The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

On Tuesday, Wahkiakum County PUD Commissioner Gene Healy continued a conversation about surcharges started by Commissioner Dennis Reid two weeks earlier. Reid has been looking for ways for the PUD to fund capital improvements that would be less costly to rate payers than the recent rate hike.

Reid had reasoned that surcharges could go away after projects were completed but rates would never go down. He also believed that a couple dollars each month would be less severe than a rate hike when it came to cold winter months and increased electricity usage.

Healy argued that ultimately surcharges and rate hikes were interchangeable and either could be stopped or lowered at any time.

“Theoretically the rates could be reduced,” he said, “when that money wouldn’t be needed anymore.”

General Manager David Tramblie pointed out that there would always be a need for infrastructural improvement.

One such improvement is a proposed intertie between Wahkiakum and Pacific counties. The intertie had been one option under consideration when the PUD was trying to figure out how they could go offline when they begin work on the Grays River Substation. Another option would have been to bring in a portable substation provided by Bonneville Power Administration, which could cost the PUD upwards of $100,000. An intertie would be a more permanent solution to provide power to the area when needed.

“The intertie just opens up our options to take things carefully and optimize for economy,” Commissioner Bob Jungers said.

It turns out that Pacific County PUD may be interested in the intertie as well.

“I like the intertie,” Reid said. “It’s a win-win for us and Pacific. I was talking to Pacific’s manager last week and he was excited. It’s going to be just as good for him as it is for us.”

Tramblie agreed.

“I did have a conversation with their head engineer about what we could do for them when they have to take their substation offline for maintenance,” he said. “It does appear it’s going to be a win-win.”

The project will require a 1,600 foot directional bore in Deep River. An engineer from Gray and Osborne and a representative from WSDOT were on site Tuesday morning looking for potential problems, according to Tramblie.

The general manager shared that he would like to take advantage of an opportunity that the intertie project would create, but acknowledged that it was problematic.

“I wrestled all weekend to come up with a way to get some water pipe in there,” Tramblie said. “If we are going to excavate and put water in I need to go underground with the electrical too, it makes no sense to do otherwise, because you can share the cost. But if I go underground, that puts our cost way over what we can do in house.”

According to Tramblie, projects can be completed in house if the materials cost less than $150,000. Over that, the project has to go out to bid.

Tramblie believed that adding the water line would put their material costs over $150,000.

“If you can’t keep this in house,” Reid agreed, “the project cost is likely to double.”

“There is just no money to get the water in the ground and still get the intertie moving forward at a reasonable cost,” Tramblie said. I don’t want to sacrifice this electrical project getting done in order to try to get water in.”

Healy asked him to reconsider.

“I’d like to pursue the water a little bit more,” Healy said. “We’ve made comments, ‘If only they had the insight back in the day.’ I don’t want the next generation to say that about us. I don’t want to go another twenty years without water because in twenty years everybody down there is going to want water.”

“I think they want water now,” Jungers said. “It’s just that rural water distribution systems are so incredibly expensive.”

“I see your frustration, Gene. I totally agree,” Tramblie said. “I guess I would love to be able to tell you I found a way. I see it as a separate project at this time.”

In other news the commissioners authorized Auditor Erin Wilson to be the PUD’s designated applicant for FEMA disaster assistance. They also approved travel for her to attend a WPUDA Finance Officer’s meeting in Kennewick in April. Tramblie reported that he had ordered some equipment to begin transition to an automated meter reading system.

The meeting closed for an executive session for personnel evaluation.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 15 at 8:30 a.m. in the PUD meeting room.