Local News

PUD adjusts bill changes April 1

Sheila Corson

Okanogan County PUD

Mar 25, 2021

With bill changes slated for April 1, the Okanogan County PUD will also need to change the Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) to reflect increased costs of power from 2019 to 2020.

Although the current COPA will zero out April 1, final reports from December show that a $0.0006 per kilowatt-hour increase will be needed to compensate for a $337,000 shortage in power costs for the PUD. The PUD purchases power from Wells Dam (Douglas PUD), Bonneville Power Administration, Nine Canyon Wind (Energy Northwest) and on the open market when needed.

General Manager Steve Taylor said the increase amounts to 60 cents for every 1,000 kWh used; the average residential customer uses 1,400 kWh per month (which would be 84 cents per month on average).

The COPA is adjusted once per year on April 1, based on actual comparisons year-to-year of the cost of power, according to Resolution 1737.

More information about the changes coming to billing after April 1 are available on the district website, www.okanoganpud.org.

In other business the board:

Heard a staff presentation regarding a preliminary Design-Build Phase 2 Proposal for the Enloe Dam Safety Dewatering Construction Project from the Max J. Kuney Company, in a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) amount of $6,996,688. The proposal is still under review and may have a staff recommendation presented to the board at a special meeting on March 29 at 3:30 p.m.
Heard that the moratorium on disconnects due to non-payment was extended to July 31 by governor proclamation. Customer Service Supervisor Mindy Morris said the PUD has about $65,000-70,000 in total arrears since March 2020. Customer service has been reaching out to customers to get them assistance to pay bills. As additional COVID-related resources become available from federal and state programs, the PUD is reaching out to see if any help will be available to cover some of these arrearages.
Heard that copper theft continues along certain burn areas in PUD territory, but that a BPA structure was also cut down. The damage caused an outage Thursday evening to the Nespelem area and areas of Ferry County.
Approved the surplus of a 1972 power transformer from the Oroville substation.