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Renewable Power Block Auctioned by Grant PUD
Annual Auction Brings in $38,854,741
EPHRATA, WA – A block of clean, renewable, hydropower was auctioned off to Highland Energy LLC as part of the utility’s third annual power auction. Highland Energy will receive 12.33 percent of the output of the utility’s Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River, which provides low-cost hydropower to the people of the Northwest.
The winning bid of $38,854,741 bested offers submitted by 12 other auction participants. While 16 utilities, power marketing firms and financial institutions pre-qualified for Grant PUD’s power auction, 13 bids were received on November 1. On average, 12.33 percent output translates to approximately 62 annual megawatts of energy, or enough power to light 37,200 average-sized homes. The contract period will run January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.
The actual amount of power that Highland Energy will receive during the 12-month contract will depend primarily on Columbia River flows and seasonal constraints for natural resources.
Bryan Bradshaw, president of Highland Energy LLC, was happy to learn that his firm submitted the top power auction bid, “Highland Energy has a good working relationship with Grant County PUD and is excited to be the winner of this year’s auction. We think this transaction is an excellent fit for both Highland Energy and Grant County PUD.”
“Hydropower is the lifeline of the Northwest’s energy supply,” said Grant PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson. “We are excited to work with Highland Energy and to contract with them for a portion of this renewable resource. We very pleased with the outcome of the auction and appreciate the hard work of staff and all of the bidding companies that participated.”
In 2005, Grant PUD conducted its first annual power auction. The auction was the idea of utility staff looking for a straight forward, effective, way to respond to a 1998 order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that required Grant PUD to sell a reasonable portion of its firm and non-firm power generation according to market based principles.
Grant PUD’s 2005 power auction was the first of its kind for the utility and possibly the United States. In all, 13 utilities and power-marketing firms participated in the auction. Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Inc. submitted a winning bid of $21,051,369 for 6.52 percent of the output from Priest Rapids Dam. The contract period ran from November 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006.
In September 2006, a second power auction was held for an 8.86 percent slice of the Priest Rapids Dam output. Powerex, a subsidiary of BC Hydro, won the right for the contract that runs from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. The winning bid was $23,333,666.
Grant PUD owns and operates Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams on the Columbia River in Washington state. The two hydroelectric facilities, licensed together as the Priest Rapids Project, make up one of the nation’s largest non-Federal hydropower projects, with the capacity to produce nearly 2,000 megawatts of electricity.
Additional information on the 2007 power auction can be found at www.gcpud.org/powerauction/.
About Grant County PUD
Grant County Public Utility District is a Washington state municipal corporation that began electric service in 1942. Owned by the people it serves, Grant PUD generates and sells electricity to Grant County residents and millions of customers throughout Central Washington and the Pacific Northwest. The Priest Rapids Project, comprised of Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams, produces nearly 2,000 megawatts of clean, renewable and reliable electricity – enough to supply a city the size of Seattle. A leader in science based technology; Grant PUD is committed to finding effective measures for the protection, mitigation and enhancement of salmon, steelhead and other natural and cultural resources.
About Highland Energy LLC:
Highland Energy LLC is a growing energy trading and marketing company based in Butte, Montana. The company is engaged in wholesale energy trading, focused primarily in western U.S. markets, and also provides advisory and energy-related services. Its group of energy industry professionals brings together a robust trading, structuring, risk management and contracts background.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Sarah Morford
(509) 754-6633 / smorfor@gcpud.org |
