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An even bigger electric rate increase? R-E-U kidding?
On Tuesday’s Redding City Council agenda are several interesting items, among them, that two top bosses are forfeiting their ‘08 raises and postponing their ‘09 raises, that budget-cutting guidelines have been drawn up for the next two years, and that Redding Electric Utility wants a Dec. 16 hearing on an eye-popping rate hike for the next two years.
All the agenda documents emphasize that times are hard, everyone’s having to cut back, including city employees, departments and services, and that the head honchos are trying to lead by example (thank you; it’s a nice gesture).
My gut reaction to a proposed rate hike is to scream bloody murder about reduced services and increased energy costs (while REU sits calmly on a giant stack of reserve cash, $42 million), and point wild and crazy fingers and shout about rogues and scoundrels. But after I count to 10, I must acknowledge that the people who run City Hall are neither stupid nor incompetent. Most are earnestly doing the best they can with The Monolith that is city government.
And yet.
It is hard to square that against so many other things we’re told.
Over and over we hear that REU does whatever REU wants, and damn the consequences as long as rates are cheaper than PG&E.
The message is to look the other way. Accountability is foggy. Numbers are confusing. Audits are … where? Conducted by … whom? Explained … how?
The business of buying and selling energy and issuing bonds and everything else REU commands is extraordinarily complicated.
It is ridiculously easy to confuse even the sharpest of gatekeepers.
It would be tempting, as a regular-joe city councilor unskilled in the energy business, to want to simply trust that the REU folks always understand the business perfectly, find the best possible deals, never take shortcuts, never perpetuate their own job security by artificially inflating energy needs that require more layers of management or higher-paid employees, never fudge a number to get that year-end bonus and always do the right thing by the taxpayer.
But that’s asking too much of mere human beings.
People make mistakes. Some get greedy. Personality disorders slip through the best of HR filters. And when this much money is involved, systems need strong checks and balances, and absolute transparency.
So before the City Council and staff simply trust a brand-new REU boss to know that there’s no other way but a rate increase, we hope they have thoroughly investigated REU’s mission and needs and consider the following:
This past spring and summer, while other city departments were recovering from months of embarrassing money-skimming schemes and sex scandals, and preparing to make painful cuts in resources and services, REU was filling open positions, granting promotions and raises, and entering into big-ticket contracts with the approval of the council. For example:
Action: Authorized Mayor to execute a Supply and Professional Services Agreement with Siemens Power Generation, Inc. to furnish a Distributed Control System and associated technical services for Redding Power Plant Generating Units 5 and 6 for a total amount of $1,364,377 and authorized the City Manager to approve change orders with Siemens in a total amount not-to-exceed $125,000; authorized the Mayor to execute an amendment to the Supply and Professional Services Agreement with EmeraChem Power, LLC to furnish and deliver a catalyst handling system for Generating Unit 6 for an additional amount of $868,000 and authorized the City Manager to approve change orders in a total amount not-to-exceed $475,000; and adopted Resolution No. 2008-145 appropriating $830,000 for Generating Unit 5 control system upgrade and the addition of two new positions (Automation Specialist with a salary range of $4,881 to $7,782 and Maintenance Planner/Materials Coordinator with a salary range of $4,128 to $6,533 in the Executive Management Pay-for-Performance Salary Plan) at the Redding Power Plant.
And this:
Action: Approved contract with EmeraChem Power LLC to furnish and deliver an EMx Emissions Control System for Redding Power Plant Unit 6 in a total amount of $11,100,000, and authorize change orders not-to-exceed $200,000; approved contract with Express Integrated Technologies LLC to furnish and deliver a Heat Recovery Steam Generator for Unit 6 in the amount of $6,034,000; awarded Bid Schedule No. 4122, Furnishing and Delivery of Generator Step-Up Transformer, to Kuhlman Electric Corporation in amount of $989,688.99; and adopted Resolution No. 2008-26, increasing budget appropriation for Unit 6 from $64.5 to $69 million.
- Firstly, did/do we really need a new Unit 6 ($70 million to build and a million a year to operate)? Unit 1 gas turbine has fewer than 200 hours on it since being installed in 1994 for $12 million. And the new combine-cycle Unit 5 , which cost $48 million, has operated an average of fewer than seven months a year since it was put into commercial service in 2002.
- Secondly, of the entire city budget, the power-generation division (including debt service, spare parts inventory, and wages including much overtime) is about 30 percent of the total expenditure. Yes, REU brings in some $600,000 a month on average, but how and when and why did REU became an intentional revenue-producing entity instead of a utility for the people?
- Thirdly, is REU’s funding and freedom to operate outside normal supervision and accountability deliberately designed to keep it a cash machine from which the city can “borrow” money (some of those loans are never repaid, by the way, such as the one for the municipal airport)? Is that even legal?
- Fourthly, would it be prudent to ask the Purchasing Department to query power engineering and operations firms asking for an estimate to operate all our projects? Many companies do nothing but operate, maintain and manage power-generation projects, and do it for less money than we are paying.
- Finally, what expenses could REU delay, reduce or eliminate before extracting more money from people who are losing their jobs and businesses that are barely treading water? Indeed, in these hurting circumstances, could REU find a way to return excess revenues to ratepayers?
Item No. 2 in the budget-cutting guidelines released Friday reads: “The City should not increase taxes or fees to balance its General Fund budget. Redding residents and businesses are already struggling due to the weak economy.”
No kidding. Is this truly the prevailing sentiment? Does it apply to Redding Electric Utility?
I implore the City Council to address these and many, many more questions before considering accepting a rate increase as the only possible solution.
And if we don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle, somebody please spell it out in clear, coherent sentences that a general audience can understand.
I encourage the public to turn out for hearings and discussions, and to listen well and ask questions. If we don’t, we’ll have to call names and point wild and crazy fingers at ourselves as well.
To communicate with city councilors:
City of Redding
PO Box 496071
777 Cypress Ave
Redding, CA 96001
(530)225-4055 Phone
(530)225-4463 Fax
mayor@ci.redding.ca.us
rbosetti@ci.redding.ca.us
pjones@ci.redding.ca.us
kmurray@ci.redding.ca.us
ddickerson@ci.redding.ca.us
1,778 views
ABOUT THIS, “”RIGHT ON DONNI”" !!!!!!!!!!!
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I’M SORRY KELLY, YOUR ARTICLE, BUT I AM SURE DONNI AGREES, AS I AM SURE MOST ALL OF US DO!.
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It is hard for us to take a 7% hit on our bills when food and everything else, well not gasoline because that had to go lower for political reasons, are rising too. I do too believe the head honchos giving up their COLA and lowering their pay by 2% is a nice gesture….but urge them not to expect that from those making much less than them. Maybe other top management people, but gees, a large percentage of employees are well below the “average” salary of $65,000 as always quoted somewhere. In fact, those you usually deal with are more in the 15 bucks an hour bracket and times are tough for the average rank-and-file employees, too…thanks for letting me digress.
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Thanks, Kelly! You hit them on the line. Let’s pray that others besides us will contact the City ASAP. The Council needs to know it is OUR money they are spending, not some unknown goody out there in the beyond!
Just wonder where the Counsel plans to fund the $94,000,000 unfunded retirement fund? REU????
God bless you for putting the fire to their feet.
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Thanks for the excellent journalism, Kelly! What a pleasure to read something so well-researched, referenced, intelligent, and articulate. I’m a PG&E customer, but the issues are more than applicable to the larger picture, which you put in refreshingly clear context as you spell out the subtext—issues of sensitivity to timing, ego, personal interest, adaptability, creativity, etc. And you’re so right that we need to make our voices heard if we want to have any input in what happens in our communities.
Another thing we can do to take more power into our own hands instead of giving so much to the utility companies (sorry for the pun; well, not really
is to conserve as much as we can and to invest in alternatives such as wind and solar - something I believe Ms. Brewer is putting quite a bit of effort into, putting her money where her eloquent mouth is.
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awesome headline!
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Dear Kelly and Doni,
Many thanks for this informative article. Just what we taxpayers need to help us keep abreast of current questions in our town. Will add my email to the Council to that of your other readers.
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Since this article was researched, was any of the money listed being paid out to Unit 6 and such Bond Money? Just curious if this was public funds, or State money earmarked for Electric Utilities?
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This hike would be a lot easier to take if REU had an aggressive program to promote the installation of solar power on privately owned premises within the city. Then people could take more control of their utility bills, which would be a great thing. PG&E charges more, but they give more back, too.
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Kelly
Great article. Of course it doesn’t affect me- I just wish we had some one in our area keeping us abreast of these kind political shenanigans.
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Kelly,
Off all of the insightful and well researched articles that you have brought to the citizens of Redding over the past several years, this is by far the best !
My comments here are not meant to critique, only expand on several points that perhaps you haven’t been able to get someone at City Hall or the REU to answer plainly or at all. First let’s address the rate hike; Occasional increases, whether you are in Redding or PG&E land are inevitable. The cost of labor, fuel for the generation, transmission rights etc. are not static and have to be recalculated according to complicated contractual obligations. That said, the people of Redding should scream bloody murder ! What started out in 1994 as the City of Redding freeing itself from the monopoly of PG&E, has evolved today into an unrestricted autonomous entity within the City of Redding. The REU’s selling point to the public is how low our rates are compared to PG&E’s. The true and honest reason for this is simple, we have one of the finest group of System Operations(Real Time and Long Term) personnel available in Ca. They are able to buy power, transmission rights, and sell power from our Clear creek project on a limited bases which keeps our rates at the level they are. They are also the reason for the cash reserve(which by the way is actually closer to $60 million). The only downside to all of this was their substancial involvement with Enron during the 2001 debacle, even though no one in the REU recieved any reprimand or ?
As far as the expenditures at the Power Project on Clear Creek Rd., the mentality is the same with wages as it is with the latest and greatest equipment - We have a huge pile of cash, no one really understands what goes on out here but a select few of us, and as long as we have the current “old guard” on the Council we won’t answer to anyone. This is why I and a few others that have worked for the REU, and strongly disagreed with present and past management concerning the frivolous spending and unneeded generation, are speaking out in Kelly’s forum.
Briefly here is how the funds are being wasted: 1) $1,364,377 for “new” DCS for Unit 5. The ADVANT Control System in place is ony five years old, very little changed from newest version 2) Once again the City of Redding is acting as the “experiment” by purchasing SCoNOx Catalyst(EmerChem) for Unit 6 as well as Unit 5. We are the only generator, above 5 MW, that has been convinced to try and use this emission control technology. The reason, it costs approx. $1 million a year to clean and the material that is washed out of it is toxic to the ground waters naer the project and to the atmosphere(nickel platinum).
3) Automation Specialist, Maintenance Planner, Materials Coordinator: It’s all the same. They already have personnel at the project that are being paid 5 days a week / 40-50 hrs. @ rates of $31.36 - $37.82phr. even though the project has only been “on line” and generating power an average of 7 months over the past 4 years. Why not just utilize the personnel we have instead of constantly inventing new ways of spending that “pile of cash”. How about this idea, start a program for qualified senior citizens(only) that are having to chose between paying their utility bills and buying groceries and medications. Based upon a conservative figure of $250,000 a month from the wholesale power sales, a program like this could supplement or pay the monthly bill of 300 - 400 seniors in our city. Now that’s a progarm we can be proud of!!
4) As I have said in other comment sections, based on knowledge and experience we do not need Unit 6 Gas Turbine Generator ! Based on projected cost of construction( which by the way has now gone over $71 million but no one at the REU wants to tell us) we will be paying for the debt service of this “white elephant” for roughly 15 years. During this time, regardless of whether it runs 2 months or 12 months we will have to do the $1million catalyst cleaning and $500,000.00 minor outage repairs that are mandatory. Now you start to see that this might have been a good idea for Sacramento(1+million people) not Redding(100,000 people). We just can’t afford to pay the upkeep or the cost of expensive labor to sit and wait till the generation is needed.
Oh, one last thing. No one at the REU seems to have told the City Council that the new Unit 6 generator can’t be run at the same time that the new Unit 5 generator is online. The reason, the 10 inch natural gas line that supplies the Clear Creek Project will only handle enough pressure and flow to supply one or the other, not both. What a surprise. Just one more cost overrun.
Thanks again Kelly. Keep up the good fight !
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First of all we should covert one geneator to wood chips, keeping that money in the county rather than buying Canadian gas.REU has $140 million in bonds which made an interest of $ 4.2 mil last year. It made a profit of $12mil by selling electricity to others which was wasted on Stillwater and Hilltop. The 3.85% in lieu property taxes on your electric bill is supposed to pay for in house services but $3.6 mil. ended up in the general fund. Furthermore, there is no contract with the electrician’s union. They still refuse to pay for any of their own benefits. En ough is enough. REU has become a cash cow to get around deficit spending and it must be stopped. PROTEST ! Sign the recall petition for Stegall. Socialist Mary needs to go.
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Thanks for weighing in, everyone (especially my charming father-in-law — hi, Pete). This is a complicated subject and it’s important not to oversimplify, but it’s also important not to let the complications scare us away. We can understand hard things. People who really know their stuff should be able and willing to take the time to state the situation in clear terms until we do. Stay tuned.
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Mr. Hunt,
I’ve attended Council Meetings in the past and have been impressed with your devotion and passion for the truth. Unfortunately in this instance you haven’t been given enough inside information to give any workable options.
First of all, before the ground work could be done for the foundation of the Unit 5 Combine Cycle Gas Turbine all of the original work chip storage facility(hog fuel) and conveyor systems were removed and sold for scrap. Then both of the steam boilers(Riley Stoker Boilers) were converted to gas-fired only units, and the traveling trash grates that remove the ash and other undesirables from beneath the boiler floors were completely disassembled and the floors were fire bricked up. Lastly, the entire ElectroStatic Precipitator(ESP’s) Units for each boiler were bypassed with metal duct work and the exhaust gases were rerouted to take a less restrictive path. In doing so these $20 million pieces of very “sellable” equipment to another alternative fuel projects were allowed to rot and rust to the point of total ruin. Bottom line, it would take approx. $35 million now to fix what could have been properly “laid up” and preserved for just such a contingency. REU management made sure that would never happen.
I for one have kept asking all who would listen why so many on the Council( Mary Stegall, Dick Dickerson, and Ken Murray mainly) have been so willing to accept any, and everything, Jim Feider and Steve Strong have asked for without even questioning it??? With Jim Feider now retired(and out of reach as far as answering for what will ultimately be a huge mistake as far as the $70 million Unit 6 Gas Turbine debacle), this only leaves Mary Stegall, Dickerson, and Strong to explain to the citizens why we are left with a pile of rusted out metal and a high tech “white elephant”.
I hope this clears up some of the wood fired possibilities, or not. Keep up the fight Mr. Hunt.
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To all of the citizens, rate payers, and seniors on fixed incomes who can not afford to pay for one more “Cost Overrun” or Ridiculous and Outlandish expense that the REU thinks they can’t do without :
I just read the job description for the newly posted position of CONTROL AND AUTOMATION TECHNICIAN. Quietly hidden a few lines into the job duties reveals something that only those that have worked in the power generation industry would even appreciate. They list as a job duty the need to be proficient enough to , “program and maintain power plant simulator”. This is nothing more than a high tech computer game for wanna-be power plant operators. Every DCS(Distributive Control System) and / or SCADA(System Control and Data Acquisition) manufacturer offer this, but only Nuclear facilities(due to federal mandates) and third world countries(because their employees have to be taught what a computer even is) are the only ones that even consider these type of frivolous items for many reasons. Here is a perfect example:
This type of program generally costs 1% of the overall total system installed cost. In this case, the proposed cost of the new DCS for Units 5-6 is $1,364,377. This means that this computer game, that will maybe be used by 1 or 2 employees(if that) and will be obsolete in a year due to wholesale changes that are always done to new generation units and will no longer be any good as a teaching tool, wil cost YOU and ALL of US $13,643.77 ! That would pay for alot of senior’s utility bills that need our help or community outreach programs for food and clothing for kids that can’t afford any.
When is someone going to stand up at a Council meeting and say, “Enough is Enough!”. Hidden in among several of these power contracts, labor contracts, amendments to already signed agreements, and backdoor deals that the ratepayers will never even know about are huge amounts of funds that could and should be used to mitigate the financial problems that the City is facing. Instead, it appears we are stuck with the same quid pro quo mentality that has plaqued our fair City for many years.
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Utility Insider,
Considering you are retired why don’t you make a report at the City Council meeting with all you information about what can/should be done to keep the rates low. It seems like you have alot of ideas.
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Good post, I like your writing style! I’ve added http://donigreenberg.com/ to my feed reader, and will be reading your posts from now on. Just a quick question - did you design your header image yourself, or have it done professionally? If you had it done by a professional, who was it?
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Dear Ratepayer,
If I thought that speaking to the Council in a public forum would serve any purpose( other than give Mr. Dickerson or Ms. Stegall an oppurtunity to publically berate me like they did Ms. Merchado), I would gladly put my head on the chopping block for the citizens of this fair city. I tried, when I was still with the REU, to promote more accountability and more cost efficient ways of spending your hard earned dollar to no avail. My suggestions fell on deaf ears because they would ultimately save money and reduce the working budget of several of the sub-departments of the REU, which goes against everything the Redding Electric Utility is all about—-PROFITS! Take from the masses this sizeable amount of money each month that shows on the bottom line of the balance sheet and put it into this “account” that exists “somewhere”. Then a select group of people decide who, what ,and where that money gets to go( I’ve tried to give you a few pet projects that I was aware of. There’s no telling what has been thought up since retired.)
I’ll just keep posting comments hoping someone at the REU or the Council gets a conscience.
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I was under the assumption that any profit that REU makes is saved in an account to help stabilize the rates and is why the rates don’t go up very often…example the 23% surcharge that was removed several years early.
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To John the pirate,
The masthead’s design and graphic work was done by Doni’s son, Joe, who started with a couple of our vacation photos and took it from there. Glad you like it. We like it, too. (Stay tuned for Joe’s newest design.)
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All make some very good comments. All in all, I wish I lived in the city limits and was on REU electricity instead of PG&E! If I understand correctly REU still has amoung the cheapest electricity rates in the State.
Mr. Barr I beleive that solar power is not cost effective and in fact ends up costing much more than regular electricity.
Utility Insider, I am impressed with your apparent understanding of REU? Makes one wonder in in fact you are an ex employee by the name of Dale, who got fired after being arrested in a city vehicle for breaking into cars at Whiskeytown. Stealing personal items from the cars and also photographing young women sunbathing and then calling there parents home and telling them of the pictures you had.
Is this you Dale? You do not have an axe to grind do you? When did you get released from Jail?
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Utility Insider isnt being fired different than being retired? If I am wrong about your identity then I apologize. Would you please tell us your name so we can verify your former employment with REU?
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Once again the City of Redding, particularly the REU management, never cease to amaze me. Rather than respond to the questions and issues that I and so many others have posed on Kelly’s Forum and at Council meetings, they would rather duck the issues and change the subject entirely. What does this individual, Dale, and his retirement status possibly have to do with the questionable use of taxpayer funds to purchase the new Unit 6 Project ? And what does naming this person have to do with someone at the Power Project( Management) stepping forward and explaining to the City Council and the tax payers why they allowed $1.5 million dollars worth of emission control equipment on the two Riley Steam Boilers to become rusted out and completely unusable ? The answer to both of these two questions is one has nothing to do with the other.
It is obvious who and what are behind the nonsensical and poorly spelled attempts at misdirection from the facts. Hopefully they will stay on point and answer the questions posed.
This type of thing really “sticks in my Craw “. Doesn’t it your’s ?
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What does my spelling have to do with the questions I asked. How can we believe the “inside” information you claim, if in fact you are the perverted convicted criminal who was fired from REU because of illigal criminal behavior committed on city time, and in a city vehicle?
You completely ignored the question, are you, Utility ,Dale Yeaton the REU employee fired for criminal behavior?
I remember that you called into the radio show and referred to yourself as “Dale”.
For the record I do not work for REU or the city of Redding or any other goverment agency.
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Alright,
For the last time and very slowly so you can understand. I am not the person you are describing and this is not my name ! I am a retired, I did work for the Redding Electric Utility, and have been in this industry for approx. 30+ years. My experience and resume’ speak for themselves, as well as my reputation and long list of friends in this industry. End of story, period.
I’m not sure if you live within the REU service area, but perhaps you could redirect some of your anger towards the unexplained and inexcusable actions of the Management and Council when it comes to how your tax dollars are being wasted.
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Kelly,
I would be happy to answer most of your questions if you take the time to sit down with me and talk. I’ll even point you to places you can go to verify my answers. While I don’t object to any questions I do have a problem with the innuendo peppered within your article. Utility Insider does not know all of the facts, does have an axe to grind and skillfully changes the subject when questioned or given an opportunity to prove his assertions. Transparency is important and I am all for it. Government is very poor at making the complex understandable because, among other things, they don’t employ public relations firms. It takes a special skill to translate the complex foreign language of engineer-speak into Joe Sixpack=speak. Kelly you have that skill. The question is whether or not you are willing to read the mounds of data necessary to ask informed questions. I’m available any time, especially now:-)
Ken Murray
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Kelly Brewer Reply:
December 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Ken, I’d be happy to hear the answers to the questions I’ve posed here. There are six, starting with the paragraph that begins “Firstly…” I realize you’re very knowledgeable, and so I invite you to answer the questions. I’ll publish them as you write them. I do my research, and I’m happy to take the time to slog through as much as there is. Let’s start where we are, though, with an educable audience and a willing teacher. Thanks for your contribution to this discussion. I look forward to more.
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Mr. Murray,
I would challenge you to point to any subject that I have brought to the attention of the taxpayers in Kelly’s Forums that have not been absolutely truthful, very well researched, and much easier to understand for “Joe Six-Pack” than the legal jargon and electrical contract double talk that you and Mr. Feider used to confuse so many people with. I have no axe to grind. I’m just tired of seeing our tax dollars being spent on frivolous and poorly researched public projects.
Since when, after being on the Council for 4 years and voting exactly how Jim Feider wanted you to vote, have you suddenly become the voice of knowledge and reason ? I’m sorry, the City doesn’t need to hire a public relations firm and they don’t need you as their spokesman. All they need are people like Patrick Jones, Missy McArthur, and Rick Bosetti to represent the citizens of Redding with an “open, unbiased, and common sense approach” to local government control.
One more thing Mr. Murray, since you have time why don’t go back through several of my comments that are posted ( particularly ones like the $20 million dollars of rusted and worthless emission control equipment connected to the steam boilers at the powerplant) and get someone in the REU or the City Manager’s Office to explain why this was allowed to happen at the rate increase hearings on Dec. 12. I’m sure all in attendance will be interested. You will find that when you begin researching my comments here, they cannot be disputed.
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Utility Insider I will ask one more time, what is your name. I challenge you to prove that you are a retired REU employee.
I am not angry at all. I want to make sure that the information you provide is credible. I think that personal character is important in establishing crediblity. I believe that you are in fact Dale Yeaton who was fired from REU for the above mentioned criminal behavior. If you are not then I apologize. Please tell us who you are.
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RATE PAYER is correct in that any profits realized by the REU, like the municipal enterprises of other cities, are allocated toward rate stabilization and reinvestments in infrastructure.
CRAW has good insight. If UTILITY INSIDER ever actually did actually work for REU, he has an obvious grudge against his former employer and it is clear that he left his employment on bad terms. This egocentrism is common enough in personalities that are so self-involved that they are only able to see a distorted view of their world. It is not unusual for these personalities to fail because they lack both perspective and insight. When they fail It is common for them to lash out in order to compensate for these failures. Sometimes they assume the guise of a “crusader”, using their sketchy understanding to puff up their importance. From his obvious grudge, maybe UTILITY INSIDER really was terminated by the REU.
I doubt we will ever see the resume that UTILITY INSIDER seems to be so proud of. I think he is a fraud.
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I tell you what Joe and Craw,
When the people of Redding are forced to have to pay for a rate increase to pay for generation that will be proven to be unneeded and completely unuseable( were the WAPA or any of the transmission lines were to fail or be curtailed), hopefully all those that are reading Kelly’s Forum will remember what you have said.
Craw,
Instead of asking a question that I have answered why don’t you simply attend the meeting on Dec. 12th, make out a questionaire card, and ask Mr Hauser to explain any of the issues(pick one) that I have highlighted over the last few weeks. I think you will see how quickly he and the Council will either backpedal, say they will “get back to you”, or will try and confuse you as they do everyone else so you will just give up.
Joe,
Your analysis of my character, as well as your knowledge of how the profits made from the sale of retail and wholesale power both show your lack of expertise in both fields. You only have to read all of my comments on several different subjects presented in these Forums to know the scope of my background in the Electrical and Power Generation field. I would suggest you do the same exercise that I proposed to Craw. The only difference being, ask Mr. Hauser or the Council to explain why the $60 million dollar account that is accruing interest as we speak is not being utilized for something like a program to help pay for the utility bills of indigent seniors or single mothers. Instead, the money is being set aside to cover the cost of all of the electrical distribution(underground cable, transformers, etc.) that were purchased by the REU for the Stillwater Park Development starting in late 2002(well before the issue was even brought up in Council Meetings).
As for me, I am just trying to save the regular guy from being taken to the cleaners one more time by the City. I don’t know if everyone that reads this forum feels the way you two do, but if so I guess my help and warnings are falling on unwanted and deaf ears. I can afford the increase, it’s my Mom and Grandmother I worry about.
Good By for Now
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Utility Insider, The question I have is will you please tell us your name and when you retired from REU?
You obviously have some very strong opinions about REU and as Joe pointed out seem to hold a grudge against your former employer.
For me to take your opinions seriously you need credibility. If you are the pervert that the city fired and who was convicted of criminal behavior, then you have no credibility and I would not believe anything you say as it relates to REU. That is why I feel it is important for you to tell us who you are.
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“UTILITY INSIDER” is not an insider at all. I have read his “comments and questions” with some amusement and it is clear that he has no valid argument - only accusations and innuendo. He seems to contradict himself and he rails about the value of outdated and scrap equipment that would probobly have no value in todays economy. UTILITY INSIDER - Instead of insisting that others go to the council meetings and raise you bogus issues - why don’t you just do that yourself? Maybe you would get the attention you crave.
You are simply not credible. I am sure you have heard that before.
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Joe, I have to be honest here, I think that Utility Insider was once an insider by the name of Dale Yeaton, who was employed by REU. As I recall he was arrested in a city vehicle for breaking into young womens vehicles at Whiskey town. If I remember correctly he would steal very personal items. I believe he also secretly photographed some of these women who may have been nude sunbathing at Whiskeytown. He then figured out who they were and called them or their parents threatening to post the pictures. He was fired from the city and eventually convicted of assorted crimes and did some jail time.
I believe he is now mad at the city and has an axe to grind. I have no problem with him bringing up his issues, but lets at least be honest as to who you are. Credibility is huge here. If he is Dale Yeaton, then he has ZERO credibilty and in my mind is a pervert.
If he is not Dale Yeaton and really did retire from REU, then I challenge hin to reveal his identity to everyone.
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This bantering back and forth between you two is getting tiresome and petty. I have a much better idea.
Why don’t you two post your names and contact information here. That way, when the next rate increase( and the next two shortly after that) are forced down the rate payers throats you both can answer their questions as to why. Oh, and while you are at it , since you both seem to believe I am wrong about my “inside and very precise knowledge” of the inner workings of the REU(especially the Clear Creek Project) and you seem to think you have knowledge? of the electrical industry, you can also explain to “Joe Six -Pack” why the Unit 5 turbine rotor will fail permaturely due to excessive start-up and shutdowns causing thermal transients that stress the hot gas path parts when the alternative option was researched and presented to Jim Feider to utilize recipricating Deutz Diesel Generators(10 MW at a time) that generator 8 -10 MW with 100% turndown capability(OH, that’s right Joe, you talk like you already know all this). Well, good luck boys, you are going to need it !
One last thing. I looked up this Mr. Yeaton. He was fired sometime in 2004 it looks like.
My name is not Dale Yeaton and I retired in 2007.
Good by.
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To Craw,
Just a reminder you that posting under a pseudonym is a perfectly acceptable Internet practice. A point you surely understand since “Craw” is obviously not your real name. You are free to disagree with someone’s points and offer your own perspective– hopefully a constructive one– but not to badger other commenters.
Bruce Greenberg
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Here is one article with Dale’s correct name spelling.
http://www.redding.com/news/2007/jun/15/man-guilty-in-2004-thefts/
Insider,
In one posting you say the rusted equipment was worth 1.5 million…in another you say 20 million. Is this an example of the misinformation you keep saying?
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Bruce, Yes I am posting under a pseudonym. I am also not trying to pass myself off as a expert on REU and their practices, nor am I claiming to be retired from REU. I think that when someone tries to pass themselves off as an expert it is important to establish their crediblity. If Mr Yeadon is in fact “Utility Insider” then he has no credibilty. I think that becasue of the information he was posting people have the right to know who this person really is, a convicted pervert. Then we can all make a more informed decision on how credible he really is. I do not think anything I have posted is “badgering”. I have asked “Utility Insider” to reveal his name to us. Up to this point he has ignored my request.
Bruce let me ask you, do you think that if “utility insider” is in fact , Dale Yeadon, a person fired from REU for crimes committed while on duty, that the public would want to know?
Pseodonyms are an accepable practice on the internet, so is outing someone when they are not truthful.
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Dear Ms. Greenberg,
A few friends of mine recently told me of your website and several postings concerning the REU. After reading this article, and all of the comments made by several people I felt compelled to respond myself.
First off the Utility Insider that made several comments is not me. He does appear to have alot of inside knowledge of past and present issues that the people of Redding should be made aware of though.
Secondly, he is absolutely correct about many of the questionable and possibly illegal actions by several of the management team at the REU and high level persons at City Hall. One such example was illegal gaming of the electric markets by several members of the REU. Even though the Director, Jim Feider denied that he and several of his management team were completely innocent of any wrong doing, I can tell you from personal experience that was untrue. Having sat in on more than one meeting in which senior management (including Lyle Hurley, Marvin Briggs, Paul Cummings and Frank Ryan and Robert Bassett) went into specifics about how the purchase / sale of energy could be manipulated via the INC-DEC ( incremental-decremental) strategies and others with cute little names like FAT BOY, RED CONGO and DEATH STAR (or DEBT STAR as Paul Cummings likes to refer to it as) could and did make a tremendous amount of money for the REU. The problem with that was and is that it is illegal! How else would a small town utility be able to bank $60 million dollars in the short span of 8 years?
Knowing that these energy trades were at the very least questionable, Mr. Hurley and others spent 100’s of man hours, that the citizens of Redding were paying for to find some way out of the ever widening net being spread by FERC and other federal offices to uncover and prosecute those responsible for defrauding and gaming the CAL-ISO and others. To stop any further investigation into the City of Redding / Enron deals and other trades City Management, the City Attorney’s office and the REU Director agreed to pay a $10,000.00 fine and claim they knew nothing of any illegal activities. There still remains questions about why no one, including Mr. Feider, Hurley, Briggs and Cummings were not fired for such actions (or at the very least reprimanded). Instead the Mr. Warren, Feider, Ryan, Hurley were allowed to quietly retire with very lucrative retirements, no questions asked.
Mr. Bassett is no longer available for questions either as he too left the City shortly after a federal lawsuit was filed naming he and others for sexual / racial discrimination, but that is another subject to be addressed later.
In closing, people like Craw, Rate Payer and Joe should have not been so quick to assume the Utility Insider is just what and who he says he is - someone with alot of inside information and fear losing his job and letting people like them try and intimidate and downplay the fact that someone needs to start asking questions for the ratepayers’ benefit. I on the other hand have no fear of either. All of the things I have stated here are easily verifiable on FERC’s websites and by checking the court’s records. Regardless of past issues concerning me, the fact remains that I was a senior control room operator and the Operations Foreman for the REU power generation system for 11 years, period.
There is much more that needs to be discussed. I will provide as much as the ratepayers want to know concerning the internal workings of not only the REU but other depts. as they relate to the waste of taxpayer dollars. I will monitor this website for questions as I have been banned from attending any City Council meetings etc. even as a rate and taxpayer.
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Just how many illegal deals did you witness? Were you harrassed for whistleblowing? is that why you no longer work for the cuty? I don’t understand how can they keep you from a public forum, but please give us details of the shady deals.
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