PUD focused on maintenance and upgrades to the system

The Wahkiakum County PUD Board of Commissioners met Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues that may affect utilities in the state, including low income energy assistance, as well as their efforts to secure funding for projects in Wahkiakum.

“Energy Northwest has been working on statewide electric vehicle charging station infrastructure,” General Manager Dan Kay said, “and several years ago [former General Manager] Dave Tramblie offered up a spot or two in our parking lot.”

ENW has asked if the PUD is still interested, and it turns out they are. Kay told the commissioners that the PUD had written a letter of support as ENW seeks local jurisdiction to continue their work.

Kay said the electric crew has been replacing poles along Middle Valley Road, with the help of the water crew, which has been acting as flaggers and traffic control. The water crew completed water tank repairs on their reservoirs, as listed in a recent Department of Health sanitary survey, and are working on an annual customer confidence and water use efficiency report, which will be sent to customers with their bills.

The PUD is continuing to see a significant amount of customer growth, Kay said. “People are digging ditches and starting construction.”

A walk through with a tree contractor is planned soon, and the work is expected to begin, with a big focus on SR 4, on June 5 and continue through July. The PUD has hired traffic control to assist with the project.

As far as pole attachments, Kay said the PUD has been working most recently with internet providers Astound and Cascade.

Auditor Erin Wilson said that they were getting ready to implement new software and hardware for their automated meter readers.

Since the system was first implemented in 2016, according to Wilson, and though they wanted to update the system about a year and a half ago, they just received everything they needed to do the upgrade.

Commissioner Dennis Reid said that Wahkiakum West had been stringing fiber out East Valley Road and he suspected they would be hooking people up soon.

The public meeting was closed to discuss collective bargaining.