PORT HADLOCK — The Jefferson County Public Utility District is counting down to the time when it will begin providing electricity to East Jefferson County.
A counter displaying the days, hours, minutes and seconds to when it expects to flip the switch is on the PUD website, www.jeffpud.org, and is counting down to March 31, 2013.
“It’s all gone well,” said PUD board President Barney Burke about the takeover of electrical service from Puget Sound Energy.
In 2008, voters approved the idea of the public utility district providing electrical service in East Jefferson County, and the district has worked on the switch from PSE since then.
“We have a lot of good people working on this, and they are all paddling in the same direction,” Burke said, adding, “and even though PSE is not a willing seller here, they have been a stand-up partner in making sure that things move forward.”
The PUD is awaiting final approval on a $115 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service that will cover the agreed-upon $103 million purchase price along with the improvements PSE has made since the agreement was reached.
Burke said the loan application was approved by two of the three required committees and that he had “no reason to believe that it won’t go through.”
Burke said the PUD is so confident the loan will come through that it has begun drafting a press release announcing the approval.
The loan money will not be made available to the PUD until it takes over from PSE, but approval of the loan will enable the PUD to secure interim funding to prepare for the takeover, according to PUD manager Jim Parker.
Above the purchase price, the PUD will need to secure about $10 million for equipment purchases and personnel, Burke said.
“We will be able to get these funds because there are several nonprofit lenders who are interested in working with us,” Burke said.
While the PUD structured the deal in such a way that it could pay off the loan at 5 percent, the current rates — which are now at about 3 percent — provide good news for the utility.
Parker said the PUD will keep its offices at 230 Chimacum Road in Port Hadlock for the time being because “we own the building, and it has all of the space we need.”
The PUD will begin its hiring process for linemen and repair personnel soon after the loan approval is announced, Parker said.
The number of employees needed remains undetermined, he said.
Burke said the PUD is exploring different equipment choices.
Officials have examined the idea of purchasing hybrid repair trucks that use batteries instead of gasoline to power its repair machinery.
Burke hasn’t determined the cost of these machines but likes the idea.
Not only would they save gas, but with the hybrid cranes, “you save wear and tear on the engines because you don’t need to keep them idling all day to run the cranes.”
Burke expects the utility to bring in about $33 million annually from revenue generated by utility bills from 18,000 customers.
The expected annual revenue is figured from the rates that customers pay now.
Bellevue-based PSE and its predecessor companies have provided East Jefferson County electricity since power was brought to Port Townsend and environs in the late 19th century.
But in November 2008, motivated in part by PSE’s acquisition by foreign companies, Jefferson County voters granted PUD the authority to get into the electrical business.
Last August, the PUD reached an agreement with the Bonneville Power Authority so the PUD could qualify for the federal agency’s lowest power rates, known as Tier 1, beginning in 2013.
The agreement is expected to provide electricity at a lower cost than what is offered by PSE, though other costs could drive up customer bills to their current level.
Burke said another savings comes from the location of BPA’s hookup in Discovery Bay, which means transfer costs won’t be as high as they would if the power needed to be brought in from a longer distance.
While the commissioners and staff are optimistic about the process, they won’t start celebrating until the loan is approved.
“We feel good about this,” Burke said.
“But you don’t want to count your electrons before they can be conserved.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
