Power resources topic of meeting

MOSES LAKE - Grant County PUD plans to push for power conservation by supporting a state incentive in January to pay for solar water heaters in homes and businesses.

Solar water heaters and other topics connected to the utility's integrate resource plan will be discussed during a town hall meeting for residents from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Moses Lake Fire Station, 701 E. Third Ave., Moses Lake.

Tuesday's meeting is just the beginning of conversations the utility wants to have with residents, said Andrew Munro, Grant PUD's external affairs director.

The solar water heater work will be done as part of the plan, he said. The plan was filed with the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development in August.

As part of the plan, the PUD wants to present a state incentive proposal at the 2009 legislative session, he said.

If approved as proposed, the incentive would allow the PUD to obtain a credit from the PUD tax paid to the state, he said. The credit could fund a customer rebate for the water heaters.

Munro said the utility feels the proposal has statewide application and other utilities can benefit.

The rebate for customers may cover half the cost or the entire cost of installing the components related to the water tank, he said.

Direct and indirect solar heater systems range from between approximately $1,200 to $5,400, he said. The heaters can reduce home electrical consumption by half and even more in the summer, he said.

The integrated resource plan also details other energy resources the PUD plans to investigate, such as hydrokinetic, biomass generation, wind and solar.

The utility wants to share them with the public, if the resources are cost-effective and viable, Munro said.

Although the PUD can continue to generate hydropower from the dams because of its new license, it's necessary to plan prudently for future load growth in Grant County, he said.

There's also a strong potential the state may implement regulations from the Western Climate Initiative, which involves agreeing to a greenhouse gas reduction goal.

Both presidential candidates have indicated support for climate legislation, he said.

Washington state already has a greenhouse gas performance standard for electric utilities under Senate bill 6001, he said. The bill essentially forbids utilities from entering into contracts for baseload power whose emissions exceed the average emissions of a gas-fired generator, he said. The standard is 1,100 pounds per megawatt hour.

Climate change legislation could limit the scope of resources the PUD could consider in the future, Monro said. The PUD is basically clean because it mainly produces hydropower, he said.

People who can't attend the meeting are welcome to submit questions they want asked through the PUD's Web site at www.gcpud.org.