Retiring Manager Wyla Wood, Successor Named - Mason County PUD 3 Commission Report for March 26, 2013 (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=1197

PUD Ready to Flip Switch in Jefferson (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130329/news/303299982/pud-ready-to-flip-switch-in-jefferson

Op/Ed - CleanHydro Highlights Hydropower & River Values (Mason County PUD No. 3 & PUD No. 1)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=1196

Interior Rejects Bias Claim on Klamath Dams (Associated Press)

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/viewart/20130328/UPDATE/130328034/Interior-rejects-bias-claim-Klamath-dams

Carbon Offsets Program Slammed by British Columbia’s Auditor General (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/03/27/bc-carbon-neutral-report.html

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for March 29, 2013

Mason County PUD 3 Accepts Manager Retirement; Appoints Successor (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/9698

A Big Dam Fight Ahead - Opponents of Oregon’s Green Energy Law Are Seeking a Major Change (Willamette Weekly, OR)

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-20438-a_big_dam_fight_ahead.html

Is The Sky The Limit For Wind Power? “…it’s actually possible to have so many turbines that they start to lose power. They steal each other’s wind…” (National Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/27/174820893/is-the-sky-the-limit-for-wind-power

Washington State Senator Says Governor’s Climate Change Bill Really Not about Climate (Seattle Times, WA)

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2013/03/27/sen-doug-ericksen-says-governors-climate-change-bill-really-not-about-climate/?syndication=rss

The Mysterious Decline of Puget Sound Herring (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/2013/03/27/animals-wildlife/113579/mysterious-decline-Puget-Sound-herring/

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for March 28, 2013

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Supply Forecast All about Timing (Bonneville Power Administration)

http://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/Regional-water-supply-forecast-all-about-timing.aspx

Montana - U-S Senator Tester Discusses Murky CFAC Future (The Daily Interlake, Kalispell, MT)

“…he was able to get BPA to come to terms requested by Glencore, but the international commodities trading company would balk, citing other economic reasons such as low aluminum prices…”

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_2286af6e-9691-11e2-a728-0019bb2963f4.html

Energy Company: Oregon Wave Buoy May Be Not be Done in 2013 (The World, Coos Bay, OR)

http://theworldlink.com/news/local/energy-company-wave-buoy-may-be-not-be-done-in/article_561101a2-9666-11e2-a726-001a4bcf887a.html

EPA Survey of Rivers & Streams Finds More than Half in Poor Shape (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/03/epa_survey_of_rivers_and_strea.html

Santa Clara Uses Smart Meters to Create Citywide Free Wi-Fi (Christian Science Monitor)

Santa Clara, a California city of 118,000, is replacing electric meters with smart meters. In the process, the city is creating a free Wi-Fi network - and a window on the future? 

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0327/Santa-Clara-uses-smart-meters-to-create-citywide-free-Wi-Fi

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for March 27, 2013

No Injuries in Ravensdale Power Station Explosion (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/No-injuries-in-Ravensdale-power-station-explosion-fire-199981821.html

Governor Inslee’s Climate Change Bill Passes Washington State Legislature (Associated Press)

http://www.kndo.com/story/21788064/gov-inslees-climate-change-bill

Sea Shepherd Campaigns to Stop Sea Lion Killing (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/science/article/Sea-Shepherd-campaigns-to-stop-sea-lion-killing-4383212.php

The Biggest Fight over Renewable Energy Is Now In the States (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/25/the-biggest-fights-over-renewable-energy-are-now-happening-in-the-states/

What Secret E-Mails from Enron Teach Us about Influencing Politicians (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/24/what-secret-e-mails-from-enron-teach-us-about-influencing-politicians/?wprss=rss_business

Franklin PUD Implements Rate Action Effective May 1, 2013 (Franklin County PUD, Pasco, WA)

(PASCO, WA) -- The Franklin PUD Commission voted today to implement a rate action increasing revenue by 4.9%, including changing the residential basic charge to $21.45 per month effective May 1, 2013 and May 1, 2014.  

At the Franklin PUD Board of Commissioners meeting, the Commissioners heard several rate options from staff to raise retail power rates.  Options included a 4.9% revenue increase beginning May 1, 2013 and likely another 4.9% revenue increase in 2014, or an 8% revenue increase effective May 2013 and likely not another additional increase in 2014.  In either case, this increase will be the first for the PUD since 2005, over eight years ago.  Two rate decreases were also implemented in 2007 and 2008. 

The rate increase is primarily due to the rising costs of power.  Increased wholesale power costs from the Bonneville Power Administration are the main driving factor for the increase.   The PUD buys about 85% of its power from BPA, the Pacific Northwest’s largest energy marketer. In October 2011, BPA’s wholesale power rates increased an average of 7.8%.  Then in November 2012, BPA proposed another 9.6% average wholesale power rate increase and a 13% increase in its transmission rates. The BPA increases were after similar increases in 2009.

Power costs represent nearly 60% of the annual budget for Franklin PUD.   Increases in wholesale power costs are projected to impact PUD costs cumulatively by approximately 8% over the next two years. 2014 rates will be adjusted based on cost estimates at that time.