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Report
lends little
more to PUD discussion |
After a short evaluation the Oregon Office of Energy issues
its report on the Yamhill County people's utility district plan |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
After sifting through hours of testimony, both written and oral, the Oregon
Office of Energy has released its recommendation concerning the establishment of a Yamhill
County peoples utility district (PUD).
The OOE report states, due to a lack of time and more comprehensive research,
the department cannot make any specific recommendations on the formation of the PUD.
“That is a decision for the voters to make, after evaluating many issues
including the issues raised in this report,” the report said.
“We can’t make a conclusion, but we’re not making a judgment
either way,” said Michael Grainey, OOE director.
This isn’t a detailed study of engineering feasibility, he added, saying
“there are many uncertainties regarding legal issues that we don’t have the
answer to.”
Grainey said the report, which took just over a week to write, is not
comprehensive. However, OOE officials listened to arguments both for and against formation
of a PUD.
“We got a lot of information from people on both sides,” he said.
The information included questions concerning access to Bonneville Power
Association power and taxes that might be levied under the PUD.
“All of which are questions that we can’t answer at this
time,” Grainey said.
The OOE is required by law to hold a hearing and give its recommendations
within 60 days of receiving a petition to form a PUD.
The hearing, Grainey said, was the only role the OOE will play in the
determination of the establishment of a PUD in Yamhill County. Under law, it is not the
role of the OOE to make a decision either way.
The next order of business, he said, will be for Yamhill County to hold its
own hearings. The county will make any adjustments in boundaries and set the date for an
election on whether a PUD will be established.
“It’s an interesting process. The legislature set the role for us
to give people an opportunity to gain information,” he said.
Some of the issues raised by Portland General Electric included the
impact on local economy, a possible loss of tax base, elimination of private sector jobs,
loss of charitable contributions, and public purpose funding. Opponents are also concerned
that the establishment of a PUD sends an antibusiness message by replacing a private
business entity with a government-controlled department, among other things.
PUD supporters, on the other hand, state three major advantages to having a
publicly owned utility district.
According to the report, the price of electricity through BPA is less for
PUDs; a nonprofit government entity of a PUD is less expensive to run than a corporation;
and the absence of corporate income taxes to PUD customers are unavailable to corporations
like PGE.
PUD supporters also believe that a locally-owned utility district would have
financial advantages over an investor-owned utility by being able to issue tax-exempt
bonds to acquire resources through condemnation at book value, the report stated.
A public hearing to discuss the boundaries of the proposed PUD will be held
at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Yamhill County Courthouse, 535 NE Fifth St. in McMinnville. Both
oral and written testimony will be accepted. |
|
From Oct. 11,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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