Grant PUD commissioners were joined by PUD employees and representatives of contractor North Sky on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to celebrate the near completion of the 25-year fiber buildout to all of Grant County.

Crew members for North Sky Communications, Grant PUD's fiber buildout contractor, work to install fiber on Sagebrush Flats Road west of Ephrata last month. Once the Sagebrush Flats Road work is finished, fiber will built out throughout all of Grant County. 

Priest Rapids Dam, Mattawa. Grant PUD file photo.

You may have likely heard that Grant, Chelan and Douglas PUDs jointly filed a lawsuit in June against the federal government over our collective contribution of hydroelectric energy and capacity we must send to Canada per the Columbia River Treaty.

(Note: We'll post the commission audio as soon as we can. Sorry for the delay. We're working on it)

Grant PUD Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved $10.145 million to buy three parcels of land totaling 159 acres near Moses Lake for a new service center.

The property is within the Moses Lake urban growth area, near the junction of Highway 17 and I-90 (see map). According to the purchase-and-sale agreement approved by commissioners, the utility will pay the estate of David L. Sparks for the land.

    Tree limbs that conceal or blow into power lines are a leading cause of power outages in wind-prone Grant County. Grant PUD has the legal right and obligation to trim interfering trees to ensure our electric grid is safe and reliable for all customers. Since public safety is paramount to our mission, we don’t need the property owner’s permission to trim, nor will we give prior notice before trimming.

Grant PUD has 75 applications for new and expanding power service from large-load customers in a queue maintained by the Large Power Solutions team. 

(NOTE: Portions of this meeting weren't recorded due to technical troubles. We're working to fix them. Until then, you can find the recorded portion on YouTube here.

Grant PUD is planning to bring in more power resources to serve Grant County customers in 2026. Before that happens, staff is working with the commissioners to reaffirm the long-standing policy that core customers – residential, agricultural, and small business customers – will be the first supplied with low-cost power generation benefits provided by the Priest Rapids Project (PRP).  

At Grant PUD, there is a strong belief in the power of coming together to create opportunities for the next generation. This belief was at the heart of the recent Solar Car Days event at Big Bend Community College, where Grant PUD collaborated with eight amazing partners to bring this annual event to life.

(Editor's note: We'll add timestamps as soon as the meeting recording is available. Sorry for the delay. )Proposed changes to Grant PUD’s rate-setting policy would preserve the lowest-cost power for “core” residential, irrigation, agricultural and commercial customer classes and create new parameters for how much all customers pay for their electricity.

Grant PUD has been offered $1.1 million in state grant funding to buy and install energy-saving electric appliances for qualifying low- or moderate-income customers and small businesses.

(Note: We'll post the audio timestamps as soon as the commission recording becomes available. Sorry for the delay.)Commissioners kicked off their June 25, 2024 meeting by celebrating the 14 employees since the COVID pandemic ended who had successfully completed three-year apprenticeships for careers as Grant PUD power plant operators, power system electricians, linemen, electronic technicians and meter relay technicians.

Grant PUD plans to spread some powerful fun throughout Grant County this year through the North Central Washington Libraries’ free 2024 Summer Program.

(Note: Work continues on a new system for posting commission audio. When the audio is availble for this and previous meetings we'll post it and add timestamps in each respective recap. Sorry, again, for the delay.)

Grant PUD Commissioners learned Tuesday that the Washington State Auditor’s Office found three issues during a recent audit of utility’s compliance with the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2021. This was Grant PUD’s first compliance audit for CETA which was enacted into Washington state law on May 7, 2019.     

EPHRATA – Grant PUD commissioners announced today during their monthly workshop that Rich Wallen will remain as the utility’s Chief Executive Officer/General Manager. 

Note: We're still working through a new process for posting the commission audio. We'll add timestamps and audio as soon as we can. Very sorry for the delay.Grant PUD’s Irrigation Service Rate 3 would be rebranded as “Agricultural Service” and expanded to include separate categories for electricity used for irrigation and other ag activities — if further study proves it financially viable.

Note: The commission recording is delayed this week due to technical issues.We're working to get it posted ASAP.

Join Grant PUD commissioners for a discussion about the unprecedented growth in electric demand this utility is facing and factors that should most influence the way we set our customers’ electric rates.

Commissioners Tuesday learned how Grant PUD has been able to extend its message and priorities through power industry collaboration during a report given by Chuck Allen, Senior Manager of External Affairs and Communications and Annette Lovitt, Public Affairs Officer – Community Relations.

From left, Commissioners Tom Flint, Terry Pyle, Larry Schaapman and Judy Wilson return to Grant PUD’s Ephrata Headquarters after taking the District’s new all-electric Ford 150 Lightning for a spin

Riding on Lightning