Your PUD PUD News Line
6/28/2005
Calling all second- through sixth-graders
Chelan County PUD will host four, free science workshops for students going into second through sixth grade at Rocky Reach Dam, July 18 through Aug. 4. The sessions are hands-on and taught with humor and enthusiasm by Jack Brantner, retired Wenatchee High School science teacher, and Rocky Reach Visitor Center staff.
The workshops will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Rocky Reach Dam, seven miles north of Wenatchee on Highway 97A. Students will get workshop materials to take home and share.
Workshop topics and dates are:
- Electricity - Light up my life – Learn how electricity turns the lights on
July 18 - Second, third and fourth grades
July 19 - Fifth and sixth grades - Floats and boats – Build a boat and learn why it floats
July 20 - Second, third and fourth grades
July 21 - Fifth and sixth grades - Science experiments that make you wonder – Work with tools that scientists use
Aug. 1 - Second, third and fourth grades
Aug. 2 - Fifth and sixth grades - Plants of the world – Learn about plants – inside and out
Aug. 3 - Second, third and fourth grades
Aug. 4 - Fifth and sixth grades
Telephone registration starts today. To register, call Shani Nadeau at Rocky Reach Visitor Center, 663-7522, or Jack Brantner, 661-4998. Click here for more information about Rocky Reach Visitor Center.
Monthly meter reading starts July 1
This is just a reminder that Chelan County PUD will change to monthly reading of electric meters in July.
Commissioners approved the change to monthly meter reading in February of this year after hearing customer frustration with reading meters every other month and estimating consumption in the off month. Customer Service staff are gearing up to make the change from bimonthly to monthly billing a smooth one for customer-owners. Information will be sent out to customers in their July bills explaining the potential change to their read date, which could change the date their power bill arrives and is due. A change to a bill date could also result in a one-time prorated bill.
Web site modernization project kicks off with focus groups
Comments from user focus groups will help in a redesign of the PUD Web site to make information easier to find and use. Customer-owners took part in focus groups last week to help kick off the project. A new PUD Web site will be unveiled this fall. The modernized site will feature user-friendly navigation and some new features. User group members asked that most of the content on the current site be kept and that the site have a strong customer-owner focus. They also asked for better search capabilities. User input will be important throughout the modernization process. Share your favorite item on the current Web, or an item you would like to see added to the PUD site by emailing Jeri Freimuth, Communications technology coordinator.
Progress report on fiber-optic network construction
Construction of Chelan County PUD’s fiber-optic network is ahead of schedule and under budget since PUD commissioners authorized moving forward with a countywide build-out in 2002. John Smith, Networks director, gave an update to commissioners Monday, which included an overview of financial, political and construction information. “It is all about giving members of this community the benefits that other communities with multiple (telecommunications service) providers see,” Smith said.
Since 2002 the network has been built to about 9,700 homes and businesses. About 2,300 end-users are paying private firms for high-speed Internet access and telephone service over PUD fiber. Television will be added this year. The goal is to reach 75 percent of the county by 2008 and all but remote sites by 2012, Smith said.
The system is on track to exceed forecasted revenue of $1.9 million for 2005. Based on results to date, revenues will meet business plan projections to exceed operating costs and capital expenses by 2013. Total system payback is also on track for 2028.
Residents of Chelan County can now find out in seconds if they are in a fiber-optic build zone. Click on the map to access the PUD’s fiber-optics mapping feature.