Public tells PUD that industrial rates need to be low
Port official says opportunity exists for chilled-pork industry within Grant County
EPHRATA — Grant County Commissioner Deborah Moore along with members of the county's industrial business community and others urged the Grant County Public Utility District's board of commissioners to seize the moment and adopt industrial power rates that will assure economic development well into the future.
"The power rate structure the PUD commission will set in the next two weeks will have long-range consequences on economic development, impacting both the viability of existing businesses and the potential for new businesses and industries to locate in our county," Moore said to the commissioners during their regular Monday meeting. "Retaining and attracting industrial and manufacturing businesses that provide jobs and in turn stimulate the local economy are key to the health of our communities, the county and our citizens."
Moore emphasized the need to have a healthy tax base within Grant County. She said that occurs when people have good jobs within a successful private business and industrial community.
"I urge the PUD commissioners to carefully consider the long view when determining power rates for the large industrial companies, and make decisions that support current industry, enhance future economic development, and support our county, our communities and our citizens," Moore said.
Port of Douglas County executive director Pat Haley quickly demonstrated how important low cost power is to companies looking to do business in areas such as Grant County.
After spending time outside of Washington state trying to recruit companies to locate to the three-county region of Grant, Douglas and Chelan. Haley said he knows that the only thing the region has to offer businesses is low-cost power and land. Areas such as Grant County must provide companies with valuable incentives to invest here because Washington is a "cul-de-sac" state, he said.
"We're kind of not on the road to anything and we are not near any major markets," he said. "Companies that locate here have to take their product a long ways away."
He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the Port of Douglas County a $100,000 feasibility grant to pursue the creation of a chilled-pork industry in eastern Washington specifically for export to Japan.
Japanese consumers want pork from barley-fed hogs that eastern Washington farmers can produce with less expense than other regions of the county because of its economic advantages, Haley said.
"There's just an enormous opportunity here," he said. "Somebody has to launch off and take the lead on this."
On Sept. 26, two Japanese executives will be visiting sites in the Moses Lake and Quincy areas for possible development of distribution sites for pork grown in the region. Currently, the closest distribution facility for exporting this product to Japan would be in southern Oregon.
"You need to know that there are things that are going on, on a regional basis, that effect industry and job creation," Haley said. "I'm here to recommend to the commission that you recognize the economic benefit of low cost power to industry, because that is why anybody is coming here."
Most of the public comments emphasized the importance of developing rates based on cost of service and relieving industrial ratepayers of their historical subsidization of irrigators and residential ratepayers. Some warned the commissioners about adopting inverted rates that apparently penalize some ratepayers and are not based on cost of service.
Today, the PUD commissioners and staff have another rates meeting scheduled. The PUD staff has planned on passing along some hard numbers on what the new industrial rates schedule will look like to the commissioners during that meeting. The commissioners plan on making their decision on industrial rates by Oct. 1 to give those ratepayers some time to prepare before the current power sales contracts sunset on Nov. 1 when the new contracts begin.
In other district business:
? The board of commissioners approved a resolution to revise the customer service policies to provide the ability to waive any late payment charges and $50 collection fee when funding for the payment is provided by a private, non-profit assistance organization.
? A resolution was also approved to accept the bid and enter into a contract with Western States Electric, Inc. to provide 48-strand ADSS fiber optic cable. This cable will be used to complete the backbone system between Midway and Potholes Substations and entry into the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project. The contract amount is for $433,168.57.