Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - On Tuesday night, June 30, 2009, the Moorhead Public Service Commission (Commission) held their second scheduled meeting for the month of June. Here are a few highlights from their meeting:
Economic Development Incentives: The Commission again discussed the idea of an electric rate that would encourage economic development for primary sector businesses in Moorhead. This rate would allow businesses that meet pre-determined criteria to receive a discount on their electric rates for a limited amount of time (5 years). This discount would be taken from what MPS would have to pay the City of Moorhead through the annual transfer (payment in lieu of taxes). This is a complex issue and the Commission reviewed and discussed the issue at length. After the Moorhead City Council passed a resolution encouraging this rate (at their June 22, 2009 meeting), the Commission passed the concept and instructed MPS staff to work toward finalizing this program. A rate hearing will be held in August to allow for full public input.
DOJ Grant: The Commission received a report on a $50,000 Department of Justice (DOJ) grant. MPS received congressional appropriation for a public safety application of the GoMoorhead.com Wi-Fi System. This project will increase Internet speeds for Minnesota State Highway Patrol cars in order to push real-time video surveillance and state intranet access into the vehicles. MPS submitted the final application to the DOJ on Monday, June 22, and we are now waiting. We will update everyone once we learn more from the DOJ.
Power Generation update: Local power generation has always been important to the Commission. After reviewing the capacity MPS has to produce power and transmit that power, it is possible for MPS to install up to 11 Mega-Watts (MW) of power right here in Moorhead. At previous Commission meetings, the Commission received reports and took action beginning the work of installing 8MW of power generation. At that time it was assumed that MPS could transmit only 9MW of power; however, we have now learned we have the capacity to transmit 11MW. With this increase, the Commission decided to expand the size of the generators. MPS will now revamp their project to include 10MW of power generation here in Moorhead.
Other topics were, of course, discussed at the meeting; however, these are just a few of the larger items. If you have any interest in attending any of the Commission meetings, you can find the meeting dates and times online at mpsutility.com/minutes. The Commission meets at City Hall, on first floor in the Council Chambers. Don’t forget, you can now watch the Commission meetings live on Moorhead Community Access Television, cable channel 12.
Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness
0 comments:
Post a Comment