The number of meters in the Valley Electric Association service area grew by 2.4 percent in the past year, above the national average growth rate of 2 percent and despite the slowdown in the economy, the VEA board was told Wednesday.

VEA members discussed a variety of items, including alternative energy projects, a rate study and the new transmission line project.

* The VEA board is considering an open access transmission tariff of $3.67 per kilowatt hour per month to wheel power for other users wishing to use the cooperative's transmission lines.

When VEA first submitted a tariff to the Federal Electrical Regulatory Commission in 2001, a rate of $2.36 was suggested.

"We didn't have demands to use our transmission system. Now we're getting increased requests from alternative energy companies," Valley Electric CEO Tom Husted told the board of directors.

While Valley Electric isn't regulated by FERC, the tariff agreement would be in line with FERC regulations, he said.

VEA Director of Finance Brian Fickett said the rate was calculated on a cost-of-service analysis which showed the cooperative has a revenue requirement of $4.8 million annually for its current transmission system.

Husted said six solar projects that are being proposed would generate 1,400 megawatts. A megawatt is enough to power 200 homes, which means if all six projects go on line, solar projects in southern Nye County could provide enough power to supply 280,000 homes.

Each 100 megawatts would generate $900,000 for Valley Electric under the agreement, Husted said, factoring in a 20 percent "diversity factor" since solar facilities wouldn't generate power at night.

"This does not take into account the cost of the new transmission plant. We'll have to update this," Fickett said. "If anybody complained about it and wanted to go to hearings, this is very defendable. It's the industry standard."

* Robby Hamlin, VEA manager of engineering and operations, said he and Husted met with representatives of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's office earlier this month to try to get them involved in untangling the red tape with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Air Force over the proposed 230-kilovolt transmission line around Mount Sterling.

"We still have no word from Nellis on approval," Hamlin said. Two power poles will skirt Nellis Air Force Base.

The project has taken so long to complete, the BLM has gone through multiple program managers, Hamlin said. There is a new manager for the Las Vegas BLM field office.

"BLM never submitted anything to the Air Force to go across their property," Hamlin said.

There is also concern over the Johnnie Mine cultural site, Hamlin said. A cultural plan of development doesn't meet regulations, Valley Electric was told.

Hamlin urged the BLM to at least give a partial notice to proceed to Valley Electric to start on the project and work out the two problem areas later. Then the cooperative can start laying 50 miles of line and blading roads.

Without the additional transmission facilities, if a solar power company in Amargosa Valley wanted VEA to wheel 400 megawatts of power, for example, Valley Electric couldn't do it, Hamlin said.

The peak transmission load of the cooperative in 2007 was 109 megawatts, Husted said.

* Fickett said VEA is doing a cost-of-service study for customer rates that could include itemizing more costs on the monthly bill. Five- and 10-year plans are also being drawn up.

Husted displayed a copy of a $34.85 monthly bill by an Arizona Public Service Corporation customer in Phoenix, Ariz., that itemized various line items, like an environmental benefits surcharge, a federal environmental improvement surcharge, a competition rules compliance charge, system benefits charge and charges for metering, meter reading, billing, generation of electricity and transmission and ancillary services.

"We have some new ideas designing our rates we want to look at," Fickett said.

But Husted said the Arizona bill might be excessively itemized.

"There's approximately 18 different line items on that particular bill. We got three line items and he still doesn't know his bill," Husted said.

But he added, "Unbundling all your rates is something all utilities are looking at. That is something to the extreme. We still get questions, 'What is a public utilities charge?'"

* Terry Stagg, VEA power supply manager, said the good weather in April allowed the cooperative for the first time to sell excess energy at a profit, and at the same time not have to buy excess power. The cooperative sold excess power to the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative at an average price of 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour that VEA had bought at 5.9 cents.

Power usage in April was 3,546 megawatts under what VEA had projected, a 25 percent reduction in demand, Stagg said.

That is expected to change with the approach of hot, summer weather. This summer Stagg expects the cooperative may have to buy 14 to 15 megawatts of power on the open market for 17 cents to 18 cents per kilowatt hour, a cost of $150,000. That's still a small part of the VEA power supply budget of $30 million.

* An increased tariff request by Nevada Power however could cost Valley Electric another $1.5 million per year in ancillary power purchase costs, Stagg said. Nevada Power has requested a 5 percent increase in thermal power costs, going from $3.339 per megawatt to $6.445.

Husted said it's not just Nevada Power. The rate hike request is a reflection of what's going on in the industry. He called Nevada Power "an excellent partner for Valley Electric."

"We just want transparency. We want to see what goes into the rates," Husted said.

The rates have to be justified before the Western Electric Coordinating Council, Husted said.

* The WECC is making projections about power capacity in the five-year period from 2011 to 2014, Stagg said.

"With growth rates the way they are, if we stay at 2 percent we're not going to have enough generation," Husted said.

Valley Electric is negotiating three-year "bridge contracts" to purchase power, he said.

* VEA renegotiated an $11 million loan from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association at 6 percent interest over 20 years instead of 7 percent, which could save the cooperative $100,000 per year, Fickett said.

* Husted said the National Rural Electric Cooperative is urging tougher legislation on copper thefts in Nevada. The theft charge is currently only a misdemeanor, Husted said other states have already upgraded the crime to a felony.

The cost of the material and labor to send out a response crew may amount to $200 to $300, he said.