Dale Walker seeks second term on PUD commission
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 2 months AGO
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Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 26, 2016 6:00 AM
EPHRATA — Incumbent Dale Walker will run for a second term on the Grant County PUD commission.
Walker represents District No. 2, which includes Moses Lake, Warden and the area between the two communities. If he wins, it would be Walker’s second six-year term.
Walker said he’s “been a strong advocate that our utility needs to do a better job of managing its money,” and adds that has improved with the restructuring of some of the PUD’s debt. But Walker said he is “still at odds” with the commissioners and PUD management on the current rate structure.
He’s also a strong supporter of the PUD’s fiber program and supports a continued buildout.
The current rate policy calls for a 10-year series of rate increases that hike rates 2 percent overall each year, although specific rate increases are different for different rate classes.
“I am not a fan” of the philosophy behind it, Walker said.
The PUD finished 2015 with a $72 million net profit, and in those circumstances he thinks rate hikes are unnecessary.
“This utility no more needs rate increases than the man in the moon,” he said.
Walker said rate hikes would be justifiable if the PUD was facing a situation where a much bigger rate increase would be necessary in the future, but he doesn’t think that’s the case. The PUD’s debt will be heavy the next few years, he said, as it borrows money to pay for upgrades to turbines and generators at Priest Rapids Dam. But “long-term, they (debts) go down.”
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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PUD seeking comment on 2027 rates
EPHRATA — The public comment period is open for Grant County Public Utility District customers who want to weigh in on proposed 2027 PUD rates. Comments can be made on the PUD website, www.grantpud.org, under the "workshops and meetings" tab. Utility district commissioners will hold a public hearing at 2 p.m. Nov. 10 for additional customer response. People can attend the hearing in person at the commission hearing room, 30 C St. SW, Ephrata. Access also will be available online. The proposed 2027 rates include increases for all customers. The smallest increase, 3.5%, will be paid by residential, small business, irrigation and general service customers. They're designated as "core customers."