Published November
2003
Proposed
PUD budget
keeps power rates level
By
Lukas Velush
Herald Writer
After months of hammering
the Bonneville Power Administration for raising its rates, Snohomish County
PUD officials say they won’t have to pass the federal energy wholesaler’s
Oct. 1 rate hike on to the PUD’s 275,000 customers.
If approved by the
three-member PUD commission, residential rates will stay at an average
of 7.85 cents per kilowatt-hour, which pencils out to a typical monthly
bill of $85 for a homeowner.
PUD officials said
keeping rates level is key for customers who are already paying among
the highest rates in the state, especially considering winter is around
the corner.
“The commissioners
have certainly sent a strong signal that they don’t want to raise rates,”
said Ed Hansen, the PUD’s general manager.
Hansen said the PUD
could probably cut costs again if power prices go up at some point in
2004. Although possible, “raising rates would probably be a last alternative,”
he said.
Released Oct. 6,
Hansen’s preliminary, $573 million budget would have the utility balance
its budget by tapping into a rate stabilization reserve and by utility-wide
belt tightening highlighted by not filling 14 vacant positions. No layoffs
are proposed.
Hansen would get
$7.2 million from the PUD’s rate stabilization fund to cover the cost
of BPA’s rate hike for 2004.
That fund is designed
to be used when there are steep swings in the prices the PUD pays for
electricity, Hansen said, adding that BPA’s rate hike qualifies. There
is currently $60 million in that fund.
Still, just covering
the BPA rate hike would leave the PUD $4.5 million short of balancing
its budget, money Hansen proposes to make up by cost cutting.
Proposed cuts include
deferring noncritical maintenance at the PUD’s Jackson hydroelectric facility
on the Sultan River and delaying the purchase of software that would improve
the way the utility collects information from its customers.
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