As the Grays Harbor PUD prepares to enter its 84th year of operations, I am proud of the work our staff and commissioners have done to put the utility in a strong position. This teamwork has the PUD moving into 2024 on the right foot.
One of the most notable accomplishments of the past 12 months is our cost of service. For the fourth year out of five, the PUD is not raising energy rates. While costs increase in many other areas, we understand the importance of you knowing your rates will not. Conservative budget planning, the expiration of costly power contracts, and favorable operational conditions all played a part, as did the PUD’s shift to a load following power purchasing contract with the Bonneville Power Administration. In a nutshell, this means the PUD purchases only the power you and your fellow customers need from the BPA, rather than a varying amount that allows excess power to be sold on the open market. This change reduces exposure to volatile weather patterns and energy markets, and allows more predictability when budgeting energy costs. Both these factors help the utility keep energy costs as low as practically possible, which is a driving force of the PUD’s mission to you – serve our community with high value utility services at the lowest practical cost. This financial responsibility has been formally recognized, as the PUD’s credit rating was recently raised from A to A+ by Fitch Ratings.
Over the last year, your PUD crews have been busy hardening our system to stand up to the rigors of life on the Washington coast. In addition to work on utility substations to improve reliability, by year’s end the PUD will have replaced over 600 poles. With over 35,000 poles throughout the county, that might seem like a small number, but every new pole makes our system stronger. When storm season arrives, system improvements like these help us take nature’s best shot.
After over two years of hybrid meetings, remote workstations, and social distancing, it was wonderful to welcome all our team members back earlier this year. The remodel of customer service and credit offices have improved the customer experience and security when you walk through the doors of the PUD. It was a pleasure to meet with customers face to face at the Home and Garden Show, Grays Harbor County Fair, and our Public Power Week Customer Appreciation Drive Thru – all events that were back and stronger than ever in 2023. It continues to be our great pleasure to provide energy and wholesale telecommunication services to Grays Harbor County. I wish you all very happy holidays and look forward to continuing to serve you in a Happy New Year.
by Schuyler Burkhart, General Manager