Grant County PUD rejects I-937

Hydro power is not renewable according to initiative

EPHRATA — The Grant County Public Utility District commissioners voted unanimously Monday to reject state Initiative 937, a measure which would require the utility to meet 15 percent of its load with qualifying renewable energy by 2020.

The problem, the commission said by resolution, is most of the utility district's hydropower wouldn't be counted as renewable as the initiative is written.

The initiative, decided next month, would require utilities with at least 25,000 customers, Grant County PUD included, to develop or purchase new renewable resources, such as wind and solar power and undertake cost-effective energy conservation. All are required or utilities face financial penalties.

Efficiencies gained through upgrades to generating units at Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, called "incremental hydropower," would count as renewable energy for the initiative's future targets. Grant County PUD gets credit for the new turbines currently being replaced at Wanapum Dam, which boost power generation and improve water-use efficiency.

"We estimate that 50 percent of the initiative's requirements could be met with incremental hydropower," said Randy Allred, commission president. "However, Grant PUD would have to invest in new alternative renewable energy sources, which could be very expensive, to meet the remainder of the requirement. This could put upward pressure on electrical rates."

Chris McCullough, campaign manager for the initiative, agreed hydropower is renewable, but said it's a "maxed-out" resource as no new dams are expected to be built. The question, he said, is how are utilities going to meet growing demands for power.

"Washington state has this great tradition of clean, renewable energy, through hydro," McCullough said. "I-937 is about carrying on that tradition with a new generation of renewables."

Chelan County PUD, operators of Rock Island and Rocky Reach dams, opposed the initiative earlier this month, by commission vote.

"Chelan County is the leader, or a leader, in the state in wind and solar. We've always been environmentally conscious," said Gary Montague, president of Chelan County PUD's board of commissioners. "After analyzing (I-937), we found out that not only does it not consider hydro, but it does not allow voluntary green power, renewables."

The operators of Wells Dam on the Columbia River, Douglas County PUD, also reject the initiative.

"It's a diminishment of local control, with regard to power supply decisions," said Bill Dobbins, Douglas County PUD's general manager. They believe the hydroelectricity they generate must be considered renewable, he said.

Unlike its three member utilities, the Washington Public Utility District Association supports the initiative.

Wind power, according to I-937, is the technology currently available likely to meet initiative's requirements during the next 15 years.

Grant County PUD's resolution stated, "Wind-powered generation is available about 30 percent of the time and does not match customer demand."

But, it added: "Hydropower that does not currently meet the initiative definition of a renewable would be used to 'firm,' or back up, this wind power on calm days, and we believe that at a minimum this component of the hydro system be considered renewable."

Tim Culbertson, Grant County PUD's general manager, said the utility plans to work with legislators and regulators for the benefit of its ratepayers, if the initiative passes.