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Rod Visser. -- ------- Page 1 <br />From: Rod Visser <br />Scott TGardner/Cust/DukePower <br />09!15/2005 10:38 AM <br />To <br /><George McFarleyCa~orange.k12.nc.us> <br />cc <br />Subject <br />George, <br />As stated at the meeting Wednesday, Duke looks forward to providing <br />electric service to Orange County Schools in compliance with North <br />Carolina Utilities Commission approved rate schedules and service <br />regulations which dictate major aspects of electric facilities <br />construction and associated charges which apply in this case. Please be <br />mindful that until we have the appropriate easements in hand, we cannot <br />complete the design nor begin construction of electrical facilities on the <br />site. Additionally, current lead times for project completion for a <br />project of this size and scope is in the 10 to 12 week range, weather <br />permitting (as I write this, travel teams have been dispatched to assist <br />with power restoration on the NC coast, so that lead time may well be <br />extended). <br />As background, Duke Power, with guidance from the North Carolina Utilities <br />Commission (NCUC), designs its' electrical infrastructure to be safe, <br />reliable, and low cost. Consequently, we design our facilities to meet <br />those three objectives and our rates reflect the results of that <br />philosophy. Generally speaking, overhead construction meets these <br />objectives in the case of major infrastructure and bulk feeders, and <br />underground construction meets these objectives in smaller, tap line and <br />service line cases. This philosophy results in Duke Power's rates being <br />among the lowest in the Southeast and 20% below the national average and <br />our reliability being among the best in the Southeast and the nation. If <br />customers want something beyond the basic, low cost design, additional <br />charges apply. These additional charges are reflected in NCUC approved <br />rate schedules and service regulations. <br />In the case of the Middle School #3 project, this parcel has the unique <br />characteristic of being located between two ends of existing <br />infrastructure. Duke Power has an obligation to plan ahead with each <br />project we construct, and in this case and other similar cases, we have an <br />obligation to take advantage of the opportunity to connect the two ends of <br />existing infrastructure which will provide for the ability meet future <br />load growth in the area and to provide faster electric service restoration <br />in the event of a major outage. There is no charge to Orange County <br />Schools for the additional three phase bulk feeder facilities to complete <br />this connection with the lowest cost overhead construction <br />With this background in mind, we met with Orange County Schools in the <br />fall of 2004 to review design options and costs. As I understand it an <br />option to run along the back side of the property was deemed unacceptable <br />because we were unable to secure an easement from NCDOT. This led to the <br />current route (OPTION 1) which includes overhead construction parallel to <br />