Power to come from The Geysers

<p>The power agency serving Ukiah and Healdsburg will purchase electricity from a new power plant set to begin operating at The Geysers in 2010.</p><p>The plant developer, Western GeoPower, agreed to sell all 35 megawatts from its proposed geothermal plant to the Northern California Power Agency. The NCPA, which supplies power to 17 cities and districts, would pay $98 per megawatt hour over 20 years.</p><p>The deal replaces an agreement between PG&amp;E and Western GeoPower. Last year, the Vancouver-based geothermal company scrapped the PG&amp;E deal after the California Public Utilities Commission failed to approve it within six months.</p><p>Western GeoPower is drilling wells to supply steam for the proposed plant, which would be the first built in more than two decades at The Geysers.</p><p>-- Michael Coit</p>