Grant County PUD Commissioners recently approved a five-year purchase power agreement with Goose Prairie Solar Development as part of Grant PUD’s plan for powering anticipated growth in the Washington State county.
Under the agreement, Grant PUD will receive 100 percent of the energy and capacity output of the 80-megawatt generation facility.
Goose Prairie was one of the generation providers that participated in Grant PUD’s all-source request for new power generation resources earlier this year.
The 80 megawatts of solar power from Goose Prairie are a significant portion 120 MW of solar resources that Grant PUD plans to add to its power portfolio by 2026 to address customer growth.
2025 budget will be smaller than expected
Deferred capital costs and an unanticipated new power-sales contract has resulted in a net $55.6 million reduction in Grant PUD’s 2025 budget, commissioners learned at a recent meeting.
Part of the adjustment stems from a $9.7 million reduction in capital projects that were too preliminary for an accurate cost assessment when the draft 2025 budget was first presented to commissioners in October. As project planning progresses, making accurate cost estimates possible, some or all of these projects could still be added to the budget later in the year, Angelina Johnson, senior manager of Treasury and Financial Planning, told commissioners.
The power-sales contract, for 10% of the output of Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, added $46 million to the earnings side of the budget for an adjusted total of $312.2 million in expenditures, down from the original forecast of $367.8 million.
Commissioners also:
- Heard that Grant PUD had a healthy $790.7 million in cash and investments through Sept. 30, 2024, according to the utility’s third-quarter Treasury report. Outstanding external debt totaled just over $1 billion, which is about 41% the total value of utility’s dams and other assets. This “debt-to-net-asset-ratio” is forecast to fall to 38% next year through refinancing some existing debt. Grant PUD policy requires this ratio be below 60%. The quality of the utility’s debt remains strong with AA or above ratings from Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s rating services. Grant PUD has $72.2 million in a separate fund created for earnings from the sale of Climate Commitment Act bonds, a benefit of the state’s air-pollution-reduction legislation. With construction of a new Ephrata Service Center planned for 2025 and land acquisition for potential future development of natural gas, nuclear or other energy resources, the utility could have “significant need” for some of this invested funding, General Manager and CEO Rich Wallen said. Plans are in the works to also explore grant funding from federal and state sources.
- Heard that Grant PUD’s Enterprise Project Management Office is shepherding 33 capital projects through various stages of planning and construction across the utility, including new substations, transmission lines and other electric system upgrades; turbine/generator upgrades; fiber-optic network upgrades; and continued planning for a new Ephrata Service Center campus. The same presentation included detail about how Grant PUD’s in-house inspection team helps ensure quality work, reduces costs and holds contractors responsible through continuous feedback.
- Authorized the execution of a contract for a three-year slice sale of output from Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams with Brookfield Trading and Marketing LP. The slice sale helps Grant PUD to eliminate year-to-year water risk, reduce operational risk, and provide stable and predictable revenue to the utility. For the slice purchase, Brookfield will receive the benefits of energy, capacity, pondage, ancillary services, and carbon-free attributes that Grant PUD does not need for I-937 compliance.
- Approved changes to Grant PUD’s Customer Service Policy, which include a discount rate for all income-qualified residential households. Presently the 20% discount rate only applies to income-qualified senior and disabled customers. The proposed policy changes will also include a $50 increase to the residential deposit amount equaling $200, and elimination of an additional higher deposit for customers who have had their power disconnected for nonpayment.
- Approved changes to the Grant PUD ethics policy, which clarifies that Grant PUD employees may attend social events and accept lodging provided those events are provided as part of fees associated with a conference or professional event under certain conditions.
- Accepted a $1.349 million bid from Potelco for work to move an existing 115kV transmission and distribution power line in the Moses Lake area because Grant County is planning to widen the roadway. The power line was purchased from Avista approximately 40 years ago.
