Patti Paris running for open PUD seat

EPHRATA — Patti Paris said she decided to run for the Grant County PUD commission because "it is time for me to give back to the community,” and “the PUD is the best fit for me.”

Paris is running against Nelson Cox. The current commissioner, Bob Bernd, did not file for reelection.

Cox declined an in-person interview.

The Paris-Cox race has generated a lot of interest, and a lot of money in donations. As of Oct. 16, total donations in the race are $75,637, with $27,010 donated to Paris. Paris contributed about $19,250 of her total.

“We pay a lot of attention to (the PUD),” Paris said. Cox has received “strong backing from a segment of the ag community, and they were willing to step up and put in a lot of money. That meant for me to be competitive, I needed to match that.”

Paris is a former PUD employee, and was the chief financial officer for Columbia Colstor until she retired in 2015, she said.

The PUD needs to work to encourage growth, Paris said, because in her opinion regulation will be a continuing challenge. “The playing field is changing pretty dramatically with the onset of new regulations that actually restrict some of the marketability of our power somewhat.” The PUD also faces competition in the market from alternative power sources.

In light of that the PUD needs stable revenue, and the best way to get that is to encourage development in Grant County, she said. The PUD can and should work with county officials, cities and port districts “to find ways to attract businesses that those other entities are eager to bring in.”

She said she supports the current rate policy that gives any benefit from project power to what are called core customers, which includes residences, small general service customers and ag irrigators. The benefit should be as big as possible for the core customers, but Paris said she wants to review the existing limits, if she's elected.

The PUD uses a “cost of service” model to determine the actual cost of providing electricity to various customer classes. Paris said her background in accounting would be valuable in determining that the data is as accurate as possible.

“I do know (the PUD carries) quite a bit of debt, and it's really important that we can guarantee to our bondholders that we have a reliable revenue stream,” Paris said.

The PUD is working on a two-decade project to rebuild and replace turbines and generators at Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams. “By the year 2027, they will have invested just short of a billion dollars. That's their projection,” Paris said. “We can't put a billion dollars of debt on revenue financing (funding from existing revenues),” Paris said. In addition, the PUD needs a reserve in case of an emergency.

During her PUD employment Paris worked on the fiber project. She said she supports the fiber program; the PUD needs to find creative ways to fund the buildout. But customers also must bear their share of the cost, she said.

Paris said she would encourage more participation from PUD customers. “I'm a strong advocate of creating permanent customer advocacy groups, who have more access to PUD staff. They have more involvement in the decisions that are being made regarding rates and policy and financing.”

She cited the network of committees set up by Samaritan Healthcare, which include “key representatives out of the community” as well as hospital officials and district commissioners.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.