PUD advised on energy sources

EVERETT – Investing in wind turbines, solar panels, tidal generators and other types of environmentally friendly electricity could help Snohomish County PUD avoid huge rate hikes in the future.

That was the word from 40 Snohomish County residents who on Wednesday gave the PUD commission some frank advice on how to plan for the future.

The utility is spending $200,000 to map out what types of electricity it wants to buy or generate over the next 20 years. The public was asked Wednesday to weigh in on a resource plan the PUD is drafting.

“Go wind,” said Richard Barrett of Everett.

He said it’s up to the commission to stop talking about alternative energy and make it a real part of the PUD’s electricity portfolio.

“Go out and crack a few eggs and make an omelet,” Barrett said.

Others asked for tidal generators at Deception Pass, geothermal plants in the Cascades and wind turbines along the coast.

“Why are we relying on fossil fuels?” asked Lezlie Miller of Snohomish. “Prices are going to skyrocket. They’re gonna go up.”

State population estimates suggest the PUD is going to have to do something major just to keep up with the pace of growth in Snohomish County. The county’s population – 628,000 in 2002 – could surge past 1 million by 2025.

Renewable energy, conservation and electricity generated from natural gas and coal are among the types of power the PUD’s long-range plan will consider, said Charlie Black, a PUD consultant hired to put the plan together.

“What we’re talking about here today is developing a shopping list for the future,” Black said.

Today the Bonneville Power Administration provides 80 percent of the utility’s electricity, but the utility can’t expect to get any more electricity from the over-committed federal energy wholesaler.

New customers are knocking on the PUD’s door every day, however.

The utility projects that electricity consumption will increase 25 percent by 2025. Today the PUD has 295,000 customers.

“How do you deal with growth?” asked Mike Gianunzio, the PUD’s general counsel. “In 20 years we could have 600,000 customers.”

Developing a long-range plan will help the PUD avoid having to buy electricity on the open market as it did during the 2000-01 West Coast energy crisis, Gianunzio said. That’s when premium electricity prices forced the PUD to raise its rates about 50 percent, putting the utility’s rates among the highest in the state.

The PUD hopes to release its long-range plan in early 2005. Additional opportunities will be available for public comment along the way.

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