Blog Reader Question Answered

Recently a Blog Reader asked:

What's the difference between NCEMPA and Electricities? Same city membership? And despite the skyrocketing electric rates Electricities owns 18% of the Brunswick Nuclear Power plant and Progress Energy owns the rest? Is NCMPA 1 experiencing similar rate increases amongst it city membership? NCMPA1 draws its electricity from a different nuclear power plant doesn't it?


Here is something that might help you understand a little better. Lets start with NCEMPA. Doing the mid 70's legislative acts in North and South Carolina authorized the creation of Municipal Power Agencies by two or more municipal electric systems, whose purpose is to acquire (build or buy) electric generation and transmission facilities to jointly serve the participating cities. From that came what is now NCEMPA. The agency is now 32 cities and part owner of 5 power generating units. 2 coal and 3 nuclear. NCEMPA ownership of these 5 plants is around 18%. The bulk is owned by Progress Energy With that they the agency pays for 18% of the operating cost of these plants. That 18% produces 75% of what the 32 cities need 53% from nuclear 22% coal. That means that they have to buy 25% from somebody to make up 100% of what it takes to power the 32 cities. That 25% is purchased from Progress Energy. This is called supplemental power. A contract with Progress till 2017.

Now about ElectriCities. the short and better sweet of it is that ElectriCities is a Management company. A non-profit They own nothing produces no power. They only manage what the Agency owns. The middle man. But they are so deeply rooted in to the agency that the agency allows they to not only handle the money but any contract that the NCEMPA may or may not want to entry into. What else can be said about ElectriCities? Some of the money it needs to stay in business comes from membership dues. Wilson dues are $70,000. A number that comes from ElectriCities.

While NCMPA 1 has it problems they experience high bills as well. Their rates may not be as high as Wilson. In Gastonia their rate is about 0.10 per kwh or around that. NCMPA1 has about half the debt we have and are doing lots of thing to keep cost down. More so than NCEMPA are doing. There are 19 cities in that group and serve about 164,000 while NCEMPA SERVES ABOUT 400,000. So it will be hard to compare the two. They get their power from the Catawba Nuclear Station.

Ricardo Dew