Lamar Light and Power Continues to Upgrade Equipment for 2016

Houssin Hourieh, Lamar Light and Power Superintendent, told the Utility Board members that some expenditures have been budgeted for 2016 to update aging and outdated equipment. The plant will focus on power station relays for the 25 & 69 kilovolt substation equipment.  He noted, “The relays were manufactured in the 1960s and we can’t find replacement parts to maintain them.”  He added that there is no resale value ascribed to the parts simply because they are so outdated.  The plant continues to update is SCADA system radios which transmit data from remote electric distribution devices throughout the service area.  The Superintendent said the current systems were installed in 1997 and the parent company, Motorola, no longer supports these types of radios.

The Lamar Utility Board began 2016 with a basic bi-monthly meeting covering approval of purchase orders and payment of bills from the previous year, as well as a brief financial report and a systems operating report.

Total purchase orders came to $678,181 and bills paid amounted to $911,436. For start-of-the-year housekeeping measures, the board continued to have the address of Lamar Light and Power at 100 North Second Street as the official posting site for the Open Meetings Act, informing the public of future meeting dates.

The November 2015 financial statement shows cash is up $427,421 from October and accounts receivable dropped $345,507. The total operating revenue for November is $1,020,061 and costs were $752,783 for a gross operating profit of $267,279.  Net income for the month is $32,887 when non-operating revenues and expenses have been considered factored.

Total operating revenues for the year are $12,759,196 and total operating costs are $10,142,491 for a gross operating profit of $2,616,705. The net profit after expenses and revenues are considered are $800,824, year-to-date.

A comparison with 2014 revenues shows that retail sales are up 2% or $252,196 for November and overall operating expenses are down approximately $8,525 or less than 1% resulting in a net profit of $800,824 for the year. The next Lamar Utility Board meeting will be held on January 26th.
By Russ Baldwin