Pay-it-Forward puts $58,000 to work in local communities

Charitable giving through investments in energy conservation

Grant PUD’s “Pay-it-Forward” community fund has awarded $58,000 to a host of Grant County non-profits, as part of its 2024 giving campaign, in partnership with benefactor Microsoft and the Columbia Basin Foundation.

Beneficiaries this year are:

Moses Lake Boys & Girls Club, for winter break meals & snacks                         $5,000
Grant PUD’s Share the Light, for assistance paying power bills                            $25,000
Royal City Police department, bullet-proof vest for K9 program                           $2,500
Seven food banks around Grant County                                                                      $25,500

Since 2019, Microsoft has donated its rebates for energy efficiency upgrades to Grant PUD’s Pay-it-Forward fund. Donors have contributed more than $960,000 to the partnership. Of that, more than $557,000 has been awarded throughout Grant County to organizations focused on essential living needs, technology and education.

"Pay-it-Forward allows Grant PUD and its customers to make lives better," says the utility’s Community Outreach Coordinator Annette Lovitt. "Together, we can say ‘Yes’ to requests to feed kiddos or even buy a bullet-proof jacket for a police dog. I’m grateful for the ability to make a difference when and where it’s needed."

Most Pay-It-Forward funding comes from rebates Grant PUD provides its customers for investments in energy conservation that help meet or exceed mandatory savings targets set by the state’s voter-initiated Energy Independence Act.

Pay-it-Forward encourages Grant PUD customers to put their rebate savings to work in the community. To date, most of the donated funding and energy conservation has come from Grant County’s data centers, led by Microsoft, Verizon Media, and Sabey Corporation. Funds are allocated based on donors’ wishes and community needs.

Since the Energy Independence Act became law in 2007, Grant County industrial, irrigation, commercial and residential customers have saved more than 300 million kilowatt hours of electricity by investing in such technologies as “smart” energy-management systems, efficient fans, modern irrigation pumps, lighting, windows, insulation, and heat pumps. That’s enough energy to power 28,500 average U.S. homes – more than the population of Moses Lake – for a year, according to federal Energy Information Administration estimates.

The overall benefit achieves three goals. Customers reduce their energy costs through conservation. Grant PUD uses those savings to meet its state-mandated conservation targets, and community groups benefit from a funding boost.

For more information about Pay-it-Forward, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information about how to conserve electricity, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.