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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2016)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM in 2015 Hermiston Energy Services customers were without power for an av- erage of 3.5 hours over the year. The average, howev- er, is not spread out even- ly. Some connected to the Butte substation, for ex- ample, experienced power outages on May 18, May 13 and Feb. 22 while other HES customers have not experienced any disruption in service all year. A mid-2014 compari- son by the East Oregonian found that HES custom- ers were without power an average of 3.6 hours over the course of 12 months, compared with 3.1 hours at Umatilla Electric Coopera- tive, 1.4 hours with Paciic Power and less than a min- ute with Milton-Freewater Electric. “We’re providing ser- vice 99.96 percent of the time, but people notice when it’s off,” Rivera said. Improving reliability costs money, however, and Hermiston Energy Ser- vices doesn’t have as much as it used to. The utility didn’t raise rates between POWER: continued from Page A1 of smart meters that would tell HES when the power is out. Currently, the utility depends on customers to report when their lights go out, and then depends on a visual check of the neigh- borhood to assess how far the blackout extends. “We’re still driving around with our head out the window,” Rivera said. A smart meter system would alert HES as soon as the power goes out and give a map of the outage, allow- ing crews to more quickly pinpoint the problem and begin working to ix it. It would also save on opera- tional costs for meter read- ing and allow HES to give customers a more detailed account of how their pow- er use luctuates throughout the day. The estimated cost would be between $1.5 mil- lion and $1.75 million. On Monday Rivera pre- sented the reliability num- bers for HES, noting that WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 FROM PAGE A1 STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST Electrical equipment at a substation near the Umatilla Electric Cooperative ofice on West Elm Avenue help supply power to Umatilla Electric and Hermiston Energy Services. 2003 and 2015, prefer- ring to subsidize operating costs through its reserve fund rather than increasing rates. As a result, HES rates for the average residen- tial customer run at about $116 per month, compared to $118 for UEC, $199 for PGE and $227 for Paciic Power. Rivera said in 2014- 2015 alone the utility used almost $1 million of its reserves, which is why the city implemented an 11 percent rate increase in 2015. Much of the increased cost of doing business came from continued in- creases in price from Bon- neville Power Administra- tion, which sells Hermiston Energy Services its whole- sale power. Those increas- es are expected to continue on a regular basis. To put HES operations in the black and also come up with the money for cap- ital improvement, Rivera recommended the city ap- prove a rate increase of ap- proximately 4.4 percent for the coming iscal year and a similar or larger increase the year after. He also recommended that the city reinance the bond that funded the for- FIRE: continued from Page A1 a sedan. The four motorcy- clists were traveling togeth- er from Tacoma, Washing- ton. A LifeFlight helicopter lew one victim from the scene and ambulances took three other injured people to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. As bystanders and lat- er irst responders worked to take care of the injured, lames lared up multiple times along the side of the road, at one point jumping the interstate and burning the sagebrush in the median where the crash scattered debris. All four lanes were closed to trafic for several hours. Hermiston Fire & Emer- gency Services spokesper- son J.W. Roberts at about 4:30 p.m. said the ire was 30 percent contained and mop-up and patrol oper- ations would go on for hours. The ire burned over 3,000 acres and consumed one small building, a larger, vacant building and power poles. About 70 responders in all were at the ire, he said, from ire agencies in Uma- tilla and Morrow counties, plus members of the Ore- gon Military Department, state police and transpor- STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Trafic stands still in the southbound lane of Interstate 82 after a wreck near a wildire on the Umatilla Army Depot on Monday west of Hermiston. Smoke caused multiple accidents on the freeway, causing authorities to close the interstate. The headlights of ire vehicle can be seen though heavy smoke as lames erupt as ire burns into a patch of sagebrush on Monday at a wildire on the Umatilla Army Depot west of Hermiston. tation department and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Af- fairs. In total, 19 engines and seven water tenders were dispatched, according to information from Herm- iston Fire Chief Scott Stan- ton. The spark of the ire may have come from an pot land to the Columbia Development Authority, a partnership of local gov- ernment entities. Part of the land will be used for a National Guard training base, part of it will func- tion as a nature preserve Oregon Army National Guard member training with an “artillery simula- tion round,” Roberts said, though the state military department considers the cause under investigation. The U.S. Army is in the process of transferring the Umatilla Chemical De- and some of it has been zoned industrial and will be marketed for economic development. Greg Smith, executive director of the Columbia Development Authority, said the ire shouldn’t de- mation of the municipal utility in 2001. There are currently 17 years left on the bond, and various re- inancing options would save the city money on in- terest payments. Rivera said the budget he has submitted for 2016- 2017 includes $500,000 for the new substation, and a bond reinance would mean that the utility only had to pay on interest, not principal, in 2016- 2017, providing an extra $450,000 in savings to also pay for the new substation. “It really makes sense for us to look at this,” he said. City councilors and Mayor David Drotzmann agreed. “We can’t keep using our savings,” Drotzmann said. “That’s not sustain- able.” Nothing was adopted at Monday’s meeting, but Ri- vera said now that he has direction from the coun- cil he will put something together on the reinance and rate increase and come back to the council later in the summer. lay transfer of the land, which is anticipated in spring 2017. The nature of the National Guard activi- ties — including irearms training — coupled with the acres of dry sagebrush always has made ire a concern on the property, he said. This ire just un- derscores how “critical” the conversation with the Army is about making sure there is suficient water on site for ire suppression. Smith said the moment the land is transferred to the CDA they will sign agreements with area fire districts in Umatil- la County and Morrow County to make sure the people and property on the land are protected, while also making sure those districts benefit from the expanded tax base that development of the property will bring Time is running out! Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? W e’ve Got YOU covered! Paio Covers Pergolas · Sunrooms Retractable Awnings FREE estimates! Screen Rooms 541-720-0772 Handrail · Sun/Solar Visit our showroom: Shades & More! 102 E Columbia Dr. FINAL WEEKEND for these offers. Lease a 2016 Corolla LE License License #188965 #188965 for only Kennewick, WA 99336 www.mybackyardbydesign.com $ 159 National Save Your Hearing Day per mo/ 36 mos. 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