Bonneville outage, bulbs occupy PUD

The Wahkiakum PUD met Tuesday to discuss topics ranging from a planned power outage to energy conservation.

The power will be turned off from KM Mountain to the Wahkiakum/Cowlitz county line from midnight on Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday morning. Bonneville Power Administration requested the outage for routine maintenance.

“This is not a scheduled program. We are doing our work in concurrence so it wouldn’t require a second outage to do our work,” said Commissioner Larry Reese.

“There was going to be an outage up there that we have no control over; that was Bonneville driven,” added Commissioner Esther Gregg. “Our involvement with that doesn’t change the hours that Bonneville will be down.”

Auditor Erin Wilson reported that Mayor Dick Swart has requested the town’s water customers conserve water for 24 hours beginning at midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday to allow the reserves to return to normal levels.

In other business, Gregg told the board that someone mentioned to her when she received her box of light bulbs from Niagara, one was broken. Wilson said that it isn’t the first instance of broken bulbs arriving at homes.

She said if customers receive a broken bulb, they should call the 1-800 number on the side of the box and Niagara will send them a new bulb at no cost to them or the utility. Reese said there is a no charge recycling capacity in Longview at the Home Depot for the bulbs. They will not accept broken bulbs, however, the used bulbs will be sent to a hazardous waste location in King County.

In related news, Commissioner Bob Jungers told the board that he and Wilson have done some estimation’s regarding the energy saving bulbs. If all of the bulbs sent out are used, and survive the maximum 10 thousand hour lifespan, theoretically, the $23,000 spent on sending out the bulbs will save the utility $304,000 in electricity.

“I’d say that is conservation dollars well spent,” Jungers said.