Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) Commissioner Michael Kelly went on a tour on Friday, March 15, to learn more about the PUD’s broadband infrastructure and the work being done to keep vegetation away from power lines, according to a news release from the PUD.
“Today, I had the opportunity to travel with and meet some of the people who make the Lewis County PUD such a high quality public service organization,” Kelly stated in the release. “I experienced firsthand how our rate payer money is hard at work. This is a great way I can reassure my constituents that every dollar we the commission are approving is delivering great value to them. I plan to be making these types of tours on a more frequent basis.”
Kelly started the day with a demonstration from telecommunications and fiber technician Steve Orr, who demonstrated how fiber is spliced together.
Kelly then went to inspect lines that had been cleared of vegetation and watch a tree crew in action.
PUD Operations Manager Bryan Watt and Tree Supervisor Gary Jones led the tour and explained the details behind the vegetation management program.
The PUD puts approximately $4 million toward vegetation management every year to keep the lines clear and reduce outages. The PUD also has been awarded approximately $50 million in grant funds for the deployment of fiber to rural and underserved areas of the county.
The Lewis County PUD Board of Commissioners meet the third Tuesday of each month at 5:45 p.m. for a workshop and 6:15 p.m. for its regular business meeting.
The meetings are held at the PUD’s Chehalis auditorium or the PUD’s Morton auditorium.
To learn more, visit https://www.lcpud.org/.
