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Politics & Government

Prairie State Project Prompts Review of Utilities

A consultant was selected to review Batavia's utility portfolio. In the future the city will be able to purchase power from a new power plant in southern Illinois.

A project involving a future power source has prompted a review of Batavia's utility portfolio.

The Batavia City Council on Monday selected Pace Global Energy Services to provide a risk-benefit analysis and overall analysis of the city’s utility portfolio. This comes as Batavia has an obligation to purchase power through the Prairie State Project as a member of the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency.

The Prairie State Project is an Energy Campus consisting of one of the largest power plants currently in construction. It is a coal-fired generating plant and an adjacent coal mine located in Washington County, Illinois. This is about an hour south of St. Louis.

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This is a good time to review the city’s utility portfolio because the project is almost completed, said Gary Holm, Batavia director of Public Works. The cost for the consultant is not to exceed $285,000.

The last time the portfolio was reviewed was prior to joining the Prairie State Project. Holm said it is too early to tell if there will be changes to the city’s electrical service.

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“The Campus represents an important step in helping to create a sustainable and secure energy future for this country," according to a message on the project's website. "It will generate enough electricity to serve approximately 2.5 million families covering eight states.”

Batavia, Geneva and Rochelle are members of NIMPA and the Agency is one of eight public power agencies that own the Campus.

The Project is creating two units that will produce energy, Holm said. The first unit will be completed at the end of 2011 and the second unit likely in June of 2012.

The Council also authorized Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke to execute a confidentiality agreement with Pace Global Energy Services. This is a contractual requirement by the agency whenever a consultant is hired. Information that Pace Global Energy Services receives through the city regarding the Prairie State Project remains confidential by this agreement, Holm said.

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