Your PUD PUD News Line

4/26/2007

PUD discusses impacts of climate change

Chelan CountyPUDis analyzing how potential climate-change actions being developed at the regional, national and global level may impact District operations and its customer-owners.

General Manager Rich Riazzi and Gregg Carrington, External Affairs director, have provided PUD commissioners background on the issue and outlined how the PUD is developing principles to focus future efforts.

Commissioners will be thinking about issues such as: 

• Whether global warming policies will favorably recognize the PUD’s historic investment in efficiency, renewables and the environment;
• How hydropower can be included as a recognized renewable energy source;
• Whether climate-change incentives should be based on quantity of emissions or source of generation.

Public comment will be an important part of fine-tuning climate-change principles before they are adopted, and more meetings are planned for late summer/early fall, after the PUD wraps up its strategic planning process in June.

In the meantime, the PUD is checking energy efficiency at PUD facilities, evaluating how to comply with new state requirements for cost-effective conservation and planning to make the best use of power sources other than hydro.

Also, PUD General Manager Rich Riazzi has been named to the Washington Climate Change Challenge Advisory Team, which will consider a range of policies and strategies that may be adopted to achieve the goals Gov. Christine Gregoire established in her executive order on global warming earlier this year. Steve Reynolds, CEO, president and chairman of Puget Sound Energy, was also named to the 20-member panel.

Chelan license update

The PUD has received a new order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the PUD’s request to revisit the license for theLake Chelan Hydro Project. The District has been analyzing the new order since it was released last Thursday by the FERC.

Last November, the District received a new 50-year federal operating license for the Lake Chelan Project, but asked for rehearing by FERC to clarify three issues: 1) liability protection before allowing whitewater boating (kayaking), 2) cost caps on certain items required in the license; 3) expansion of the project boundary for certain wildlife habitat and recreation improvements.

FERC ruled that the PUD must go ahead with a three-year test program on kayaking in the Chelan River Gorge without waiting to resolve all liability concerns. The earliest that kayakers might be able to use the river will be July 2008.

The PUD also asked FERC to retain cost caps on measures such as dock replacements and erosion control that it had agreed to with state and federal agencies. FERC declined to impose the caps in about half the instances and accepted the other half. FERC did say the PUD could come back for further consideration if costs begin escalating beyond what is expected.

FERC also ruled that the District may be required to bring certain lands into the project boundary, depending on what is contained in a wildlife habitat plan to be submitted later. But FERC said lands requiring only one-time actions by the PUD and required recreational enhancements for the National Park Service and the Forest Service would not require those lands to be added to the project boundary. 

Click here for more information about the Chelan project license.

Strategic planning sessions will continue through midyear with General Manager Rich Riazzi outlining for commissioners possible approaches to Chelan County PUD’s finances for the next five years.

Discussions will include detailed analysis of the impacts from choices ranging from raising electric, water and sewer rates to slowing the fiber build-out and what effect the choices would have on key financial measurements through 2012.

2006 Annual Report online

Chelan County PUD’s 2006 report is now available online.

This year, the report has a focus on renewal -- a new general manager, renewed community involvement and increased awareness of renewable power sources.

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