2025 PUD budget grant approved

Dec. 16—EPHRATA — The Grant County Public Utility District is expected to spend about $312.2 million in 2025 when all revenues and expenses are added up. Utility district commissioners approved the 2025 budget on Dec. 10. The PUD is expected to end by the end of 2025 with a carryover of approximately $237.8 million.

Expenditures in 2025 will be higher than projected in the 2024 budget, but projected revenue offsets for 2025 are higher than projected revenues for 2024. Offsetting revenue comes from sources other than retail sales of electricity.

Projected expenses in 2025 are $577 million, with $264.8 million expected in offset revenue. Compensated revenue sources include customers covering the construction costs necessary to provide PUD power and sales of power that PUD customers do not need.

Christine Pratt, PUD public information officer, said commissioners also approved a 3% overall rate increase that will take effect in April 2025. Since the total is 3%, there will be different increase rates for different customer classes.

“The need for a rate increase will be determined by the level of expected revenue Grant PUD needs to ensure operating and maintenance costs are covered,” Pratt said.

Operating and maintenance costs are expected to be $236.5 million.

“Operations and maintenance costs include all expenses necessary to maintain the utility’s operations and provide safe and reliable service,” Pratt wrote in a news release.

The capital projects budget was estimated at approximately $243.3 million. Most of that, about $179.9 million, will be allocated to the power system.

Approximately $9.7 million was eliminated from the capital budget; Angelina Johnson, senior manager of treasury and financial planning, said at the Nov. 26 commission meeting that some projects are not yet complete.

“(Shelved proposals included) things that we didn’t think were feasible to complete in a year or that we didn’t think made sense,” she said. “Projects that were proposed that we didn’t have enough information about to provide a benefit to the district. We had them sent back to postpone until a later date, or maybe not have them (approved) at all.”

The budget forecast for electricity sales was strengthened by the sale of a portion of the energy generated at the Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams to Brookfield Renewable Trading and Marketing. The transaction is called a slice contract.

In a slice contract, the PUD sells its share of the two dams’ generation to outside parties, who then provide electricity to meet the PUD’s needs up to a predetermined threshold. A slice contract may apply to the entire portion of the PUD or may be sold in portions. Brookfield acquired a 10 percent stake that cost about $46 million.

The PUD is forecast to continue growing, but not as quickly as forecast in 2023. Bryndon Ecklund, senior financial analyst for the PUD, said in a previous interview that most of the projected growth was in the industrial sector, and the construction schedule for some of those businesses has changed from original forecasts.

“The (decline) was a result of construction delays related to industrial load. Therefore, we are increasing this load a little more slowly due to the construction delays. Looking forward to 2026, it’s starting to pick up again and increase at that point,” Ecklund said.