Nevada will save close to $1 million per year after the Colorado River Commission and the state treasurer’s office issued a bond to cut debt related to Hoover Dam.
Costs to the Colorado River Commission included federal treasury debt for construction of the Hoover Dam Visitor Center and other Dam maintenance issues, said Jayne Harkins, executive director of the Colorado River Commission of Nevada. With interest rates at about 10 percent from the federal government, the commission’s latest bond was issued at a rate of 5 percent, Harkins said.
Nevada will save $28 million during the next 30 years, accumulating to $877,000 per year.
“We are pleased that our efforts have resulted in such substantial cost savings, and thank the State Treasurer’s Office for working with us to realize these savings which will be passed on to our Nevada hydropower customers,” commission Chairman George Ogilvie said.
The savings will be passed on to the commission’s Hoover Dam power customers, which include Boulder City. Harkins said the city will then decide how the extra money is spent. Savings will begin Oct. 1 when the federal fiscal year begins.
Councilman Duncan McCoy, who also serves on the commission, is optimistic about the bond’s long-term effects.
“Proportionally, it’s one of the biggest bonds we’ve seen as a state,” he said. “That’s money we won’t have to spend later.”
Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.