Lewis Public Utility District general manager Chris Roden gestures toward the Fords Prairie substation in Centralia. The PUD is in the process of evaluating its long-term infrastructure needs.
Lewis County Public Utility District staff and the Board of Commissioners will take part in budget hearings beginning Tuesday during the regularly scheduled commission meeting at 10 a.m. at the LCPUD Chehalis office.
The hearings will include discussion on the proposed budget for next year as well as a look at projected income and costs for the next three years. The commissioners will hold a second budget hearing during their regular meeting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 17.
“We’ve held some workshops looking at large projects coming up as well as future revenues and power costs,” LCPUD general manager Chris Roden said. “We’re trying to get a better picture of what’s happening a few years out while being more transparent about our budget process ahead of rate hearings.”
Roden said the budget model projects to run a deficit due in large part to rate increases scheduled by the Bonneville Power Administration, which supplies the bulk of the power distributed by LCPUD.
A BPA transmission rate increase of about 3.6 percent is set to take effect Oct. 1. It may also implement a surcharge of up to 1.5 percent beginning in November.
“When we run deficit revenues, it usually results in a combination of budget reductions and us looking at our own rate increases,” Roden said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re trying to stress the importance of the budget process prior to rate hearings, because those are very much informed by the budget process.”
For more information, contact LCPUD at 360-748-9261 or 360-496-6100.
