PUD seekssystem protection

Wahkiakum PUD is taking steps to increase its system protections, Manager Dave Tramblie reported Tuesday at the PUD board of directors meeting.

Tramblie said he has asked consultants Brown and Kaiser to start a long-range plan for improved system protection.

“At the Cathlamet end, we’re in pretty good shape,” he said. However, if that substation goes down, it would take one or two days to bring in an alternate energy source, he said.

The PUD has substations at Cathlamet and Grays River. The capacity of the Grays River facility and the transmission lines make it unfeasible to feed eastern areas of the county, Tramblie said.

The PUD intends to build a third substation, and that would help considerably, Tramblie said.

Tramblie said he hopes to have more information for long-range planning in mid-June.

In other business Tuesday, Tramblie said he wants the district to look at other options before committing to an automated meter reading program for electric and water meters.

The meters would have a transmitter, and PUD personnel could collect information by driving routes and collecting transmitted data.

However, Tramblie said, the Town of Cathlamet might consider automated meters for its water system, and it makes sense for the PUD and town systems to be compatible, he said.

A new automated reader costs $80 to $100; transmitters for existing meters which are compatible cost about $50, Tramblie said. The PUD had approximately 2,200 electric meters and 800 water meters.

Tramblie and attorney Tim Hanigan reported that a recent appeals court decision voiding Bonneville Power Administration’s equal rates for private utility and preference power public utilities has the agency somewhat in turmoil.

The agency was started to market cheap power from hydroelectric dams to public utilities; over the years, the agency agreed to market power to private utilities at the same rates.

The agency was in the process of developing a process for providing power to its customers once demand exceeds system supply.

That process is up in the air now, Tramblie said.

Tramblie and the board agreed they would like to visit with Bonneville’s small utility liaison to talk about the developments.