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NP&L official apologizes for 'misleading' information

By Lisa Majors-Duff
A Nantahala Power and Light official last week apologized for what he termed "misleading" information distributed by NP&L concerning the relicensing of Nantahala Power and Light's hydroelectric projects.

The statement by District Manager Fred Alexander came during a public hearing April 27 at the NP&L Building near Franklin. Alexander said that reports issued by his office that expected requests for minimum flow requirements could cost the average NP&L customer $190 a year were based on out-of-date figures generated during drought conditions in the late 1980s.

NP&L is in the first stages of a required Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing process of its hydroelectric projects, including the Jackson County projects at the Dillsboro dam and reservoir and those located on the East and West forks of the Tuckaseigee River. Licenses on most of the projects are set to expire in 2006.

In a release to area media outlets, Alexander stressed customer participation in the relicensing process by revealing that previous requests to influence NP&L operations "would have added up to $190 per year to the average customer's bill." However, those requests to divert water and maintain lake levels during the 1984-89 drought never materialized, he said.

What has actually taken place is an agreement between NP&L and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services and the U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Services that calls for minimum flows that would increase trout-designated waters at an average cost of $3 per year per customer.

NP&L's local hydroelectric projects produce 40 percent of the electricity needed by its 60,000 customers in the state's far western counties. The remainder must be purchased, mostly from Duke Power, NP&L's parent company. Water not used to make electricity must be replaced by the more expensive power generated by coal and nuclear sources.

During the relicensing process, it will be the job of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to balance the needs of NP&L's customers with the requirements of the environment and the economic factors associated with water-based tourism. The FERC will use comments provided by the public to make licensing decisions.

T.J. Walker, owner of the Dillsboro Inn, spoke at length during the April 27 public hearing about the poor condition of the Dillsboro Power House. He requested that NP&L restore the "beautiful post and beam structure" to its original New Deal-era status.

"This is an historical landmark that is being neglected," Walker said. "It's rotting."

Others who spoke at the meeting included Steve Reed of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bunny Johns of Nantahala Outdoor Center, Dan Perlmutter of Western Carolina University's biology department, Daniel Fisher of Trout Unlimited and several officials with Swain County government.

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