PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Public Utility District commissioners have voted unanimously to sign a lawsuit settlement agreement with Bonneville Power Administration that would affect residential power rates over the next 17 years.
The PUD took action Tuesday night on the proposed Bonneville Residential Exchange Settlement.
The proposed settlement is intended to resolve long-standing disputes over how much public utilities, which have preference for BPA’s low-cost hydropower, should help subsidize the rates for residential customers of private power suppliers.
“We had a very robust conversation [Tuesday],” Commissioner Barney Burke said Wednesday.
“I think the other commissioners and I agreed that it is one of the best conversations we’ve had.”
For the settlement to go into effect, wholesale customers representing 91 percent of BPA’s power load would have to agree to the settlement by April 15.
Because the agreement affects future rates, Jefferson County PUD commissioners could vote to sign the settlement, but because they were not previously party to the lawsuit, the district’s vote is not counted.
Although Jefferson County PUD’s vote doesn’t count toward acceptance of the settlement, future customers would benefit from it, Burke said.
Puget Sound Energy, a private company, provides electrical power to 18,000 customers in East Jefferson County, but the PUD is buying PSE infrastructure and expects to become the electrical power provider in 2013.
Although numbers were fluctuating Wednesday as utility districts throughout the area voted and staff recommendations became clearer, Burke said it didn’t appear that the proposed settlement will be accepted.
“At this point, it doesn’t look like the settlement agreement will pass,” he said.
“The 91 percent is really a pretty high standard.”
Although he said Jefferson County PUD customers would benefit from the agreement, he wasn’t sure by how much.
Both the Clallam County PUD and city of Port Angeles staff members said the settlement would save about $31 per year per the average residential electric customer’s bill.
But the outcome of the pending litigation, brought on by public utilities that receive power from BPA, would be a savings of $50 per customer a year, they said.
The Port Angeles City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously against signing the settlement agreement.
The staff and an advisory committee told the City Council that litigation could yield a better deal for electrical customers.
Clallam County PUD put its vote on hold at its Monday meeting. If commissioners do not act by the deadline, the omission will have the same effect as a vote against the settlement.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
