PPS letter about Batavia made incorrect statements By BETSY ZINSER Batavia, Illinois EDITOR: Sunday your paper published a letter to the editor by Dave Clark, the general manager of the Paducah Power System. Mr. Clark included inaccurate information about my community, Batavia, Illinois, implying that the electric situation in Batavia is worse than the situation in Paducah or Princeton. Batavias contractual obligation to purchase power from Prairie State Generating Company (PSGC) is less than Paducahs. Batavia is not paying for twice the PSGC capacity it needs. My July electric bill, including taxes and fees, was $0.146 per kilowatt hour, not $0.17. Based on data released by each municipal power system in their bond continuing disclosure statements, Paducahs contractual PSGC entitlement share represented 66 percent of its 2013 peak megawatt. Batavias was 57 percent. While Batavias obligation is high and more than we want, it is less than Paducahs PSGC exposure. Our plight is not separate or worse than the plight of our fellow participants in Kentucky. We share the risk that businesses will move from our communities, leaving PSGCs high overhead costs and debt service payments to those who remain behind. We share the burden when the plant shuts down unexpectedly. We share the increased taxes as the electric bills rise for our school districts, our park districts and our street lighting. While KMPA is striving to end the two-year ongoing shakedown period, it will not solve the financial losses our ratepayers have experienced to date. It will not lessen the debt burden caused by the $1 billion increase in construction costs. We need relief and restitution now. Batavia and Paducah should work together to solve our common problem. BETSY ZINSER Batavia, Illinois EDITORS NOTE: Betsy Zinsers husband, John, signed on as a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed in Batavia last month against consultants to the Prairie State plant, alleging misrepresentation.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:40:34 +0000
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