Is there any other kind of business deal anymore? After all, we must feed the monopolies. Donna On Mar 18, 2011, at 7:43 PM, gerald neff <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Sounds like a win, win situation for MidAmerican and lose, lose situation for everyone else. This kind of business deal is absurd. Jerry Neff > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Charles Winterwood <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:08:02 -0500 (CDT) > Subject: Fw: Enviroscribe: Iowa Environmental News-Proposed new Nuclear Plant > > > > > > Enviroscribe: Iowa Environmental News > > ________________________________ > > MidAmerican president: Iowans face 10 percent rate increase for nuclear plant > Posted: 17 Mar 2011 02:28 PM PDT > MidAmerican Energy customers would see their power bills rise 10 percent over a > decade to pay for the investor-owned utility’s share of a proposed Iowa nuclear > plant, the firm’s president told lawmakers Thursday. > That doesn’t include what the utility would pay for new generation from wind or > other fuels. > William Fehrman fielded questions from lawmakers about a proposed 1,000 to > 1,600 megawatt nuclear plant to be built by MidAmerican and partners at an > unspecified Iowa site. Among the spots under consideration, Fehrman acknowledged > Thursday: the area surrounding Iowa’s only nuclear plant,Duane Arnold Energy > Center in Palo near Cedar Rapids. > Senators on a commerce subcommittee questioned if the nuclear disaster in Japan > should delay work in Iowa. Fehrman said the difference between the modular, > build-in-chunks plant MidAmerican is eyeing and the old technology in Japan is > like the difference between a smart phone and a rotary dial model. He said the > bill is needed to keep nuclear as one of the utility’s options and to attract > investors. > Regarding rates, Fehrman said Iowans will pay more no matter how the utility > decides to address energy needs as the state grows and federal environmental > regulators make burning coal a more expensive proposition. > “There is no doubt that costs are going to go up,” Fehrman said, noting the > utility hasn’t raised rates since 1995. “We need to keep them down as much as > possible.” > Fehrman said the utility would hold down costs by selling excess power from the > plant. He added that most of the rate increase attributed to the plant would > come in the latter part of the decade. > A recent study by the Illinois Commerce Commission listed nuclear as one of the > cheapest power-generation options based on the price per kilowatt hour, Fehrman > said. > The plant, if approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, would come online in late > 2020 at the earliest, Fehrman said. > Sen. Swati Dandekar of Marion said Iowans are concerned about paying for a > project that may cost more than the utility thinks, given the nation’s record on > cost overruns at nuclear plants. > “There is no doubt there is a history of cost overruns in this industry,” > Fehrman said. “We’ve asked for more oversight of this project, and that’s in the > bill.” > MidAmerican is pushing legislation that would set some of the rate-making > principles to be applied to the plant, in effect telling investors how the > utility would recover its expenses. > Opposition to the bill continued to mount Thursday. The Iowa Sierra Club, with > its lawyer in tow, delivered 160 letters opposing the legislation to Gov. Terry > Branstad. “At this time of unspeakable tragedy and unimaginable chaos in Japan, > Iowa is still considering promoting nuclear power,” said Pam Mackey-Taylor, who > leads the chapter’s energy efforts. “Nuclear energy is not the answer.” > Only senators were allowed to speak Thursday, but AARP was prepared to speak > against the bill. “AARP believes it is unfair to consumers and bad policy for > the Iowa General Assembly to enact legislation that would allow utility > companies to charge consumers in advance for costs of a new plant before it is > in service, and require consumers to continue to have to pay even if the plant > development is canceled, or goes over budget,” the group representing senior > citizens said in a statement. “AARP is concerned about this legislation, not > because of the question of nuclear power, but because we oppose raising rates > for consumers already struggling to afford their utility bills for a plant yet > to be built, where we don’t know the actual cost to build, and may or may not > even be built in Iowa.” > Fehrman acknowledged that ratepayers would cover expenses for the project even > if it is canceled. > Representatives of the Iowa Environmental Council attended Thursday’s session. > You are subscribed to email updates from Des Moines Register Staff Blogs » > Enviroscribe: Iowa Environmental News > > To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. 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