Commission recap, 3/14/2023 — New rate for car charging. Updates on 2022 financials, Fish & Wildlife, Cultural Resources.

WSU engineering students spend a week at Grant PUD

"So, you decided to give up your spring vacation to spend a week with us," Commission President Nelson Cox said to four Washington State University students who visited Grant PUD March 13-17 for a five-day "practicum."

HR Generalist Luis Sanchez and IT Manager Amanda Anthony led the four on an extensive tour of Grant PUD facilities, giving them a chance to speak with our experts about careers in electrical and software engineering and job duties. One of the four, Eduardo Mata of Wenatchee, has already been selected as a summer intern for Power Delivery. The visit to the in-session commission was ad-hoc, but welcome.

The students visited Priest Rapids Dam, two substations, Ephrata Headquarters, the Priest Rapids Hatchery and Wanapum Heritage Center, among other stops. 

A new rate for commercial fast-charging facilities

Commissioners approved a new rate for commercial electric vehicle charging facilities. Rate Schedule 19 is for Level 3 and above fast-charging stations with monthly power loads of no more than 3,000 kilowatts of billing demand at an individual location.

The rate, which takes effect on May 1, includes a basic charge of $51.23 per month, an energy charge of 3.454 cents per kilowatt hour and a demand charge of $7.69 per kilowatt of billing demand. The rate calls for a minimum charge of $435.73 per month.

Chief Customer Officer Dave Churchman explained in a memo about Rate 19 that it is intended to "address the adequate recovery of the incremental costs that could result from the potential deployment of EV (electric vehicle) fast-charging infrastructure, particularly on major highways going through Grant County."

He added that a substantial concentration of the fast-charging stations could create the need for Grant PUD to build more costly power infrastructure to support the peak power load demands of these kinds of charging facilities and that the new rate will help the utility recover those costs. Hear the discussion at 2:50:25 on the commission audio. See page 8 of the commission packet for more information.

Grant PUD spent more, earned more in 2022

Grant PUD expects total expenditures after offsets for 2022 to end the year more than $9 million over the budgeted $285.3 million, pushed mostly by additional work done on capital projects. -

Nearly $30 million in increased electricity sales to Grant PUD retail customers, mostly related to industrial and commercial customers, drove higher-than-budgeted earnings. Favorable prices for surplus electricity sold on the wholesale market also contributed for total net operating income of $130.6 million – about $29 million above budget.

"Yes, we had a good year," Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis John Mertlich told commissioners Tuesday.

Financial metrics for days cash on hand, liquidity and debt are forecast to remain at target levels or better through 2027. Metrics that measure "profitability" do not meet targets through 2027.

Hear the full financial-update discussion at 40:29:11 on the commission audio. The 2022 budget discussion begins at 57:44 on the audio. See the full presentation on pages 23-59 of the presentation materials.

Commissioners also:

— Heard about major accomplishments for the Grant PUD Fish, Wildlife and Water Quality Department, including confirmation that hatchery production goals have been set through 2033, which provides Grant PUD compliance and budget certainty, as well as eliminates the need for capital investment over the next 10 years. Department staff also:

• Received approval for a 3-year trial period to test a broader range of flow through the turbine/generator units at Wanapum Dam that would reduce wear-and-tear on the units without harming survival of juvenile fish.
• Reached a 20-year agreement with required stakeholders to continue fund and expand the capacity from 5 million to 8 million sockeye fry the Penticton hatchery.Another key element was to explore possibilities to move adult sockeye or gametes to the hatchery facility when conditions prevented adults from migrating up the Okanagan River.
• Signed a contractor to drill a new well to supply water to Grant PUD's Carlton Acclimation Facility in Okanogan County.
• Identified priorities for 2023 that include corrected inefficiencies with Grant PUD's video fish-count program for more accurate fish counts.

Hear the discussion at 1:35:07 on the commission audio. See the full presentation on pages 60-72 of the presentation materials.

— Heard of upcoming business activities for the Grant PUD Cultural Resources Department, which include:

• Hiring 2-4 summer interns to help with field work.
• Add a new display case for temporary displays and gift shop at the Wanapum Heritage Center.
• Conduct archaeology survey for the proposed Wanapum to Mountainview 230-kilovolt transmission line.
• Alyssa Buck presented details on our compliance program and how Traditional Cultural Properties are part of Historic Preservation.
• Hear the discussion at 2:03:32 on the commission audio. See the full presentation on pages 73-86 of the presentation materials.

— Heard from representatives of a group of about 30 Grant PUD customers who attended the meeting. The group came to the meeting to express concerns over a proposed 230 kilovolt transmission line running from the switchyard near Wanapum Dam to the Mountain View Substation near Quincy. After hearing their concerns, Commission President Nelson Cox told the customers that there will be a future opportunity for them to engage with the commission and staff about the proposed project. Hear the discussion at 2:37:44 and 2:45:31 on the commission audio.

— Reviewed an implementation policy associated with the settlement agreement between Grant PUD and the Yakama Nation from 2007 regarding the Priest Rapids Project. The proposal, which has been approved by the Yakama Tribal Council, provides Yakama Nation via Yakama Power an effective path toward developing its own renewable power resources. See page 12 of the commission packet for more information.

— Approved a change order to a contract for the purchase of pad mount transformers from General Pacific Inc. The change order increases the not-to-exceed amount from $2.788 million to $5.787 million and increases the base unit price by 16.5%. Supply shortages and demand have caused significant cost increases to transformers throughout the country. See page 18 of the commission packet for more information.