Iola’s ability to generate enough electricity to fully meet the city’s needs will be discussed at length Monday by Iola City Council members.
For the past decade — since the 2007 flood, to be exact — Iola has not been able to produce enough electricity to be considered a “partial-requirement electric utility.”
With its stable of generators, Iola can produce 22.5 megawatts of electricity on a daily basis. To maintain its status, the city must generate 28 megawatts.
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To keep up, Iola purchases capacity from Chanute and Sabetha — two of Iola’s partners within the Southwind Energy Group — at a cost of about $100,000 a year.
Iola may lose that option in 2020, City Administrator Sid Fleming notes, as Chanute renegotiates a number of energy contracts.
That means Iola may need to come up with generating capacity — and quickly.
The options are costly, as are the ramifications if Iola is designated a “full-requirement” utility. Adding a third Wartsila generator similar to the two in place has been pegged at $10 million to $12 million, Fleming said.
Conversely, being considered a full-requirement utility — if the city cannot generate enough electricity on its own — would likely result in a 60 percent increase to Iola’s power purchase costs.
As an alternative, Fleming said the city is working with Southwind Energy Group members and other generation options, such as purchasing used Caterpillar generators.
Using a recent Osawatomie project as a model, this type of generation would cost between $1.5 million to $2.25 million to add 10 megawatts of generating capacity.
Fleming will provide a full rundown of the options at Monday’s Council meeting.
Iola lost about 10 megawatts in generating capacity in the 2007 flood, when its steam generators were destroyed.
ALSO ON the agenda, Council members are expected to discuss whether the city should assist with the cost to build a pedestrian bridge over Elm Creek along South Washington Avenue.
The city has received more than $269,000 in various grants — facilitated by Thrive Allen County — but learned after the fact engineers’ estimates understated the projected cost by about $100,000, because installation costs were included.
