Modesto Irrigation District to crack down on power theft

Restoring electricity service is about to get more expensive for energy thieves.

Modesto Irrigation District leaders this morning will consider tightening some customer rules and adding fees. Restoring service after the district catches someone diverting power around a meter, for instance, could cost hundreds of dollars, depending on circumstances.

Another change imposes a $150 fee for missing or damaged units that turn off air conditioners for short periods during peak demand. The units were installed at the request of customers who paid $20 a year for them.

Board members additionally will consider new rewiring fees and requiring more documentation for various rate discounts.

The board also is scheduled to consider:

• An update on the MID's investment in the Lodi Energy Center, a new natural gas-fueled power plant. It can generate 304 megawatts for partners; the MID's share is 33 megawatts. The plant was expected to cost $375 million, but expenses rose to $388 million, forcing the MID to pay $42 million, or $2 million more than initially budgeted. The partners continue to negotiate disputed costs with a few contractors, and lawsuits are a possibility, a report says.

• Agreeing to split the expected $134,500 cost to move farther from the road two power poles that have been struck by vehicles northeast of Maze Boulevard and Hart Road, west of Modesto. The California Department of Transportation demanded 2½ years ago that the poles be relocated 20 feet, but the MID refused unless the state would help pay.

• Accepting $3 million from solar developers to beef up a nearly ¾-mile power line near Westley, to be split with co-owner Turlock Irrigation District. A proposed solar plant near Santa Nella, capable of powering 35,000 homes, could overload a 30-mile line from Westley to Los Banos. The MID and the TID would not buy its electricity, but the districts' system ties into that of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Construction is expected to begin in the summer and finish a couple of years later.

• Applying for a $2.6 million state grant to improve paved parking at Don Pedro Reservoir's Blue Oaks boat launch

• Setting energy-efficiency goals. A proposed chart shows the district saving 3.6 megawatts by 2014, increasing to 6 megawatts by 2021, through customer incentives such as weatherization rebates.

The MID board meets at 9 a.m. today at the district office, 1231 11th St., Modesto.

Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or (209) 578-2390.