http://nwpr.org/post/northwest-s-biggest-climate-polluter-scrapping-clean-power-plan-won-t-affect-us
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Lewis County PUD rate increase (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
(Chehalis, WA) -- Lewis County PUD Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve raising rates by an average of 8.4 percent. PUD General Manager Dan Kay says it raises the base charge by 20 cents per day and the rest is on the customer’s monthly usage.
Kay says the average residential customer will see their bill increase by just under $11 per month. He says a major factor in the rate increase is increases imposed on the District from the Bonneville Power Administration.
The rate increase is effective April 1. Lewis County PUD is a not-for-profit, customer-owned public utility.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Local PUDs Pass Resolution Supporting Columbia Generating Station (Benton PUD, Franklin PUD, Tri-Cities, WA)
(Tri-Cities, WA) -- Franklin PUD and Benton PUD passed resolutions supporting Columbia Generating Station at their respective commission meetings today. The local utilities believe that baseload, or full-time, generation must be included in their resource mix for reliability of the grid. Columbia’s power is continuously available regardless of weather conditions, and is therefore well suited to support reliable power grid baseload and capacity demand, including backing up increasing levels of intermittent renewable wind and solar power.
Both PUDs are members of Energy Northwest, a Washington state joint action agency committed to producing electricity from carbon-free generating resources.
Columbia’s power is generated at a sustaining cost of 4.2 cents per kWh, competitive with natural gas and hydropower and less expensive than wind and solar power.
The nuclear energy facility, located in Richland, Washington, is the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the state after the indigenous supply of clean hydroelectric power. Columbia Generating Station has an exemplary record of safe and reliable operation, producing enough baseload, low-cost, carbon-free electricity each year to supply a city the size of Seattle. The replacement of Columbia Generating Station by a similarly reliable source of electricity would add at least three million tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year which would adversely affect efforts to reduce our state’s goals for carbon reduction.
Both PUDs formalized their support of Columbia by way of a resolution endorsing the nuclear plant’s contribution of safe and reliable baseload generation through its lifecycle for the Northwest’s clean energy mix.
Both PUDs are members of Energy Northwest, a Washington state joint action agency committed to producing electricity from carbon-free generating resources.
Columbia’s power is generated at a sustaining cost of 4.2 cents per kWh, competitive with natural gas and hydropower and less expensive than wind and solar power.
The nuclear energy facility, located in Richland, Washington, is the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the state after the indigenous supply of clean hydroelectric power. Columbia Generating Station has an exemplary record of safe and reliable operation, producing enough baseload, low-cost, carbon-free electricity each year to supply a city the size of Seattle. The replacement of Columbia Generating Station by a similarly reliable source of electricity would add at least three million tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year which would adversely affect efforts to reduce our state’s goals for carbon reduction.
Both PUDs formalized their support of Columbia by way of a resolution endorsing the nuclear plant’s contribution of safe and reliable baseload generation through its lifecycle for the Northwest’s clean energy mix.
Franklin PUD to Raise Rates May 1, 2017 (Franklin PUD, Pasco, WA)
(PASCO, WA) -- At the March 28, 2017 monthly commission meeting, the Franklin PUD Commissioners voted to raise overall rates by 4.1% and implement a rate design change to the irrigation customer class.
On February 14, 2017, Franklin PUD staff and the Rate Advisory Committee (RAC) met and discussed the revenue requirement, cost of service, rate design and various rate increase scenarios. The RAC recommended to the Commission a 4.1% overall rate revenue increase for all classes effective May 1, 2017. It was also recommended to combine the small irrigation and large irrigation customers into one rate class effective January 1, 2018.
Franklin PUD held three public hearings in March to present information and take comments on the 2017 proposed rate action.
Rising power and transmission costs from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) are the main drivers for the proposed rate increase. Franklin PUD buys about 85% of its power from BPA, the Pacific Northwest’s largest energy marketer. In October 2015, BPA’s wholesale power rate increased which impacted Franklin PUD with an increase of about 6%. Franklin PUD is expecting an additional increase from BPA in October 2017. While power costs represent nearly 70% of the annual budget for Franklin PUD, we continue to look for internal efficiencies and cost reductions to keep rates as low as possible.
Franklin PUD did not implement a rate increase in 2016.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Friday, March 24, 2017
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Centralia Coal Transition Weatherization Board Supports Lewis County Public Utility District Energy Efficiency Programs (Lewis County PUD, Chehalis, WA)
(CENTRALIA, WA -- The Centralia Coal Transition Grants
Weatherization Board is pleased to announce it has approved a grant to Lewis
County Public Utility District (“District) to supplement the energy efficiency
programs available to their customers.
The grant amount of $842,250.00 will leverage existing
resources to provide qualified customers with technology to improve their home
efficiency with ductless heat pumps, support K-12 school energy efficiency
improvements as well as supplement existing or pending programs to upgrade
windows, insulation, lighting, lighting controls and other custom projects offered
to District customers.
The Weatherization Board was formed as a result of the 2011
Agreement between TransAlta and the state of Washington to transition the
Centralia plant away from coal-fired operations with one unit shutting down in
December, 2020 and the second unit in December, 2025. The Mission of the
Weatherization Board is to provide funding of projects to improve energy
efficiency and weatherization within Lewis County and South Thurston County.
“The grant dollars will leverage the opportunities the
District has to offer to improve energy efficiency and weatherization and
directly make a positive impact to their customers, whether it be a customer
household, school or local business” says Shane Bluhm, Weatherization Board Member.
“One of the goals of the board is to support projects that provide cost
effective weatherization solutions that demonstrate an energy cost savings for
those living and working in the local community. The plan outlined in the
District application meets that goal.”
Lewis County Public Utility District is a municipal
corporation of the State of Washington, formed by the people of Lewis County to
provide electric service. The District maintains an Energy Services department
that offers customers a variety of residential, commercial and industrial
conversation programs including a free energy audit.
”Partnering with the Weatherization Board will create local
jobs, allow for investment in schools, and help maximize the value and comfort
from every bit of energy distributed to customers.” – Chris Roden, PUD Power
and Business Services Manager.
Funding Boards
Annual payments for the funding boards have been made for
the past five years with the last payment due Dec. 31, 2023. The opportunity to start flowing dollars into
projects became effective December 31, 2015.
Weatherization Board ($10M): established to fund energy
efficiency and weatherization for the residents, employees, business, non-profit
organizations and local governments within Lewis County and South Thurston
County; up to $1 million shall be allocated to fund residential energy
efficiency and weatherization measures for low-income and moderate-income
residents of Lewis County and South Thurston County.
Economic & Community Development Board ($20M):
established to fund education, retraining, economic development, and community
enhancement; at least $5M shall be allocated to fund education, retraining and
economic development specifically targeting the needs of workers displaced from
the Centralia facility.
Energy Technology Board ($25M): established to fund energy
technologies with the potential to create environmental benefits to the state
of Washington.
For more information on the Centralia Coal Transition
Funding Boards visit: http://cctgrants.com.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Friday, March 10, 2017
Internal Whitman County Audit Now ‘Ongoing’ Following Arrest of Former Shelton Finance Director (Whitman County Gazette, Colfax, WA)
(COLFAX, WA) – When Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker
received a call from the Shelton Police Department two weeks ago and was
informed that former county Finance Director Cinnamon Brown had been arrested
in Shelton on embezzlement charges, she was both surprised and nervous.
“At
first, I wasn’t real calm,” said Coker. Coker Tuesday advised county
commissioners an internal audit investigation has been launched here to see if
any fraud was committed here during Brown’s three-year stint as finance
director. So far they have not found anything, the auditor reported.
Brown was
first employed by the county in 2008 in the environmental health department
before moving to public health and then named finance director in 2013.
Coker
reported she spoke with the state auditor’s office Wednesday, March 1, via
telephone, and they advised her to check off on the local review in two months.
She said the state office would likely send a team to investigate if something
turns up in the review, which is now underway.
Sheriff Brett Myers told the
Gazette last week that no criminal case is being pursued against Brown here,
but if something was to come to light, a case would be pursued. Coker said the
state auditor’s office is taking the same approach.
Coker said the auditor’s
office has given the county a checklist of areas to investigate and how to
investigate them. Commissioner Art Swannack, in the commissioners meeting
Monday, said the investigation is ongoing, but not all processes involved will
be made public.
“Spring Ahead” Sunday, Change Smoke Detector Batteries (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
(CENTRALIA, WA) – This Sunday we “spring ahead” to Daylight
Saving Time.
When you change the time on your clocks, local fire
departments urge you to remember to change the batteries in the smoke detectors
in your home.
Laura Hanson with Lewis County Fire District 5 says statistics
show you have a 50-percent greater chance of surviving a home fire with a
working smoke detector. Fire officials also recommend that you replace smoke
detectors if they are ten years old or older.