Special Subdivision Power Policy (SSPP)

[Susan]

The Special Subdivision Power Policy was already paid when we bought our lot. I said a silent and grateful thanks to the universe and to the unknown previous owner who paid mine. Someone saved us $1,450.00.

For the second time now we have friends looking for a piece of volcanic rock to call their own and having missed purchasing the lot immediatley next to ours their search is starting fresh.

To make a long story short I started researching the SSPP info on the Helco website and here is what I found.

There are 39 different “Unit”numbers assigned to the parcels making up Orchidland. The amount of your SSPP buy in is based on the the unit number of your parcel.

There is a huge fluctuation in the buy in amounts. S979.00 was the lowest and $5,617.00 (eek) was the high.

Does anyone know what the buy in amount is based on? It does not appear to be soley based on the number of acres in the parcel.

Does distance from a paved road come into play? I am also just assuming every street in OLE has a power pole approximately every two lots (?)

Having looked at couple of what I would call “bargain parcels” and then checked the amount for the SSPP buy in it appears they are not so much of a bargain.

It could be why I see so many on a couple of “not going to say which” streets constantly being bought and sold. These would be 2 acre lots the same size as ours with 2 ½ time more $$ required SSPP than ours was. Can you educate me?

Thanks, Susan
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[ericlp]

I heard SSPP varies by who get's in first or last. As the ones that get in first get a check from others that buy in later. I've never gotten a check for the land I had in FF that had ssp fee's paid. Maybe it's different in each sub? Best is to call helco and ask before you put your offer in. Even if the seller listed the fee I'd still call helco to confirm. It's not hard to call them and they have a person that will call you back in short order if you leave a call back # if no one answers.

[Susan]

So just as an example -

Parcel 7 - SSPP of $3,744
Parcel 8 - yes the adjoining parcel - SSPP = $,1450

Both are two acre lots
They are right next to each other
The Unit numbers are different

edited to say - Thanks for the input Eric!

[underarock]

yes, you should call and they'll explain. I understand the cost is divided by the number of people who originally sign up....so each of the parcels might cost $20000 to construct but if one parcel had 20 people is would be $1000 per lot and if the other only had 10 people it would be $2000 per lot. If more people sign up later there can be refunds to everyone in that parcel if helco gets the whole cost back during a certain amount of time

[terracore]

I know several people where the SSPP was so high they invested the money instead in solar and propane. Not only did they skip the high SSPP, they also skip paying an electricty bill every month. Think of not paying the $5k SSPP as an investment.

[kalakoa]

Exactly the case here; the SSPP alone was more than a cabin PV system -- and that's before including the extra poles and installation fee. I just laugh every time I hear about the latest rate increase.

I have heard that a financed SSPP is subject to future "adjustment", so you're always better off paying the whole thing up front. Don't count on a future rebate from other peoples' SSPP, Helco learned their accounting practices from a Hollywood studio.