The Kitsap Sun, Tad Sooter
December 6, 2014
SHELTON — Mason County is a good place to grow legal
marijuana.
It’s a rural county with relatively quick access to highways
and nearby cities. The scattered population makes it easier for growers to find
locations outside the buffered areas established by the state around schools,
libraries and other gathering places.
And, perhaps most important for a power-thirsty industry,
electricity is cheap.
“That’s why we came to Mason County, the rate was so low,”
said Craig Johnson, co-owner of Cascade Crops, who spends about $2,200 a month
to run grow lights and other equipment in his Shelton marijuana production
facility.
Those rates changed at the start of this month.
The Mason County Public Utility District 3 commission
approved a new price schedule for its electricity customers in November that
included a special classification for marijuana growers and processors. The
rate falls between that of small businesses and large commercial users. It
includes a demand charge that reflects the peak capacity needs of the
facilities.
According to the district, the classification will protect
marijuana businesses if federal regulations change, and ensure the companies’
power needs are met. But some growers, including Johnson, feel singled out.
“We took it as them pushing us against the wall as marijuana
businesses,” Johnson said.
The uncertainty over federal policy regarding Washington’s
fledgling marijuana industry was one driver behind the new rate classification.
Recreational pot was legalized in the state under Initiative 502 but it remains
federally illegal.
Utility districts across the state took notice last spring
when the Bureau of Reclamation announced it didn’t want federally controlled
irrigation water supplied to marijuana businesses. Like many districts, Mason
County PUD 3 buys and distributes wholesale electricity from Bonneville Power
Authority, a federal agency. To date, Bonneville hasn’t offered clear direction
on whether districts should be reselling its wholesale electricity to marijuana
companies.
PUD 3 Manager Annette Creekpaum said the district will
supply Bonneville power to growers for now, but there is possibility that
source could be eliminated in the future. By creating a special class for
marijuana businesses, the district can shift them to other power sources if
needed, without affecting other customers, she said.
Creekpaum said it seems unlikely Bonneville would prohibit
the resale of electricity to pot growers, but “you just don’t know
politically.”
There are other good reasons for giving marijuana growers
there own customer class, according to district administrators. Isolating power
loads from the growing facilities allows the district to study their energy use
and ensure the infrastructure is in place to meet it. Indoor marijuana growing
is a power-intensive operation, requiring large overhead lights, and powerful
ventilation and filtration systems.
Power needs in Mason County could surge as growers come
online. The Liquor Control Board has approved 10 producers there to date and
another 40 are awaiting approval.
“Many aren’t big businesses yet but they have plans for
being big,” Creekpaum said. “We’re planning for the future and preparing to
meet that big power load.”
The rate for pot businesses also reflects a higher cost of
electricity. The cheapest block of Bonneville power allocated to the district
is being utilized by existing customers. Kitsap PUD (sic) is negotiating a new
block to service marijuana businesses and other new customers, but it will be
more expensive, Creekpaum said.
According to news reports, other Washington utility
districts wrestled this year with how to accommodate marijuana businesses given
the ambiguity from Bonneville.
The issue isn’t pressing in Kitsap County, where power is
supplied by Puget Sound Energy. PSE draws electricity from a wide variety of
sources, including its own plants. Spokesman Ray Lane said PSE is serving legal
marijuana businesses and is confident it can accommodate their power needs.
“PSE has a duty and obligation to serve customers under
Washington state law,” Lane said in a provided statement. “If there’s a legal
business in our service territory that needs our services, we welcome them as a
customer.”
