(Note: Links to commission audio should be live by end of day Friday, 9/12)

Staff has proposed a 16-month power-sales “bridge” agreement that would change the way Grant PUD sells about one-third of its share of the generation from Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams and better positions the utility to serve its growing customer demand in a changing market.

The contract, called a “service confirmation,” is with energy marketer Morgan Stanley to sell 33.31% of Grant PUD’s portion of the dams’ hydropower and handle other market functions, Rich Flanigan, Grant PUD’s vice president of Energy Supply Markets, told commissioners.

The “bridge” contract would begin Sept. 30 and extend through Jan. 31, 2027, when a new trading partner – Florida-based “The Energy Authority (TEA)” – will begin providing wholesale marketing services, power-portfolio optimization, support for power purchased under contract from the Bonneville Power Administration and other market support.

Under an existing but soon-to-expire, five-year contract, Morgan Stanley buys a 33.3% portion or “slice” of the dams’ hydropower and capacity at an agreed-upon price to sell under its own terms to its own, hydropower-seeking customers. In exchange, Morgan Stanley sells back to Grant PUD enough “mixed resource” (not 100% hydropower) electricity from the regional wholesale energy market to supply the homes, farms, businesses and industry of Grant County.

The existing arrangement protects Grant PUD from market price swings by locking in a contracted rate for its hydropower, ensuring the utility has enough energy to supply its own customers and assuming the risk presented by low-water years, when the dams can’t produce as much electricity. These benefits have served the utility and its customers well over the past decade.

But demand for electricity is increasing, region wide. Grant PUD’s own power and transmission portfolios are more diversified, now including hydropower, solar and wind with sights on additional future resources. The state’s clean-energy legislation creates challenges that Grant PUD can better face under the proposed new contract, Flanigan said.

The new contract conditions enable the utility to participate in the new Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) – a group of western utilities that are creating an energy-sharing/trading arrangement. WRAP membership provides access to additional energy resources and markets during scarcity events during the summer and winter months.

Grant PUD must retain – not parcel out in a slice contract as it current does – that 33.3% of its generation capacity to participate in these new markets and benefit from energy credits provided by the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act to help utilities transition to a carbon-free energy supply by 2045.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposed new contract with Morgan Stanley at their next meeting, Sept. 23, 2025.

See the full report on pages 24-35 of the presentation materials, and pages 58-61 in the commission packet.  Hear the discussion at 1:04:02 on the commission audio.


Public comment period
Begins on the commission audio at 1:54:06


Commissioners also:

-- Unanimously approved a motion for a change order increasing the contract price with HDR, Inc., by $400,000 for a new not-to-exceed contract amount of $1.6 million for civil and structural engineering work to support dam safety projects, analyses, and evaluations for Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams.  For more information see page 11 of the commission packet and pages 1-12 of the presentation materials.

-- Heard about the near- and longer-term projects on the dam-safety roster, including a $70 million spillway-stability project at Priest Rapids Dam slated to begin in mid-2026, and a seismic risk assessment on the Grant County side of Wanapum Dam. See the full report on pages 1-12 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 30:33 on the commission audio.

-- Heard that 51 of the 60 projects underway in Grant PUD’s Enterprise Technology (IT) Department are related to a major software upgrade, known as the Enterprise Resource Plan (ERP). The project will increase data-sharing across the utility for more precise and efficient analysis and decision making. It’s too preliminary to name a launch date or total cost. See the full report on pages 36-45 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:24:11 on the commission audio.

-- Heard a staff request to increase an ongoing contract with Voith Hydro Inc. for the supply of new turbines by $7,722,309.00 for a new contract total of $108,536,494.19. The change contributes to the continuing rehab work on the turbine/generator units at Priest Rapids Dam. Grant PUD anticipated changes along the way to the long-term, 2014-2029, contract. Six of the dam’s 10 units are complete. Work is happening now on the seventh. Each unit takes 14 months to rehab. See the full report on pages 13-22 of the presentation materials and on pages 16-57 of the commission packet. Hear the discussion at 48:20 on the commission audio.

-- Received a quarterly report from Chris Roseburg, Senior Manager of Operational Excellence. One of the highlights was the improvement in performance metrics for the Corrective Action Program. The team reduced the number of overdue corrective actions to prevent incident recurrence from over 80% this year to just 18.2% by the end of August. Outstanding workorders have also been reduced by the Corrective Action Program team. See the full report on pages 47-57 of the presentation materials. Here the full discussion at 2:18:22 on the commission audio. 

-- Received a quarterly report from the Enterprise Project Management Office. Aaron Kuntz, Senior Manager of Enterprise Project Management, said the commission will expect to see several contracts for power delivery projects in front of them for action in the coming months. See the full report on pages 58-69 of the presentation materials. Here the full discussion at 2:24:06 on the commission audio. 

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