LAKE COUNTY >> With a tight budget in the county over the years from recent disasters, the County Special Districts looks to potentially cut PG&E cost with a Proposed Solar Facility and a Power Purchase Agreement.
Jan Coppinger, the Lake County Special Districts Administrator, said they currently pay over $1 million annually for the various districts and service areas for PG&E. To try and help cut some cost they have already used resources such as Time of Use Rates, Peak Day Demand Rates, Solar Generation, Energy Efficiency Audits and made other adjustments.
The Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District (YCFCWCD) operate the Indian Valley Hydroelectric Facility (IV HEF) and are generating more power with that than they need and so Special Districts are looking to make a Power Purchase Agreement with them to purchase the power and save cost.
“When I was looking at our highest generating meters, they (YCFCWCD) proposed a five percent discount,” Coppinger said. “I had asked for 10 but I’m hoping we can meet somewhere in the middle.”
She added that even with an eight percent discount the county could potentially save over $100,000 on the PG&E bill a year. This will be allowed through PG&E under the Renewable Energy System, Bill Credit Transfer (RES-BCT). With this agreement, the county can identify 50 meters that are the most costly and potentially receive an eight percent discount on them if a deal is negotiated.
There has still been 35 percent increase in the cost of PG&E every year for the past three Coppinger said. Last fiscal year the county paid $1.3 million, whereas at the end of this fiscal year they have paid almost $1.5 million.
District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown said he would like to see other county tax paying entities to benefit from this and try to incorporate them and maximize the number of discounts that can be given from this agreement.
“We’ve got some significant generators of electricity around here that could benefit from,” Brown said.
Another way that the county is looking into saving funds is with the use of solar energy for the Kelseyville Waterworks Treatment Plant to reduce energy cost there.
“The one meter that operates the wastewater facility averages close to $9,000 a month and we’d like to get a system in that could eliminate that bill,” Coppinger said. “There are so many people out there that are selling solar right now, it seems competitive, it seems like a great time to get into this and what I’m finding is we can get a system in that gives us an immediate cash flow benefit.”
Eventually, she said, there would be a decrease in the amount the county would have to pay for the PG&E from the benefits of the solar power and eventually cut out the large monthly bill.
“Our monthly bill will be less than the average we are paying now and as PG&E raises the rates, which they have been year after year, we would be immune from that so our benefit would be growing and we’d pay it off within 7 to 10 years, depending on the system we go with and that bill would go away,” Coppinger said.
The Board gave her the approval to start the formal bidding process so she can find the most beneficial solar provider for the county, begin cutting the cost of the bill, and start working with Yolo County. Creating a deal with them and taking the steps needed for that process was also approved.
District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said these options would be great to look into in an effort to learn more about the agreement and what can be done with it so the county can benefit greatly from it.
“We need to look at taking care of ourselves first. I don’t mean to be greedy, but after budget review, we need some help and this could be the help we need,” Smith said.
