Grant PUD 'intergenerational fairness' discussed

WANAPUM DAM — Language, comprehension and “intergenerational fairness” were subjects of discussion at the Grant County PUD commission meeting Tuesday.

The phrase came up during a presentation by Jeff Bishop, the PUD’s chief financial officer, of the 2019 budget proposal. Utility district officials primarily finance some current projects through the use of long-term construction bonds. The payback periods run up to 30 years. That means less pressure on current rates.

“The idea is, paying for the benefit you receive for the assets and the services you are receiving. For example, a 30-year-lives transmission line. We can pay for that now, 100 percent, in the year that it’s implemented. That translates into, effectively, the current ratepayers paying for that portion. Future ratepayers that would receive the benefit of that asset for the next 30 years would not be required to pay for that, their portion of the asset,” Bishop said.

“In terms of what that looks like from a rates perspective, in order to do that, rates would have to go up pretty dramatically,” he said.

Utility district commissioners said the idea and what it means need to explained better during the public budget hearings scheduled for October. “I think we need to elaborate on that a little bit, even in the budget process,” said commissioner Bob Bernd. “Explain what it is, a little bit about the effects.” The subject has caused a lot of conversation among PUD customers, Bernd said, and they should have access to an explanation.

“We’re making a big deal out of it, and I believe we should make a big deal out of it,” said commissioner Dale Walker. “I think we should show people that we’re looking ahead, saying, ‘okay, is this fair to the people of 2030, and is this fair to the people today?’” That’s an important part of the decision process for commissioners, Walker said, and should be explained to PUD customers.

“This is a huge thing. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about our debt, and this process reduces our liability long-term and pays down some of it, so it’s fair in what we’re doing,” said commissioner Tom Flint. “In this process, having a brief description of what that is, I think is critical for us moving forward.” Flint said there seems to be a lot of confusion among customers, and the PUD needs to do a better job explaining it.

Commissioner Terry Brewer said the public hearings on the budget would be “a good opportunity to get some of this information out there.”

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