The ratepayers of Grays Harbor PUD are facing a potential rate increase. The current number under discussion by the Commission is 4%.
It is important to note that no actions involving Grays Harbor PUD necessitate a rate increase. Any wage increases can be handled with current rates and/or reserves. All maintenance and capital improvements were wisely planned for in advance and funded.
Costs for past storms have either been reimbursed, handled with reserves, or are still under appeal for consideration by FEMA. The decreased revenue due to the downturn in the secondary market can be absorbed in current rates and/or with reserves.
So, why the potential rate increase? 100% of the proposed rate increase is due to unnecessary actions and unwise decisions made by the BPA Administrator.
Even though you won a law suit in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the illegal payments made by BPA to private utilities, the Administrator jumped through some hoops and continues to send $251 million of your money to them every year.
Without any legal requirement to do so, the Administrator decided to give a Whatcom County aluminum company $60 million a year for the next two years, “to protect those jobs”, then even more for the next 17 years. Whatcom County residents won’t pay a penny of that money to protect those jobs. Ratepayers from Public Utilities will pay those costs. Whatcom County residents are served by a private utility.
Without any legal requirement to do so, the Administrator decided to enter into an agreement with all Columbia tribes except the Nez Perce to pay an additional $93 million a year for 10 years for fish restoration. This will make the annual amount spent by BPA on fish issues $236 million. While this may be an admirable goal, the money paid to these tribes only partially mitigates the future fish costs coming from the U.S. District Judge Reddens pending decision in 2009. The Judge is on record in saying that more money will be necessary.
These costs, when added up, more than exceed the proposed increase in BPA’s rate to Grays Harbor Public Utility District.
Where is the outcry from our elected officials? How come our Governor, Congressman, and Senators are not outraged at the unnecessary costs this out-of-control administrator is imposing on its public customers? Why did they all sign a letter supporting taking money from PUD ratepayers to protect Whatcom County aluminum job?
With ratepayer help an unnecessary rate increase by BPA was stopped before. Ratepayers can do it again. This should be front page news on every newspaper in the Northwest including the Daily World. Our elected officials should be raising the volume on this issue.
Encourage your elected officials to continue the fight or finally get off the pot and join in. Often the choice is to support the customer/owners of the Public Utilities or to support the contributors from Private Utilities. The only way to compete with corporate donations is with constituent (read “ratepayer”) contacts.
Let our federal elected officials know how you feel. Let your state and local elected officials know how you feel. Force the 19th, 24th, and 35th District Representatives and Senators to pick a side. Tell the Governor how you feel.
Let you PUD Commissioners know you support them in their efforts to hold BPA accountable for the BPA Administrator’s bad decisions and help force him to change the bad decisions that can be changed.
Send a note to BPA on their “Comment Page”, here: http://www.bpa.gov/applications/publiccomments/OpenCommentListing.aspx
This was origionally published in The Daily World.
