A QUESTION OF PRICE

As part of its presentation last week, APS representatives provided one look at what it would take the utility scale up its use of forest bioenergy, and what that would cost customers. The utility was required to produce a report addressing those questions as part of its most recent rate increase case that ended this summer.

Compared to other renewable power sources, biomass power is more expensive, said Jeff Burke, director of resource planning at APS. That makes it hard for the energy source to compete on price alone.

The company came up with a range of options and figured the cost to its customers would be an additional $1.54 to $4.13 per month to pay for power from a new bioenergy plant in the state. Others knowledgeable in the biopower sector said that cost would be even less.

Worsley said deconstructing, moving and reconstructing a plant currently sitting idle in Texas would cost less than half of what APS estimated it would take to build a new plant. Spreading out the cost among all ratepayers, instead of just APS customers, would cut the bill to individuals even more, Worsley said. He estimated the cost could drop to equate to an increase of 1 percent on residents’ monthly power bills.