PUD hears reports on damage, new disconnects

The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners learned there would be a second round of disconnects this week, listened to reports, and approved a cost of living increase for their new general manager on Tuesday.

General Manager Dan Kay spoke about how the recent weather had affected the PUD.

“Mother Nature has really been directing our attention,” he said, “from snow, wind, rains, floods, landslides.”

Kay said that there had been challenges in East Valley and along Altoona/Pillar Rock Road brought on by slides, and that the PUD would be working with the county to learn about their long term plans to mitigate those issues.

A second round of disconnects was set for this week for customers who were in arrears.

“The first round, we believe, was successful, in that those customers made arrangements or payments and everybody was back in service by the end of the day,” Kay said.

Kay also said that an item getting a lot of attention in the state legislature was the governor’s arrearage relief fund. He said that utilities had asked for $275 million, but the governor and his staff believed $100 million was a number they could work with.

Kay believed the money would go directly to the utility if it gets approved, and they would figure out how to apply the allocation to customer accounts.

“That’s a direct fund to us, so there was a lot of support that way, it looks like,” Kay said.

After commissioners gave reports, they authorized a resolution to give a 5 percent cost of living increase to the new general manager. He will receive $12,967,50 per month effective in January.