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Wilson This Week -- April 24, 2024 |
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Electric cost update provided to City Council
ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones provided an update on electric costs during the April 18 City Council meeting. ElectriCities manages the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA), which is the wholesale power provider for the city of Wilson.
Jones explained recent events that have added to electric costs. NCEMPA is the largest wholesale energy customer of Duke Energy Progress. Jones explained that each spring Duke Energy Progress closes out the books on the previous year’s operations and is contractually allowed to assess a true-up to reconcile costs for the year. Typically, that adjustment is between $500,000 and $1 million for NCEMPA, which includes 32 cities in eastern North Carolina. The true-up for the 2022 calendar year was $54 million, exponentially more than in the past.
The reason for the cost increase is the instability of the natural gas supply and market in late 2022. Several international issues were causing both supply and cost issues at the time. In fact, the city launched a special newsletter, the “Natural Gas News” to keep customers who heat with natural gas updated on what we expected to be wild cost swings during the 2022-23 heating season. Winter Storm Elliott hit at the end of December 2022, bringing record-breaking temperatures across much of the United States and sending the price of natural gas soaring. A large portion of Duke Energy Progress’ generation fleet runs on natural gas, ultimately leading to very high natural gas costs for Duke. Some parts of the United States were having rolling blackouts to conserve energy. The cost of natural gas tripled during that time. This issue carried into January 2023, causing more cost increases.
Consequently, NCEMPA has instituted two riders, which are additional costs the city of Wilson must pay.
- One rider is $54 million for NCEMPA, and Wilson’s share is nearly $9.7 million. This starts in April 2024 and will be in effect for 24 months.
- The other rider will be effective October 2024. The exact amount is not yet known, but it is estimated to be $40 million for NCEMPA, with Wilson’s share estimated to be $6.5 million, and will be in effect for 24 months.
These two riders will be factored into the 2024-25 budget, which will be presented to City Council on May 18. We do not yet know the exact cost for Wilson Energy customers. More information will be provided during the budget presentation.
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Stadium work begins
Utility work and site preparation have begun for the new baseball complex in downtown Wilson. This will result in a temporary road closures, primarily sections of Goldsboro Street. The vast majority of the utility work is expected to be completed within a month.
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Where to park
Downtown Wilson and the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park remain open throughout this process, although it will crimp parking along Goldsboro Street. Parking for the Gig in the Park concert is available at the parking deck, in the lot behind Casita Brewing Co. and all other lots in downtown.
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Of Good Nature opens concert series Thursday
Stormy weather postponed the start of the 2024 Gig in the Park series, but the forecast is great for the Wilson debut of Of Good Nature (OGN).
Gig in the Park will be 6-9 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. This is a free concert, open to all, with food and drink for sale.
Of Good Nature is a Charlotte-based band that performs a blend of alternative, soul, world, rock, groove, and reggae, all with an emphasis on positive and feel-good lyrics and uplifting energy. They have performed with acts like Train, Fitz and The Tantrums, G. Love, and Travie McCoy, among others.
The Band of Oz, which was rained out two weeks ago, has now been rescheduled for Thursday, May 30.
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Switch now to MyWilson payment site
We told you a month ago about MyWilson, the new website that allows for payment of both city utility bills and Greenlight bills as well as some other cool new options, and many of you have signed up.
Well, we are getting ready to shut down the legacy sites at the end of the month. So if you pay your bill online and haven't yet created an account at MyWilson, please do so.
There is no need to do anything if you pay by bank draft, by mail or in person. Click the button below for more information and a link to the signup page.
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Recycling event collects nearly 150 gallons
A used fuel recycling event this month collected nearly 150 gallons of oil and fuel, helping protect local waterways.
The April 13 collection was sponsored by the city's Stormwater division, PL Woodard and the Wilson County Soil and Water Conservation District. More than 20 people came and donated a total of 47 gallons of oil and 96 gallons of fuel.
The event more than doubled the 2023 collection totals so thanks to everyone who came or supported the event.
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Reminder -- Recycling event, free mulch Saturday
In case you missed last week's edition, we remind you that this Saturday is the shred-a-thon and electronics recycling, both 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Wilson Mall, and the free mulch giveaway is also 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Toisnot Park.
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