Today (May 12, 2009) the HEA Board of Directors voted to "...direct the
General Manager to cancel the RFP for the Power Supply Study and
transition our cooperative away from involvement in HCCP" [the Healy 2
coal plant]. The process of withdrawing from preliminary commitments to
Healy 2 may require a little time but, when questioned about it, 2 board
members confirmed that the intent is to end HEA's involvement with plans
to restart the Healy 2 plant.
Director Tim Evans made the motion to start the process of disengaging
from the Healy 2 project. It was adopted by a vote of 8 to 1. The single
opposing vote represented concern over discontinuing the Power Supply
Study and did not reflect support for Healy 2.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Update from Board Meeting!
Member/Owners Needed to Attend Meeting
Tuesday (May 12) starting at 5:30 PM in the Homer Offices.
(HEA Board Meetings will be held at the Homer offices May through August)
It would be good for the HEA Board to see a number of ratepayer/members at Tuesday’s meeting.
The Board needs to know that we are not satisfied with Brad Janorschke’s failure to provide good information on the status of Healy 2 negotiations, the Power Supply Study, and small hydroelectric proposals at the Annual Meeting of members. Just see you there reminds them that we are still watching.
It would also be a good opportunity to welcome the newly elected Board Members and encourage them to support more open governance of our coop. You can talk to anything on the agenda early in the meeting (agenda item 4). Other comments will need to wait until later (agenda item 11).
Tuesday’s meeting agenda is pasted below. Hope some of you will find time to join us.
HOMER ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
May 12, 2009
5:30 p.m.
Homer, Alaska
A G E N D A
1.Call to Order
A)Pledge of Allegiance
B)Roll Call
C)Election of Officers (if needed)
2.Changes to the Agenda
3.Business of Visitors
4.HEA Member Comments upon Matters on the Agenda
5.Adoption of the Consent Agenda
A)Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting of April 14, 2009
B)Resolution 09-21, Capital Credits Payment to Estates
6.Correspondence
7.Manager's Report (no exhibit)
8.Committee Reports
A)Operations and Special Projects, David Thomas, Chair
B)Finance, Audit, Rate and Planning, Don Seelinger, Chair
C)APA Report, Debbie Debnam, Board Member (remittance options)
D)Railbelt Utility Task Force, Mike Pate or Tim Evans
9.Unfinished Business
A)Acceptance of February Financial Reports
B)Audio Conferencing Options (presentation)
Board Meeting Agenda Homer Electric Association, Inc. Page 2
10.New Business
A)Resolution 09-22, Scholarship Winners
B)Resolution 09-23, Simplified Rate Filing for the Test Year Ending March 31,
2009
11.General Comments of HEA Members
12.Comments and Discussion by Board Members
13.Calendar Review
- May 12, 2009 / Homer Board Room
12:30 p.m. - Lunch
1:30 p.m. - RW Beck Workshop
3:30 p.m. - AEEC Annual Meeting
3:40 p.m. - AEEC Board of Directors' Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- June 9, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- July 14, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- August 11, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
OTHER MEETINGS
- May 27, 2009............................................
4:00p.m. - CEA Board Meeting
- June 24, 2009...........................................
4:00p.m. - CEA Board Meeting
- August 5-7, 2009 - Kenai/Soldotna...... APA Annual Meeting
14. Adjournment
(HEA Board Meetings will be held at the Homer offices May through August)
It would be good for the HEA Board to see a number of ratepayer/members at Tuesday’s meeting.
The Board needs to know that we are not satisfied with Brad Janorschke’s failure to provide good information on the status of Healy 2 negotiations, the Power Supply Study, and small hydroelectric proposals at the Annual Meeting of members. Just see you there reminds them that we are still watching.
It would also be a good opportunity to welcome the newly elected Board Members and encourage them to support more open governance of our coop. You can talk to anything on the agenda early in the meeting (agenda item 4). Other comments will need to wait until later (agenda item 11).
Tuesday’s meeting agenda is pasted below. Hope some of you will find time to join us.
HOMER ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
May 12, 2009
5:30 p.m.
Homer, Alaska
A G E N D A
1.Call to Order
A)Pledge of Allegiance
B)Roll Call
C)Election of Officers (if needed)
2.Changes to the Agenda
3.Business of Visitors
4.HEA Member Comments upon Matters on the Agenda
5.Adoption of the Consent Agenda
A)Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting of April 14, 2009
B)Resolution 09-21, Capital Credits Payment to Estates
6.Correspondence
7.Manager's Report (no exhibit)
8.Committee Reports
A)Operations and Special Projects, David Thomas, Chair
B)Finance, Audit, Rate and Planning, Don Seelinger, Chair
C)APA Report, Debbie Debnam, Board Member (remittance options)
D)Railbelt Utility Task Force, Mike Pate or Tim Evans
9.Unfinished Business
A)Acceptance of February Financial Reports
B)Audio Conferencing Options (presentation)
Board Meeting Agenda Homer Electric Association, Inc. Page 2
10.New Business
A)Resolution 09-22, Scholarship Winners
B)Resolution 09-23, Simplified Rate Filing for the Test Year Ending March 31,
2009
11.General Comments of HEA Members
12.Comments and Discussion by Board Members
13.Calendar Review
- May 12, 2009 / Homer Board Room
12:30 p.m. - Lunch
1:30 p.m. - RW Beck Workshop
3:30 p.m. - AEEC Annual Meeting
3:40 p.m. - AEEC Board of Directors' Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- June 9, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- July 14, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
- August 11, 2009 / Homer Board Room
2:00 p.m. - Operations Committee Meeting
3:30 p.m. - Finance Committee Meeting
5:30 p.m. - Board of Directors' Meeting
OTHER MEETINGS
- May 27, 2009............................................
4:00p.m. - CEA Board Meeting
- June 24, 2009...........................................
4:00p.m. - CEA Board Meeting
- August 5-7, 2009 - Kenai/Soldotna...... APA Annual Meeting
14. Adjournment
Monday, May 4, 2009
Alaska Coal Workshop
Wednesday May 6th, 2009
Homer
Islands and Ocean Visitors Center 7-9 PM
Join Goldman Prize award winner Judy Bonds and acclaimed lawyer Joe Lovett as they share lessons learned from fighting the destructive impacts of coal strip mining and coal power plants in Appalachia and the Southeast United States. Bonds and Lovett will pull back the curtain on the myth of “clean coal.”
Get information and tools needed to protect our lands, waters, fisheries and sustainable jobs.
Invite family and friends along to hear these two remarkable speakers discuss the true costs of coal!
Homer
Islands and Ocean Visitors Center 7-9 PM
Join Goldman Prize award winner Judy Bonds and acclaimed lawyer Joe Lovett as they share lessons learned from fighting the destructive impacts of coal strip mining and coal power plants in Appalachia and the Southeast United States. Bonds and Lovett will pull back the curtain on the myth of “clean coal.”
Get information and tools needed to protect our lands, waters, fisheries and sustainable jobs.
Invite family and friends along to hear these two remarkable speakers discuss the true costs of coal!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
HEA Board candidate Jim Levine
HEA Board candidate Jim Levine shares HEA Members Forum’s two major objectives:
1. Replace the present policy of exclusion and secrecy by HEA Management and Board with open governance offering greater opportunity for member participation.
2. Move HEA toward a fossil fuel free grid through increased efficiency, embrace of renewable energy technology, prompt phase-out of natural gas & oil, rejection of coal, and greater collaboration with other “railbelt” utilities.
Jim also has the professional expertise and organizational experience to effectively advocate for us during HEA Board policy discussions.
If you haven’t already done so, you can vote for Jim Levine at the Annual HEA Meeting on Thursday, May 7 at Homer High School.
1. Replace the present policy of exclusion and secrecy by HEA Management and Board with open governance offering greater opportunity for member participation.
2. Move HEA toward a fossil fuel free grid through increased efficiency, embrace of renewable energy technology, prompt phase-out of natural gas & oil, rejection of coal, and greater collaboration with other “railbelt” utilities.
Jim also has the professional expertise and organizational experience to effectively advocate for us during HEA Board policy discussions.
If you haven’t already done so, you can vote for Jim Levine at the Annual HEA Meeting on Thursday, May 7 at Homer High School.
Please Attend the Annual HEA Meeting
Thursday, May 7
Homer High School
Registration 4:30 – 6:30 P.M.
Business meeting starts at 6:00 P.M.
A large number of HEA members are needed to support passage of a resolution from the floor to
limit the Board’s ability to sign any binding agreement for purchase of power from the Healy 2 coal plant.
Still haven’t voted for your HEA Board representative? You can do so at the Annual Meeting.
You must register at the beginning of the meeting in order to vote on either issue.
Homer High School
Registration 4:30 – 6:30 P.M.
Business meeting starts at 6:00 P.M.
A large number of HEA members are needed to support passage of a resolution from the floor to
limit the Board’s ability to sign any binding agreement for purchase of power from the Healy 2 coal plant.
Still haven’t voted for your HEA Board representative? You can do so at the Annual Meeting.
You must register at the beginning of the meeting in order to vote on either issue.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Please write letters to the editor NOW (talking points below)
We need media coverage about permitting problems with Healy Coal Plant No. 2 through letters to the editor and op-eds from citizens who want to assure that Healy’s operations will not harm air quality or pose a danger to public health.
Messages should not focus on wholescale abandonment of the project, but rather that, if Healy 2 ever does start up, it must have proper technology and its operations must be consistent with Clean Air Act requirements in order to protect human health and safety and environmental quality.
Please write letters to the editor NOW (talking points below).
Asking DEC and EPA to make sure the Healy permits are stringent enough to comply with the Clean Air Act and protect public health and the environment.
Demanding that the plant not be allowed to renew and apply its outdated existing permit, which was granted 10 years ago, to a different plant, with different combustion technologies.
Demanding that GVEA and AIDEA apply for new permits that comply with Clean Air Act requirements in the interests of public health and the environment.
Contacts:
Peninsula Clarion
Dori Lynn Anderson, Editor
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/feedback/directory.shtml
Cinthia Ritchie, Seward Phoenix Log
critchie(emailAT)alaskanewspapers.com
Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter
redoubtreporter(emailAT)alaska.net
phone: 394-6397
Homer News
Lori Evans, Editor
lori.evans(emailAT)homernews.com
Homer Tribune
Editor
spearson(emailAT)homertribune.com
Talking Points
Alaskans have a right to breathe clean air. Healy was designed to burn waste coal under a permit that was granted more than 10 years ago. The only way to ensure that air quality and public health are protected is to subject the plant to a new permitting process that fully analyzes the proposal and ensures current, more-protective standards are met. Coal is dirty. Burning coal releases mercury and carbon dioxide emissions into our air, into our lungs, and into our food supply. GVEA is taking the position that no new permit is required to begin operating Healy Coal Plant No. 2. Without proper permitting, air quality and public health will be compromised.
The Healy Plant has been closed for ten years. The technology is questionable. It’s just common sense to ask to ensure that public health, clean air and clean water are protected from outdated technology.
The Healy plant has been closed for 10 years and its decade-old technology was not designed to mitigate the more recent health concerns of mercury and carbon dioxide emissions. Healy’s technology was not clean 10 years ago – that’s part of the reason the plant never started up full operations –and is not clean today. Under these circumstances, it is logical that new permits are issued before this plant can operate safely.
DEC has an obligation to make sure its permits protect public health and ensure clean air and water .
DEC is obligated to protect public health and the environment through its permitting process for the Healy Coal Plant No. 2. Before the plant is allowed to operate, DEC must carefully review its permits to make sure air quality protections under the Clean Air Act are guaranteed. The Healy plant can pull the switch only when it can be shown that its permits meet Clean Air Act standards and requirement.
Communities and park lands are at risk from air pollution unless we make sure Healy runs clean.
GVEA and AIDEA have a moral obligation to ensure that Healy is properly permitted in a manner that protects public health – particularly pregnant women, the young and the elderly – clean air and clean water from mercury emissions and other toxic pollutants.
GVEA will pass additional costs of start up and environmental compliance onto ratepayers. Ratepayers should know how much their rates will go up and what they will have to pay for permitting the plant to comply with new environmental standards, and other start up costs. Ratepayers have the right to know how their rates will be affected before HEA commits to a power sharing agreement.
Messages should not focus on wholescale abandonment of the project, but rather that, if Healy 2 ever does start up, it must have proper technology and its operations must be consistent with Clean Air Act requirements in order to protect human health and safety and environmental quality.
Please write letters to the editor NOW (talking points below).
Asking DEC and EPA to make sure the Healy permits are stringent enough to comply with the Clean Air Act and protect public health and the environment.
Demanding that the plant not be allowed to renew and apply its outdated existing permit, which was granted 10 years ago, to a different plant, with different combustion technologies.
Demanding that GVEA and AIDEA apply for new permits that comply with Clean Air Act requirements in the interests of public health and the environment.
Contacts:
Peninsula Clarion
Dori Lynn Anderson, Editor
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/feedback/directory.shtml
Cinthia Ritchie, Seward Phoenix Log
critchie(emailAT)alaskanewspapers.com
Jenny Neyman, Redoubt Reporter
redoubtreporter(emailAT)alaska.net
phone: 394-6397
Homer News
Lori Evans, Editor
lori.evans(emailAT)homernews.com
Homer Tribune
Editor
spearson(emailAT)homertribune.com
Talking Points
Alaskans have a right to breathe clean air. Healy was designed to burn waste coal under a permit that was granted more than 10 years ago. The only way to ensure that air quality and public health are protected is to subject the plant to a new permitting process that fully analyzes the proposal and ensures current, more-protective standards are met. Coal is dirty. Burning coal releases mercury and carbon dioxide emissions into our air, into our lungs, and into our food supply. GVEA is taking the position that no new permit is required to begin operating Healy Coal Plant No. 2. Without proper permitting, air quality and public health will be compromised.
The Healy Plant has been closed for ten years. The technology is questionable. It’s just common sense to ask to ensure that public health, clean air and clean water are protected from outdated technology.
The Healy plant has been closed for 10 years and its decade-old technology was not designed to mitigate the more recent health concerns of mercury and carbon dioxide emissions. Healy’s technology was not clean 10 years ago – that’s part of the reason the plant never started up full operations –and is not clean today. Under these circumstances, it is logical that new permits are issued before this plant can operate safely.
DEC has an obligation to make sure its permits protect public health and ensure clean air and water .
DEC is obligated to protect public health and the environment through its permitting process for the Healy Coal Plant No. 2. Before the plant is allowed to operate, DEC must carefully review its permits to make sure air quality protections under the Clean Air Act are guaranteed. The Healy plant can pull the switch only when it can be shown that its permits meet Clean Air Act standards and requirement.
Communities and park lands are at risk from air pollution unless we make sure Healy runs clean.
GVEA and AIDEA have a moral obligation to ensure that Healy is properly permitted in a manner that protects public health – particularly pregnant women, the young and the elderly – clean air and clean water from mercury emissions and other toxic pollutants.
GVEA will pass additional costs of start up and environmental compliance onto ratepayers. Ratepayers should know how much their rates will go up and what they will have to pay for permitting the plant to comply with new environmental standards, and other start up costs. Ratepayers have the right to know how their rates will be affected before HEA commits to a power sharing agreement.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Your vote is very important
HEA Board Elections Are Coming Up!
Mail-in Ballots will be sent to you soon.
Your vote is very important.
It's your chance to reform the way our coop does business.
Take time to learn which candidates share your concerns.
District 1: Alan J. Bute, Andrew Patrick
District 2: Jim Fassler, Terrance L. Johnson, Edward (Ed) V. Oberts, William (Bill) H. Tappan (incumbent)
District 3: Stephen (Steve) A. Franklin, Eugene (Jim) Levine, Peter (Pete) Roberts, Donald P. Seelinger (incumbent), Doug Stark
(ballot statements available at http://www.homerelectric.com/)
Which candidates support HEA Members Forum objectives?
Let's take a look, starting with District 3 (Clam Gulch, south). We'll look at Districts 1 & 2 soon.
Jim Levine says:
To achieve our goal of stable rates and clean, reliable energy we must eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels.
Jim Levine favors:
• Developing a diversified mix of renewables
• HEA taking a more active role to promote energy conservation
• Establishing policies for openness and transparency.
Jim Levine clearly shares HEAMF concerns and priorities!
Pasted below is a brief message I received from Jim. My apologies if you already received it directly from him.
Mike
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail-in Ballots will be sent to you soon.
Your vote is very important.
It's your chance to reform the way our coop does business.
Take time to learn which candidates share your concerns.
District 1: Alan J. Bute, Andrew Patrick
District 2: Jim Fassler, Terrance L. Johnson, Edward (Ed) V. Oberts, William (Bill) H. Tappan (incumbent)
District 3: Stephen (Steve) A. Franklin, Eugene (Jim) Levine, Peter (Pete) Roberts, Donald P. Seelinger (incumbent), Doug Stark
(ballot statements available at http://www.homerelectric.com/)
Which candidates support HEA Members Forum objectives?
Let's take a look, starting with District 3 (Clam Gulch, south). We'll look at Districts 1 & 2 soon.
Jim Levine says:
To achieve our goal of stable rates and clean, reliable energy we must eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels.
Jim Levine favors:
• Developing a diversified mix of renewables
• HEA taking a more active role to promote energy conservation
• Establishing policies for openness and transparency.
Jim Levine clearly shares HEAMF concerns and priorities!
Pasted below is a brief message I received from Jim. My apologies if you already received it directly from him.
Mike
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Everyone,
As some of you are aware, I am running for the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors position. I feel very strongly that HEA should be taking a more in depth look at renewable energy generation systems before getting involved in a coal generation system in Healy. I have put together a website, LevineForHEA.com, that includes a few papers that I have prepared outlining my position regarding electrical power generation, and links to sites that show some of the potential we have for renewable energy systems here in Homer. In preparing for this election I have come to realize that we have so much potential to produce, and conserve, so much energy right here on the Kenai Peninsula. I have also included a site that shows one small portion of the problems that are posed by coal generation systems.
If you would like to be a part of this campaign, please call me at 299-0323, or email me at jlevine(emailAT)jaybrant.com. I would be glad to talk to you about all the exciting possibilities for the Kenai Peninsula in regards to electrical power generation.
Jim Levine
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