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Grant PUD Staff Continues Rate Schedule 100 Deliberations with Commission
EPHRATA – After several weeks of workshops and discussion regarding Rate Schedule 100, Grant PUD staff has requested Commission direction before proceeding with further analysis on proposed rates.
Grant PUD staff began Rate Schedule 100 discussions with the Commission three weeks ago at a workshop on January 12. During that session, staff brought forward a draft proposal for discussion, which was based on a telecommunication market rate analysis. Since the workshop, Commissioners have objected to several portions of the proposal and requested additional information from staff to assist them in making this policy decision.
“We’ve provided Commissioners with a rate proposal that works to move wholesale telecommunications rates closer to wholesale market rates for comparable service. Consequently, this proposal also recovers Zipp Network annual operations and maintenance costs,” said Nick Gerde, Grant PUD Treasurer / Controller. “Adoption of the rate schedule is a policy decision. The Commission will provide their input before staff proceeds in outlining further proposals for evaluation.”
Staff’s proposal for the Zipp Network follows the current rate setting policies for the telecommunication system. These policies mirror components of the electric system rate setting process. Unlike electrical rates, Rate Schedule 100 is a wholesale rate structure. It impacts wholesale Zipp Network customers who are service providers on Grant PUD’s fiber optic network. End users of the Zipp Network may or may not be impacted by changes to this rate schedule depending on their service provider’s pricing decisions.
To assist in the evaluation of this rate schedule, Commissioners have contracted with J.R. Simmons of the TMC Group, L.L.C. Simmons is an independent telecommunication industry expert with outside perspective on rate structures and the competitive telecommunications market. He has performed periodic work for Grant PUD on various aspects of the Zipp Network for several years.
Currently 27 service providers take a variety of services offered on Rate Schedule 100. The proposed rate schedule changes impact providers differently based on the services they purchase and receive.
Commission discussion regarding proposed changes to Rate Schedule 100 is on-going. The Commission has expressed a desire to follow the rate setting process used in determining electrical rate schedules. Future discussions have yet to be scheduled but will be noticed in local papers, on radio stations and on the utility’s Web page.
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Grant County Public Utility District owns and operates the
two-dam Priest Rapids Project on the Columbia River and an
electric distribution system serving all of Grant County, in
Central Washington. Together, Priest Rapids and Wanapum
developments have the capacity to produce nearly 2,000 megawatts
of clean, renewable and reliable electricity - enough to
supply a city the size of Seattle. Environmental stewardship
and providing affordable energy to millions of customers
throughout the Northwest are top priorities for Grant PUD.
The utility launched the Zipp Network to bring high-speed
fiber optic access to homes, schools, businesses and farms
in this rural part of Washington. |
