A very rough back of napkin estimate on the additional impact to tax revenue, property values, jobs, recreation, environmental costs over 40 years is about $600 million. None of this was included in the "government study."
Iconoclast, none of these dams are in Klamath County. Most are in Siskiyou. We do not want a separate utility bacause we would be too small an entity to make any sort of cost effective deals on the purchase of power. Since deregulation in California, it would have been a very unstable situation. We have already been down that road before when several cities and Del Norte attempted to form a JPA to take over PacPower's CA service area. The figures did not pencil out and we would have ended up with an extremely expensive utility system. The County took action against formation of a separate utility and won.
Our El Dorado Irrigation District recently purchased Project 184 from PG&E and just got it re-licensed with FERC! I'm just coming up with off-the-wall ideas to see if something would "pencil out."
At least with ownership by a JPA or a Special District or any other governmental, or even quasi governmental agency, you keep the control in local hands in a small enough entity that it remains close to the people!!!
You guys need an Aluminum industry, or some other huge manufacturing employer that needs gobs of cheap electricity and less expensive labor to move in there and buy up the whole thing and solve a whole raft of your social welfare problems!!!
Well... What's the matter with that idea? Too much tinfoil hat for ya???
Git ahold of the aluminum beer can manufacturer for Anheiser-Busch and tell 'em about all the willing workers Siskayou County has that want their danged dignity back and are willing to work for it.
Better yet, call Coors, because they're at least conservative!!!
Just don't call that danged Schwartzenflutter cause he's as useless as... well you know!!!
Your people don't need lower rates... They need more ratepayers!!! (Then they'll git them lower rates!)
It's just like taxes... Your governmental entity doesn't need more taxes, just more taxpayers!!!
Then, like Jack Kennedy said and Ron Reagan quoted, "a rising tide lifts all boats!!!"
But what do I know? I'm just a surfer on the tide of events, right?
OH!!! And don't forget to take a page out of Schwartzenegger's bondage book and get a buncha "Tax Free Municipal Bonds" issued to finance the "leveraged buy-out!" PG&E sold Project 184 to El Dorado Irrigation District for one whole dollar!!! How's that for "leveraged buy-out?" (of course that was "as is" and it was a mess in need of much repair and rebuilding from landslides and aging!)
The boundaries of a PUD need not be co-extensive with County boundaries. PUDs in Oregon are entitled to buy power from BPA at cost, unlike PUDs in California (Pacific Northwest Preference Act), and the figures routinely pencil out when that is taken into account. Hence NW IOUs must spend up to $35/vote defeating attempts to form PUDs.