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No rate increase in preliminary 2006 budget

Chelan County PUD
News Release
10/3/2005

PUD commissioners Monday got their first look at proposed District spending for 2006. No electric or water/wastewater rate increases are proposed. No new debt is forecast, although the PUD may refinance some existing bonds to get lower interest rates.

External debt is forecast to drop from about $959 million at the end of this year to $946 million by the end of 2006.

The proposed $319 million budget will continue to be refined and analyzed by managers before a final budget is presented for PUD commission approval on Dec. 5.  The 2005 budget is $259 million. 

Spending on major projects will increase from $74.2 million this year to $111.6 million in 2006 as modernization of up to six units in the original powerhouse at Rock Island Dam moves forward. The PUD expects to spend $31.3 million next year on modernization at Rock Island Dam.

Other proposed projects include:

• $15.8 million to continue rehab of Rocky Reach generators
• $11.4 million to continue building the fiber-optic network.
• $6.1 million to build a new transmission line from Rocky Reach Dam to the Andrew York/Monitor Switchyard.

TJ Farrell, PUD budget supervisor, and Diane Cooper, Accounting director, presented the preliminary budget at Monday’s hearing.       

Customer billing update
Calls from customers confused about their bills have dropped dramatically since the PUD launched monthly meter reading last summer, reported John Stoll, Customer Accounting director.

Customer Accounting staff logged 14 calls from customers with bill complaints last month, with calls lasting an average of 2 minutes. Last year in October there were 237 calls, lasting an average of four minutes.

Stoll thanked PUD commissioners for supporting the move to monthly meter reading and praised the meter readers for their enthusiasm for the new schedule.

New this month on the bill is a graph showing average electricity and/or water use for the previous year, added in response to customer requests.             

Sharon Vespier, customer accounts coordinator, joined Stoll in the discussion. 

Future water needs discussed
Planning for the future water needs of the greater Wenatchee area – and beyond -  will require more information about the aquifer that supplies drinking water to Chelan County PUD, city of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee Water District customers.

The aquifer on the Douglas County side of Rocky Reach Dam also supplies water for the District’s Eastbank Fish Hatchery complex.

A new steering committee of elected officials is meeting to discuss future risks and demands on the aquifer.

In other business, commissioners:

• Were reminded this is Public Power Week, being celebrated across the country by about 2,000 public utilities. Chelan County PUD is celebrating with its customer-owners by offering public tours of Rock Island Dam at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Contact Christy Shearer, 661-4258, to reserve a spot. The PUD is also hosting an artist’s reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Rocky Reach Visitor Center to showcase the “Dams of the Columbia” paintings by John Moilanen. The exhibit continues through November.
• Agreed to reimburse the state Department of Transportation up to $300,000 for the cost of building new turn lanes from Highway 28 to Rock Island Dam. The improvements are needed for increased traffic expected during the modernization of generating units at Powerhouse 1. The work will be done as part of a state paving project scheduled next year.
• Agreed that Commissioners Werner Janssen and Ann Congdon will draft a job description for a possible clerk of the board position separate from the duties now performed for the board by the general manager’s executive assistant. 

*** 

Commissioners adjourned the meeting and will reconvene at 8 a.m.  Tuesday to continue development of the board’s Balanced Scorecard strategies. The next regular meeting of the PUD Board of Commissioners is at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 10 in the PUD boardroom at 327 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Most PUD commission meetings are recorded, and a link to the audio is available on the PUD’s home page at www.chelanpud.org.

Kimberlee Craig
Public Information Officer
661-4320, direct line
679-6858, cell
kimc@chelanpud.org