be announced no later than August 21, 2006 and may be greater than six percent.
“We were participants in Grant PUD’s first auction and based on our experience with Grant’s process, we plan to participate in the 2006 auction as well,” said Dong. “Powerex felt that the auction was easy to participate in. Timelines were set well in advance, giving us time to obtain management approvals and respond to the schedule.”
Hydroelectricity is valuable because it’s flexible, reliable and renewable. Grant PUD’s product is unique, in part, because of the location of Priest Rapids Dam. Priest Rapids is in the heart of the Mid-Columbia trading hub, meaning that there are virtually no costs associated for transporting the electricity for trading.
Additional information on the 2006 Grant PUD Power Auction can be found at http://www.gcpud.org/powerauction/
About Grant County PUD:
Grant County Public Utility District owns and operates the two-dam Priest Rapids Project on the Columbia River in central Washington. Together, Priest Rapids and Wanapum developments have the capacity to produce nearly 2,000 megawatts of electricity -- enough to supply a city the size of Seattle. Environmental stewardship and providing affordable energy to millions of customers throughout the Northwest are top priorities for Grant PUD.
About Powerex:
Powerex Corp. is a leading buyer and seller of physical wholesale energy products and services (power and gas) in markets across North America.
In business since 1988 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BC Hydro, Powerex works hard to provide its customers with the energy products and services they need, when and where they need them. From physical energy and capacity sales and purchases, to natural gas trading, financial transactions and green power products, Powerex has the reliable supply, business flexibility and customer commitment to get the deal done. For more information on Powerex refer to www.powerex.com.
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