The board of directors of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency held a teleconference meeting March 31, to hear an annual operations plan update as well as some operating budget increases, among other items. SEAPA provides hydroelectric power to the communities of Wrangell, Petersburg, and Ketchikan. The board is made up of five voting directors and alternates, who are appointed by their respective communities annually to represent them.
The operations plan update, according to the meeting's agenda packet, forecasts expected reservoir levels in Tyee and Swan Lake, where SEAPA draws hydropower from. Lake levels, as of March 19, were above average in both lakes. Tyee Lake is above average at 1308.9 feet, while Swan lake is above average at 294.1 feet. On top of this, Tyee Lake currently has a total of 34.64 inches of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) while Swan Lake has a total of 31.55 inches of SWE. What this means is that, equating snow waiting to melt to actual water, there is an additional 74.5 feet and 37.9 feet of water in each respective lake's drainage basin. The update goes on to say that both lakes are drafting close to 2019 models, and water levels are largely following predicted inflows and loads. The update predicts that lake levels in Tyee and Swan will both rise quickly in the early summer, as the snowmelt fills into them.
"The lakes are looking very healthy, and as it appears now, 2020 is looking to be a great season for hydropower production," according to the update.
The update also points out that there have been some efficiency gains in Swan Lake, which primarily provides hydropower to Ketchikan. The operations plan was revised last year, due to drought conditions making hydropower limited in SEAPA's communities. These revisions have helped make power generation more efficient.
"Prior to the revision, power that was sent North [to Wrangell and Petersburg] from Swan Lake was often characterized as Dedicated Output and not considered beneficial," the update reads. "Since the revised Operations Plan was approved, energy from Swan Lake has been sent North during daily energy peaks and returned South during daily energy troughs. The result has been a 5% increase in efficiency for a total of 2.65 Gigawatt-hours since August 2019."
Budgeting was another topic of the March 31 meeting, specifically the FY2020 operating budget for various projects. One change was an increase of $37,500 to the operating budget to complete a review of Swan Lake's Mapcon System Maintenance Work Orders. Originally, $12,500 was budgeted for the project, the agenda packet reads, but a total of $50,000 was initially intended for a complete review. Another change was an increase to the operating budget by $41,500, for five-year maintenance testing of the transmission transformers at the Petersburg, Wrangell, and Tyee substations. This testing was quoted at $37,650, according to the packet, but staff wanted a 10 percent buffer in their funds. Both of these proposed changes to the operating budget were approved.
During the meeting, the board also approved of brushing contracts for Mitkof Island and Neets Bay. Wrangell Borough Manager, and Alternate SEAPA board member Lisa Von Bargen explained that "brushing" is just the removal of growth around SEAPA's infrastructure. This is usually an annual event because vegetation growth can be so significant, she said, that it could overtake the infrastructure if it is not properly maintained. The SEAPA board also approved a two-year aircraft services contract for Swan Lake with Venture Travel, LLC, and also renewed their contract with CEO Trey Acteson.
Reader Comments(0)