The Burlington City Council passed a resolution on Monday that will permit the Burlington Electric Department to enter into negotiations for the purchase of Winooski One, a 20-year-old hydroelectric plant spanning the Winooski River. BED officials briefed the Board of Finance early in the evening, and stayed to answered questions before the council vote.
Approval allows BED to begin negotiating, obtain more information, and work with the current owners to establish a fair market price, expected to be somewhere between $8 million and $20 million. As part of the process, BED will place $100,000 in an escrow account, using funds that remain from a bond approved in 2009.
If agreement on a purchase price cannot be reached, the matter will be resolved through binding arbitration. If the final number is too high and BED backs out, the $100,000 will be lost.
Most council members were impressed by the prospect of owning a plant with the potential to stabilize long-term energy costs and meet up to 10 percent of local demand. Ward 4 Democrat David Hartnett cast the only no vote.
