Commission recap, 10/22/2024 — New rolling museum tells the Wanapum story. More...

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

  


Grant PUD Photos/Rosalie Black:

Top: Grant PUD Traditional Programs Supervisor Lela Buck (right) guides commissioners (from left) Terry Pyle and Nelson Cox on their first tour of the new Wanapum Native American Discovery Unit, a rolling museum that tells the story of Wanapum history, culture, beliefs and modern-day life.

Bottom: From left, Grant PUD Traditional Programs Supervisor Lela Buck; Chief Enterprise Shared Services Officer Fallon Long; Chief Human Resource Officer Tod Ayers; Chief Operating Officer Jeff Grizzel; Commissioners Nelson Cox, Judy Wilson and Tom Flint; Wanapum Liaison Clayton Buck; Grant PUD General Manager & CEO Rich Wallen; Wanapum Tribe Member George Mathias; Commissioners Terry Pyle and Larry Schaapman; Chief Customer Officer Ty Ehrman; Chief Financial Officer Bonnie Overfield; and Cultural Project Worker Kenny Mathias.

(Note: Commission audio will be posted as soon as we can)

The Wanapum Band of Indians introduced to commissioners, Tuesday, a shiny, new mobile museum that will travel the region telling a story that dates to time immemorial.

With gleaming, chrome wheels, custom graphics and more interior room, the new Wanapum Native American Discovery Unit is more than just a head turner. It’s sure to fill its visitors’ heads with knowledge about Wanapum history, culture, values and modern-day life.

“Thanks for following through with the commitment to support the preservation and perpetuation of the Wanapum,” Clayton Buck, Wanapum Liaison, told commissioners. “This is the understanding we have with each other. “Today is an important day for the future. For our kids. Preservation of Wanapum culture and history is part of our oral history. Handed down by word of mouth.”

The new Discovery Unit replaces an old unit that had become dilapidated and unreliable.

 The new unit is the result of more than a decade of analysis and planning, “We’ve been waiting a really long time for this day, but we got here,” Lela Buck, Grant PUD Traditional Programs supervisor, told commissioners. “You’re going to see today the generational changes. The children who you see in the pictures of the previous unit are the ones who’ve worked on this project.”

Grant PUD funded the project, with a total cost that’s yet to be fully tallied. Work remains to be done before the Discovery Unit will be ready for public visits.

The 38-foot mobile home, a 2022, Jayco Precept, cost just under $150,000 unmodified. Lela Buck said thousands of hours of labor and research were needed to get the unit where it is today. The Cultural Resources, Transportation and Facilities departments completely customized the mobile home, in-house. Signs Now of Moses Lake did the interior and exterior graphics.

“That’s something I’m extremely proud of,” Lela Buck said. “We know everything about this unit. I think you will be really proud of it and want to share it. And that’s something we need to continue. No one can share the Wanapum story like the Wanapum.”

Commission President Tom Flint recalled the original commitment, encapsulated in Grant PUD’s federal license to own and operate Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, to help the Wanapum preserve and perpetuate their culture.

“It’s always been pretty much a handshake and trust, honor and respect,” Flint said. “And I think it goes both ways. When you have skin in the game from your family, you’ll always end up with a better product. And don’t you ever forget that you’re part of the PUD family.”

Hear the discussion at 1:50:48 on the commission audio.

Grant PUD could pen 5-year contract to buy solar power, 3-year contract to sell hydropower

Grant PUD staff is proposing to sign a 5-year contract with Goose Prairie Solar, LLC, to purchase 80 megawatts of power from the company’s solar-generation plant in Moxee, southeast of Yakima.

The contract would begin Jan. 8, 2025 and extend to Jan. 8, 2030.

Rich Flanigan, senior manager of Power Portfolio Strategy, told commissioners the solar contract helps Grant PUD meet its Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) needs in covering increased county demand.

The solar contract would help Grant PUD provide stable energy rates, source part of what the utility will need to provide reliable service into the future and position the utility to meet the state’s clean-energy standards, Flanigan said.

The Goose Prairie proposal was one of 82 that Grant PUD received its recent request for proposals. Respondents included solar-generation projects, battery storage, wind power and biodiesel.

Flanigan said he and his team will be considering future generation contracts to help meet the utility’s energy portfolio needs over the next 20 years.

Commissioners will also weigh a second proposed contract, this one for a 3-year, 10% “slice” of Grant PUD hydropower, with Brookfield Renewables Trading and Marketing, from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2027.

Brookfield is the same company that developed the Goose Prairie solar farm in Moxee, Flanigan said.

The Brookfied contract would replace a similar, soon-to-expire slice contract with Avangrid Renewables.

Under terms of the contract, Brookfield will buy 10% of Grant PUD’s 63% share of the power generation from Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams at a premium price. In exchange, Grant PUD will purchase firm, mixed-source power from Brookfield to help cover Grant County’s demand for electricity.  

The deal would contribute to Grant PUD’s strong financial position by getting the most benefit from its clean hydropower – an arrangement favored by the agencies that rate the quality of Grant PUD debt.

It also helps insulate the utility from reduced generation during low water years. Commissioners will vote on the contracts in the coming weeks.

For more information about these power contracts, see pages 24-38 in the presentation materials. Here the discussion at 1:05:15 (solar contract) and 1:27:12 (slice contract) on the commission audio.

Commissioners also:

• Heard that year-to-date electricity sales total just over 802 average megawatts, 4% below the budgeted 836 average megawatts. The decrease is due largely to delayed expansion plans or planned maintenance shutdowns among industrial customers. Despite the overall total, weather conditions tended to bolster sales, with nearly 22% more colder-than normal days and nearly 2% more hotter than normal days. See the full report, including results per specific rate activity, on pages 49-68 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:36:47 on the commission audio.
  
  
• Heard from the quarterly Power Production Commission Briefing. Key takeaway was overall strong performance as Priest Rapids Dam met the availability Q3 targets while Wanapum dam missed the July target but was successful meeting targets in August and September. See the full presentation on pages 87-102. Hear the discussion at 4:15:46 on the commission audio.
  
  
• Heard from the quarterly Power Delivery Performance Report. The SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) was over the goal of 100 minutes of outage time for the last quarter. The overage was primarily caused by long duration outages at two substations. The SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) is still below the goal of 0.75 incidents per customer. See the full presentation on pages 69 to 86 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 3:16:31on the commission audio.

• Accepted a bid and awarded a contract to Irby Electric Utilities, bidding GE Grid Solutions for a not-to-exceed amount of $29.87 million for supplying 115 kilovolt (kV) and 230 kV high voltage SF6 Circuit Breakers. The contract is structured to meet current and anticipated needs over the next five years for the breakers, which are a critical component used within the utility’s transmission substations to protect transmission lines and transformers that are being constructed to respond to increasing power demands of customers. To learn more, see pages 7 to 92 of the commission packet.  

• Approved a motion to authorize a change order with Absher Construction in the not-to-exceed amount of $28.211 million to deliver the design phase activities and start early site work construction for the new Ephrata Service Center project, using the Progressive Design-Build approach. The Ephrata Service Center Project is a part of the Grant PUD Facilities Master Plan to enable Grant PUD to provide customers with excellent and reliable service for Grant County’s growing population well into the 21^st Century. To learn more, see pages 93 to 98 of the commission packet. 

• Approved a motion to execute a change order in a contract with Voith Hydro to increase the not-to-exceed amount by $79.535 million to $155.411 million to cover on-site labor for the rehabilitation of No. 7 to 10 turbines and generators at Priest Rapids Dam. The turbine and generator project at Priest Rapids Dam will ensure the dam can continue providing hydropower for the region for decades to come. To learn more, see pages 99 to 116 of the commission packet. 

• Authorized General Manager Rich Wallen to execute on insurance coverages for Grant PUD by Nov. 1. The premiums for insurance coverage for 2024-2025 insurance renewals are expected to total in the range of $5M - $5.25M (estimated) to replace the current 2023-2024 coverage. To learn more, see pages 117 to 121 of the commission packet. 

• Approved the purchase of 10 acres of property in rural Grant County for $12,000 from Langshaw Investments for state-required shrub-steppe habitat mitigation. To learn more, see pages 122 to 133 of the commission packet.