Large Loads

Large loads are a wide range of power-intensive industries, including manufacturing, industrial plants and data centers. Chelan PUD, like many utilities around the nation, has received requests from large-load customers seeking to site in Chelan County. We’re ready with a consistent process to evaluate these requests. 

Chelan PUD can’t pick and choose which customers can access electricity in Chelan County. We can set fair and reasonable conditions to protect reliability and long-term financial stability. That’s what we’ve done by establishing a standard, consistent process to evaluate large load requests.

Chelan PUD uses these guiding principles to evaluate new large-load requests:

• Neutral-to-positive impact on other PUD customers
• Maintain reliability, and stable predictable rates
• Preserve local control
• Create a comprehensive framework that treats large-load customers comparably and consistently
• Protect existing management of hydropower through wholesale energy marketing strategy 

Supported by customer feedback, we established a framework for how we will serve large-load customers through three structured options:

1. Short-term supply: Chelan PUD procures wholesale energy from the market and resells to the large-load customer.
2. Customer choice: Large-load customer identifies and procures wholesale energy, which Chelan PUD purchases and re-sells to them.
3. Negotiated contract: At the Board’s discretion, Chelan PUD negotiates a contract which may include power generated by Chelan PUD, consistent with the PUD’s wholesale energy marketing strategy. Chelan PUD is not obligated to serve these new loads with hydropower, but if it’s in the best interest of existing customers, we may consider it.

This framework ensures that costs are fully recovered and that our customer base remains protected. We’ve set it up so our clean energy stays focused on serving the community first.

When a large-load customer is interested in siting in Chelan County, they submit an interconnection study request. An interconnection study identifies how large-load customers will connect to Chelan PUD’s transmission and distribution system, and any system upgrades required to do so.

Typically, the large-load customer bears the costs of the interconnection study, and any upgrades required for them to connect to the electrical grid. For example, Microsoft covered all costs for Chelan PUD to build the Jumpoff Ridge substation to serve its Malaga data center campus.

Chelan PUD may propose to share costs on system upgrades that benefit both the large-load customer and Chelan PUD customer-owners. For example, if a new transmission line adds capacity to how much electricity Chelan PUD can deliver – above and beyond what the prospective customer needs – the PUD may offer to pay a percentage of the cost.

On June 4, Chelan PUD held a special meeting to discuss how we evaluate and serve large-load customers, and the proposed contract with Microsoft. You can find a summary of the contract, the presentation, and an audio recording of the meeting here.