Commission recap, 8/22/2023 — Sturgeon Electric wins contract for Quincy transmission line work. More...

Auburn-based Sturgeon Electric was the lowest of five bidders on a two-transmission-line project to power two new substations in Quincy, commissioners learned Tuesday, before unanimously approving the contract.

The company’s bid of just over $1 million was the only bid below Grant PUD’s engineer’s estimate of $1.2 million to build transmission to connect the West Canal and Quincy Foothills substations, currently under construction about five miles east of downtown Quincy, Project Manager Matt Moots told the commission.

Both new transmission lines would be energized by the existing Quincy Plains Substation on Road 11 NW.

The line to feed the Quincy Foothills Substation would head east to a farm road and then north to the substation jobsite, which is tucked amid cultivated fields. The contract involves installing one steel pole and 13 provisional wood poles and stringing and connecting the line. The wood poles would eventually be removed as other work continues to expand Quincy’s existing transmission network.

The line to feed the West Canal substation will also head east to the farm road but then jog south to the substation jobsite over 10 steel poles.

The West Canal and Quincy Foothills substations’ budgets are $14.6 million and $15.4 million. Both are scheduled to be energized by mid-February 2024. The contract with Sturgeon was scheduled for a commission vote Sept. 12. Commissioners unanimously approved it as Resolution 9028 Tuesday to prevent project delays.

Hear the full discussion at 54:30 on the commission audio. See the presentation on pages 37-50 in the presentation materials. More info on pages 11-14 of the commission packet.

Q2 operating revenues increase. Preliminary 2024 budget approved

During a second-quarter financial report, commissioners learned that Grant PUD’s operating revenues are $95 million higher in the first half of 2023 over the same timeframe in 2022 due largely to a $73.7 million increase in wholesale revenues. Operating expenses for the same period increased by $9.9 million. The utility is projecting improvements to the year-end metrics previously published in Q1.  

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the preliminary 2024 budget and set budget hearings.

The 2024 budget presently includes a 2.5% overall retail power sales rate increase, with annual 2% rate increases from 2025 through 2028. Commissioners will set the final rates following the budget hearings as part of adopting the final 2024 budget in November. 

Public hearing dates:

October 10, 2023

2024 Draft Budget Public Hearing – 2 p.m. 

Ephrata Headquarters Commission Room, 30 C Street SW, Ephrata, WA 98823

October 10, 2023

2024 Draft Budget Public Hearing – 6 p.m. 

Virtual Microsoft Teams

Click here to join the meeting

Call in/Audio only – (509) 703-5291

Phone Conference ID: 680 513 972#

October 12, 2023

2024 Draft Budget Public Hearing – 6 p.m.

Moses Lake Local Office Auditorium, 312 W Third Avenue, Moses Lake, WA 98837

See the full second-quarter financial presentation on pages 109-154 of the presentation materials. Hear the full discussion at 3:09:07 on the commission audio.

Commissioners also:

— Heard an update from Aaron Kuntz, senior manager of the Enterprise Project Management Office, that his 30-person team is currently managing 41 projects with work valued at $135 million this year. Combining project management into a single office benefits Grant PUD with greater efficiency and accuracy through standardized procedures, better data for decision making, more complete training and better communication, he said. Hear the full discussion at 1:16:43 on the commission audio. See the presentation on pages 52-66 in the presentation materials.

— On Aug. 5, 2023, unanimously approved a $164,000 purchase, including taxes and fees, of a recreational vehicle from Blue Compass RV. The 2022 Jayco Precept 36A Class A motorhome will be remodeled into a new Wanapum Discovery Unit mobile museum. The mobile museum’s current vehicle is a 1999 model RV that has become worn and mechanically undependable. The new unit’s slide-out walls will allow more room for displays and better flow of foot traffic. It will also be fitted with a lift to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for wheelchair access. This item was accidentally omitted from the Aug. 5 commission recap. It was scheduled for a commission vote Aug. 22, 2023, but commissioners agreed to vote on it at their Aug. 5 meeting to avoid project delays.