A hundred million here, a bond or two there, a federal handout — and
a few million bucks from the city — somewhere else. After a while, it’s
hard to keep track of the true cost of the Smart Grid, EPB’s recently
completed electric system of the future.
EPB says the price tag for the Smart Grid came in at about $220 million. The Department of Energy puts the final cost of the system at $226 million. When all is said and done, however, the actual total dwarfs those estimates.
In order to begin construction of the Smart Grid system, as well as to implement the “Fiber to the Home” efforts that allowed the electric company to provide cable service and expand Internet and telephone offerings, EPB took out a $219.8 million bond.
That $219.8 million figure, however, doesn’t include the interest that will pile on top of the principal over the course of the loan’s 23-year payback period. That interest alone will cost EPB electric customers an additional $171.5 million, bringing the bond’s total price tag to $391.3 million, according to public records obtained from EPB.
Read more: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jul/22/smart-grids-true-cost/?opinionfreepress
EPB says the price tag for the Smart Grid came in at about $220 million. The Department of Energy puts the final cost of the system at $226 million. When all is said and done, however, the actual total dwarfs those estimates.
In order to begin construction of the Smart Grid system, as well as to implement the “Fiber to the Home” efforts that allowed the electric company to provide cable service and expand Internet and telephone offerings, EPB took out a $219.8 million bond.
That $219.8 million figure, however, doesn’t include the interest that will pile on top of the principal over the course of the loan’s 23-year payback period. That interest alone will cost EPB electric customers an additional $171.5 million, bringing the bond’s total price tag to $391.3 million, according to public records obtained from EPB.
Read more: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jul/22/smart-grids-true-cost/?opinionfreepress
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