Iola City Council members are expected to decide Monday whether to invest in a solar plant to add to the citys energy portfolio.
Council members tabled in May a decision on whether to enter an agreement with Westar to have the utility giant build the plant capable of producing up to 2.4 megawatts of electricity per hour on city property west of the Russell Stover Candies plant.
Westar would take advantage of state tax breaks, with Iola paying a slight premium over what customers are paying today for natural gas-powered electricity, with the option of then paying $3.7 million in a lump sum after seven years to take ownership of the solar panels.
Council members debated at their May 28 meeting whether those costs would be offset by what should be savings in electric rates for years 8 through 30, particularly in times of peak energy demand.
They decided then to postpone the decision to this month to give them a better grasp of the topic.
Mondays meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the New Community Building in Riverside Park.
