(CHEHALIS, WA) – Lewis County PUD Commissioners have
approved a budget of $74.6 million for 2017. The budget includes a balloon
payment of $6.4 million on bonds purchased to satisfy the acquisition of wind
power as mandated by Initiative 937 ten years ago. The budget also anticipates
increased power costs to the district from the Bonneville Power Administration.
The power costs of the district make up over two thirds of the total budget
expense.
These additional costs will cause the district to have a
budget deficiency of approximately $1.2 million that will drive the need for a
rate increase to customers in 2017. A cost of service analysis is currently
being conducted by an outside consulting firm to determine the amount of rate
increase that is needed. That whole process will begin with public rate hearings.
Lewis County PUD will also see savings in 2017 and for the
next 11 years by refinancing other bonds that were issued in 2008. The new bond
reduces the interest rate from 5.00 percent to 2.08 percent interest and
results in a total savings of nearly $3 million dollars. The savings will be
$575 thousand in 2017 and $264 thousand each year from 2019 through 2027.
