Grant PUD eyeing multiple projects in ‘24 budget
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 9 months AGO
Grant County Public Utility District officials will review the proposed 2024 budget for PUD customers at a series of public hearings next week. Wanapum Dam, one of the district’s facilities, is pictured.
FILE PHOTO
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. | September 25, 2023 4:45 PM
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District customers will be invited to review and comment on the 2024 budget at three public hearings Oct. 10 and 12.
In-person hearings are scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at the PUD commission hearing room at the main office in Ephrata, 30 C St. SW, and 6 p.m. Oct. 12 in the auditorium in the Moses Lake office, 312 W. Third Ave. A virtual hearing will be held Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. The link to the online meeting is available in a press release under the “News” tab on the PUD website, www.grantpud.org.
Utility district staff will present the preliminary budget and explain the considerations that go into it. The preliminary budget projects an average 2.5% rate increase.
“Budget staffers are still studying the size of the proposed increase and how it would affect each customer category,” wrote Christine Pratt, PUD public affairs officer, in a press release.
While the overall rate increase is projected at 2.5%, individual customer classes might see higher or lower increases.
The preliminary budget projects expenses at $466.5 million. That’s an increase of about $15 million over the estimated expenses for 2023.
Projected expenses include $25.4 million to continue upgrading the turbines at Priest Rapids Dam and $13.3 million to continue refurbishing its generators. The upgrades at Priest Rapids began in 2016; each of the 10 generator-turbine combinations takes about 14 months to complete.
Utility district officials will start working on the relocation of the PUD maintenance yard in Ephrata in 2024. Project design is scheduled for 2024-25 and the budgeted cost for 2024 is about $24.4 million. Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2025 and be completed in 2027. The new maintenance facility, called a “service center,” will be built southwest of Ephrata on a larger lot than the existing facility off Nat Washington Way.
Finishing the buildout of the PUD’s fiber network is projected to cost $18.8 million. That will be the end of a project started in 2008.
About $17.4 million is projected for the construction of the Red Rock transmission line to the Royal City area. A transmission line is scheduled for relocation in the Stratford Road-Larson area, which is projected to cost about $8.9 million.
The Ruff substation near Moses Lake is scheduled for upgrades, projected to cost about $6.6 million. Additional work on the left embankment at Priest Rapids Dam is projected to cost about $1.5 million.
Costs for planning and design of a transmission line from Wanapum Dam to Quincy are projected at $2.6 million. About $4 million has been budgeted to build distribution lines for new customers.
Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.
MORE STORIES
Grant PUD spending projected to increase in 2024
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 1 year, 8 months ago
Grant PUD to decide on 2024 budget, rate increase Nov. 14
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 1 year, 8 months ago
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Moses Lake homelessness debate continues
MOSES LAKE — Alleviating homelessness and its impact on the community continues to be the subject of discussion in Moses Lake. An ordinance under consideration by Moses Lake City Council is the latest chapter in that discussion. Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce executive director Debbie Doran-Martinez said that, from her perspective, chamber members are looking for responses that improve the overall situation. “We would just like to see something that would move the needle in the right direction,” Doran-Martinez said.
Grant PUD donation program gets new name
Power district offers multiple ways to help those struggling with electric bills.
EPHRATA — Because it’s used year-round, the Grant County Public Utility District has renamed its donation program. “Share the Warmth” is now “Share the Light.” Cary West, the PUD’s senior manager of customer solutions, said the name change better reflects the intended use. “Probably back in the 1980s is when we (started) Share the Warmth, but we’ve rebranded it to promote it throughout the year,” West said. “When it was Share the Warmth, it was promoted more during the winter months. But we have summer peak (usage) and winter peak usage, so the need is there year-round.”
Mattawa library expands hours, looking for new librarian
MATTAWA — Hours of operation have been extended at the Mattawa Public Library. Amanda Brack, communications and engagement manager for NCW Libraries, said the change came at the request of library patrons. “They recently expanded their hours after hearing from the community and city council that more evening hours would be helpful,” Brack wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.