Barre Water Commission Rejects Solar Rate, Demands Better Deal Before Moving Forward

BARRE — September 11, 2017 — Barre Water Commission votes to seek a lower solar rate before committing to a ground-mount installation at the water treatment center. The commission declined to endorse a power purchase agreement offered at 12 cents per kilowatt-hour — against a current blended rate of roughly 13.73 cents — saying projected first-year savings of approximately $4,700, or about $500 per month, did not justify leasing town land and adding administrative overhead. Members voted to ask the developer, working through a state procurement arrangement with Power Options, to return with a rate closer to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which they estimated would yield savings approaching $10,000 per year on the facility's roughly $10,000 monthly electric bill. The developer warned that the SMART incentive program setting contract rates expires March 31, 2018, and that any successor program is expected to offer less favorable terms. The commission also voted to advertise in-house for 10 days to fill an assistant water treatment operator vacancy, and received word that engineering estimates for a damaged beam repair on Estabrook Bridge on Route 62 came back at $120,000 for design work alone.