Public feedback sought as Commission works to create a balance for large-load customer needs

information released

Demand for electricity is expected to rise exponentially over the next several years, as large-load customers – mainly data centers – seek out potential sites to locate. On Monday, Chelan PUD commissioners evaluated how the utility can meet that demand in a way that protects reliability and stable, predictable rates for everyone else.

Large-load customers include a wide range of industries, including data centers, manufacturing plants, and other power-intensive operations. Commissioners considered a set of guiding principles to evaluate new large-load requests:

  • Neutral-to-positive impact on other PUD customers
  • Maintain reliability, and stable and predictable rates
  • Preserve local control
  • Achieve a comprehensive and durable framework that treats large-load customers comparably and consistently
  • Protect existing management of hydropower through wholesale energy marketing strategy

Building from the guiding principles, staff recommended a framework that allows Chelan PUD to serve large-load customers while also recovering the cost of power and delivery.

  • Short-term supply: Chelan PUD procures wholesale energy from the market and resells to the large-load customer.
  • Customer choice: Large-load customer identifies and procures wholesale energy, which Chelan PUD purchases and re-sells to them.
  • Negotiated contract: At the Board’s discretion, Chelan PUD negotiates a contract which may include Chelan PUD generation, consistent with the PUD’s wholesale energy marketing strategy.

Under all three options, each arrangement with a large-load customer would be presented to the Board for approval.

As for next steps, Chelan PUD invites the public to submit comments and questions to customeroutreach@chelanpud.org through Aug. 1. Those comments will be reviewed at the Aug. 5 commission meeting.

As early as September, commissioners may consider a proposed service agreement with Microsoft, which is constructing a data center in the Malaga area.

In other news, commissioners:

  • Reviewed the results of a customer satisfaction survey conducted in May. Overall satisfaction with Chelan PUD increased from 2022 with 90.3% of respondents rating the PUD either somewhat or very satisfied. Among the key drivers for strong satisfaction, customers cited the PUD’s reliable service and low rates. The survey had 847 responses, with a margin of error at 3.35% at 95% confidence.
  • Heard an update that billing statements from Chelan PUD are expected to return to normal – with all of the usage data and delivery options that customers expect – starting in late July.