emerald
Vol 83, No 3
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Tuesday, June 30, 1981
BPA increases raise
local electricity rates
By HEIDI SWILLINGER
Ot th* Enwratd
Eugene residents can expect to pay
24 5 percent more for electricity after
Aug 1. says Eugene Water and Electric
Board rates manager Garry Kunkel
Currently the average customer who
uses 1,500 kilowatt hours pays a monthly
bill of approximately $30 But if the EWEB
board passes the proposed increase at
its July 6 meeting the average resident
will pay $38
The rate hike — the second since Oc
tober of 1980 — is a result of upcoming
increases implemented by the Bonneville
Power Administration Kunkel says The
BPA which supplies 75 percent of
EWEB s power will charge EWEB $6 7
million more over the next year begin
ning July 1
General Manager Keith Parks says the
BPA rate hike will result in a $1 1 billion
overall increase which includes
• $350 to $500 million in annual costs to
serve residential and rural customers
• $188 million to cover short-term power
purchases under the regional power act
• A VO-percent inflation rate
$291 million to aid the financially
floundering Washington Public Power
Supply System nuclear plants
• $390 million to pay back federal in
vestment costs
Parks says the BPA hikes will result in a
66 percent overall increase for EWEB
"Ours was the highest," he says adding
that the average increase for other public
utilities was only 59 percent
In an unrelated matter, the EWEB
board voted last week to spend $250,000
over the next 18 months on a site permit
for a coal-fired plant in Washington
EWEB has until the end of 1982 to decide
whether or not to buy a 1 5 percent share
of the project at a cost of $50 million
"Currently, we re exploring the pos
sibility," says Ken Rmard, director of
operations and engineering In a year’s
time, we may decide the cost is too
great ”
The plant, which would begin opera
tion m 1987 at the earliest, could provide
about 8 percent of EWEB's electricity,
says Rmard
Currently. EWEB relies on the BPA for
three-fourths of its electricity Hydro
electric plants on the McKenzie river
generate another 18 percent while the
rest is supplied by publicly owned utilities
in Washington
The BPA has a certain amount of
generation which will only go so far,"
Rmard says They can't supply load
growth Some utility other than Bon
neville has to build the generation "
Rmard estimates EWEB users will pay
about 10 percent more every year to
meet rising energy demands. "Any new
power whether or not it's coal, will cost
more money The average user wifi see a
doubling of power costs every four or five
years ”
The coal plant will be built in Creston,
Wash by the Washington Water Power
Company It's going to be a fair-sized
plant,' Rmard says It could have quite
an effect on the local community of
Creston "
Though he says that burning of fossil
fuels such as coal contributes to air
pollution, Rinard says of the proposed
plant. "There's going to be certain
mounts of air pollutants (carbon dioxide,
sulfur), but they're relatively minor."
Fees, fines-foes of fun;
hold on to your shorts!
By ANN PORTAL
04 th» Emaratd
The University has printed a work that
never will be a best-seller, but it's a fine
pamphlet, nonetheless
As a matter of fact, the unbound codex
is 57 pages of fines, fees, penalties,
service charges and ‘ etc " charged by
the University It now stands revised and
ready for the 1981-82 school year
And the list proves, with 47 department
headings. 41 sub-headings and in
numerable sub-sub-headings, that the
hapless student who has lost a library
book, misplaced a physical education
towel and overparked the car has only
just begun to taste the ticket
Not surprisingly, the University has
some interesting fines and fees buried
among the mundane
For example, consider charges for
damaged or missing athletic equip
ment " Summer athletes probably
should know that lost yellow shorts are
going to cost $8 — $2 more than green
shorts Green and yellow tops are the
same price, however
Locks are more expensive than jocks
by 4 cents, but according to the list,
athletic department jocks” are less than
half the price of physical education
"supporters ”
Speaking of locks — don't forget your
chemistry locker key It costs 25 cents
every time "student fails to bring own
key "
Find some unusual specimens this
summer that you want stored? The
Oregon anthropology museum offers an
alternative to a shoebox in the closet —
$50 (minimum) per storage drawer
Living in a residence hall is "a pretty
good deal,' says a recent University
housing advertisement But remember
that "weekend guests’’ cost $3, per
night Carrying food out of the dining
room can set you back $10 And keep in
mind late Friday nights that returning
furniture to the lounge costs $10 and
cars parked on lawns, sidewalks or any
area where such parking causes actual
or potential damage to natural or lands
caped features” is another $10
If all the fines and fees are driving you
crazy, perhaps you can help out a poor
psychology student who's paying a $246
special fee for examination and as
sessment of brain damaged person” —
volunteer your time
Photo by Bill Wack
Because it’s dirty
Steve Parker, aided by Ron Over
meyer, struggles for the summit of a
Parr Tower chimney in an effort to
scrape off some of the grime and soot
that has built up over the years The two
residents of the University co-op
volunteered their time as part of an
over-all effort to rennovate and clean
several student housing complexes