Grant PUD commissioners considering 2027 rate hikes
Area schools seek rate break; data centers getting increased scrutiny.
Updated
An aerial view of Quincy-area data centers served by Grant PUD. (GCPUD photo)
EPHRATA — Grant PUD commissioners are considering electric rate increases in 2027 that include a 3.5% hike for “core customers,” an average 9.5% for larger general service and industrial customers, and an average 12.5% increase for the utility district’s biggest power consumers including data centers.
The proposed rates package was discussed by commissioners and PUD staff during a Sept. 15 workshop. A public comment period on the rate proposals is now open and will continue through November. The district will conduct a public meeting on “rate trajectory” issues and cost-of-service analysis on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at the PUD main office in Ephrata.
Commissioners are expected to consider a Dec. 15 vote on the rate proposals, with any changes taking effect April 1, 2027.
PUD officials have projected annual rate increases over the next decade. They cite multiple reasons for the need for additional revenue, but say the biggest rate hikes should be paid by the district’s biggest power users to ease financial impacts to the “core” group of residential, irrigation, and smaller business and general service customers.
Grant County continues to see a growing demand for power, which has exceeded the production capacity of the PUD’s Priest Rapids and Wanapum hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.
To meet requests, the district says it investing in other generation sources including solar power facilities with battery storage, geothermal exploration with Chelan and Douglas county PUDs, and continuing analysis of modern nuclear power capability. But the research, development, and energy provided by “clean renewables” is more costly than Grant PUD’s cheaper hydropower, which is prioritized for core customers. When surplus hydropower is available, it can be shared with the utility’s largest customers.
The district also said it is seeing “reduced opportunities” to sell power to wholesale buyers outside of Grant County, which has helped in the past to keep local rates lower.
Last year, commissioners Nelson Cox, Tom Flint, Terry Pyle, Larry Schaapman, and Judy Wilson approved a new “unbundled” rate-setting policy which calls for the district’s largest power consumers to pay for higher-cost electricity and the infrastructure needed to service them. Those users are categorized in two separate tiers.
Tier 1 rate classifications include large general service, industrial, large industrial, and ag-related industrial customers. An average 9.5% rate increase is proposed for them in 2027.
An averaged 12.5 % rate hike is proposed next year for Tier 2 customers, which include “high density” and “large high-density compute” facilities such as data centers and artificial intelligence development facilities. The tier also includes “evolving industry” operations (primarily cryptocurrency “miners”), commercial electric vehicle charging stations, and ag boilers.
Even if those increases are approved, district officials said the PUD’s 2027 rates will remain “highly competitive” compared to other power providers.
Currently, the average residential electric rate in Grant County is 6.4 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a state average of 14.95 cents and a national average of 18.44 cents per kWh.
“Grant PUD's rates will remain less than half the state and national averages for residential and commercial sectors, and for industrial customers about half of the national and a third below the state average,” the district said in a news summary.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS LOOK FOR A RATE BREAK
Earlier this year, PUD commissioners were asked to consider designating public schools, hospitals and government offices as core customers, or to establish a lower rate class for “essential public services.”
Those entities house large populations of people in buildings with consistent power needs for lighting, heating, and cooling. But they are non-commercial in nature and cannot pass on increased utility costs to “customers” or significantly reduce power usage without affecting students, patients, and employees.
Ephrata School District superintendent Ken Murray says being placed in a higher rate tier like commercial ventures poses detrimental budget impacts to schools, particularly for smaller rural districts with high poverty levels among students and their families.
“Every additional dollar spent on utilities is a dollar not spent on students,” Murray told PUD commissioners in a July 28 letter, reiterating concerns initially expressed in January. Joining in support were school superintendents from Moses Lake, Quincy, Royal, Soap Lake, Warden, Wahluke (Mattawa), and Wilson Creek.
But the utility district said “more analysis” of those groups’ existing rate classes will need to happen in the future “before commissioners revisit the proposal,” according to a summary of their June 9 workshop.
ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND POWER SERVICE
Grant PUD has posted an online page focused on data centers, their power consumption, and potential future impacts. Such facilities are also attracting increasing regulatory attention at the state level.
The PUD currently serves eight data center operators, most established over a decade ago because of this area’s low utility and land costs bolstered by legislatively approved tax breaks. At the time, the facilities were welcomed by port districts, city governments, and the Grant County Economic Development Council for bringing revenue and economic benefits to their communities.
Last year, the eight data centers accounted for approximately 280 megawatts of electrical load — about 37% of the PUD system’s averaged overall county load of 757 megawatts.
But the district says it currently has “large load” requests totaling 800 megawatts in its power application queue.
“The utility is actively planning for the additional energy resources, generating capacity, and power-delivery infrastructure necessary to serve this potential growth,” the district says.
Both in Washington state and nationwide, a growing push for data centers has sparked a backlash in some communities and increased legislative scrutiny due to their potential impact to power rates, electrical grid stability, water usage, refrigerant emissions, and other environmental impacts.
This January, a regulatory bill was introduced in Olympia. E2SHB 2515 proposed to create special tariffs or policies to ensure service costs would not shift to regular customers for any “emerging large energy-using facilities” requiring over 20 megawatts of electricity.
The proposal bounced between the House and Senate, but eventually did not advance. Supporters said the measure was needed because a single data center could use as much electricity and water as a mid-sized city. Opponents contended that additional regulations could drive high-tech investments and jobs out of Washington state.
A state lawmaker, 13th District Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, voted against the bill. In comments on the House floor, Ybarra spoke about the economic uplift provided to his rural community, where several data centers are located.
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Grant PUD commissioners considering 2027 rate hikes
Area schools seek rate break; data centers getting increased scrutiny.
EPHRATA — Grant PUD commissioners are considering electric rate increases in 2027 that include a 3.5% hike for “core customers,” an average 9.5% for larger general service and industrial customers, and an average 12.5% increase for the utility district’s biggest power consumers including data centers.
The proposed rates package was discussed by commissioners and PUD staff during a Sept. 15 workshop. A public comment period on the rate proposals is now open and will continue through November. The district will conduct a public meeting on “rate trajectory” issues and cost-of-service analysis on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at the PUD main office in Ephrata.
Commissioners are expected to consider a Dec. 15 vote on the rate proposals, with any changes taking effect April 1, 2027.
PUD officials have projected annual rate increases over the next decade. They cite multiple reasons for the need for additional revenue, but say the biggest rate hikes should be paid by the district’s biggest power users to ease financial impacts to the “core” group of residential, irrigation, and smaller business and general service customers.
Grant County continues to see a growing demand for power, which has exceeded the production capacity of the PUD’s Priest Rapids and Wanapum hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River.
To meet requests, the district says it investing in other generation sources including solar power facilities with battery storage, geothermal exploration with Chelan and Douglas county PUDs, and continuing analysis of modern nuclear power capability. But the research, development, and energy provided by “clean renewables” is more costly than Grant PUD’s cheaper hydropower, which is prioritized for core customers. When surplus hydropower is available, it can be shared with the utility’s largest customers.
The district also said it is seeing “reduced opportunities” to sell power to wholesale buyers outside of Grant County, which has helped in the past to keep local rates lower.
Last year, commissioners Nelson Cox, Tom Flint, Terry Pyle, Larry Schaapman, and Judy Wilson approved a new “unbundled” rate-setting policy which calls for the district’s largest power consumers to pay for higher-cost electricity and the infrastructure needed to service them. Those users are categorized in two separate tiers.
Tier 1 rate classifications include large general service, industrial, large industrial, and ag-related industrial customers. An average 9.5% rate increase is proposed for them in 2027.
An averaged 12.5 % rate hike is proposed next year for Tier 2 customers, which include “high density” and “large high-density compute” facilities such as data centers and artificial intelligence development facilities. The tier also includes “evolving industry” operations (primarily cryptocurrency “miners”), commercial electric vehicle charging stations, and ag boilers.
Even if those increases are approved, district officials said the PUD’s 2027 rates will remain “highly competitive” compared to other power providers.
Currently, the average residential electric rate in Grant County is 6.4 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a state average of 14.95 cents and a national average of 18.44 cents per kWh.
“Grant PUD's rates will remain less than half the state and national averages for residential and commercial sectors, and for industrial customers about half of the national and a third below the state average,” the district said in a news summary.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS LOOK FOR A RATE BREAK
Earlier this year, PUD commissioners were asked to consider designating public schools, hospitals and government offices as core customers, or to establish a lower rate class for “essential public services.”
Those entities house large populations of people in buildings with consistent power needs for lighting, heating, and cooling. But they are non-commercial in nature and cannot pass on increased utility costs to “customers” or significantly reduce power usage without affecting students, patients, and employees.
Ephrata School District superintendent Ken Murray says being placed in a higher rate tier like commercial ventures poses detrimental budget impacts to schools, particularly for smaller rural districts with high poverty levels among students and their families.
“Every additional dollar spent on utilities is a dollar not spent on students,” Murray told PUD commissioners in a July 28 letter, reiterating concerns initially expressed in January. Joining in support were school superintendents from Moses Lake, Quincy, Royal, Soap Lake, Warden, Wahluke (Mattawa), and Wilson Creek.
But the utility district said “more analysis” of those groups’ existing rate classes will need to happen in the future “before commissioners revisit the proposal,” according to a summary of their June 9 workshop.
ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND POWER SERVICE
Grant PUD has posted an online page focused on data centers, their power consumption, and potential future impacts. Such facilities are also attracting increasing regulatory attention at the state level.
The PUD currently serves eight data center operators, most established over a decade ago because of this area’s low utility and land costs bolstered by legislatively approved tax breaks. At the time, the facilities were welcomed by port districts, city governments, and the Grant County Economic Development Council for bringing revenue and economic benefits to their communities.
Last year, the eight data centers accounted for approximately 280 megawatts of electrical load — about 37% of the PUD system’s averaged overall county load of 757 megawatts.
But the district says it currently has “large load” requests totaling 800 megawatts in its power application queue.
“The utility is actively planning for the additional energy resources, generating capacity, and power-delivery infrastructure necessary to serve this potential growth,” the district says.
Both in Washington state and nationwide, a growing push for data centers has sparked a backlash in some communities and increased legislative scrutiny due to their potential impact to power rates, electrical grid stability, water usage, refrigerant emissions, and other environmental impacts.
This January, a regulatory bill was introduced in Olympia. E2SHB 2515 proposed to create special tariffs or policies to ensure service costs would not shift to regular customers for any “emerging large energy-using facilities” requiring over 20 megawatts of electricity.
The proposal bounced between the House and Senate, but eventually did not advance. Supporters said the measure was needed because a single data center could use as much electricity and water as a mid-sized city. Opponents contended that additional regulations could drive high-tech investments and jobs out of Washington state.
A state lawmaker, 13th District Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, voted against the bill. In comments on the House floor, Ybarra spoke about the economic uplift provided to his rural community, where several data centers are located.