PUD commissioners discuss customer privacy policy

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EPHRATA — Exactly what information the Grant County PUD needs from its customers was the subject of discussion at the regular commission meeting Tuesday.

The commissioners will vote on a new customer privacy policy at the Sept. 27 meeting, and reviewed the proposed policy Tuesday. Commissioner Bob Bernd expressed concern at the utility’s practice of asking customers for a Social Security number. He asked why they were needed in the first place. Customer account supervisor Annette Lovitt said it’s part of the PUD’s credit check procedure for new customers. Some utilities don’t use them, but Grant County PUD officials are confident that the security system protects the information, Lovitt added.

Bernd said he still was concerned because the policy allows customer information to be shared with contractors and subcontractors as long as the recipients sign nondisclosure agreements. “Pretty soon you’ve lost control of this information,” he said. He expressed similar concerns about bank account and credit card information.

Lovitt said the PUD doesn’t keep credit card or bank account information; all PUD payments are processed by a third party. Bernd asked why they were included in the policy, and Lovitt replied that that’s standard for customer service policies. The policy is designed to minimize risk to PUD customers, she said.

Bernd asked if there was an example of a contractor needing access to customer Social Security numbers. Lovitt said it would be very rare, and she cited the need to upgrade computer programs that contain customer information.

General manager Kevin Nordt said the staff would “take a good hard look” at customer information, what’s needed to check credit and what’s not. “If we don’t need those, the best way to protect them is to never take them in the first place,” he said.

In other business, commissioners reviewed change orders for a contract to design and build a new substation and to increase the contract for the refurbishment of generators at Priest Rapids Dam. Bernd expressed concern about the increases in the substation contract, and commissioner Dale Walker asked about the generator contract.

The substation contract has increased from about $500,000 to about $2.5 million in about 18 months, Bernd said. He wanted to know why. Nordt said he had the same questions, and that it’s the result of a change in the way the PUD is awarding construction contracts.

The PUD has a backlog of construction requests, and instituted a system where the design and construction contracts are awarded to the same contractor, rather than two separate contracts. It’s new to the PUD, so the contract has changed as the work involved in the project has changed. In answer to a question from commissioner Larry Schaapman, Nordt said this should be last change order.

Walker said the generator contract originally was awarded for $69 million, and the latest change order has pushed the price to about $100 million. “And they’re just starting work,” he said.

Nordt said the price change is connected to the assumptions made when awarding the contract. Utility district officials assumed some of the parts could be refurbished and reused, and the changes reflect the reality that some parts need to be replaced. The price would have been different if PUD officials had started with different assumptions, Nordt added.