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I'm hearing that AEP is mulling over something similar with COTA relative to light rail getting back on the front burner. Think "carbon credits".
October 28, 2008
Duke to help city with streetcars
Cincinnati Enquirer
By Jane Prendergast
Duke Energy’s agreement to lower a requested rate hike includes spending $6.5 million to help Cincinnati build a streetcar system.
According to an ordinance to come before City Council on Wednesday:
* Duke will pay the city $4 million to buy 20,263 streetlights. Duke also will give the city an economic development grant of $3 million.
* The city will use $3.5 million of the money for streetlights and the entire grant to help develop the streetcar plan.
The deal is part of a settlement between the city and the utility over Duke’s request this past summer to raise base rates by 5.7 percent.
The city of Cincinnati was one of several large power consumers to oppose Duke’s rate request to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The settlement changes the rate increase to three 2 percent increases for industrial customers in each of the next three years, and 2 percent increases in each of the next two years for residential customers.
It also includes Duke contributing $700,000 a year to help low-income electricity users. Duke will give $50,000 in each of the next three years to the Hamilton County Community Action Agency for fans and air conditioners. Duke also will expand its “Save a Watt†program to give more financial incentives for consumers to install more efficient appliances.
City Council agreed in June on a plan to build a streetcar system connecting downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Uptown, the area around the University of Cincinnati.
The city has identified more than $70 million of the approximately $100 million needed for the first phase, but still needs millions more.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081028/NEWS0108/310280070
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