All volunteer organization, core group of 25 people. Over 350 people in their membership roster, all BLP customers. Have raised $1,500 to support their efforts. The Sierra Club and WEMEAC have supplied some in kind support.

 

BLP contributes 5% of its gross revenues to the City, about $1.75 million. Since February of 2020 the BLP has purchased all of its energy from the grid.

 

GHEO submitted a petition to the City Council last year to consider wider public participation. The Council asked the GHEO to work  with the BLP. GHEO presented several public forums. 

Hired a public relations firm to promote the plan to build a gas plant ($48,000).

 

November 19, 2018, City Council voted to permit the decommissioning of the Sims Power Plant, provided the majority of energy is generated within the service area and the resulting effort include capacity to assist in generating energy for snow melt. Subsequent study recommended a "pause" in the process to determine if local generation on Harbor Island is in the best interests of the community. A different consultant/study stated the intent of the BLP is to retain and redevelop the part of Harbor Island they currently occupy. Conclusion: economic outlook is not conclusive - building capacity may not return economic benefits.

 

Now we have a proposed 12.5 Mw Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine to shave the cost of buying supplements energy. Progressive AE hired to design plant. $17 - $19 million plant will sit idle most of the time. The size of the plant is limited by the size of the gas main that reaches the Island. The 12.5 Mw plant is not nearly sufficient to satisfy the energy needs for the whole customer base. If there were an outage, the 12.5 Mw would be sufficient to supply energy to quadrant, or a "rolling blackout" type situation. 

 

Tech Center Office Building is proposed on the island. The proposed plant could be operated remotely, do not need the office/tech center to run the new gas plant.

 

The BLP spent $1 million to purchase boilers to operate the snow melt system. Could save $75 thousand per year if the BLP built the new peaking plant. 25' x 25' building could support the snow melt boilers on the downtown side of the river.

 

The BLP has saved a good deal of money since they stopped producing power and have purchased from the grid.

 

There is a dispute between the BLP, EGLE and EPA regarding what should be done. This is a very complicated site, and the long term resolution of the many issues remain under discussion and review.

 

Total expenses currently being considered is $47.5 million and includes demolition, smart meters, snow melt, and new substation among other costs.