Commission recap, 2/17/2026 -- Waiting list for power 'cleansed.' Now comes fine tuning. More...

Note to customers:  Grant PUD commission meetings are normally the last Tuesday of the month. That date was moved up a week this month, to Feb. 17, because three of the commissioners will be in Washington D.C. next week on Grant PUD business. The Feb. 24 commission meeting has been cancelled.

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After successful efforts to reduce speculation from the utility’s power “queue” – or waiting list for connection – Grant PUD’s Large Power Solutions group is working to reconcile transmission capacity, in collaboration with Transmission Planning, after "cleansing" the queue.

The queue-cleansing effort reduced the amount of requested power in the large power waiting list from 2,191 megawatts to a still substantial but much lower 692 megawatts, commissioners heard Feb. 17.

They achieved that by increasing the fee needed to remain in the waiting list, prompting customers and prospective customers to “right-size” their requests. The result left 43% of requests unchanged, cancelled 17% of requests, resized 20% of the requests and eliminated 20% of requests through either lack of payment or response.

The team is now looking at calculating how much power is available today, as well as how much will be available to new requests after the current round of electric system upgrades, known collectively as the “Quincy Transmission Expansion Plan (QTEP), are complete in 2029.

Plans include developing a “growth reservation pilot project” to help customers secure capacity who really need it, allow Grant PUD to get the most out of the system, ensure costs are recovered and costs are not shifted from one group to another. Under the pilot, industrials who aren’t using their full allocation of power could either pay to keep it in reserve or surrender it, so it could more immediately be put to use for other customers.

This information will become part of a longer-range transmission-capacity plan to track the status of remaining power applicants and coordinate future system expansion plans across the county.

General Manager and CEO John Mertlich told commissioners that all utilities are facing challenges of queue management and efficient energy planning.

See the full presentation on pages 24-48 of the presentation materials.

Commissioners also:

--Heard that the transmission and electric-system upgrades that form part of the Quincy Transmission Expansion Plan (QTEP) are progressing simultaneously toward full completion by June 2029 at a total estimated cost of $260 million.

Projects include the Wanapum to Mt. View transmission line, the East and West Quincy Transmission Line projects, the Monument Hill Switchyard, Mountain View Switchyard expansion, and Wanapum Switchyard Expansion.

The projects will increase available transmission into the Quincy area from the current approximately 372 megawatts to approximately 750 megawatts and add redundant transmission paths that enable maintenance without extended outages. New transmission revenue will help keep electric rates lower for “core customers” – residential, small business/general service and ag.

 See the full presentation on pages 1-23 of the presentation materials.

-- Passed Motion 3557, commissioners directed staff to continue operation of  the Crescent Bar Golf Course in the utility’s next Recreation Resource Management Plan, which must be submitted for federal approval in 2027.

The vote means staff will not propose changes to the golf course in the new, 12-year plan. Golf course revenues and expenses result in an approximate $290,000 annual loss for Grant PUD and aren’t expected to break even. Prior to the vote, commissioner Larry Schaapman stated that all of Grant PUD’s recreation offerings, required by the Priest Rapids Project License, lose money and are subsidized by customers.

Commissioners chose to preserve the course as the least-expensive option to redevelopment -- $3.1 million or less if the irrigation system doesn’t need complete replacement. A consultant’s analysis estimates redevelopment of the course to create more trails, camping, wildlife zones and other attractions for a broader audience would cost $12.5 to $28.4 million.

The vote does not mean the commission doesn’t maintain the option to redevelop the golf course in the future.

Commissioners discussed the course options at their Feb. 10 workshop. Find that recap and follow the links to that presentation here. Hear today’s conversation at 24:59:00 on the commission audio.

-- Unanimously approved Motion 3558 authorizing the general manager, on behalf of Grant PUD, to award a $10 million contract to ROI Insight Group, LLC through Dec. 31, 2027. ROI will supply Grant PUD with specialized personnel, on a short-term basis, as needed, to keep key capital projects on schedule and budget. Billing through the contract will be on an hourly basis. For more information, see pages 5-54 in the commission packet. Hear the discussion at 19:14:00 on the commission audio.

-- Unanimously approved Motion 3559 for Grant PUD to join The Energy Authority (TEA). TEA (Pronounced T-E-A) offers Grant PUD a scalable, integrated and cost-efficient service that enables the utility to participate effectively in modern wholesale power markets while strengthening its reliability, compliance, risk management, and financial performance. See the recap article from Feb. 10 for more information. Hear the discussion and vote at 21:36:00 on the commission audio.

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