Your PUD
News Release
Line improvement policy approved
Chelan County PUD
News Release
6/5/2006
News from the meeting of the Chelan County Public Utility District Board of Commissioners held on Monday, June 5, 2006.
Line improvement policy approved
PUD commissioners approved a policy Monday outlining who pays what costs when customers ask that overhead power and fiber lines be put underground.
When a customer requests lines be relocated underground, they will receive an estimate of the costs. If they choose to move forward with the changes, they will be responsible for the costs associated with that move and will be required to pay for the work upfront.
The policy follows discussions with customers last year about how to handle the cost of the increasing number of requests to protect views by putting power lines underground.
To reduce customer costs, the policy allows some work to be completed by the property owner, including trenching and conduit installation. All work will be inspected by the PUD.
In other business, commissioners:
- Approved a $300,000 contract with R.W. Beck, Seattle, for engineering services related to the new high-voltage transmission line that will carry electricity from the Rocky Reach Dam Switchyard over Burch Mountain to the Andrew York/Monitor Switchyard on Easy Street, northwest of Wenatchee.
- Authorized the sale of surplus computer equipment. The auction will be at 10 a.m., on June 17, at the PUD’s Wenatchee Headquarters. Commissioners said they want to do everything possible to make the surplus equipment available to schools and non-profit organizations.
- Approved an $80,000 purchase of new barrier arms for the Douglas County entrance to Rock Island Dam. The arms are part of a project to increase safety and security at the dam’s entrance. Traffic there is increasing due to modernization of the generating units at the dam’s first powerhouse.
- Heard a report from staff on PUD investments. The average rate of return during the fourth quarter of 2005 was 3.79 percent on an average balance of $309 million. The average rate of return during the first quarter of 2006 was 4.2 percent on an average balance of $303 million.
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Commissioners adjourned Monday’s meeting and continued it to noon, June 6, for the Key Accounts luncheon at the PUD Headquarters Building, 327 N. Wenatchee Ave. That meeting will adjourn to continue at noon, on June 8, for a customer partnership group meeting at Campbell’s Resort, 104 W. Woodin Ave, Chelan.
The next regular business meeting is at 1 p.m. on June 12, in the boardroom of the PUD Headquarters Building, 327 N. Wenatchee Ave.
Most PUD commission meetings are recorded, and a link to the audio is available on the PUD’s Web site, www.chelanpud.org.
Christy Shearer
Communications Audio-visual Specialist
(509) 661-4258
(509) 421-4258 cell
(509) 661-8133 fax
christy.shearer@chelanpud.org