Proposal indicates increases could begin in 2009

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD commissioners and staff are studying a 6 percent proposed electrical rate increase for customers in 2009.

If the proposal is approved by PUD commissioners, it means customers paying $75 per month for power could see a monthly increase of $4.50.

The proposed increases varied in each rate category, but were generally about 6 percent overall for 2009, said Grant County PUD Commissioner Bob Bernd on Tuesday.

Over the next six years, the proposal would cause cumulative increases reaching as high as 35 percent for larger industrial customers and 19 percent for most other customers, Bernd said.

He also said the proposal wasn't necessarily something he endorsed.

It's not clear when the final proposal will go before commissioners for a vote, he said.

Bernd said residents will have plenty of chances to offer comments on the proposal during formal rate hearings, which haven't been scheduled.

The commission will speak with PUD staff again after the rate hearings to make any possible changes to the proposal based on information learned at the meetings, he said.

New rate categories are also being proposed to industrial customers, he said.

The proposal is part of the PUD's five-year plan as the utility looks at its needs for the future, Bernd said.

The plan includes over $1 billion of financing that must be done in conjunction with the relicensing of the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project, Bernd said.

"We're still in very good shape," Bernd said, adding that people shouldn't panic. "This is still just a proposal and our planning for the long-range future for the district."

Depending on the PUD's finances for the year, proposed rate increases could be lower than expected, he said.

"Right now, we have good revenues and our expenses are down," he said.

But money from customers' electrical bills currently doesn't cover the PUD's expenses, he said.

The PUD now currently relies on good power sales to offset and subsidize its rates, he added.

The PUD wants to avoid drastic measures like an immediate 15 percent surcharge if the utility experiences a bad year financially, Bernd said.

The commission probably won't be looking at increases until 2009 or spring 2009 to allow customers to prepare their budgets, he said.