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Progress report on the use of overhead or underground power lines

Chelan County PUD
News Release
6/13/2005

PUD staff updated commissioners Monday on the progress made analyzing and putting into place 22 recommendations from a community group on responding to increasing requests to put power lines underground for aesthetics.

Kirk Hudson, Distribution director, and Andrew Wendell, Customer Service Engineering supervisor, said issues have been evaluated for short-term and long-term impact. There are significant impacts to converting from overhead to underground lines, Hudson said. The cost to convert just 10 percent of the overhead distribution system to underground is estimated at $82.5 million. Staff believes the most interest would be in scenic areas, near recreation, along rivers and lakes and in downtown corridors.

Eleven short-term issues will be handled first. Action on those involve possible policy changes to ensure customers are given options; determining the financial and labor impacts; and decisions on the budget needed to support any policy changes.

Those changes will be brought back to commissioners for final action.   

Two members of the community group, Mike Sherer and Scott McKellar, both from the Chelan area, thanked PUD employees and commissioners for carrying through in responding to the recommendations.

Bill Stokes, Wenatchee, cautioned commissioners about decisions on underground lines that might impact costs for all customers.

Update on hatchery requirements of the Habitat Conservation Plans
Nine hatchery programs funded by Chelan County PUD are being evaluated in light of requirements of the PUD’s new Habitat Conservation Plans, said Shaun Seaman, PUD fisheries director.

One component is deciding what to do about the aging Turtle Rock Island facilities, which produce young chinook salmon. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Linda Parlette had offered the PUD $550,000 to develop a new rearing pond at Chelan Falls, but only if the decision to build was made by June 30, 2005.

Seaman said feasibility studies could not be completed by the end of the month. He explained that the bill specified that if the money was not used by the PUD, it would go to the new Beebe Springs Interpretive Center, which was also considered as a site for a rearing pond until it was determined there was no water source.

Following the discussion, PUD commissioners and staff toured the Chelan Falls and Beebe Springs locations.     

In other business, commissioners:

• Refused a request, on a 3-2 vote, from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office to have PUD technicians install radio equipment in seven new patrol cars. The request came because of a backlog at the one business in town that does that kind of work.
• Heard from Tracy Yount, Environmental Affairs director, that agreement had been reached with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife on an easement for the new Rocky Reach-Andrew York/Monitor Switchyard transmission line that will run across Burch Mountain. PUD commissioners will be asked to approve the easement agreement next week.

*** 

The next meeting of the PUD Board of Commissioners is at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 20, 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