Grant PUD plans no rate increase in 2021

EPHRATA — Under a budget proposal for next year, Grant County PUD customers will pay the same rates for electricity in 2021 that they’re paying now.

Utility district financial analyst John Mertlich said rates will have to increase over time, just because the cost of doing business will increase. But there’s no rate increase for any class built into the 2021 budget proposal, Mertlich said in an interview Tuesday.

The 2021 budget proposal does include a projection of continued growth in customer demand, estimated at 4.1 percent. Mertlich said that reflects an anticipated increase in demand from large industrial customers. A lot of the large industrial customers are data centers, and their business has increased in 2020.

That growth offset slowdowns in other customer classes, Mertlich said. The small commercial customer class showed the biggest impact from the coronavirus outbreak, he said.

The residential customer class is projected to grow about 1 percent. Mertlich said that while there are more residences in Grant County, homes are more energy efficient now — in many cases, they use less electricity than they once did.

While the load growth is projected to increase, it’s a smaller increase than originally projected in early 2020. Mertlich said that’s a reflection of the coronavirus pandemic, and the 2022 budget includes assumptions about the economic effects of the pandemic. The possible economic impact “is embedded in our numbers,” Mertlich said.

Grant PUD commissioners are expected to vote on the 2021 budget in November.

The budget proposal includes a “change in net position” of $47.6 million at the end of 2021. Mertlich said that’s the projection of revenue left after all expenses are paid.

But Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bishop said there are some misconceptions about any year-end profits. Bishop said he’s been asked about it in the past.

“Are we walking away with $47 million in net income?” Bishop said.

The answer is no, he said: The PUD finishes each year with a balanced budget. The $47 million, or whatever the final amount turns out to be, will be used to finance PUD construction and maintenance projects. The more the PUD can finance its projects with its own money, the less it has to borrow, Bishop explained.

The 2021 budget proposal includes about $6 million for work on PUD facilities throughout the system. That includes what Mertlich called “significant” work on the maintenance shops in Moses Lake and Ephrata.

Utility district officials plan to continue construction of the district’s fiber optics network. Some of the fiber construction planned for 2020 will roll over into 2021, but Mertlich said that’s pretty common. “We tend to set ourselves pretty aggressive goals,” he said. The tentative completion date for the fiber optic buildout is 2024.