News Release

PUD 1 Approves 2012 Budget with No Additional BPA Rate Increase for Customers

Potlatch, WA- Wednesday, December 14, 2011- Customers in Mason County Public Utility District No. 1 can breathe a sigh of relief in 2012. Despite the 15% increase in power costs that the utility will incur from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in 2012, the PUD 1 Board of Commissioners has decided not to pass those additional costs onto ratepayers next year.

Over the last year, BPA has communicated upcoming changes in how public utility districts and other electric utilities will be charged for the electrical energy they provide on their systems. Moving away from a melded rate structure, BPA is now itemizing their fees which include a new customer service fee based on PUD 1’s portion of BPA’s system; a monthly load shaping fee based on PUD 1’s forecasted energy needs compared against BPA’s actual production; and a demand fee to ensure that BPA’s electricity, equipment and facilities are available to provide power during high peak demand hours.

In 2009, the staff and commissioners of PUD 1 anticipated a substantial impending increase in power supply costs and instituted a preemptive 16% rate increase to span four consecutive years in an effort to help pay for major capital improvements. This scheduled increase is in its third year of deployment, with the last scheduled four percent to be implemented in January of 2013. Commissioner Karl Denison stated, “In this economy people are having a really hard time making ends meet. We wanted to avoid compounding these financial problems for our customers and this budget proposal has allowed us to do just that”. After reviewing the 2012 budget proposal and strategic plan, the staff recommended that the commission accept a moderate budget that included capital improvement and maintenance projects but allowed the district’s budget to absorb the increases from BPA. During the budget presentation, Greg Kester, the district’s Auditor and Director of Finance reported to the board, “I am confident, given our conservative financial stance over the last few years, that we are in a good position financially to incur these additional costs next year without dramatically affecting cash flow”.

2012 budget was adopted by resolution at the December 13, 2011 Board of Commissioners meeting. The next four percent rate increase is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2012.

Questions or comments regarding the new fees or the 2012 budget can be directed to the PUD 1 district office at (360) 877-5249.
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Notice of Cancellation of Regular Meeting 

To All Interested News Media- Mason County PUD No. 1 has cancelled the last regular Board of Commissioners meeting of 2011 on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, January 10, 2012. 

Questions regarding the special meeting can be directed to Kristin Masteller at (360) 877-5249 or kristinm@hcc.net.

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PUD 1 Has Another Clean Audit

 Potlatch, WA- Thursday, December 15, 2011- The Washington State Auditor’s Office concluded their annual audit of Mason County PUD No. 1 for the year 2010. Results show a clean audit report of the district’s financial reports and practices with no findings or letters to management. Greg Kester, the district’s Auditor and Director of Finance, commended his department and the organization for “maintaining a high standard of excellence and accountability in our practices and financial reporting” and was very pleased with the state auditor’s report, as was Commissioner Jack Janda, who attended the exit conference and reported the excellent news to the board at the December 13, 2011 commissioner meeting.

 “We have several different agencies besides Washington State that we are accountable to and report annually to.”, stated Kester. “If the state auditors offer us any informal recommendations on how to improve processes and facilitate transparency, we appreciate those and do our best to implement them.” This latest audit augments a long history of fiscal responsibility for the district. Since its inception, PUD No. 1 has not had a single audit finding.

 Questions or comments regarding the 2010 audit can be directed to Greg Kester, district Auditor and Director of Finance at (360) 877-5249.

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