Commissioners Tuesday hosted two public hearings to review the utility’s $706 million proposed budget for 2026, which highlights a strong financial foundation and a clear commitment to reliable service with a focus on keeping rates as low as possible for all customers at a time of rising costs and anticipated rate increases.
The budget reflects an intentional approach to planning. It prioritizes long-term affordable rates, dependable system performance, and responsive customer support. It includes targeted investments to meet the county’s growing energy needs and develop programs that help customers conserve energy and manage their costs.
The total budgeted expenses of $706 million are offset by $292.6 million in customer contributions and revenues, leaving $413.4 million to be paid for by Grant PUD.
Operations and maintenance, capital and labor costs account for 86% of total expenses.
Operations and maintenance expenses (excluding internal labor) total $88.9 million, an increase of 4% over the 2025 budget.
Labor expenses total $198.6 million, a 16% increase from 2025. This increase is driven by inflationary adjustments and strategic workforce growth. Grant PUD plans to add 88 new positions to support infrastructure expansion and prepare for a changing energy market. These roles include a mix of technical, analytical, and support positions aligned with key strategic priorities, such as transmission system planning, management of growth in energy demand, and infrastructure resilience.
Forecasters say the 2026 hiring surge reflects a strategic staffing-up effort to meet both current and future needs and is not expected to continue at that rate in subsequent years.
Capital costs (excluding internal labor) of $322.3 million are up 43% from 2025, as Grant PUD upgrades its power-generation and grid infrastructure to address growth and maintain reliable service. Major, multi-year capital projects partially funded in 2026 include:
- $97.3 million for the Quincy Transmission Expansion Plan – a package of 10 projects to expand power-grid capacity, including new transmission lines and new or upgraded substations.
- $86.9 million for a new Ephrata Service Center, which houses the line department, transportation shop, warehouse, materials yard and mail room. The existing center, built in the 1970s, is aged and has no room to expand.
- $44.5 million for continued upgrade of the 10 turbine/generator units at Priest Rapids Dam.
- $31.4 million to anchor the spillway at Priest Rapids Dam more firmly to bedrock for greater earthquake resistance.
The 2026 debt-service forecast of $69.9 million reflects an expected pay-off before year-end 2025 of two short-term bond issuances totaling $96.5 million.
On the revenue side, power sales to long-term wholesale purchasers (a license requirement), sales to retail and fiber-optic customers and other revenues, less operating expenses and taxes are budgeted to end 2026 with net operating income of $238.8 million, down from the 2025 forecast of $352.7 million. Change in net position of $251.9 million – the budget’s bottom line – is down from the forecasted $376.3 million in 2025.
Financial metrics are expected to remain strong through 2030, exceeding targets for liquidity (savings) and days cash on hand, with debt-service coverage far below the target 60% of the value of assets.
Profitability remains strong on the net-assets side but falls below targets toward the end of the forecast period. The retail operating ratio, another measure of profitability, continues to lag yet shows steady improvement through 2030. Together, these indicators reflect ongoing pressure on retail margins despite overall financial strength.
Future challenges. Strong finances now prepare Grant PUD for challenges all utilities are expected to face in the coming years from inflation, the higher cost to generate and deliver electricity, the need for additional sources of electricity to serve their customers, and clean-energy requirements from their state governments.
The heritage hydropower from Grant PUD’s dams has historically been enough to power the entire county at very low production costs -- approximately $24 per megawatt, currently.
Amid rising demand for electricity, this utility now needs to supplement Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams with additional sources of clean energy, including wind, solar, battery and potentially nuclear, that all have production costs many times higher than hydropower.
Rate increases. Grant PUD forecasts now show that without annual rate increases through at least 2034, the utility gradually becomes challenged to cover the costs to meet the future challenges.
Core customers — residential, agricultural, and small business — will continue to benefit from the lowest rates possible, though consecutive years of rate increases are anticipated. Industrial customers and data centers, the main drivers of growing demand and infrastructure expansion, can expect annual rate adjustments to recover the costs associated with new system build-out and the procurement of the additional energy and infrastructure components necessary to meet that demand. Grant PUD staff will collaborate with industrial customers to ensure rates remain competitive.
Commissioners will continue to study the proposed 2026 budget toward a scheduled vote in December. Rates have yet to be set. Discussions will continue into the new year toward a possible implementation in April 2026.
No member of the public attended either the 2 p.m. or the 6 p.m. sessions of the Oct. 14 budget hearings. Questions can still be directed to
For more detail, see the full report on pages 19-43 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 44:12 (budget review) and 2:28:25 (the official hearing) on the commission audio here.
Grant PUD eyes 20-year solar/battery plant contract
Grant PUD’s energy supply staff proposed to commissioners a 20-year power-purchasing agreement with a soon-to-be developed 260-megawatt solar project, Royal Slope Solar, LLC., and a 20-year energy storage service agreement, Royal Slope BESS, both on leased land northeast of Wanapum Dam.
The battery storage will be made up of a 260-megawatts of lithium-ion battery-storage pack with a total four-hour capacity. Cost for the energy generated from the solar was within the requested range of $65 to $75 per megawatt-hour and the battery capacity was also within the requested range of $14 to $16.50 per kilowatt month.
The agreement would begin no earlier than March 1, 2028 for the solar energy and April 1, 2028 for the battery storage, Vice President of Energy Supply and Marketing Rich Flanigan told commissioners.
The agreement would help Grant PUD meet its Integrated Resource Plan’s near-term targets for both solar and battery storage by 2028 and advances the utility closer to meeting its power-acquisition needs through 2030. Other agreements or purchases of power off the regional wholesale market would fill in any supply gaps, Flanigan said.
Royal Slope Solar LLC is a subdivision of Clearway Energy Group, an energy developer with more than 350 projects across the country, according to the company website.
The project will hook into the Bonneville Power Administration’s transmission line, connecting to the project via Bonneville’s Columbia and Grant PUD’s Rocky Ford substations.
Royal Slope Solar LLC was one of 82 proposals received through Grant PUD’s request for proposals in 2023 to ensure a stable energy supply for Grant PUD customers now and into the future while complying with the state requirements to eliminate carbon-caused pollution from the state’s energy supply by 2045.
That request also yielded power-purchasing agreements with two other solar firms – the 80-megawatt Goose Prairie Solar in the Yakima area and the proposed 120-megawatt Quincy Solar on land near the Ephrata Municipal Airport.
Commissioners will study the proposal and are scheduled to vote on the contracts at their next meeting, Oct. 28.
See the full report on pages 1-17 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 18:15 on the commission audio.
Commissioners also:
- Received an update on internal efforts to improve customer service through more customer interaction and employee training. See the full report on pages 47-55 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:27:32 on the commission audio.
- Approved Resolution 9101 which establishes new change order limits for Grant PUD contracts that can be approved by Grant PUD’s general manager without commission approval. The resolution raises the limits to $2.5 million for new change orders so long as they don’t increase the contract price over $5 million. The prior limits, set in 2012, were $500,000 and $2.5 million. The increased limits, which comply with state contracting law, were needed to facilitate faster decision-making by staff and adapt to higher costs for materials and services over the last 13 years. For more information, see page 8 of the commission packet.
- Approved resolution 9102 establishing delegated purchasing limits. The new resolution raises purchasing limits for the general manager from $1 million, which was set in 2012, to $5 million. The new limit complies with state law and reflects limits presently in use by other utilities of similar size. For more information, see page 11 of the commission packet.
- Adopted a new business relation expense policy. The policy gives guidance and direction to help Grant PUD staff and commission determine what is allowable when it comes to participating in business-relation events, including providing for food and beverages in business and stakeholder meetings and meetings that are mutually beneficial to all participants. For more information, see page 14 of the commission packet.
- Passed a motion to reset delegated authority levels for a contract with Douglas PUD for services related to covering Grant PUD’s share of legal fees related to the Columbia River Treaty in partnership with Douglas and Chelan PUDs. For more information, see page 20 of the commission packet.
- Gave approval for Grant PUD Treasury staff to transfer $15 million from the Electric Revenue Fund into the Rate Stabilization portion of the Electric System Reserve & Contingency Fund. The transfer will help Grant PUD continue to achieve its financial metrics of Days Cash on Hand. For more information, see page 22 of the commission packet.
---END----