Grant County PUD president looks to 2010

EPHRATA — New Grant County PUD Commission President Bob Bernd says the utility has significant issues to handle in 2010.

A 4 percent rate increase, upcoming capital projects, relicensing costs and the commission’s decision about Crescent Bar Island’s lease are on tap for next year.

“As far as a specific goal, to get some grandiose policy implemented, I don’t really have one,” said Bernd, a three year commissioner, to the Columbia Basin Herald.

“I believe the commission has enough things coming down the road, that are really significant this year. If we can keep our nose to the grindstone and tackle those, that would be good,” he commented

Bernd was recently elected president of the board for next year, taking over the role from Commissioner Terry Brewer.

Bernd was previously the board’s vice president.

With Bernd’s elevation to president, Commissioner Randy Allred was elected vice president and Commissioner Tom Flint now serves as secretary.

In 2010, Bernd said he wants to see the board work together as a team and express their “diverse viewpoints” in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

“As chairman, where there’s ways to help foster that atmosphere, I’ll strive to do that,” Bernd says.

“We need to also work as a team to work with staff,” he noted. “I think we try to kill the messenger. I don’t think that’s fair. I think staff should give their opinions forthrightly and not be in fear of some reprimand. They’re being honest and coming to us.”

The board needs to keep its eye on the mission of “generating and delivering power in a cost-effective and efficient way.”

The utility is looking at many expensive infrastructure improvements of turbines and generators at its dams. He said it’s too late to stop the work, as the district would lose money spent in the start-up process and later to rebid the jobs.

“I think, hopefully, that our year would be good enough, where we could continue on with these projects,” Bernd said.

The district has debt that must be repaid and capital projects they’re investing in.

“Our county has doubled in growth since 1970,” he says. “We’ve had big load growth. We have to keep the infrastructure up and maintain it. Those are management things. I don’t think we want to abandon that.”

He mentioned Commissioner Flint’s recent comments about the importance of safe, reliable power.

“We have some big things facing us,” he said. “There are some things, I believe, the commission, will have some input on, (such as) the issuance of the bonds and maintaining our double AA rating. It would cost us millions of dollars if we went to an single A. Commissions before us worked hard to get to a double AA rating.”

Another issue is the outcome for roughly 1,000 residents on PUD-owned Crescent Bar Island. A lease with the Port of Quincy allowing the residents to live there expires in 2012.

PUD staff should be presenting commissioners with a few presentations about Crescent Bar during the first quarter of the year.

“My understanding, is we are going to move a little closer to some determination, so these people will have a higher comfort level on what’s going to happen,” Bernd says.

He “sincerely hoped” they wouldn’t eliminate all the residents who lived on the island for generations, he said.

Also at Crescent Bar, the state Department of Ecology is studying whether to raise the water around the island to create extra water storage.

In June, Joe Lucas, a senior policy advisor for the district, said the cost of altering Wanapum Dam doesn’t justify the low amount of increased power production.

“We obviously have something at stake if the DOE raises the water level,” Bernd said. “The preliminary thoughts were, it was a push for us. There were some structural things for us, because of dams and the whole shorelines designation.”

“In our talks with DOE, (we said) if you want to proceed with this, go ahead. We’ll observe and give input. We’ll keep our own best interest and those of our ratepayers in mind.”

He commented the water raise was probably a good project on a statewide basis and the PUD’s role with a water raise would be to vote on resolutions and policies.

Another issue for 2010 is a 4 percent electrical rate increase for customers recently approved by the commission. The increase was also approved for the next four years.

The increase starts in April and would be closer to 3 percent because it’s only in affect for three-fourths of the year, he said.

In April, the district will have a better idea of what the river is going to do, as well as snowpack and runoff.

The PUD owns two hydropower producing dams on the Columbia River. River flows and water availability factor into power production and prices.

“I’m really hopeful we don’t have an increase beyond 2010, or we have a significantly lower increase,” he said. “We’ve traditionally had some surplus sales, but with the economy, price of natural gas was down.”

In 2008, the PUD’s federal license to own and operate its dams was renewed. The renewal, although a benefit to the area because of lower power prices, result in added costs to implement the license’s terms.

With the new license, the PUD must deal with hundreds of historic sites they didn’t have to previously.

The district must conduct a survey for its license and have a plan, he said.

Commissioners recently approved the spending of $7.5 million for assistance with the plan.