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As you know, we have been working on replacing this failed cable on several fronts. First, we have been working actively with BPA on plans to replace the failed cable. We have also been working on a load management program to keep our electric loads below the capacity of the remaining old cable. Remember, this is important only if the new high capacity cable fails. Over the past month, we reached a tentative agreement with BPA that the failed cable would be replaced with a high quality cable that will meet our needs reliably for the next 30-40 years (depending on our growth rate). When this cable is installed (probably around 2002), we will have two reliable submarine cables, each capable of meeting our total needs for 30 to 40 years. This will be the end of a long process to insure a reliable source of power for OPALCO for the future. We recently met with BPA to discuss the financing of this new cable, and we still need to resolve that issue. BPA is reluctant to spend $15 million dollars on a new submarine cable for a customer who currently pays them about $750,000 a year for transmission services. According to BPA's calculations, the annual cost of this cable will be several times the $750,000 we currently pay them, and, together, we are exploring ways by which BPA can make the necessary investment while providing affordable electricity to San Juan County. The discussions on the next portion of this project are going to be time consuming and difficult, but it has been very time consuming and difficult to get to this point, and I believe we will ultimately come to an agreement that is satisfactory to both BPA and OPALCO. In the meantime, we have had over 1000 people sign up for our load management program plus a number of large commercial and public facility members volunteering, which is a very good response and will enable us to prioritize the order in which we add people to our load management program to get the most economic benefit from our investment. This will help keep our rates down and accomplish our original goals. Prioritizing the responses involves a telephone call to determine what electric appliances you have, how you heat your home, the insulation quality of your home, etc. Among the first to be connected would be a home with a heat pump or electric furnace plus two other appliances (water heater, hot tub, sauna, etc.). Lower priorities would be someone who has a single small water heater and baseboard heat but generates most of their heat from a wood stove. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so, even if you think you are a low priority. If you need any information, just give us a call at 376-3571. Doug Bechtel
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