Legalectric

Whatever is he thinking? We in the Excelsior Mesaba Project docket at the PUC have all received a “Policy Statement” from one of the Gov’s boys, Ed Garvey, Deputy Commissioner — Energy and Telecommunications. It’s weird, coming in not as part of the brief, but separately, as if they decided to submit additional testimony long after the record closed on December 22, 2006. HUH? What is Ed Garvey thinking???

Here it is:

Policy Statement of Ed Garvey
This case takes so many bizarre turns that I just don’t know what to say, other than it’s an attempt to pull the Gov’s fat out of the fire on this and they hope that etiher Excelsior or Xcel capitualtes. Not likely! Who would buy into a goofy deal like this? And to suggest something like this publicly?????

Note that in suggesting “modifications,” he suggests that the price of the PPA include COSTS (remember that word) of transmission and sequestration and it be a “fixed all-inclusive” price of no more than $110/MWh over the life of the contract, and that the PPA be limited to 450MW. Well, according to Amit’s testimony, also of Commerce, he found that the price just a tad bit more than $110/MWh — like another 50-70%!
From the Commerce Brief, p. 28 [table includes only total, TRADE SECRET data omitted]:

Commerce Initial Brief