Deals made with two plants for power

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2001 | 8:46 a.m.

Boulder City has secured deals with two power plants Tuesday that are expected to guarantee cheap electricity even during the hottest summer months when demand outstrips supply from Hoover and Glen Canyon dams.

According to the contracts signed by the Boulder City Council, the city has the option to buy up to 10 megawatts annually from each plant, helping the city avoid buying energy on the open market, where prices have been volatile.

The city will buy power at cost, or about 4.5 cents to 7 cents a kilowatt-hour. Homeowners in the Las Vegas Valley have paid closer to 9.1 cents a kilowatt-hour so far this year.

In July, Boulder City residents paid as much as 29 cents per kilowatt-hour on the open market.

Ten megawatts is enough to serve about 5,000 homes during the hotter months.

El Dorado Energy has operated a 480-megawatt natural gas-fired plant in the Eldorado Valley for just more than a year. Copper Mountain Power, owned jointly by Sempra Energy of California and Texas-based Reliant Energy, is proposed as a 600-megawatt natural gas-fired plant on nearby ground about 17 miles southwest of downtown.

The new contracts signed Tuesday also increased by $225,000 other annual fees paid by the two plants. El Dorado Energy pays $800,000 in annual rent. Copper Mountain, scheduled to break ground next year, will pay $875,000 in annual rent.

Copper Mountain Power will also pay the city $3 million toward air pollution prevention and energy conservation programs to offset expected pollution.

Boulder City Councilman Joe Hardy plans to lead a special town hall meeting Sept. 13 with residents and energy organizations to determine how best to use the money.