Your PUD News Release

PUD will carefully analyze federal fiber grant opportunity

Chelan County PUD
News Release
8/4/2010

With help from consultants who are already evaluating the wholesale fiber-optics program from top to bottom, Chelan County PUD intends to look carefully at all the potential ramifications of accepting a $25 million grant to continue building out the fiber system to many remote areas not yet served in Chelan County.

The PUD learned Wednesday that its fiber-optics system is among 126 projects chosen to receive stimulus funding from the Rural Utilities Service Broadband Initiatives Program. The PUD is in line for $25 million, and the PUD would have to provide approximately another $10 million of its own money to accomplish the build-out over the next three years as described in the grant application.

“We greatly appreciate all the support we have received in this extensive application process,” said new PUD General Manager John Janney. He acknowledged letters of support from Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, 4th District Rep. Doc Hastings and Gov. Chris Gregoire.

“We now need to evaluate carefully all the potential impacts,” said Janney. “Our number-one obligation is to consider carefully the financial effect on the PUD in coming years and how this decision might affect each of our customers.”

Janney said it’s a good time to be making this kind of decision. An external consulting team has been studying every aspect of the PUD’s wholesale fiber-optics model for the past several months and is close to making a report to the Board of Commissioners, expected before the end of August.

Since the application process was started in February, PUD commissioners have adopted a set of new comprehensive financial policies intended to help guide decisions such as this one and point out potential long-term impacts on District finances and customer rates. Extending the fiber system to more remote areas of the county is likely to increase costs to the overall fiber system in the long run, although many residents of those areas have been calling for the PUD to extend its fiber access.

The PUD’s initial plan for fiber optics called for making the system accessible to 95 percent of the county by 2012, but tight utility finances the past two years have forced the PUD to slow down its build-out of the system.

Janney praised the team of PUD employees who worked on the grant application.

“We knew from the beginning that additional tough decisions would need to be made, depending on the terms and conditions of receiving such a grant,” he said. “We are now prepared to explore fully all the possible impacts.”

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Steve Lachowicz
Communications director
509-661-4639, direct line
509-679-0148, cell
steve.lachowicz@chelanpud.org