Continued rate analysis seeks fairness, stability, reduced risk
Grant PUD’s rate policy ensures “core” customers – residential, ag and small business/general service – receive first access to the lowest rates this utility can offer, based on the low-cost hydropower from Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams.
The rate team has now proposed further rate refinement that could, with commission approval, result in:
- A new “high-density” computing rate for data centers, including cryptocurrency, cloud computer services and artificial intelligence.
- A public-service-focused rate that would provide core-customer-type rate protections for some public buildings, including public schools, hospitals and government facilities.
- A “rate-stabilization” mechanism to recover costs resulting from negative conditions on the energy market or a major weather event.
- A pilot project that would create a “capacity reservation charge” levied on those Grant PUD industrial customers who haven’t yet grown into the full portion of power they’ve been allocated. To keep the still-unused portion of their allocation in reserve, they’d have to pay a fee until their energy use grows into their full portion. This is a common practice at other utilities, commissioners heard. Grant PUD has approximately 25 megawatts of underused capacity. That’s enough to power about 10,000 homes, according to industry estimates.
Data centers and other higher-energy-use industrials account for 48% of Grant PUD’s retail electricity sales, Jeremy Stewart, manager of Rates & Pricing, told commissioners. That number is expected to grow substantially by 2035.
The proposed changes would simplify Grant PUD’s current rate structure and help ensure that the rates paid by core customers and smaller industrials are less affected by increasing business costs pushed mainly by the biggest energy users, Stewart said.
Commissioners discussed scope and pricing of the proposed public service rate and asked for time to study the proposal. Look for more discussion in future workshops and commission meetings. See the full report on pages 1-31 of the presentation materials.
Tech upgrades at substations will reduce outage times, improve diagnostics
High-tech upgrades to Grant PUD’s substations will give grid managers greater ability to identify and diagnose problems remotely, reducing outages and shortening outage-response times, commissioners heard at their May 19 workshop.
The project is designed to upgrade or install “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology at 50 of the utility’s 60 substations by late 2030. Substations not included in this project already have modern SCADA systems.
See the full report on pages 32-43 in the presentation materials.
Commissioners also:
-- Received presentations from two groups of employees who recently completed Grant PUD “Orange and Blue U” leadership-training course. One group presented on ways to improve communications with customers. See this report on pages 44-60 in the presentation materials.
The other group presented on efforts needed to ready the electric grid for future demand. See this report on pages 61-77 in the presentation materials.
Commissioners are enthusiastic advocates for the utility “growing its own” leaders and expressed their ongoing support for the emerging leaders and Orange and Blue U.
-- Heard quarterly business reports from the Enterprise Technology Department (pages 78-88 in the presentation materials) and the Shared Services Department (pages 89-99 in the presentation materials).