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PUD moving line crew for efficiency

Chelan County PUD
News Release
3/7/2008

Chelan County PUD announced Friday that it plans to consolidate the Leavenworth line crew with the Wenatchee-based line crews for efficiency and cost-savings. Three linemen will report to work in Wenatchee beginning March 17.

The Leavenworth PUD office will remain open, with vehicles and equipment stationed there. Superintendent Randy Noland will remain in charge of the office, supported by two customer-service representatives, a meter-reader and a service lineman who will act as the first responder to power outages in many instances, doing an initial assessment of what work is needed.

 “Our judgment and our experience tell us that this will be more cost-effective and more efficient,” said Jack Winter, executive manager of Utility Services for the PUD.  “We are seeing that technology investments and planning improvements on behalf or all of our customers are necessary to meet customer expectations. People in the upper valley should have the same level of service or better as a result of these changes.”

Winter explained that having linemen stationed in Leavenworth doesn’t necessarily provide faster response because a foreman for the line crew often has to drive up from the Wenatchee area when there is an outage. In addition, after-hours emergencies are generally responded to initially with PUD  servicemen, and their priority is to ensure the scene is safe for the public and our employees. Having a service lineman remain in Leavenworth as a first-responder will still allow a quick early assessment of any problem, he said.

The PUD has now divided Chelan County into two service territories for crew response, one served by the Chelan office in the northern part of the county and the other served out of the Wenatchee headquarters and covering the Wenatchee Valley to Lake Wenatchee and beyond. Crews may be assigned to any region when there is a need.         

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For more information, contact Kirk Hudson, Operations Division director, 661-4265, kirk.hudson@chelanpud.org