Grant PUD commissioners seek public input on proposed new rate schedule

Rate Schedule 17 would impact Evolving Industries which applies to cryptocurrency mining

EPHRATA — Grant PUD commissioners are asking for public input as they look to finalize the new customer rate class, Schedule 17 – Evolving Industries.

Anyone who would like to provide comment regarding the proposed rates class is invited to the July 10 commission meeting. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in the commission room located at the Grant PUD headquarters building, 30 C Street S.W. in Ephrata. Comments can also be made via e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Commissioners could take action on the new rate class as early as July 24.

The proposed Evolving Industry rate schedule would have two components, those retail customers with service totaling less than 200KW billing demand and those customers using 200KW billing demand or more. The proposal would apply to both new and established evolving-industry businesses.

Proposed Rates:

Rate Schedule 17-A / Less than 200 KW Billing Demand

Basic Charge: $1.04 per day

Energy Charge: 13.137 cents per kWh

Rate Schedule 17-B / 200 KW or greater Billing Demand

Basic Charge: $1,000 per month

Energy Charge: 7.097 cents per kWh

Demand Charge: $6.00 per kW of Billing Period

In May, commissioners adopted policy for the creation of Rate Schedule 17 to provide certainty for customers involved in cryptocurrency mining, while also protecting the interest of Grant PUD's existing customers.

Over the past year, Grant PUD has experienced an unprecedented number of requests for power — primarily from cryptocurrency miners — that that would more than triple its existing average load.

The utility has spent several months studying how to prioritize the requests for new power service and also protect existing customers from the risks inherent to the cryptocurrency industry and supporting this activity with potentially expensive new power system development. Customers within the Evolving Industry class would pay a rate that covers both Grant PUD's cost to provide their electricity and any additional component risks their service could impose on the utility's other customers, including extra costs should Grant PUD have to bring additional power resources into the county to serve their load..

Similar to the pricing for current large industrial customers, the new policy also requires those in the Evolving Industry category to pay more than the costs to serve them, so core residential, irrigation and commercial customers can continue to pay below-cost rates.

Established by local residents over 75 years ago, Grant PUD generates and delivers energy to millions of customers throughout the Pacific Northwest. What began as a grassroots movement of public power has evolved into one of the premiere providers of renewable energy at some of the most affordable rates in the nation. For more information visit www.grantpud.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.