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May 24, 2 PM - Johns Prairie Operations Center Dedication

Posted May 15, 2012

Cost Effective, Coordinated & Future Focused

Mason County PUD 3 will be holding a dedication ceremony May 24, 2 PM at the new operations center at 2621 E Johns Prairie Road in Shelton.

The energy efficient facility provides for improved customer service; more efficient management of utility functions; and lower cost of operations over the long term.

Thursday, May 24 2 PM - the dedication at the PUD 3 operations center. 2621 E Johns Prairie Road in Shelton.

The Columbia River - How America's Most Powerful River Fuels Hope

Posted May 14, 2012 - Courtesty of Bonneville Power Administration

This is an important year in a successful partnership between the Bonneville Power Administration and the Columbia River. For 75 years, this partnership has helped the Northwest watch over the great river that creates the most amazing energy on earth.

The partnership is anchored by President Franklin Roosevelt's revolutionary idea that providing power at the cost of production would break down economic barriers that stood between the people of the Northwest and pull them from the grip of poverty. That idea became a reality in 1937 and remains our guiding principle. Our nonprofit status and commitment to public service sets us apart and steers our efforts to deliver the value of the river to the Northwest.

The Columbia River and the inexpensive hydropower it produces helped America win World War II. For decades after the war, the river and dams were a vital part of the Northwest's economic engine. This century, the duo have been a driving force in helping BPA connect more than 4,400 megawatts of clean, carbon-free wind energy to its transmission system. Wind is a great complement to hydropower, the original renewable energy source. The Columbia also waters the region's crops, opens its shipping channels to feed the region's robust economy, supports vibrant fisheries and provides world-class recreation.

However, power at cost and other benefits of this partnership have not come without consequences for people and the environment. Elements of the economic, spiritual and cultural lives of many Native American people were decimated by dam construction. To heal the damage, we have worked with our tribal partners to build one of the largest ecosystem protection and restoration programs in the world.

In that spirit, we have produced an "Ode to the Columbia River," to pay tribute to this iconic natural resource, which has done so much for the Northwest. It documents our efforts to share its benefits, mend damage and continue our perpetual partnership. We look forward to carrying on this amazing legacy.

Energy Northwest Projects Provide Carbon Emission-Free Electricity for The Region

Posted May 14, 2012 - Courtesy of Energy Northwest

Washington state is home to a diverse mix of clean energy resources: Hydroelectric, wind and nuclear. Columbia Generating Station, located 10 miles north of Richland, Washington, supplies the region as a baseload source of reliable, affordable and environmentally-responsible energy.

Mason County PUD No. 3 is a member of Energy Northwest. PUD 3's customers receive electricity from the Columbia Generating Station, Nine Canyon Wind Farm, and Packwood Hydroelectric Project; all developed or managed by Energy Northwest.

PUD 3 Commission Report for May 8, 2012

Posted May 11, 2012

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Commissioners award bid to Asplundh Tree Expert for tree trimming and vegetation management.
Budget and treasurer’s reports for April, 2012.

CONSENT AGENDA

PUD 3 Commissioners approved payment of vouchers in the amount of $676,025.93.

ACTION ITEMS

Commissioners unanimously approved awarding a bid to Asplundh Tree Expert for contracted tree trimming and vegetation management.

Asplundh assists PUD 3’s two in-house tree crews in the annual tree trimming and vegetation management program.

Tree trimming and vegetation management are tasks that minimize the loss of power and speed up restoration of electricity during outages.

PUD 3 has 686 miles of overhead power lines in its service area that need to be protected from tree limbs and overgrown vegetation. Working on a six-year cycle, the PUD has a goal of clearing approximately 100 miles of right of way each year.

STAFF REPORTS

Status of the Budget

PUD 3 Finance Manager Annette Creekpaum reported on the status of the budget, ending April 30, 2012. April expenditures were $5.9 million, or 37 percent of the 2012 budget. Revenue for April was $4.87 million, which is 36 percent of what was anticipated in the 2012 budget. Creekpaum said that the PUD ended the month of April with a year-to-date budget balance of ($554,906). The variances in the monthly balances appear to be tracking with budgeted projections under the new Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) rate structure. Due to increased wholesale electricity rates from BPA, the cost of the purchase of energy in April of this year is $1 million higher for the same time in 2011.

Treasurer’s Report

Sherry Speaks, treasurer, said the PUD ended the month of April 2012 with operating reserves of $17.45 million. Total investments were $45 million.

Power Supply

Matt Samuelson, power supply manager, reported that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) had recently invoked its first wind energy curtailment of 2012.

As it did last year, BPA ordered windmills offline due to an excess of hydroelectricity production during high runoff in the Columbia River Basin at a time of low regional need for energy.

BPA has proposed compensating private wind energy producers by splitting the cost of the shut-down between the generators and BPA’s preference customers, which would include PUD 3. The costs could average about $12 million a year, with a possible high of $50 million. Annually, that would mean a rate impact to the PUD of between $66,000 and $275,000.

Samuelson noted that under BPA’s plan to compensate private wind energy producers for shutting down operations, PUD 3’s share of the most recent payout could be between $3,000 and $5,000, which will ultimately be reflected in transmission rates.

NEXT MEETING

The next PUD 3 commission meeting takes place May 22, 2012 at 10:00 AM in the PUD auditorium at 2621 E Johns Prairie Road, Shelton.

PUD 3's Mason Substation Rebuild Project Underway in Downtown Shelton

Posted May 8, 2012

Left: Tim Shields, PUD 3 relay technician, works to level a mobile substation in downtown Shelton.

The Mason County PUD 3 reconstruction project for the Mason Substation in downtown Shelton saw its first major step today with the delivery of a mobile substation. Work on the Mason substation is expected to begin this summer, with completion by the end of the year. During the project, 3,400 customers served by the facility will get their electricity from the Johns Prairie, Skookum and Mountain View substations.

The mobile substation, rented from Snohomish PUD will provide electrical service to Simpson Lumber Company’s waterfront operations while the reconstruction of the Mason substation takes place. The engineer’s estimate for the entire project is $3.5 million. The six month rental of the mobile substation will cost $50,000.

The Mason substation is the oldest of the 11 in the PUD’s service territory, some of its components dating to the 1940’s. The substation serves customers in Downtown Shelton, Angleside, a portion of Railroad Avenue, Northcliff Road, part of North 13th Street, Hillcrest, an area north of Alder Street, the Simpson Lumber Company Shelton waterfront mills, all of Cloquallum Road, West and East Deegan Road, and the Shelton-Matlock Interchange.

Right: mobile substation which will provide electricity to the Simpson Lumber Company's Shelton waterfront during reconstruction of the Mason substation, seen below.

Mason County PUD 3 Energy Conservation Featured on KMAS

As part of Earth day week on KMAS Radio, Justin Holzgrove, PUD 3 energy conservation manager, and Kevin Nelson, conservation technician were interviewed about ways that customers can save energy and programs that are available through the PUD.

Click the play button below to hear the interview, which took place on April 18,2012 with the KMAS Newsradio “Daybreak” crew of Dale Hubbard and Jeff Slakey.

Your browser does not support the audio tag, please download the mp3 here.

Mason County PUD 3 Energy Conservation Featured on KMAS

Click the play button below to hear the interview, which took place on April 18,2012 with the KMAS Newsradio “Daybreak” crew of Dale Hubbard and Jeff Slakey.

Your browser does not support the audio tag, please download the mp3 here.

PUD 3 Conducting Tree Trimming on Johns Prairie Road

Posted 04/30/12

In order to meet the goal of offering its customers the safest and most reliable electrical service possible, Mason County PUD No. 3 will be tree trimming along Johns Prairie Road and surrounding roadways.

The work is scheduled to begin May 14, 2012, and will last approximately four weeks. During this time, you may experience occasional traffic delays. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

Letters have been mailed to customers in the affected areas. If you have power lines that run through your property, please take a moment to see if there are any trees that could potentially fall into the lines. If you notice any such hazards, or if you have any other concerns, please call Mike Speaks at (360) 426-8255, extension 3237 or Bob Smith at (360) 426-8255, extension 5268.

Simplify Your Monthly Energy Budget: May is the Sign-Up Month for PUD 3’s Budget Billing Plan

PUD 3’s Budget Billing program is great for customers on a fixed income, who travel, or just want to know how much their monthly electric bill will be.

Budget Billing is a convenient tool that averages a customer’s previous year’s electricity consumption. Based on the average, customers pay the same monthly bill amount June through April, with May being the settle-up month.

Customers who have been at a residence for twelve months and whose accounts are current may qualify. There are no income guidelines and no extra charges.

For added convenience, customers can sign-up for automatic payments directly from their bank account, credit or debit card.

In addition to the Budget Billing program, contact PUD 3 to learn about qualifying discounts for low-income seniors or low-income disability customers. Shelton: 360-426-8255 • Belfair: 360-275-2833 • Elma: 360-482-4998

PUD 3 Commission Report for April 24, 2012

Posted April 25, 2012

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Commissioners approve purchase of circuit switcher for rebuild of the Mason substation in downtown Shelton.
Power situation statement for March, 2012.

CONSENT AGENDA

PUD 3 Commissioners approved payment of vouchers in the amount of $4.37 million. Nearly $2.7 million was payment to the Bonneville Power Administration for wholesale electricity purchases and energy transmission.

ACTION ITEMS

Commissioners unanimously approved a recommendation to purchase a 115 kilovolt circuit switcher for the Mason substation rebuild project in downtown Shelton. The equipment purchase amount is $61,148 plus taxes. The engineer’s estimate for the entire project is $3.5 million.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2012, with completion by the end of the year. During construction, 3,400 customers served by the facility will get their electricity from the Johns Prairie, Skookum and Mountain View substations.

The Mason substation is the oldest of the 11 in the PUD’s service territory, some of its components dating to the 1940’s.

The substation serves customers in Downtown Shelton, Angleside, a portion of Railroad Avenue, Northcliff Road, part of North 13th Street, Hillcrest, an area north of Alder Street, the Simpson Lumber Company waterfront mills, all of Cloquallum Road, West and East Deegan Road, and the Shelton-Matlock Interchange.

STAFF REPORTS

Power Supply

Matt Samuelson, power supply manager, presented commissioners with the power situation statement for March, 2012. The report has been redesigned to show how energy supplies are purchased under the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) new rate design, termed the “Tiered Rate Methodology.” The report includes information about the PUD’s cost of compliance with the Washington State Energy Independence Act (Initiative-937), which requires electrical utilities over 25,000 customers to purchase certain levels of qualifying renewable energy

There are local rate impacts this year caused by renewable energy purchases and an increase in price for wholesale electricity purchased from the BPA. The wholesale cost projections are consistent with the PUD’s estimates.

Samuelson said that through March 31, PUD 3 purchased 226,528,769 kWh of electricity to serve local customers’ energy needs. That’s compared to 216,440,898 kWh of electricity purchased during the same period in 2011, which is an increase of five percent.

He showed that PUD 3 has paid $8.33 million over the first three months of this year on wholesale energy purchases, compared to $6.79 million for the same period in 2011; an increase of 23 percent.

Samuelson stated that this is the first fiscal year in which the PUD is purchasing electricity from the BPA under a new rate structure. He noted that it was expected that the winter months would be much more expensive than in the past and that summer months would likely be much lower. The first quarter reports are on pace with the power supply department’s forecast for 2012. It is expected that the PUD will see a year-end increase above 2011 costs that reflects the BPA’s average 10% increase in wholesale power costs to the District.

The report also showed that the “heating degree days” measurement for March 2012 was five percent higher than the same time in 2011. This means that the electricity demand for heating was greater during this period.

Heating and cooling degree days help to show how each day's average temperature (by averaging a particular day’s high and low temperatures) affects the demand for energy to heat or cool buildings. Therefore, cooler days increase the demand for energy to heat a home. Likewise, as temperatures increase the energy needed to cool a home goes up.

NEXT MEETING

The next PUD 3 commission meeting takes place May 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM in the PUD auditorium at 2621 E Johns Prairie Road, Shelton.