Franklin PUD: Our Future - Challenges and OPPORTUNITIES lie ahead
The new year is a great time to reflect on the past and formulate plans for the future. Decisions at the Franklin Public Utility District are not made lightly. The Board of Commissioners and staff carefully review events, forecasts, and past decisions when setting future goals on behalf of Franklin PUD.
In 2017, we completed a major overhaul of our Strategic Plan and direction for our future. At the top of our list is safety. We believe the health and safety of the public and employees is paramount in our business. Franklin PUD maintains a culture that promotes safety in all aspects of our operations, while stressing the importance of every person going home safely each night.
Other top goals include maintaining reliable power for our customers, ensuring stable power rates, continually striving for a positive customer experience, and fostering an engaged and productive workplace environment for employees.
We are also working with state and federal representatives to protect our customers from laws that would be detrimental to our region. We are watching to see how many carbon reduction bills will be introduced by the state Legislature this session, or whether a ballot initiative will be attempted in 2018. Climate and energy policy have impacted our industry and ultimately, our customers.
As it seems inevitable that carbon reduction legislation in some form will pass, saying “no” to any and all energy policy proposals is neither productive nor realistic. We believe our hydropower system will be more highly valued if and when the state goes to a carbon-pricing system. These dams provide vital economic benefits to a multi-state region, including carbon-free base-load power generation, navigation, irrigation and recreation. How we proceed in achieving least-cost carbon emission reductions consistent with the public power principle of local control remains the question for the 2018 legislative session and beyond.
Franklin PUD supports policies encouraging a least-cost low-carbon future for the electric industry that builds on the region’s existing low carbon power resources including maintaining system reliability, conservation, and that provides benefits to low-carbon electric providers to partner in achieving our desired policy outcomes.
Franklin PUD joined other utilities, Energy Northwest, and TRIDEC to form the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Transportation Alliance (EVITA) to advocate for a sustainable electric transportation infrastructure.
EVITA applied for a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) grant for a pilot project for electrical vehicle fast charging stations to be installed along interstate and major highway corridors and was awarded a $405,000 grant. The grant money will be combined with public and private matching funds to install nine fast charging stations linking Eastern and Western Washington. In 2018, two of the charging stations — in Connell and Pasco — will be served by Franklin PUD.
At the federal level, of utmost importance to Franklin PUD is preservation of the four Snake River dams. We have an uphill battle to contend with when the court views listed salmon as being on the verge of extinction and has put Snake River dam removal back on the table.
We have watched with grave concern as litigants continue to challenge existing Biological Opinions (BiOps) at ever-increasing costs to Franklin PUD customers. We support efforts to bring stability and certainty to the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) including implementation of the Endangered Species Act Committee, and legislative efforts like H.R. 3144 to codify the 2014 Biological Opinion until 2022.
While yesterday, today, and tomorrow may look drastically different in many respects, one thing remains the same. Franklin PUD Board of Commissioners and staff are committed to serving our public power customers with safe, reliable power. We understand the importance of reliable power in every part of our daily lives.
This story was originally published April 1, 2018 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Franklin PUD: Our Future - Challenges and OPPORTUNITIES lie ahead."