A RATE COMPARISON between Liberty Utilities and Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) was made available to the public during the Sierra County Board of Supervisors’ meeting in Loyalton February 18th. Supervisor Sharon Dryden reported during Committee Reports that she and Supervisor Paul Roen were part of a committee looking into Liberty’s increase to power rates. She and Roen spoke with representatives in Portola which included Portola’s City Manager and Plumas County Supervisors. She stated there may be an opportunity for Plumas-Sierra to absorb Loyalton, Portola and Sierra Brooks into its service district, adding it was important for the community to understand as they look at options. Liberty Utilities (formerly Cal-Peco) is a for-profit, investor-owned utility that is a part of Algonquin Power and Utilities Corporation, with power production projects, electric utilities, and water utilities throughout the U.S.PSREC is a non-profit utility owned by its members. PSREC was founded in 1937 and brought power to those homes and towns that Sierra Pacific Power Company, another for-profit, investor-owned utility, wouldn’t serve. PSREC is substantially less expensive than Liberty for all rate classes for people with normal or high usage.
For very low usage customers (seasonal use only or solar users) Liberty would provide a slightly lower monthly cost, as PSREC has a higher fixed charge than Liberty but lower kWh rates. This is true for Small Commercial as well as Residential. Residential – Liberty is about 20% more expensive for average users than PSREC. (Liberty is proposing an additional 23% Residential rate increase. It is unknown what the California Public Utilities Commission will approve.)Small Commercial – Liberty is 30% - 60% more expensive than PSREC unless it is for very low usage. (Liberty is proposing an additional 20% Small Commercial rate increase.)Medium Commercial – Liberty is generally more than 60% more expensive than PSREC depending on usage and time of the year. An in-depth analysis would be required of the hospital or Loyalton High School’s year-round usage to obtain more accurate information. (Liberty is proposing a 37% rate increase for Medium Commercial.)Power Agricultural – There are only a few agricultural wells on Liberty. For a regular pumping season, Liberty is about 50% more expensive than PSREC, though that number swings with usage. (Liberty is proposing a 15% increase for Power Agricultural.)PSREC is proposing no rate increases at this time. PSREC has had increases in the recent past similar to other non-profit utilities and may have more in the future. PSREC’s board of directors to management is to minimize outages and to keep rates as flat as possible while staying financially strong and safe. Additionally, PSREC returns capital credits to its members, typically once per year in the form of credits on member’s bills.In comparing reliability, PSREC has a full crew and a troubleman in Delleker, just west of Portola, as well as a separate full crew located in Milford to serve its North End.Liberty has one troubleman stationed in Portola and outage restoration for Liberty must come from electric crews dispatched from the Lake Tahoe region. PSREC is constructing a new high voltage transmission line near Herlong to improve service to its members. Additionally, PSREC spends $2 to $3 million per year in system upgrades.
JUSTIFICATION OF SPEED ZONES in and around Sierraville was discussed during the Sierra County Board of Supervisors’ meeting held in Loyalton on February 18th after receiving a letter from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).Public Works Director Bryan Davey explained the letter is similar to what they are going through in Sierra City. Caltrans is proposing to increase the current 0.31 mile long 45 mph speed zone back to maximum speed based on one accident in the three-year period due to unsafe passing and 85th percentile speeds were 8-11 mph higher than existing speed limit. The current 1.31 mile long 35 mph in Sierraville has a recommendation to 40 mph based on one accident in the three-year period. The collision records are below the statewide average rate with the primary collision factor listed as a right of way violation. The 85th percentile speeds were 1-8 mph higher than the posted speed limit. Caltrans is also proposing to increase the speed zone on the stretch of Highway 49 and 89 in Sierraville from 35 to 40 mph based on two accidents in the three-year period. According to state accident records, the primary collision factors were improper turn and failure to yield. The 85th percentile speeds were 0-10 mph higher than the existing posted speed limit. Davey stated this would be a major impact to Sierraville, as the community wants a lower speed limit. He recommended scheduling a public hearing to get input from the community. Supervisor Sharon Dryden agreed they should follow the same steps they are doing with Sierra City. The Board gave direction to respond to Caltrans on having a public hearing. Davey said he spoke with County Counsel Rhetta Vander-Ploeg and discussed legislative actions AB 43 and AB 1938 which helps local communities manage speed zones. Unfortunately, that legislation exempted state highways. He encouraged the Board to ask legislators to remove that exemption, adding most communities would like more control through their main streets. Dryden stated this affects every single town. Davey felt Loyalton may be addressing this issue soon as well. A public hearing will be held Tuesday, March 18th at 10 a.m. during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in Loyalton. Davey gave an update on Sierra City speed surveys, stating he had a consultation with Caltrans where not a lot of progress was made. He said the best solution in Caltrans’ mind is to do design changes within the main street corridors to reduce speeds. Davey was going to have a report for the Public Hearing on March 4th during the Sup’s meeting in Downieville.
For very low usage customers (seasonal use only or solar users) Liberty would provide a slightly lower monthly cost, as PSREC has a higher fixed charge than Liberty but lower kWh rates. This is true for Small Commercial as well as Residential. Residential – Liberty is about 20% more expensive for average users than PSREC. (Liberty is proposing an additional 23% Residential rate increase. It is unknown what the California Public Utilities Commission will approve.)Small Commercial – Liberty is 30% - 60% more expensive than PSREC unless it is for very low usage. (Liberty is proposing an additional 20% Small Commercial rate increase.)Medium Commercial – Liberty is generally more than 60% more expensive than PSREC depending on usage and time of the year. An in-depth analysis would be required of the hospital or Loyalton High School’s year-round usage to obtain more accurate information. (Liberty is proposing a 37% rate increase for Medium Commercial.)Power Agricultural – There are only a few agricultural wells on Liberty. For a regular pumping season, Liberty is about 50% more expensive than PSREC, though that number swings with usage. (Liberty is proposing a 15% increase for Power Agricultural.)PSREC is proposing no rate increases at this time. PSREC has had increases in the recent past similar to other non-profit utilities and may have more in the future. PSREC’s board of directors to management is to minimize outages and to keep rates as flat as possible while staying financially strong and safe. Additionally, PSREC returns capital credits to its members, typically once per year in the form of credits on member’s bills.In comparing reliability, PSREC has a full crew and a troubleman in Delleker, just west of Portola, as well as a separate full crew located in Milford to serve its North End.Liberty has one troubleman stationed in Portola and outage restoration for Liberty must come from electric crews dispatched from the Lake Tahoe region. PSREC is constructing a new high voltage transmission line near Herlong to improve service to its members. Additionally, PSREC spends $2 to $3 million per year in system upgrades.
JUSTIFICATION OF SPEED ZONES in and around Sierraville was discussed during the Sierra County Board of Supervisors’ meeting held in Loyalton on February 18th after receiving a letter from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).Public Works Director Bryan Davey explained the letter is similar to what they are going through in Sierra City. Caltrans is proposing to increase the current 0.31 mile long 45 mph speed zone back to maximum speed based on one accident in the three-year period due to unsafe passing and 85th percentile speeds were 8-11 mph higher than existing speed limit. The current 1.31 mile long 35 mph in Sierraville has a recommendation to 40 mph based on one accident in the three-year period. The collision records are below the statewide average rate with the primary collision factor listed as a right of way violation. The 85th percentile speeds were 1-8 mph higher than the posted speed limit. Caltrans is also proposing to increase the speed zone on the stretch of Highway 49 and 89 in Sierraville from 35 to 40 mph based on two accidents in the three-year period. According to state accident records, the primary collision factors were improper turn and failure to yield. The 85th percentile speeds were 0-10 mph higher than the existing posted speed limit. Davey stated this would be a major impact to Sierraville, as the community wants a lower speed limit. He recommended scheduling a public hearing to get input from the community. Supervisor Sharon Dryden agreed they should follow the same steps they are doing with Sierra City. The Board gave direction to respond to Caltrans on having a public hearing. Davey said he spoke with County Counsel Rhetta Vander-Ploeg and discussed legislative actions AB 43 and AB 1938 which helps local communities manage speed zones. Unfortunately, that legislation exempted state highways. He encouraged the Board to ask legislators to remove that exemption, adding most communities would like more control through their main streets. Dryden stated this affects every single town. Davey felt Loyalton may be addressing this issue soon as well. A public hearing will be held Tuesday, March 18th at 10 a.m. during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in Loyalton. Davey gave an update on Sierra City speed surveys, stating he had a consultation with Caltrans where not a lot of progress was made. He said the best solution in Caltrans’ mind is to do design changes within the main street corridors to reduce speeds. Davey was going to have a report for the Public Hearing on March 4th during the Sup’s meeting in Downieville.
