Utilities and Exceptional Individuals Honored at NWPPA E&O Conference
(April 16) Last Thursday at NWPPA’s Engineering & Operations Conference, members of the E&O Planning Committee presented NWPPA’s Safety Contest, Safety Heroism, and Excellence in Engineering or Operations Awards.
Robert Echenrode, CEO and general manager of Umatilla Electric Cooperative (Hermiston, Ore.), received the prestigious Excellence in Engineering or Operations Award, in honor of Milton Hunt McGuire, for his exceptional contributions to the industry. The prestigious award honors an NWPPA member utility employee that has made a contribution to the industry as a whole.
Three teams, one from Lewis County PUD, another from Energy Northwest, and a third from Bonneville Power Administration/TFH Construction, received the Safety Heroism Awards. Each of these teams met the criteria of displaying an act of unselfish and voluntary assistance in a situation where life, significant injury, or significant property loss would have been incurred but for their efforts.
Finally, 22 utilities/utility associations placed in the 2024 Safety Contest.
For more information about the award recipients and a full list of Safety Contest winners, please visit www.nwppa.org/press-room.
Timothy Russell Retires From BUECI
(April 12) Friday, April 12, marked the third anniversary of Timothy W. Russell becoming the general manager of Barrow Utilities and Electric Cooperative (Utqiagvik, Alaska). It also marked the day of his retirement from BUECI. Russell served as an employee of BUECI and a public servant of the community for 39 years.
BUECI announced its incoming general manager, Yves D. Kaanik Brower, in January. With Russell’s retirement, Brower is now the general manager of the utility.
Phyllis Bernard to Fill Commissioner Vacancy on Clallam PUD Board
(April 8) At their April 8 meeting, Clallam County PUD (Carlsborg, Wash.) commissioners appointed Phyllis Bernard to fill the vacant District 3 commissioner position that arose as a consequence of the passing of commissioner Jim Waddell. The appointment is effective May 1, and Bernard will serve until the certification of the general election on Nov. 26.
Bernard has been a resident of Clallam County for nine years and comes to the district with a unique perspective, having served 16 years on the board of directors for the Southwest Power Pool. She also has a professional background as an attorney and professional mediator. She holds a B.A. in history, M.A. in American history, and J.D., with studies in health care economics. She currently serves as commissioner-at-large for the Olympic Medical Center.
Bernard’s application reflected her interest in public service, stating, “it would be a refreshing and welcome change to serve the interests of the rural county my husband and I chose to make our home.” Regarding his motion to appoint Bernard, Commissioner John Purvis said during the meeting that “this is due to an application response covering a 40-year-plus career largely in public service, much of which related to the type of issues that are brought before this board.”
The position of a Clallam PUD commissioner pays a salary of $3,238 per month, plus a per diem of $161 per day for meetings attended on behalf of the district to a maximum annual compensation of $61,396, pursuant to RCW 54.12.080.
TDPUD Adopts Its First-Ever Integrated Resource Plan
(April 16) At its April 16 meeting, Truckee Donner PUD’s (Calif.) board of directors adopted TDPUD’s first-ever integrated resource plan.
TDPUD’s integrated resource plan outlines the anticipated power demand and supply for the utility’s community over the next 15 years. As the community’s energy needs grow, TDPUD can better plan for the future by understanding the projected demand, and then forecasting what energy resources will be available to meet that demand. The integrated resource plan also factors in regulatory mandates, market trends, reliability, affordability, and more. It is a living document that TDPUD’s electric team will continue to update as the team tracks and analyzes the community’s growth.
“The district’s resources are adequate in the short term, but we have to plan for the future,” said Jared Carpenter, TDPUD electric utility director. “We have to keep looking for new resources and developing new projects. We’re not the only ones looking for these resources, even beyond other utilities. There are big companies who are permitted to buy power from the wholesale markets that we’re up against. There is competition today that 10 years ago I couldn’t have envisioned.”
Snohomish County PUD to Host Energy Block Party
(April 16) Snohomish County PUD will host its Energy Block Party at 11 a.m. April 27 at its electric building headquarters in downtown Everett, Washington. This free event celebrates the 54th annual Earth Day. It includes a Truckstravaganza, or Touch-a-Truck, for kids; an electric vehicle and bike show; children’s activities; giveaways; food trucks; and more.
“We are excited to once again host this fun, family-friendly event, and I can’t wait to connect with our customers,” said John Haarlow, Snohomish PUD CEO/general manager. “We have all the same great features from last year, plus we’ve added two presentations for customers that want to go deeper on energy efficiency and solar for their home. I encourage everyone to come and hang out, meet our mascots, and have some fun.”
Clark Public Utilities Honored for Outstanding Safety Practices
(April 16) Clark Public Utilities (Vancouver, Wash.) has achieved diamond status in the American Public Power Association’s Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2023 in the category for utilities with up to 999,999 worker-hours of annual worker exposure.
The utility also earned the second-highest ranking in its category in NWPPA’s 2024 Safety Contest. NWPPA’s annual Safety Contest Awards are presented to utilities based on the lowest total injury and illness (incidence) rate for the preceding year.
“Workplace safety is deeply woven into our company culture,” said Clark Public Utilities Safety Manager Justin Zucconi. “Everyone, from our newest office staff to our most seasoned line employees, are trained to work carefully and empowered to speak up if they see an opportunity to improve our operational safety.”
More than 160 utilities entered the annual APPA Safety Award contest for 2023. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records and overall state of their safety programs and culture during 2023. The incidence rate is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2023, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Clark Public Utilities is proud of its safety record,” said Clark Public Utilities Director of Operations Gene Morris. “This award reflects our team’s hard work and dedication to ensuring that everyone goes home safe to their families, no matter the conditions the workday brings.”
“In our industry, safety has to be top of mind all day every day,” said Scott McKenzie, Chair of APPA’s Engineering and Operations Conference safety track and Senior Director of Member Training & Safety at AMP Inc. “These honored utilities have demonstrated a commitment to safety that runs through every aspect of their organizations.”
Grays Harbor PUD System Reliability Soars in 2023
(April 15) Significant decreases in nearly every recorded category, from total outages to impacted customer hours, tell the story of a great year for Grays Harbor PUD (Aberdeen, Wash.) system reliability. During the April 15 board of commissioners meeting, it was reported that the utility responded to 230 outage events and that total customers impacted ended the year at 50,293—all significantly lower than 2022 results.
“I could not be more proud of the work our PUD team did to improve system reliability in 2023,” said General Manager Schuyler Burkhart. “A utility’s ability to keep the lights on is one of the most valuable statistics when it comes to serving our customers. Today’s numbers paint a clear picture: Our crews deliver outstanding service with safety and speed, while our system proves its resilience in the challenging environment of the Washington coast.”
Accompanying a decrease in the number of outages and impacted customers is a drop in the number of hours customers were without power. In 2022, thanks to a number of outage events that impacted larger areas and took longer to repair, total customer hours without power jumped to over 626,000. In 2023, that number plummeted to 193,991, 80% of which occurred during 17 large outage events.
“In 2022, we saw a jump in the number of ‘major outage events’ that impacted the PUD’s reliability numbers,” said Engineering Director Tyson Reeves. “I think 2023 was a far more typical year for the PUD. We had a number of storms in the fall and winter and few car versus pole accidents, but nothing more than we would expect.”
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PNGC Power to Become Largest BPA Customer
(April 12) Inland Power and Light Company (Spokane, Wash.) and Kootenai Electric Cooperative (Rathdrum, Idaho) will join with Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative, the sole operating generation and transmission cooperative and one of the largest wholesale load-serving entities in the Pacific Northwest region. With the addition of these two electric cooperatives, PNGC Power becomes the largest power customer of the Bonneville Power Administration.
Inland Power and Kootenai Electric deliver electricity to communities in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, which are some of the fastest growing in the region. Partnering with PNGC Power bolsters the economic growth and long-term vitality of these unique areas. Inland Power and Kootenai Electric are joining PNGC Power’s 16 other electric cooperatives located in seven Northwest and Western states to work collaboratively on developing a new energy future to provide affordable, clean, reliable, and resilient energy to local communities.
“We are excited to welcome both Inland Power and Kootenai Electric to the partnership of cooperatives committed to meeting the needs of our communities,” said Jessica Matlock, president and CEO of PNGC Power. “PNGC Power is comprised of a diverse set of like-minded cooperatives with service territories covering seven states. Inland Power and Kootenai Electric joining with our existing members helps us achieve our future resource goals. Inland Power and Kootenai Electric will add to the strength of our current cooperatives by sharing information, resources, and partnerships to help plan and develop an energy future for our communities.”
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Grant PUD Agrees to Buy Land for New Ephrata Service Center
(April 11) On April 9, Grant PUD commissioners unanimously authorized the PUD to purchase 34 acres from Grant County for $525,000 for a new Ephrata, Washington, service center.
The parcel is near the Ephrata Walmart, south of State Route 282 and east of the old Ephrata Raceway property. Grant County agreed to install a traffic roundabout at the nearby intersection of State Route 282 and National Washington Way. The site was chosen over several other properties evaluated for cost, infrastructure, size, land use, and constraints.
“This has been a work in progress for quite a while,” said PUD Commission President Tom Flint. “I appreciate all the hard work from staff.”
The purchase is part of a long-term facilities master plan to replace or upgrade various outdated Grant PUD buildings, including the Moses Lake service center and Ephrata headquarters. The new center will meet the PUD’s needs 30 or more years into the future. Its design and location will provide better access, faster response times, and more reliable customer service.
The facilities master plan identifies that the existing Ephrata service center, in downtown Ephrata, is the highest priority for replacement. The service center is in need of design upgrades to meet modern building codes, improve energy efficiency, and meet or exceed modern safety standards. The plan analysis concluded that building a new center in a new location was more cost-effective than upgrading the existing center.
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Fitch Rates Energy Northwest Bonds ‘AA,’ Affirms BPA IDR at ‘AA-’
(April 15) Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AA’ rating to the following electric revenue refunding bonds issued by Energy Northwest and secured by payments from the Bonneville Power Administration:
- $514.4 million Columbia Generating Station electric revenue refunding bonds, series 2024-A.
- $9.6 million Columbia Generating Station electric revenue refunding bonds, series 2024-B.
- $169.9 million Project 1 electric revenue refunding bonds, series 2024-B.
- $54.8 million Project 3 electric revenue refunding bonds, series 2024-A.
- $66.9 million Project 3 electric revenue refunding bonds, series 2024-B.
The bonds are separated into two transactions and will both price via negotiation. The series 2024A bonds are expected to price on April 23. The series B bonds are expected to price on May 8. Bond proceeds will fund new money capex at CGS, refinance existing bonds as part of BPA’s and Energy Northwest’s regional cooperation debt program, and pay costs of issuance.
Fitch also affirmed BPA’s issuer default rating at ‘AA-.’ The issuer default rating reflects the credit quality of BPA’s repayment of all its fixed obligations, including federal and non-federal debt and lease obligations.
Fitch also affirmed the ‘AA’ debt ratings on the following debt (balances at the end of fiscal year 2023), and secured on parity through payments from BPA:
- $809.1 million Energy Northwest Project 1 revenue bonds.
- $3.14 billion Energy Northwest Columbia Generating Station revenue bonds.
- $950.7 million Energy Northwest Project 3 revenue bonds.
- $484.3 million Idaho Energy Resources Authority transmission facilities revenue bonds, series 2017 and 2021.
- $81.0 million Idaho Energy Resources Authority note purchase agreement.
- $1.2 billion Port of Morrow transmission facilities revenue bonds, series 2012, 2014, 2016-1, 2019, 2020-1 and 2020-2.
- $52.0 million Lewis County PUD Cowlitz Falls hydroelectric project revenue refunding bonds, series 2013.
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Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary, and research for global capital markets. For more information, visit www.fitchratings.com.