Your PUD
News Release
Commissioners decide electric LUD is not feasible
Chelan County PUD
News Release
2/25/2008
PUD commissioners Monday decided 4-1 that a petition to finance bringing electricity to Camas Meadows with a local utility district was not economically or financially feasible.
Commissioner Werner Janssen voted against that finding. He also proposed delaying the decision for three weeks, but his motion died when it was not seconded.
PUD staff recommended that commissioners decline the financing request, saying it would be a financial burden for the PUD and its customer owners and would go against past practice of providing new electric services through the PUD’s line extension policy.
John Stoll, Customer Service director, told commissioners the PUD has handled about 3,000 requests for electric service under the line extension policy since it was set in 1996. He estimated costs to set up an electric LUD at about $45,000, plus $6,000 a year to administer it.
Residents had previously received a cost estimate of $195,000 under the line extension policy to extend power to the area east of Blewett Pass. Most found that too expensive and asked the PUD to help them finance the line extension with the LUD process over 20 years.
Rating agencies affirm PUD’s good credit
Chief Financial Officer Joe Jarvis reported to the board that three rating agencies have affirmed the PUD’s double-A credit ratings for bonds that are about to be refinanced. One agency, Fitch Ratings, upgraded the PUD’s financial outlook from stable to positive. Both Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s kept the outlook at stable.
Jarvis told board members that the Fitch report listed numerous PUD financial strengths, including bond refinancing, recent rate increases, securing long-term licenses for two of its three hydro projects (Rock Island and Lake Chelan) and agreeing to new long-term power sales contracts with Puget Sound Energy and Alcoa.
But he said the report also pointed out risks faced by the PUD, including volatile wholesale power sales from year to year that depend on changing snowpack and market prices, and the lack of a new long-term license for the Rocky Reach Hydro Project. In order to receive a higher credit rating, the report said the PUD should demonstrate its ability to raise rates, to impose surcharges when necessary and to develop plans for handling the PUD’s future power sales portfolio. Jarvis concluded that the PUD should look at rate increases annually to minimize potential future financial shocks.
In other business, commissioners:
- Learned that Chelan County will host a meeting at 9:30 a.m. on March 29 at the Lake Wenatchee Recreation Club to discuss Lake Wenatchee water quality issues. PUD staff also recapped recent changes in water quality sampling in connection with its net pens used to raise young sockeye in the lake. Grant County PUD has plans to use the pens to raise fish as well.
- Approved a $115,000 contract with the University of Washington to continue research on the Lake Chelan food web. Support of the project started in 2004 by the National Park Service is required under the PUD’s new long-term license to operate the Lake Chelan Hydro Project. Jeff Osborn, a member of the PUD’s Natural Resources division, said study findings will be shared with other agencies to “help fishery managers make better decisions on fishery management in Lake Chelan.”
- Changed the starting time of their Monday commission meetings to 11 a.m. from 1 p.m. starting on April 7 to provide more time for discussion.
- Canceled the March 31 commission meeting.
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The next meeting of the PUD commission will begin at 1 p.m. on March 3 in the boardroom at PUD Headquarters, 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
509-661-4320, direct line
509-679-6858, cell
kimberlee.craig@chelanpud.org