Grand Haven, Wednesday, May 23, 2018 — Grand Haven Board of Light & Power’s Board of Directors adopted a business plan for Fiscal Year 2019 at its Thursday, May 17 meeting. The Business Plan is comprised of the annual budget and long-term capital improvement plan. Base customer rates are being held constant with those set on July 1, 2016; however, changes in fuel related expenses and purchase power costs will be passed on directly to customers through the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) contained in each customer rate category during the coming year.
General Manager David Walters stated, “The FY 2019 budget is a status quo budget that is consistent with the Board’s action and direction taken at their April 24, 2018 meeting to cease operations of the Sims Power Plant on June 1, 2020.” The budget incorporates a power plant operating and maintenance schedule, coal deliveries, and wholesale power purchases consistent with a June 2020 plant closure. Additionally, the budget for next year and the longer-term capital plan includes only minimal “life extension” plant improvements at Sims, those deemed necessary before 2020. If the Sims plant is required to run longer, additional revenues will be required to pay for these improvements. Annual coal costs are increasing in Fiscal Year 2019, primarily attributed to an increase in lake-vessel transportation costs. The projected increase in retail sales volume is estimated 1% above FY 2018.
Total retail revenues to BLP customers averaged approximately 13 cents per kWh during fiscal years 2015 and 2016. These charges have been reduced on average 6.2% to 12.2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in FY 2018. Over this period, total annual retail revenues have been reduced approximately $2,400,000 on about 300 million kWh of annual sales. This projected average for FY 2019 is 12.4 cents per kWh, as increases in fuel and purchased power costs are passed on to customers in the PCA.
According to the Fiscal Year 2019 business plan, the BLP projects $37.5 million in total annual operating revenues. The BLP is planning to use these funds as follows: $7.4 million on fuel and fuel related expenses for local power generation; $6.5 million for net purchased power costs (including renewable energy purchases) and transmission expenses, $6.9 million for other expenses associated with the operation of its power production plants, $2.4 million for distribution system expenses, $0.5 million in energy efficiency programs, $3.3 million for customer service, accounting, administrative, and general expenses. Additionally, capital improvements for the fiscal year are projected to be $5.8 million and the utility is anticipated to make a $1.8 million transfer or payment in-lieu of taxes to the City of Grand Haven’s general fund.
Grand Haven Board of Light & Power is a one of over 2,000 Public Power utilities in the United States serving approximately 14,000 customers in the greater Grand Haven area. The Board of Light & Power’s mission is to meet our community’s expectation for quality local electric utility service that returns value to our customers and the community as a whole.
# # #
