Latest news with #GRDA
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Miami utility rates to go up
MIAMI, Okla. — Utility rates in northeast Oklahoma are going up, along with other utilities in the rest of the Four State area. The Grand River Dam Authority says it continues to experience increasing costs to produce electric power. That's what has prompted the Miami Special Utility Authority to increase electric utility rates. This is the first hike in Miami's electric utility rates since 2021. GRDA implemented an 11 percent increase to its municipal customers, and will add another 4.1 percent increase in 2025 and 2026. 'We want our electric utility customers to have information and clarity about why this rate increase is necessary for the utility's operations and the needs of this community.' Tyler Cline, Miami City Manager Consultant Dan Jackson, Willdan Vice President of Financial Services, addressed city leaders and held a Town Hall meeting in May to discuss the problem. Jackson cited factors driving the need for the new electric rate plan: inflation, the implementation of a GRDA increase, and plans to issue debt for needed capital improvements. Miami utility customers currently pay $126.79 per 1,000 kilowatt hours. Willdan's study compared the city's electric rates with 18 other area municipalities and found that with the new rate increase and base charge, the new electric rates in Miami's service area are still comparable or better. Willdan recommended an increase of 12 percent across the board starting in June 2025 and 5 percent starting in July 2026 and July 2027. The three-year rate plan means a residential customer using 1,000 kWh would see a monthly increase of $9.96 starting June 2025. The City of Miami plans to issue $28,500,000 in debt to fund important capital improvements. These include Advanced Metering Infrastructure for electric, upgrades to Substation Three, pole change-outs at Feeder 31 and the turnpike crossing, upgrades to Feeder 23, a build-out of Substation 4, possible generation and solar farm projects, and automated switches for industrial customers. 'These capital improvement projects are vital to providing reliable and better service to our electric utility customers, 'Cline said, 'These projects help us keep the electric infrastructure up to date and stay competitive in recruiting new businesses.' MSUA Customer Service representatives are available to help customers calculate their billing with the increased rate or answer questions. They can be reached at 918-542-6685. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
MEMORIAL DAY: Rained out, but some still braved weather
Wet weather dampened river recreation over Memorial Day weekend, with Grand River Dam Authority shutting down all floats Saturday. Ava Money manned the GRDA Scenic River Operations office Monday, May 26; she gave the current conditions of the river at about 1 p.m. "Right now it's 12.76 feet, so it's been rising over the weekend — at the Tahlequah gauge, and at the Chewey gauge it's 11.21 feet," Money said. That same morning at 8 a.m., the Tahlequah gauge showed 12.06 feet, and Sunday at 5 p.m. it was 10.53 feet, Money said. "It hit the action point about 9.6 feet," Money said. "Action point is no more [river activities], and other conditions where it's no kids, suggest people move the rafts, and there's turbulence and a lot of debris in the water." On Saturday, at 2 p.m., levels were measured at 7.15 feet at the Tahlequah gauge – normal is 5.5 feet, and at Chewey the level of the river was 4.84 feet and normal for this gauge is about 4 feet, Money said. Dallas Smith, Casey Coursey and families spent the weekend camping at No Head Hollow. "We are from Tahlequah and wanted to get out for the weekend, and it rained for the most part, off and on," Coursey said. "We played horseshoes and just hunkered down during the rain." Riley Deshon, grounds manager for Diamondhead Resort, was at the resort on Monday, he and his family the only ones around due to the weather. He lives in the area and came by the empty resort to check on things. "We let people float on Saturday and had about 100 rafts," Deshon said. "We didn't rent out the kayaks as the GRDA shuts down the kayaks on the river at about 7 foot." "It was flooded, so they sent everyone home for the day [Monday]," Deshon said. Pam Hazen, War Eagle Resort, said adults only floated on rafts Friday, and Monday they had to evacuate the campground around 9 a.m. "Saturday we waited until thunder and lighting was over then let people out on rafts, but we've not had any floats since," Hazen said. "We won't float tomorrow. We had to evacuate the campground about 9 a.m. Water was over our bridge [to that site] and so we evacuated before we wouldn't be able to reach them." At Arrowhead Resort, Austin Spears said at least people were able to float on Saturday. "We were able to float rafts only and no kids 10 and under on Saturday," Spears said. "Sunday and Monday and today were a washout and don't know about tomorrow yet." People still came to Arrowhead and campers had to be moved from the camping area on the lower part of the property. He said the weather was typical for a Memorial Day weekend. "People stayed in cabins and at the RV and electrical camping grounds," Spears said. "We'll have a good season; at least we got to float one day." alerts were issued by GRDA over the weekend in response to samples taken at the Illinois River at Highway 59 Bridge, Chewey Bridge, Combs Bridge and in Tahlequah. "The public is advised that high levels of E. coli may be present in these areas over the course of the weekend," stated the GRDA site. "Levels of often rise with inflows associated with the significant rainfall events that have recently occurred and are expected to continue in the area through the weekend." The site gave safety tips issued by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. These included holding the nose or wearing plugs when jumping into water, washing cuts immediately after swimming, and avoiding swallowing water. Wearing ear plugs and goggles was advised and people should not swim near storm drains. Parents were urged to take their children to the restroom frequently and use swim diapers on infants. After swimming it is advisable to wash hands for a full 20 seconds before preparing or eating food, stated the site. Justin Alberty, communications director at GRDA, said the most recent report was Friday, May 23, due to weather conditions. "Due to high waters and storms over the weekend, it has been difficult for our staff to complete new sampling," Alberty said. "However, we will provide an update as soon as it is available."
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
E. coli warning for Grand Lake and other GRDA waters
GRAND LAKE – The Grand River Dam Authority issued an advisory for several areas of the waters under its control. Water samples collected from the following lake and Illinois River areas confirmed the presence of high levels of E. coli: Elk River, Grand Lake Wolf Bay, Lake Hudson Illinois River at Highway 59 Bridge, Chewey Bridge, Combs Bridge, and in Tahlequah. Flint Creek at West Siloam Springs and the New Life Ranch area. The public is advised that high levels of E. coli may be present in these areas over the weekend. Levels of E. coli often rise with inflows associated with the significant rainfall events that have recently occurred and are expected to continue in the area through the weekend. GRDA encourages the public to practice common sense in the water and follow safe swimming practices, no matter which waters you plan to visit. Those safe practices include several swimming tips from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality: Hold nose or wear nose plugs when jumping into the water. Wash open skin cuts and scrapes immediately after swimming with clean soap and water. Avoid swallowing water when swimming. Wear earplugs to prevent ear infections. Wear swim goggles or masks to prevent eye infections. Avoid swimming near storm drains (pipes that drain polluted water from streets). Take children to the restroom frequently/Use swim diapers on infants. Also, after swimming, always remember to wash hands with soap and water for a full 20 seconds before preparing or eating food. The GRDA Ecosystem and Watershed Management Department will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates and any future advisories as needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miami Town Hall meeting provides flooding updates
MIAMI, Okla. – About 60 Ottawa County residents attended a town hall meeting on Thursday to hear about the latest developments in preventing future flooding problems facing Miami and the surrounding area. Miami closer to resolving flooding issues The two-and-half-hour meeting was broadcast live on Facebook and is currently posted on the city's social media page. Walker Stanovsky and Shannon O'Neil, Davis, Wright, and Tremaine lawyers provided an overview of hydroelectric licensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, also known as FERC. The group provided a brief overview of hydroelectric licensing by informing the audience regarding the ongoing relicensing process for the Pensacola Project. Miami residents were warned they would live with the outcome of relicensing for generations. Log Jam at Twin Bridges State ParkOttawa County Environmental Group Wants Multi-County Community Participation in Pensacola Dam Relicensing In addition to the city's attorneys updating the residents, Larry Bork, a Topeka-based lawyer representing more than 200 Ottawa County residents in a 17-year-old civil suit against Grand River Dam Authority, also addressed the crowd. The civil lawsuit filed in Nov. 2008 involves 300 properties. Eight test cases will likely go to trial in Ottawa County between May and June, Bork said. GRDA said they would appeal any adverse judgments, he said. Negotiations continue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on subrogation liens for flood insurance benefits. September 2022 GRDA claimed it completed the required pre-application studies December 2022 Stakeholders disagreed that studies are sufficient (FERC decision pending) GRDA filed a draft license application March 31, 2023 The public and stakeholders submitted comments on a draft license application May 31, 2023 GRDA filed the final license application May 31, 2025 The expiration date for the current license By End of Year 2025 (or likely later): Public and stakeholder comments are due on the final license application (but only after FERC says it has all the information it needs) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
