PUD hears about successful projects and efficiencies

The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners met Tuesday to listen to reports and discuss issues that might affect how they conduct business in the future.

During his report, General Manager Dan Kay talked about a new contractor by the name of Nielsen that they hired to remove some trees on Columbia Street that have been causing problems.

“The project went very smoothly, they were very professional, they worked with our crews, the trees came down, we had very positive comments from everyone. That project was a success,” Kay said.

The PUD is receiving a large number of customer inquiries for new services, and a large number of pole attachment applications and have been trying to make room on poles to accommodate for broadband growth.

Kay said that their goal to incorporate more battery operated tools over the last year, and have transformers set up and ready to go when there is an outage bore some fruit when it took the crew 40 minutes to repair an outage on Monday.

Staff and commissioners also discussed possible legislation that may affect rules about working in hot weather, the impact of low income assistance programs, and the work the PUD is doing to try and secure grants to complete projects in the county.

Counsel Tim Hanigan expressed appreciation for Rick Nelson, The Wahkiakum Eagle, staff and writers, for their coverage on the PUD and community.

“We truly appreciate their commitment to our community,” Hanigan said.