Decision expected soon on PUD fiber expansion

WANAPUM DAM — Grant County PUD commissioners will discuss and maybe decide about the expansion of the district’s fiber network at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the headquarters building at Wanapum Dam.

The fiber program and its cost – mostly the cost of finishing it – has been a subject of discussion for most of 2017. Currently the fiber system is available to about 70 percent of the PUD’s customers. Earlier this year PUD officials evaluated the cost of expanding the fiber program to the remaining 30 percent.

The conclusion was that the PUD didn’t have enough money to continue the expansion without affecting other operations. Utility district officials either would have to use money already allocated to another project, or raise rates to PUD customers. Rates would be increased between 2.7 and 4.6 percent to pay for the fiber expansion, depending on how many customers signed up for the service, said Andrew Munro of the PUD.

Currently about 48 percent of customers who have access to the fiber system actually use it. The use rate has been going up; PUD communications director Tom Stredwick said the utility has been promoting the fiber network in its advertising, which has helped increase utilization.

A survey of district customers was conducted in spring 2017. Munro said the residential customer surveys showed most respondents were in favor of expanding the network, “but when costs, such as an electric rate surcharge, are considered that support drops pretty significantly.” Fewer than 50 percent of respondents supported the idea of the surcharge, Munro said.

Nor was there support for a rate surcharge among large industrial customers, according to the survey. Large industrial customers account for about 44 percent of the PUD’s sales.

A surcharge, or the option of a long-term contract, didn’t have support among people who don’t have fiber, Munro said. The levels of support in all customer classes remained consistent even when people factored in the idea that customers that don’t have fiber access had paid for people who do have it.

After a summer of discussion commissioners have looked at two options. One would stop the expansion where it is, and work to add customers within the existing network. The second would continue expansion, but confine it to areas where those customers help pay for it. However, commissioners Dale Walker and Tom Flint have suggested tentatively including money in the 2018 budget to ensure a discussion about fiber expansion.

The discussion will continue at the Sept. 26 meeting. The Wanapum Dam headquarters building is located at 14352 Highway 243.