Archived News Articles 2008

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2008

• GEUS Reduces Fuel Adjustment Charge and Power Cost Recovery Factor
• GEUS Crew Provides Assistance in Jasper, TX
• GEUS To Provide Low Income Assistance
• GEUS Adds To Generation Portfolio
• Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade and Technical press release, 13 August 2008
• GEUS’ Fuel Cost Rising
• GEUS Summer Rates To Begin
• GEUS to Purchase Former Post Office Building
• Scholarship Winner Announced
• GEUS to Move Downtown Lines
• GEUS Fuel Cost to Increase Again
• GEUS Fuel Cost to Increase
• GEUS adds 21 new channels

GEUS Reduces Fuel Adjustment Charge and Power Cost Recovery Factor

(December 30, 2008) GEUS announced today that the Utility’s Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC/PCRF) will be lowered again bringing it to 3.5 cents\kWh for all commercial and residential bills effective January 1st. This is down from the current 5 cents. It had been as high as 7.426 cents during the most recent summer when the cost of natural gas peaked. This decrease equates to monthly savings of $39.26 for the average 1,000 kWh residential user as compared to the FAC/PCRF cost earlier this year.

The FAC/PCRF is a pass-through charge based on GEUS’ actual cost to generate or purchase power. GEUS’ access to coal-fired generation has moderated the community’s cost as natural gas has been very volatile over recent years.

GEUS receives over 60% of Greenville’s energy from its share of the Texas Municipal Power Agency’s Gibbons Creek coal-fired generation plant.

“GEUS is pleased to pass on these lower fuel costs to our consumers,” said GEUS General Manager David McCalla.

Digital TV Transition Test

(December 1, 2008) This Thursday, December 4, a quorum of television broadcasters will test the digital TV format that will become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standard as of February 17, 2009. The broadcasters will test the new signal three times lasting five minutes each. The times of the test will be 6:25 AM, 6:25 PM and 10:25 PM.

GEUS has already upgraded equipment on channels 4-KDFW FOX, 5-KXAS NBC, 8-WFAA ABC and 11-KTVT CBS. Customers will not notice the test on these channels.

Equipment has been ordered and will be in place by the February 17, 2009 deadline to facilitate the remaining broadcast channels in the GEUS Economy lineup. However, customers will see an interruption of service on Day Star, KTXA-UPN-21, ION, KDAF-WBN, KXTX-IND-39, KUVN-Univision, KERA-PBS, KDTX-TBN, KSTR-IND-49, KTAQ-IND-47, KDFI-IND-27 and KFDW-52 during the December 4th tests.

GEUS will have all necessary equipment installed by the February 17, 2009 FCC deadline. Anyone on GEUS cable TV will not need to purchase additional equipment to receive any channels in the program lineup.

TMPA Approves Bond Issuance for Environmental Facility Improvements

(October 24, 2008) On October 10, 2008, the Board of Directors for the Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA) passed a resolution approving by a 6 – 1 margin the issuance of certain Subordinate Lien Revenue Refunding and Improvement Bonds Series 2008A. The proceeds from the sale of these bonds will be used by the Agency for the purpose of refunding certain prior obligations and providing funds for certain system improvements in the form of the construction and installation of pollution control and monitoring facilities for the Agency’s electric generating plant. It is anticipated that issuing these bonds will lower the Agency’s overall costs by restructuring its debt obligations.

It is also anticipated that the planned improvements to the Agency’s electric generating plant will position the Agency to take full advantage of governmental incentives to minimize pollution from power generating facilities and will, likewise, improve air quality in the Bryan area.

The majority of the City of Greenville’s electricity comes from the TMPA electric generating plant which is located near Bryan, Texas. The City of Greenville has a contractual partnership in TMPA along with the cities of Garland, Denton and Bryan.

Bryan has opposed the issuance of these bonds and has filed lawsuits to stop both the favorable debt restructuring and environmental system improvements. These new lawsuits follow ten years of litigation that recently ended with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision of December 14, 2007, rejecting Bryan’s efforts to have state regulators rewrite Bryan’s contractual agreement with the Agency. Just two months after the Supreme Court’s rejection of Bryan’s claims became final, Bryan filed its new lawsuits in Brazos, Grimes and Travis County in yet another attempt to rewrite its agreement and obligations with the Agency. The Brazos County lawsuit has already been dismissed, and the cities of Denton and Garland have joined Greenville in asking the Travis County court to transfer Bryan’s claims against them to Hunt County as required by Texas law.

In due course, the City of Greenville looks forward to its opportunity to address Bryan’s claims, and anticipates that the Courts will reject Bryan’s latest attempt to rewrite its contract with the Agency by filing lawsuits against the Agency and its member cities. The City of Greenville remains convinced that the recent bond resolution offers an excellent opportunity for the Agency to favorably restructure its debt obligations while preparing the future use of the Agency’s electric generating plant to be more operationally efficient and environmentally sensitive.

GEUS Reduces Fuel Adjustment Charge and Power Cost Recovery Factor

(October 1, 2008) GEUS announced today that the Utility’s Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC\PCRF) will be lowered to 5 cents\kWh for all commercial and residential bills effective October 1st. This is down from 7.426 cents. The FAC\PCRF is a pass-through charge based on GEUS’ actual cost to generate or purchase power. This decrease equates to monthly savings of $24.26 for the average 1,000 kWh residential user.

GEUS receives over 60% of Greenville’s energy from its share of TMPA’s Gibbons Creek coal-fired generation plant. Coal remains a stable, cost-effective fuel for the production of electricity, but the majority of electricity produced for Texans comes from natural gas generation. The remaining balance of Greenville’s needs come from these natural gas sources.

Lower natural gas prices over the past few months resulted in GEUS having a lower cost to produce or purchase power.

“GEUS is pleased to pass on these lower fuel costs to our consumers,” said GEUS General Manager David McCalla.

GEUS Crew Provides Assistance in Jasper, TX

(September 15, 2008) GEUS has sent a four-man Transmission & Distribution crew to Jasper, TX to help restore power that was lost due to wind damage from Hurricane Ike. The crew consisting of Paul Scott, Roger Weems, Justin Mason and Juanito Hendricks left early Sunday morning after it was confirmed that the GEUS system had not been damaged.

Jasper, a municipally owned electric system with approximately 4500 meters, is located about 80 miles southeast of Nacogdoches near Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Upon reaching Jasper, the crew restored power to several sections of town before nightfall. As of noon on Monday, approximately 80% of the City’s electric service had been restored.

GEUS crews assisted Jasper in power restoration after Hurricane Rita in 2005.

The Texas Public Power Association (TPPA), consisting of the 75 municipally-owned utilities in Texas, quickly organized efforts on Sunday to assist the four member-cities in East Texas plus investor-owned utilities and cooperatives damaged in Ike’s path. Assisting crews are finding many challenges ranging from lodging to fuel for vehicles to ice for water coolers.

GEUS To Provide Low Income Assistance

(September 2, 2008) The GEUS Board recently selected Hunt County Shared Ministries (FISH) to distribute $10,000 to qualified low income customers in need of assistance in purchasing electricity. FISH is a not-for-profit organization that has been assisting Hunt County families for 27 years. FISH’s assistance includes medical, dental, prescriptions, food, utilities and rent or mortgages.

FISH will issue homes up to $150 in vouchers/year to be used to purchase electricity on GEUS’ emPOWER Pay-As-You-Go program.

To be eligible a customer must:

• Reside in the GEUS service area
• Be a current GEUScustomer
• Meet income eligibility of 125% or below the Federal poverty level
• Meet one of the following priority categories:
  • 60 years of age or older
  • Documented disabled
  • Families with children three years or younger

FISH is located at 2805 King St. behind the former Post Office on Wesley Street.

GEUS Adds To Generation Portfolio

(August 13, 2008) The GEUS Board of Trustees recently met in special session to approve plans to purchase 25 megawatts (MW) of natural gas generation to be sited adjacent to the current Steam Plant in north Greenville. This additional 25 MW will bring GEUS’ total available generation to 158 MW.

Finland-based Wärtsilä (pronounced Vart` sila) is a world leader in decentralized power plants and has been selected to provide the generation based on a detailed cost-benefit analysis of peaking generation alternatives performed by engineering consultant Burns & McDonnell.

“These reciprocating engines are 30% more efficient than our Steam Plant units and they meet or exceed very stringent air emissions rules,” said GEUS General Manager David McCalla. “Because the ERCOT wholesale market is an energy-only market with market price caps of over $2000 per megawatt-hour, GEUS needs this type of quick start generation in order to self-provide energy during intervals of high market prices.”

It is anticipated that the new generation will operate economically for about 1500 hours per year. The new plant will also allow v to receive revenue by providing ancillary services to the ERCOT market.

GEUScurrently receives the majority of its energy from its base load coal-fired Gibbons Creek generation plant. When Greenville’s needs exceed Gibbons’ output, GEUS can either produce power locally through the natural gas-fired Steam Plant or buy energy on the open market dependent upon the current market price. The Steam Plant is an older less efficient plant, but has been called upon quite often the last few years as it could produce power cheaper than could be purchased.

The cost of the new generating plant is $35,000,000 and is expected to lower GEUS’ cost to produce or purchase energy by $4,900,000 a year. “These savings will be passed along to GEUS customers in what is expected to be about an 8% reduction in the overall cost paid by our consumers,” added McCalla.

GEUS recently paid off the last of the $23,000,000 debt issuance that was incurred when the autonomous GEUS Board was formed in 1989. It will be necessary to issue new revenue bonds to pay for the new generating plant. The GEUS Board will hold a Public Hearing on August 28, 2008 to take input from the public.

“This additional generation secures GEUS’ ability to continue to provide Greenville with competitive power now and for many years in the future,” said GEUS Board of Trustees Chairman Sue Ann Harting.

The new plant is expected to be operational in late 2010.

Benefits

*Fast start capability of being fully loaded in 8 minutes provides a hedge against price spikes related, or unrelated, to growing amounts of wind generation in Texas

*Light industrial-look to the plant with no visible smoke or steam release

*Low noise levels and little to no water needs

*Low emissions levels

*Flexible multi unit plant size allowing for expansion as community grows

*Capable of continuous run or fast start peaking

*Efficient and competitive operating cost

*Ability to provide ancillary services including black start service

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade and Technical press release, 13 August 2008

Wärtsilä to deliver 25 MWe gas power plant to GEUS in Greenville, Texas

Wärtsilä North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Wärtsilä Corporation and a leading provider of power plants for flexible power generation, has been awarded an engineered equipment supply contract by GEUS, a municipally-owned electric power, cable and high speed Internet system located in Greenville, Texas, USA.

This is Wärtsilä’s first power plant order for a municipally-owned utility in the state of Texas. The contract for the 25 MWe gas-fired power plant is valued at over 19 million USD. The plant will help provide power to the 26,000 consumers in Greenville and the surrounding area served by GEUS, as well as help to meet their 113 MW peak demand. It will also be dispatched to meet ERCOT’s (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) requirements.

The power plant, to be called “Greenville Engine Plant” will operate on pipeline quality natural gas and feature three Wärtsilä 20V34SG engines, along with mechanical, electrical and control auxiliaries, switchgear and exhaust emission controls. Additionally, Wärtsilä will provide installation and commissioning support, as well as factory training.

“Wärtsilä was chosen due to the efficiency of their engines and fast start capability which will allow GEUS to self-provide energy during intervals of high market prices,” said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager. “This addition to our resource portfolio supports GEUS’ mission of providing the most economical, reliable power available to the Greenville, Texas community,” McCalla added.

“Wärtsilä is delighted to be working with Mr. McCalla and his team at GEUS, the first municipally-owned electric utility in Texas, for this new flexible power plant”, says Wayne Elmore, Business Development Manager for Wärtsilä in North America. “This much needed project will provide clean, high efficiency peaking and fast response power to Greenville and the ERCOT market.”

The plant will be connected to the local utility’s grid and located on an existing power plant site in Greenville, Texas, which is about 50 miles northeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The equipment is expected to arrive at the site in August of 2010, with the entire plant entering commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Wärtsilä´s flexible power plants – a superior alternative

Wärtsilä’s flexible power plants features include the ability to reach full plant output in eight minutes, provide 25 percent power in two minutes, the highest simple cycle efficiency available in the industry, constant performance over varying ambient conditions, low lifecycle costs, small unit sizes and rapid response to varying grid conditions.

Wärtsilä’s natural gas fueled technology has the capability to operate efficiently at low loads. This feature not only translates into lower electricity costs for GEUS’ consumer/owners, but it also increases the number of megawatts of “non-spinning reserve” available to the ERCOT grid, thereby increasing the value of the plant. Additionally, Wärtsilä’s flexible power plants are able to supply all commercially traded ancillary services, including black start capabilities.

Wärtsilä’s flexible power plants also allow customers to meet today’s increasingly stringent air quality requirements. Furthermore, by employing a closed loop cooling system, Wärtsilä’s engines do not consume process water or require significant wastewater treatment or disposal. This helps to address the growing concern over water supply in many areas of the US.

About GEUS

GEUS became the first municipally-owned electric utility in Texas in 1891. In 2001, 110 years later, it became the first municipally-owned cable television and high speed Internet operation in Texas. GEUS offers these services to the 26,000 plus consumer\owners living in the Greenville, Texas area located approximately 50 miles east of Dallas, Texas. GEUS is governed by an autonomous board of trustees that is appointed by the Greenville City Council.

For further information about GEUS, please contact:

David McCalla
GEUS General Manager
903-457-2800
dmccalla@geus.org
www.geus.org

About Wärtsilä Corporation

Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 17,000 professionals manning 160 Wärtsilä locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on The Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland. www.wartsila.com/power

GEUS’ Fuel Cost Rising

(June 27, 2008) Increasing natural gas prices coupled with higher electric load due to above average temperatures in June have caused purchased power costs to increase significantly. GEUS will be increasing the Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC\PCRF) from 5.626 cents\kWh to 7.426 cents beginning July 1st.

Electric consumers across Texas have seen dramatic increases in their cooling bills this year due to a large percentage of Texas’ electricity being produced from natural gas-fired generation. Current natural gas costs are at or above levels only seen after Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Consumers can help minimize GEUS’ need to call upon natural gas generation by conserving electricity during peak demand periods such as summer afternoons. Twice this summer the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas has issued a Yellow Alert asking Texans to eliminate unnecessary electric demand to avoid potential shortages between the hours of 3PM and 7PM.

“We want to assure everyone that GEUS has plenty of available power, but thru conservation we can reduce our overall cost by reducing the need for expensive supplemental natural gas-fired generation,” said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager.

Despite the FAC\PCRF increase, GEUS’ rates remain very competitive due to its coal-fired generation advantage and can be compared to other utilities at the PUC website www.powertochoose.org

GEUS Summer Rates To Begin

(May 28, 2008) June marks the beginning of this year’s summer residential electric billing season. Many Texas utilities, including GEUS, have a discounted winter rate during the non-summer months.

Local citizens are fortunate to receive the majority of their power from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant near Bryan, TX. Access to coal-fired generation allows GEUS to hold down its pass-through fuel adjustment charge\power cost recovery factor which is currently at 5.626 cents\kWh.

This makes Greenville resident’s electric costs substantially lower than neighboring cities. The Public Utility Commission’s website www.powertochoose.org lists neighboring community’s rates varying between 11.3 cents and 18.4 cents\kWh. On average, GEUS’ residential service was 10.2 cents\kWh in April or 10%-45% cheaper than options available in surrounding communities.

“Despite the volatility in the natural gas market, coal pricing has remained stable. GEUS’ access to coal-fired generation should keep Greenville’s electric rates competitive for many years,” said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager.

GEUS to Purchase Former Post Office Building

(May 22, 2008) The GEUS Board has authorized General Manager David McCalla to execute an agreement with an intent to purchase the former Post Office at 2810 Wesley for $550,000. This facility will combine customer service employees that are currently spread between three other facilities. Customer service facilities will eventually be closed at 2821 Washington and 6000 Joe Ramsey once renovations are complete at the new location. The drop box location at 6000 Joe Ramsey will remain active with payments processed daily.

Environmental studies leading up to the purchase estimated the asbestos abatement costs to be approximately $169,000.

“GEUS’ total cost of the building, including asbestos abatement, will be less than what it would cost to build a new one and will put a very structurally-sound building back in use in the downtown region,” said McCalla.

Moving employees from the current locations will free up space for GEUS and avoid lease payments at two facilities. GEUS also leases space at 3011 St John to house the metering vehicles.

Several buildings were evaluated for the Consumer Service Center. Evaluation factors included: size; location; accessibility; customer, employee, and GEUS vehicle parking; suitability to include a drive through; initial cost; and renovation cost.

Since most of GEUS’ customer transactions take place at the existing downtown facility, a location near the downtown area was preferred. The former Post Office facility met the evaluation criteria better than other alternatives.

“The goal is to improve customer service by developing a facility that better utilizes our staff while increasing privacy and security for our customers,” said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager.

GEUS Scholarship Winner Announced

(May 16, 2008) The winner of the annual GEUS Scholarship for 2008 is Greenville Christian School student CodiJo Jackson.

High school seniors from the GEUS service area were eligible to apply for the scholarship. Students had to submit a 500 word essay on the topic of electricity produced by natural resources (green power). Submissions were judged on content, creativity, and accuracy by a panel of GEUS employees.

Read the essay, “Green Power for a Better Greenville!”

GEUS to Move Downtown Lines

(May 8, 2008) GEUS Cable & Internet crews will be working early this Sunday morning to relocate their fiber optics cable on Lee Street between Wesley and Oak to Jordan. Cable and Internet services will be off for approximately 400 customers in that area from midnight until approximately 6 a.m. Sunday morning.

These are the last of GEUS’ lines attached to the poles in this block of Lee St. GEUS will later remove the poles once other utility’s lines have been removed.

GEUS Fuel Cost to Increase Again

(April 28, 2008) Due to near record high natural gas prices, GEUS has again had to increase its fuel adjustment charge\power cost recovery factor (FAC\PCRF). The increase May 1st will bring GEUS’ FAC\PCRF to 5.626 cents\kWh. This will increase the average 1,000 kWh residential user’s cost by an additional $10/month.

Local citizens are fortunate to receive the majority of their power from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant near Bryan, TX. Electricity produced from natural gas-fired generation typically costs about four to five times more than that from coal-fired generation. Near record high natural gas costs over $11/MMBTU triggered the increased cost to the fuel portion of consumer’s bills. Texan’s receive a large portion of their electricity from natural gas generation and have seen dramatic increases since 1999 when natural gas was trading in the $2/MMBTU range. Despite this increase, GEUS’ fuel charge continues to be among the lowest in Texas due to its diverse fuel mix.

“The coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant has performed well in recent years and is providing record output after recent maintenance”, said GEUS General Manager David McCalla. “It is very important we get as much power as we can get from Gibbons right now to limit our dependence upon natural gas-fired generation whether that be from our plant here locally or purchases on the open market”, added McCalla.

Greenville citizens that care to see how their cost of electricity compares to other communities can visit the GEUS rate comparison page or www.powertochoose.org .

GEUS Fuel Cost to Increase

(March 27, 2008) Greenville citizens will be seeing an increased cost in their electricity beginning April 1st due to the rising cost of natural gas. Natural gas is used to produce a large amount of Texas’ power. GEUS’ current fuel adjustment charge\power cost recovery factor (FAC\PCRF) of 3.626 cents\kWh will increase to 4.626 cents. This will increase the average 1,000 kWh residential user’s cost by $10/month. This represents about a 10% increase to the consumer’s overall electric bill.

Local citizens are fortunate to receive the majority of their power from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant near Bryan, TX. Electricity produced from natural gas-fired generation typically costs about four times more than that from coal-fired generation. Near record high natural gas costs triggered the increased cost to the fuel portion of consumer’s bills. Despite this increase, GEUS’ fuel charge continues to be among the lowest in Texas due to our diverse fuel mix.

GEUS’ base electric rates, which pay for power plants, the electric system, personnel and equipment, will remain the same and have not changed since the base rates were lowered in March 2005. Greenville’s electric costs remain very competitive with neighboring cities and can be compared at the Public Utility Commission of Texas’ website .

GEUS’ fuel charge is a dollar-for-dollar recovery of the cost of fuel used for generating energy for retail sales, purchased power and certain related Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) costs. There is no revenue in excess of cost collected in the fuel charge.

“GEUS is very fortunate to have long-term access to Gibbons Creek’s coal-fired generation”, said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager. “The projected life span of that plant is another 22 years”, McCalla added.

Customers who opt for GEUS’ prepaid emPOWER electric program pay the same rate as customers with traditional metering, but incur no penalties nor disconnect fees.

GEUS adds 21 new channels

(January 2, 2008) GEUS Cable TV recently added 21 new channels to Greenville’s line up. Nine of the channels were added to the standard GEUS packages and an additional twelve were added to GEUS’ high definition (HD) lineup. Including premium channels, the GEUS HD offerings have grown to 26 HD channels since its launch in 2004.

HD channels that were added include: Starz! HD(with Starz! subscription)-387, A&E HD(Arts & Entertainment)-229, Universal HD(Universal Studio Movies)-228, History Channel HD-227, TNT HD(Variety)-226, KFWD DT(Variety plus Big 10 & 12 Conference Sports)-222, WGN HD(Variety)-218, KDFI HD(Variety)-217, KDTX DT(Religious)-214, KDAF HD(Variety)-209, ION DT(Family-Friendly)-207 & KTXA HD(Variety)-206

Other channels that were added include: JCTV(Christian Music)-150, The Church Channel(Religious)-149, Worship(Religious)-148, ION Life(Self-Help)-147, QUBO(Children)-146, LATV(Spanish Music)-145, Crime & Investigations-118, Military History-115 & TV One(Lifestyle\Entertainment)-67

To maximize picture quality, GEUS is currently testing and expects to soon begin digital-simulcast of many of the first 77 non-digital channels. “Our goal is to take what we consider to be good picture quality and improve it”, said Jim Tyler, Cable & Internet Manager. “We are very pleased with the results so far,” Tyler added. This will require no additional equipment in consumer’s homes.

Due to ongoing increases in programming costs, GEUS will be increasing the monthly rate of some of the cable packages effective January 1, 2008. The new monthly prices are: Economy Plus-77 channels-$39.95 Digital-160 channels-$49.95 HBO-$12.95 Showtime-$12.95 Cinemax-$7.95 Diversion Greenville-$6.25