Commission recap, 7/9/2024 — Appliance rebates for low-income customers, small business. More...

Grant PUD has been offered $1.1 million in state grant funding to buy and install energy-saving electric appliances for qualifying low- or moderate-income customers and small businesses.

Appliances and services eligible for the program could include ducted or ductless heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, heat-pump clothes dryers, induction cooking equipment, and electric panel and wiring upgrades, when required, Chris Buchmann, Energy Services supervisor, told commissioners.

Qualifying low-income households must have a collective annual income of less than 150% of the Area Median Income, which differs from zip code to zip code.  Small businesses may be sole proprietorships, corporations, partnerships or nonprofits that employ 50 or fewer employees and meet additional state qualifications (see RCW 39.23.10 (22)).

Qualifying customers would be prohibited from reselling their new appliance to third parties, Buchmann said. Homeowners and renters may both apply.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the proposed grant funding at their next meeting, July 23, 2024. If they approve, qualifying customers could begin applying for the appliances and electric upgrades as early as this fall. 

The state Department of Commerce approved Grant PUD’s funding through its “Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate” (HEAR) program. The state has collected $77.6 million by selling Climate Commitment Act credits to utilities to offset the carbon content of the electricity the utilities sell their customers. Carbon is an air pollutant.

Of that total, $37 million has been set aside for local governments, including PUDs, to administer the appliance program, statewide, to help low- and moderate-income households and small businesses reduce their energy use and save money.

This funding is separate from the home energy rebate program offered by the federal government’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“I can’t think why we wouldn’t want to do it,” Commission President Tom Flint said of the state rebate program.

See the full presentation on pages 32-39 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:48:24 on the commission audio.

 
Commissioners also:

— Unanimously approved Resolution 9056, authorizing the issuance and sale of one or more series of Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project Junior Lien Revenue Bonds, in the aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $350 million to finance improvements, as needed through 2030, to the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project; and delegating authority to approve the final terms of each series of bonds.

This resolution is a replacement for Resolution 8968, which is a Junior Lien Bond (JLB) financing mechanism that allows Grant PUD’s Priest Rapids Project (Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams) to borrow money from the Grant PUD Electric System to finance capital projects in a timely manner. The financing is amortized over the terms of the utility’s long-term power sales contracts. It allows the District to finance projects at the dams through Dec. 31, 2030. For more information see pages 8-31 in the commission packet. Hear the discussion at 2:24:49 on the commission audio.  

— Unanimously approved Resolution 9057, accepting a bid and awarding Contract 170-11949, for supplying pole mounted distribution transformers in the amount of $3,103,215.00, plus sales tax. 

This contract will supply pole mounted transformers for new line extensions, new customer requests and/or replacement of existing pole mounted transformers, plus increase inventory for emergencies. This contract will provide 760 transformers within a time frame of 52 weeks after the receipt of the Grant PUD’s initial purchase order. For more information see pages 32-78 in the commission packet.   

— Heard that Grant PUD’s Fiber and Telecom Department expects to finish buildout of the utility’s fiber-optic network by late October 2024 and now has a county-wide “take rate” of 75% — toward a goal of 80% this year. Customer who take the service by subscribing through local service providers can receive fast internet, telephone and cable TV services over Grant PUD’s fast-and-reliable fiber network. With network buildout nearing completion, the department is now focusing on customer hookups, employee training and adequate staffing to ensure the network, fiber services and the internal telecom system are competitive, robust and reliable. For more information about the status of the fiber buildout and how to hook up, visit grantpud.org/getfiber. See the full presentation on pages 18-31 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 1:4:17 on the commission audio.

— Received updates from Senior Manager of Internal Audit Dmitriy Turchik and Reliability Compliance Manager Glen Pruitt. See their full presentations on pages 1-6 and pages 7-17 of the presentation materials. Hear the discussion at 15:13 and 39:50 on the commission audio.