PUD transitions must continue

Dennis Bolz, PUD Commissioner

9/4/2007

Transitions in life or in the life of an organization are not always easy, nor are they easily understood. Your Chelan County PUD can find no exception to this rule of life. Change it must. 

The early days of the PUD were times of great change and transition. It began as an organization dedicated to the distribution of electric energy to local customers. Opportunity came along in a few years to not only distribute electric energy to local customers but acquire Rock Island Dam, generate electricity and join in the business of electric transmission of surplus energy to other areas. This decision to become a generation facility, with the added responsibility of transmission and distribution, was not always accepted by all concerned, but over time this decision defined what kind of organization Chelan County PUD was going to become. It was a good decision. And so goes the story of acquiring the Lake Chelan power generation facility and the licensing and construction of Rocky Reach. Each step was fraught with controversy, with people on all sides of each issue advocating valid points of view. In each of these historic decisions not everyone was able to get all they wanted. As in all decisions, there is more than one way to be right.

To build the future, licenses were obtained from the federal government. Concessions were obtained from the state Legislature for local control. Contracts were written to sell surplus power. Debt was financed to construct and facilitate the vision. Each of these items carried with it its own collection of people who admired the decisions and those who didn't. Over time, these decisions further defined Chelan County PUD.

As time moved forward, Chelan County PUD has become an integrated utility. To the residents of the county where need has been defined, the utility now offers not only the basic electric energy that was the original promise but water, wastewater and telecommunications through the fiber-optic network. Again, each service comes with those who think they are a good idea and those who think not! 

Regardless of individual opinion, the decisions define the organization. Chelan County PUD has become a truly integrated utility, publicly owned and publicly operated. That brings responsibilities. Our generation facilities wear out over time, licenses expire, transmission systems as well as distribution systems need repair and modernization. Water and wastewater facilities need constant maintenance, as does the growing fiber network. There is a country and western song that goes, “Not just a different time … a different world.”

To relicense the dams and generation facilities in this day and age is by far more political and environmentally sensitive than ever before.  The concerns of the day need to be met with not only the correct response but the right response. Issues of fish, clean water, lake levels, irrigation, recreation, efficiency of power production, customer needs and expectations fill years of effort and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It is the price we pay for the organization we have defined over time. To rebuild the generation facilities and maintain what is in place, as well as any future expansion in areas of service, again costs hundreds of millions of dollars to meet future needs. 

Chelan County PUD in the past has made decisions that have placed us right in the middle of the greater energy market. What we do and how we respond is influenced by coal prices, oil prices and snowfall. What we do and how we respond is influenced by well-intended political initiatives, legislative action (state and federal), governor decisions and court actions. All of these influences must be blended with regulatory agencies that have vast authority over what the PUD does and how we address current and future needs. We are now required to pass audits to demonstrate our readiness to prevent brownouts, blackouts and other energy concerns that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in preparation and response. As the song says, not just a different time but a different world.

Each of these decisions and issues is a part of today’s Chelan County PUD. We can debate forever the merits of past decisions and directions. The bottom line is that each of these issues and decisions influences in a profound way what must occur. As power sales contracts end and new ones begin in the future, our financial state will become more secure. Currently, and for the next four years, Chelan County PUD will be faced with financial decisions that require a measured response — in light of all the history and current influences. 

This organization is dedicated to remaining public in its ownership and operation, at the most prudent financial level. No one said it was going to be easy. This is another time of transition, and those always come with degrees of agreement and disagreement. Let’s continue to move forward!