Grant PUD has increased its security patrols this season to keep visitors safe, as bookings for Grant PUD campsites have reached capacity or near capacity through October, Security Manager Fallon Long told commissioners.Campsites are already fully reserved through October on weekends, Long said, and are currently at about 85% reserved on weekdays.T...

Seasonal field work is well underway for Grant PUD's Fish and Wildlife Department and with the help of the appropriate safety protocols, more project area work is taking place this year compared to last year due to the impacts of the pandemic. Fish and Wildlife Manger, Tom Dresser highlighted the department's efforts on a comprehensive review analy...

Maintaining our life-sustaining power and essential fiber services is a top priority that requires the health and safety of highly trained workers. We closely monitor the threat of COVID to these employees. One of the most effective precautions is closing our offices to public access and having employees in support roles work from home. This action...

Grant PUD's 2021 adjusted forecast for total expenditures and net operating income remain largely on track through March, commissioners learned Tuesday, amid projections for stronger-then-forecast revenues from wholesale power sales, but a decline in net income.Total expenditures this year are now forecast at $278.3 million, only slightly below the...

Commissioners Tuesday asked staff for more information to substantiate $24.61 million needed to upgrade Grant PUD's aged service centers in Ephrata and Moses Lake. The investment is intended to make critical improvements to extend the buildings' useful lives for approximately 7 to 10 years.Grant PUD service centers contain shops, office space and y...

Expanding and maintaining Grant PUD's fiber-optic network does not come without challenges along the way. However, despite the various hurdles Senior Manager of Wholesale Fiber, Russ Brethower told Commissioners that the fiber system is "looking good."Brethower updated the Commission regarding the group's 2021 priorities. Priorities include upgradi...

EPHRATA – A former Grant PUD executive and the Emergency Response Team at Wanapum Dam have been honored by the Northwest Public Power Association with prestigious awards.Kevin Marshall, former Chief Operations Officer at Grant PUD with more than 43 years of experience in civil, structural, and in-water engineering, received the 2021 Milto...

Grant PUD's old Lands and Recreation Department inaugurated a new name just after the first of the year and is gearing up for a busy recreation season, department manager Shannon Lowry told commissioners.The "License Compliance & Lands Service Department" now has a name that better reflects its expanded duties related to federal license complia...

RICHLAND, Wash. – Today, Energy Northwest, Grant County Public Utility District and X-energy, LLC signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a mutual partnership to support the development and commercial demonstration of the country's first advanced nuclear reactor. The partners will collaborate and share resources to evaluate their mutual g...

With the passing of the one-year mark since the start of the pandemic, Grant PUD is getting a clearer view of the impact COVID-19 has had on its customers' ability to stay current on their Grant PUD bill.Senior Manager of Customer Solutions, Terry McKenzie said that based on the past due amounts it appears, residential customers have felt the impac...

With the passing of the one-year mark since the start of the pandemic, Grant PUD is getting a clearer view of the impact COVID-19 has had on its customers' ability to stay current on their Grant PUD bill.Senior Manager of Customer Solutions, Terry McKenzie said that based on the past due amounts it appears, residential customers have felt the impac...

Grant PUD's Fish and Wildlife Department is beginning to ramp up for its core seasonal field work which will begin in the upcoming weeks. Fish and Wildlife Manager, Tom Dresser said although impacts of the pandemic led to delays in some of the department's planned capital projects last year, he is optimistic that 2021 will provide a better situatio...

Commissioners heard about an internal procedural change impacting irrigation customers. From year-to-year an irrigation customer may rotate fields or parcels of land they lease. As a result, before each growing season many irrigation customers need to request service from Grant PUD, for any new locations they will be operating during the upcoming y...

EPHRATA – Grant PUD Commissioners renewed their commitment to the build-out of Grant PUD's fiber optic network during the Jan. 26 commission meeting. In 2021, Grant PUD strives to expand fiber and/or complete construction to the following areas: Cave B and Beverly Burke areas west of GeorgeSouthwest of Ephrata along Highway 283 and Road 9 NWFrom Gl...

— Grant PUD ended 2020 with capital and operations-and-maintenance combined spending $9.9 million below the 2020 budget of $267.7 million, as precautions required of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed expected capital and other work across the utility.Capital spending is projected to end the year at $98.1 million, below budget by $7.2 million. COVID prec...

Both the footprint and the number of users on Grant PUD's fiber-optic network kept growing in 2020. This according to Grant PUD's Senior Manager of Wholesale Fiber, Russ Brethower as he shared the outcomes of last year's priorities and outlined the group's goals for 2021 on Tuesday. The impacts of COVID-19 which led to more people needing quality i...

Commissioners question whether crypto miners deserve a 'core customer' rateGrant PUD commissioners will continue at their Jan. 26 meeting a discussion about whether Grant County's existing cryptocurrency mining firms should again be billed under a "core-customer" rate schedule, now that too few of them are operating to present a "concentration risk...

Electricity use combined with requests for electricity from the county's cryptocurrency firms has declined since the higher-cost Rate Schedule 17 for nascent, higher-risk industries was approved in 2018, commissioners learned Tuesday.Cryptocurrency is currently the only industry in Grant County that Grant PUD qualifies as an "evolving industry" — a...

Budget reflects growth and financial strength, despite COVID challenges EPHRATA- Grant PUD commissioners unanimously approved a $380.6 million budget for 2021 that invests in employees and critical assets, continues roll-out of key technology initiatives and controls costs — without raising power rates for the third, consecutive year.The budget ali...

Budget reflects growth and financial strength, despite COVID challengesEPHRATA — Grant PUD commissioners unanimously approved a $380.6 million budget for 2021 that invests in employees and critical assets, continues roll-out of key technology initiatives and controls costs — without raising power rates for the third, consecutive year.The budget ali...