City OKs cost-sharing with power company

Newton Falls is part of some 60 other communities taking part in the project.
By ERIC GROSSO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEWTON FALLS -- The city entered a cost-sharing agreement Monday with American Municipal Power-Ohio, taking Newton Falls' participation in the Hydro Matrix Project along the Ohio River one step further.
Council voted to pass the final reading of the ordinance, entering the city in the pre-construction planning phase of the contract. The city will pay a maximum of 42,692, or 32.84 per kilowatt-hour that is reserved for the city. Representatives from AMP-Ohio estimated the projects along the Ohio River would generate between 30,000 and 250,000 kwh of electricity.
The city claimed the rights to 1,300 kwh of power from the proposed projects in May and could use or sell the power in the future, bringing additional revenue to the city. AMP-Ohio does not yet have an estimated timeline for project availability.
Newton Falls is part of some 60 other communities taking part in the project. The city had voted to enter the developmental phase of the project in June and paid about 11,000 of the 1 million spent in that phase, which included cost planning and legal approval.
The new preconstruction phase includes analyzing the technical and economic aspects of the project, with no budget amount currently available.
Starting price point
Phil Meier, AMP-Ohio's chief information officer, who spoke to council in June, said that the starting price point offered with the project will be between .042 and .053 per kwh delivered. He noted that the price is lower than the current market cost.
The structures being planned use much smaller turbines than traditional hydroelectric plants, but use more of them, along with existing dams to generate electricity.
Electrical engineering consultant Jeff Pearce recommended the city take advantage of the project. "The energy isn't going to decrease in value, it's only going to increase," said Pearce.
Pearce also noted that purchasing power in the energy market is rare, and said the city should jump at the chance to have the power to buy energy.
Pearce did note that after the preconstruction phase is over, the city should look closely at its options. The major decision council could be faced with is to buy into the structure, in which they would own a part; or work out a long-term agreement to buy power from the project.
Because they use dam structures that already exist, hydro matrix projects don't involve heavy civil engineering, cost about 60 percent of conventional construction on hydroelectric structures, have less environmental impact, and cost about 1 cent per kwh less than other methods, according to Meier.
The city will have to vote to enter any other part of the project in the future.