Commission recap, 11/12/2025 -- Public hearing set to review proposed rate increases for 2026 

Grant PUD Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Dec. 9 and open a 14-day comment period for customers to give their input on proposed rate increases for 2026.  

The Dec. 9 public hearing will be at 2 p.m. in the Commission Room at the Ephrata PUD Headquarters at 30 C St. SW, Ephrata WA 98823. Instructions on how to attend the hearing remotely and to provide content through Dec. 23 will be posted at www.grantpud.org/commission-meetings.  

During a presentation by Grant PUD’s Rates & Pricing Department on Nov. 12, the commissioners were given an update on the proposed rates for 2026. 

The 2026 rates will reflect a long-term commission strategy that gives preferential access to the generating resources provided by Grant PUD’s Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams to residential, small business, and agricultural customers. With Grant PUD’s lowest-cost power resource reserved for these core customers, their average rate increase will be about 3.5% in 2026. The increase is needed to primarily keep up with the rising costs of providing power service to these customers. For example, the costs of wires and transformers -- two staples of distribution power service -- continue to outpace the state’s inflation rate and have practically doubled in the past 10 years, stated Jeremy Stewart, Rates & Pricing Lead Financial Analyst.  

Non-core customer groups, including large general service, industrial, large industrial, ag food processing, evolving industry, and fast-charging EV, will see increases from 8.2% to 11.6% for 2026, depending on their specific rate classes. The increase is needed to cover inflation costs and additional generation costs to serve their power loads.

Along with the proposed rates for 2026, commissioners were also given an outlook of expected rate increases for the next 10 years. The intention is to carry the 3.5% annual average increase for core customers through 2035. Noncore customers will see an average annual increase of 9.5% a year through 2035.  Even with the average annual increases of 9.5% over the next 10 years, Grant PUD expects the rates to continue to remain competitive within the state and nationwide. 

The 10-year rate trajectory will be revisited and revised each year. Having a forward outlook for rates will eliminate reactive rate setting and provide a more stable, proactive approach to sustain a strong financial position for Grant PUD.  

See the full report on pages 77-129 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 2:36:29 on the commission audio. 

Commissioners also:

-- Heard that Grant PUD has assembled a portfolio of energy resources to safely supply Grant County’s projected growth in energy demand through 2030.

The utility will meet energy demand using existing energy resources, which include generation from Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, along with new power-purchase agreements including three from solar-energy producers and a “Provider of Choice” agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration. Market purchases will cover any shortfalls.

Rich Flanigan, vice president of Energy Supply Markets, included these agreements and other achievements as part of his third-quarter 2025 business report.

For the remainder of 2025, Flanigan said his team will finalize a state-mandated Clean Energy Implementation Plan and continue their research into feasibility of new sources of energy production for Grant PUD, including the potential for geothermal and natural gas.

“That’s important work you’re doing, Commission Terry Pyle said of the changes ahead, as Grant PUD’s energy portfolio and market participation diversify and growth is projected to continue. “We appreciate the work you’re doing. It kind of feels like we’re trying to go from zero to 260 mph in six seconds.”

See the full presentation on pages 41-49 of the presentation materials. Hear the conversation at 8:47 on the commission audio.

--Heard that Grant PUD is expected to exceed its energy-conservation targets for the 2024/2025 biennium. Energy Services Manager Emma Welch said energy savings came through incentives for increased efficiencies from the county’s industrial sector and a host of rebates and other energy-saving incentives for residential, commercial and irrigation customers.

The state’s Energy Independence Act requires qualifying public utilities to set conservation targets every two years. The state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act requires utilities to create a plan that calculates potential energy savings.

Grant PUD hired Lighthouse Energy Consultants to work with staff to complete a state-mandated Conservation Potential Analysis. The effort concluded that Grant PUD has the potential to conserve approximately 8.83 average megawatts of electricity over the next two years.  

The data is useful to help guide future energy-needs projections, John Mertlich, general manager and CEO, told commissioners.

A public hearing for review of two-year conservation targets and 10-year conservation potential is planned for the Nov. 25, 2025 commission meeting in advance of a commission vote on the targets, Dec. 9, 2025. See the full presentation on pages 30-40 of the presentation materials. Hear the conversation at 1:05:42 on the commission audio.

-- Heard that the Grant PUD Facilities team is fostering a proactive shift in its building-maintenance strategy to head off breakdowns before they happen. “The goal is to get out of this reactive stage,” Facilities Manager RJ Fronsman told commissioners of the tendency to wait until something breaks to fix it. He said the shift will produce better-performing buildings, including meeting the state’s Clean Building Performance Standards. See the full presentation on pages 1-11 of the presentation materials. Hear the conversation at 43:55 on the commission audio.

- Heard that Grant PUD has successfully used the surplus-auction process to remove $1.3 million in obsolete, surplus inventory – unneeded parts and equipment – from its supply yards, surpassing the goal of $1 million. Senior Manager of Supply Chain and Procurement Patrick Bishop told commissioners his team plans to hire a consultant to study and recommend improvements to Grant PUD’s materials-forecasting and other processes for improved efficiency. See the full presentation on pages 12-21 of the presentation materials. Hear the conversation at 54:16 on the commission audio.

-- Heard that Grant PUD’s Geographic Information System (GIS) is a significant tool that the utility uses to track everything from the location of power poles to recreation site interpretive signs. GIS gives employees access to real-time maps and updates to changing conditions – data that is easily shared with other departments for improved efficiency. Eliminating paper maps and inventories of district assets has been a significant time saver and creates greater accuracy in asset tracking.  For a more details, see pages 50-76 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:56:46 on the commission audio. 

Commissioner unanimously approved:

-- Resolution 9104, adopting regulatory accounting to track the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) proceeds Grant PUD receives by selling  CCA “allowances” at state auctions. Regulatory accounting is consistent with best accounting practices for these funds. Grant PUD intends to allocate funds in a manner that aligns with its strategic initiatives and for community benefit. For more information, see page 8-11 of the commission packet.

-- Resolution 9105, delegating authority to the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to act in the best interest of Grant PUD by using available funds to pay off $96,455,000 in outstanding debt ahead of its maturity dates. For more information, see page 12-21 of the commission packet.

-- Motion 3540, authorizing the payment of $22,709.23 to RACOM Corporation of Moses Lake for the purchase of 14 portable radios, warranty, batteries, charges and additional parts for the Telecom & Fiber Services team. Commission approval was needed because the purchase inadvertently exceeded the purchaser’s $15,000 limit. The purchaser is now aware of the spending limit. For more information, see page 22-25 of the commission packet.

-- Approved motions 3541-3546 for not-to-exceed contracts with six firms – HDR ($5 million), SEL Engineering Services ($3 million), Electrical Consulting Inc. ($5 million), Stanley ($2 million), Burns McDonnell ($4 million) and Toth & Associates ($4 million) for on-call engineering services for right-of-way permitting, environmental permitting, transmission, substation and distribution consulting services through Dec. 31, 2030. For more information, see page 26-274 of the commission packet.

-- Approved Motion 3547 for engineering contract 430-12500 with X-Energy LLC to work on feasibility of a nuclear-power plant in Grant County based on small-modular-reactor technology.