PUD considering 9% rate increase

Tuesday Wahkiakum Public Utility District General Manager Dave Tramblie recommended commissioners implement a 9 percent electrical rate increase beginning January 1.

Tramblie presented a letter outlining his rationale, stating the request was taken as a last resort. He said the increase is the result of the PUD no longer receiving a $70,000 annual credit from Bonneville Power Administration, undertaking capital improvement projects like the construction of the new Wahkiakum substation for increased reliability, and a 9.6 percent increase in power costs from BPA that starts in October.

The PUD’s preliminary budget will be ready for the next board meeting, Tramblie said, and discussions on the rate increase can be part of the discussion. The board could hold rate hearings in six weeks.

“Nine percent--that’s a stiff pill to swallow,” Commissioner Bob Jungers said.

He recommended the commissioners consider how to structure the increase, if there is one.

“The increase could be strictly on the energy or on the service charge or a combination of the two. It could be a graduated rate, which would have the benefit of encouraging conservation. I am not advocating any of these, but we would want to consider which, if we do decide in fact we have to make a rate increase,” he said.

Tramblie said a number of PUDs have increased the base customer charges $18-36 per month to reflect the costs involved in maintaining an active account without any consumption.

Tramblie and Auditor Erin Wilson are also considering the Westend Water system’s financial viability, Tramblie said.

“My intention is to have information at the next meeting, so the rate hearing could address all rate increases,” he said.

In his report, Tramblie said bills are going out this month with new software.

Crews are trimming trees along SR 4 in the Flandersville area, Tramblie reported.

“It’s spooky for the workers," he said. "You put all the signs out, but people still don’t see you.”

Commissioner Dennis Reid agreed. “I was a flagger for the county. It gets scary.”

Tramblie said he rented an excavator for a month for work in Altoona, but he also wants to see if it will make replacing the crossings on Puget Island easier, cleaner, and safer.

Lee Tischer, a prospective commissioner candidate attending the meeting, said, “the crew will love it. Especially with the wet ground around here.”

Tischer asked about progress on a BPA isolator switch that is expected to decrease the numbers of outages significantly. The work is expected to be completed at the end of August, Tramblie said.

Reid advised that one of the Town of Cathlamet employees dealing with the water contract had approached him to advise that the requests from the PUD for copies of invoices, “stress the two people in their department.”

Reid said, he assumed the information the PUD requested was needed, but asked that if anything could be done to make things work smoothly between the two entities, it would be helpful, “so we don’t ruffle feathers.”

The board has discontinued its workshops, Reid said, in response to a question.

“We’ll handle items, like the management evaluation form under discussion, during our meetings. That way it’s all here, on the agenda,” Reid said.

“They weren’t well perceived by the public,” he added.