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28 June 2004 - Prospects of lower rates powered a decision by Kanab voters to unplug their city from the electricity business and sell the utility to an area cooperative.
By an overwhelming vote of 675-53 during Tuesday's primary election, voters in this southern Utah town supported the sale of Kanab Power to Garkane Energy Cooperative for about $2.5m.
"The people prevailed," said Mayor Kim Lawson. "I've always believed government shouldn't do what can be left to private enterprise."
Although Tuesday's primary was closed to all but Republican candidates, an exception was made for nonpartisan issues such as the Kanab Power issue. It was presented on a separate ballot so any registered voter could participate.
Lawson said he expects the City Council to ratify the vote at its meeting next week. That will set the stage for the finalization of contracts, which should be completed before Garkane's scheduled takeover of the system Sept. 1.
Jeff Vaughn, Garkane's Kanab area manager, said Thursday that average residential power users should see their rates drop by 25 per cent, from about $97 a month to $73.
When the city acquired its power system from Utah Power in 1986, Vaughn said it supplied electricity through contracts that relied on buying power on the open market. During the California electricity shortage two years ago, high-priced purchases from the national grid drained the city's power reserve fund and drove up rates.
Vaughn said Garkane, with 62 years of experience, is one of six cooperatives with a stake in the coal-fired Deseret Transmission plant in Uintah County. That stake allows the energy cooperative to provide solid, long-term electricity contracts, which should hold user costs down.
He said the takeover of Kanab's system will add about 1360 users to Garkane's customer base.
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