Letter to Editor | Congratulations to OPALCO … but

That said, OPALCO and Rock Island Communications have incurred substantial costs for members, resulting in elevated electricity rates that will persist for years. The following facts warrant attention from current and prospective board members:

1. OPALCO’s long-term debt stands at approximately $98 million, with an additional ~$25 million associated with Rock Island Communications.

2. The General Manager, who divides time between OPALCO and Rock Island Communications, receives total compensation (including benefits) exceeding $800,000 annually.

3. The solar microgrid projects on Decatur Island and Bailer Hill provide limited benefit to the islands overall:

   • Our primary power supplier, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), already delivers carbon-neutral, renewable energy.
   • Critical facilities (e.g., hospital, fire stations, water treatment) maintain on-site emergency generators for backup.
   • Located at a northern latitude and influenced by marine Pacific weather patterns, solar generation here is relatively inefficient. You can verify this using tools like the Global Solar Atlas (www.globalsolaratlas.info/map).

   (Note: Individual residential solar installations differ significantly from utility-scale microgrids with large lithium battery banks. While home systems may have reasonable payback periods, microgrid projects often exceed 100 years in cost recovery, and panels/batteries may not last 20 years.)

   Resources would be better allocated to redundant inter-island submarine cables. (For clarity: The primary mainland supply cable is funded and maintained by BPA; OPALCO handles intra-island distribution.)

4. OPALCO members pay roughly double the electrical energy rates of surrounding mainland utilities, largely due to high debt levels stemming from major capital investments and operational costs (including executive compensation).

5. OPALCO has plans to develop hundreds of acres of solar microgrids on major islands, including San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, Shaw, and Blakely (with expansions on Decatur). This represents significantly more debt and the industrial look of solar panels covering 100’s of acres!

Additional details and perspectives are available on www.OurOpalco.com.

I encourage transparent discussion of these issues to ensure decisions prioritize long-term affordability and reliability for all members.