Customer Services

On Nov. 3, 2008, in compliance with the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), Chelan County PUD commissioners held a public hearing to consider adopting proposed standards for smart grid investments and smart grid information.  A legal advertisement notifying the public of the consideration process was published on Oct. 5, 2008. 

After considering the standards, PUD commissioners decided not to adopt them, but directed staff to continue to evaluate possibilities for the future.

In more detail, the standards considered were:

Consideration of Smart Grid Investments

(A) In General. – Each State shall consider requiring that, prior to undertaking investments in nonadvanced grid technologies, an electric utility of the State demonstrate to the State that the electric utility considered an investment in a qualified smart grid system based on appropriate factors, including:
i. Total costs;
ii. Cost-effectiveness;
iii. Improved reliability;
iv. Security;
v. System performance; and
vi. Societal benefit
(B) Rate Recovery. – Each State shall consider authorizing each electric utility of the State to recover from ratepayers any capital, operating expenditure, or other costs of the electric utility relating to the deployment of a qualified smart grid system, including a reasonable rate of return on the capital expenditures of the electric utility for the deployment of the qualified smart grid system.
(C) Obsolete Equipment. - Each State shall consider authorizing any electric utility or other party of the State to deploy a qualified smart grid system to recover in a timely manner the remaining book-value costs of any equipment rendered obsolete by the deployment of the qualified smart grid system, based on the remaining depreciable life of the obsolete equipment.

Smart Grid Information. –
(A) Standard.  All electricity purchasers shall be provided direct access, in written or electronic machine-readable form as appropriate, to information from their electricity provider as provided in subparagraph (B).
(B) Information. – Information provided under this section, to the extent practicable, shall include:
(i) Prices. – Purchasers and other interested persons shall be provided with information on –
(I) Time-based electricity prices in the wholesale electricity market;
(II) Time-based electricity retail prices or rates that are available to the purchasers.
(ii) Usage. – Purchasers shall be provided with the number of electricity units, expressed in kwh, purchased by them.
(iii) Intervals and Projections. – Updates of information on prices and usage shall be offered on not less than a daily basis, shall include hourly price and use information, where available, and shall include a day-ahead projection of such price information to the extent available.
(iv) Sources. – Purchasers and other interested persons shall be provided annually with written information on the sources of the power provided by the utility, to the extent it can be determined, by type of generation, including greenhouse gas emissions associated with each type of generation, for intervals during which such information is available on a cost-effective basis.
(C) Access. – Purchasers shall be able to access their own information at any time through the Internet and on other means of communication elected by that utility for Smart Grid applications.  Other interested persons shall be able to access information not specific to any purchaser through the Internet.  Information specific to any purchaser shall be provided solely to that purchaser.

This Web site includes links to documents issued in association with the board's PURPA consideration process. 

Resolution Affirming Determination Regarding Smart Grid Investment and Smart Grid Information Standards (Nov. 3, 2008)

Nov. 3, 2008 board presentation

Public notice on consideration of standards under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (legal advertisement)

Invitation to Nov. 3, 2008 public hearing (display advertisement)