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MEAG gets preliminary budge OK

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Officials with the Atlanta-based Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia got a taste of South Georgia hospitality Tuesday and Wednesday as guests of the city’s Water, Gas & Light Commission, but Thursday morning’s monthly board meeting at WG&L’s operations center was business as usual.

The board gave preliminary approval to MEAG’s 2008 system and telecommunications budgets, OK’d amendments related to the tel-com project and got an update on planned improvements to the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Burke County that is expected to play an even larger role in the authority’s future electric output.

“We’re in the permitting process with our plans to build nuclear units three and four at the plant,” Steven M. Jackson, MEAG’s vice president for power supply, said after giving the Plant Vogtle update. “The early site permit, which deals with environmental, security and emergency issues, was filed in August of ’06, and we’re working on the combined construction and operation license.

“The NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) did issue a draft environmental impact statement and a draft safety analysis report. Those issues will now move to the public comment stage. If everything moves forward as expected, we could get a cost analysis and potential (construction) contract by the end of November.”

Mary G. Jackson, MEAG’s senior vice president and chief accounting officer, outlined the highlights of the system and telecommunications budgets. And while the tel-com budget remained at its 2007 rate ($3.8 million), the preliminary system power supply budget — which will be reviewed during the next several months — shows a $50.9 million increase.

“The chief reasons for the significant increases are related to projected increases in the costs of coal, nuclear costs and gas volume,” Jackson said in her report. “The net fuel cost increase is projected at $34.2 million. Operations and maintenance costs are expected to increase $14 million.”

Total power supplied by MEAG to its 49 member municipalities is expected to rise 5.17 percent, by a total of 543,631 megawatt/hours. The authority’s president/CEO, Bob Johnston, noted that much of the increase in costs and megawatt/hours is attributable to co-op member Sylvania.

“One participant, Sylvania, accounts for $25.8 million of the $50.9 million increase,” Johnston said. “And 91 percent of the megawatt/hour usage increase is related to Sylvania.

“That’s not harmful to the general membership. (Sylvania) is running like gangbusters, and if you didn’t sell your unused power to them, you’d be selling it on the open market.”

The 2008 budget calls for usage of 11,066,561 megawatt/ hours at a cost of $648,117,207. Final overall 2007 figures showed usage of 10,522,937 megawatt/hours at a cost of $597,187,058.

Jackson said in her report that the system’s projected average cost per kilowatt/hour for the 2008 preliminary budget is 5.857 cents. That cost ranges from a low of 4.705 cents (in Sylvania) to a high of 7.128 cents (in Acworth).

Albany, which used 1,064,797 megawatt/hours in 2007 for a total cost of $55,017,476, was second in usage to Marietta, which used 1,146,461 megawatt/hours at a cost of $66,121,938. Albany’s projected totals for 2008 are 1,067,151 megawatt/hours at $57,364,890, while Marietta’s are 1,170,778 and $70,494,362.

“I’d like to offer a word of thanks to the city of Albany, to Mayor Willie Adams and his commissioners and to (WG&L General Manager) Lem Edwards and his staff,” MEAG Chairman Keith Brady said. “This has been one of our greatest trips on the road.”

MEAG typically holds its monthly meetings at its Atlanta offices, but once a year visits one of its municipality members.

“Everyone that we’ve talked with has indicated they had a great time here,” Edwards said of activities hosted by WG&L. “We were elated to bring the MEAG board here and let them see our facilities. Things have changed a lot since they last came here in the early ’90s.

“I think the Plant Vogtle/ nuclear power issue is going to be the primary (MEAG) issue over the next two or three years. As Mr. Johnston noted, that’s not just in Georgia. States like Florida and South Carolina are going to rely more and more on nuclear power in the immediate future.

“I think the future right now in energy supply is leaning toward nuclear power.”

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