Major Progress on Major Projects

“It’s your PUD!”™
FEBRUARY 2016
Major Progress on Major Projects
Grays Harbor PUD line and substation crews faced cold and wet conditions in January to make some
major advances on a pair of significant utility infrastructure projects.
In early January, the arrival of two new pieces of equipment allowed crews to continue line replacement
work on Myrtle Street. Two new Sherman+Reilly line pullers allowed crews to stretch new line from the Port
Industrial Road all the way to Electric Park. Combined with new poles which were put in place along Myrtle
Street in 2015, the new lines significantly strengthen a key portion of the PUD infrastructure.
On January 12, substation crews and workers from Snell Crane hoisted a 52-ton substation transformer
into place at the Scott Street substation in Aberdeen. The new equipment replaces a 1965 transformer and
will serve as a back-up to the Cosmopolis and Harding Road substations.
PUD crews complete line work on Myrtle Street, running from Electric Park to the Port Industrial Road.
Snell Crane and PUD Substation crews complete the installation of a new transformer at the Scott Street substation in
Aberdeen.
PAGE 2
PUD Remains All In on the Hawks
Like so many businesses around the Pacific Northwest, the Grays
Harbor PUD was abuzz with Seahawk fever in 2015. From August
to December (and all too briefly in January of 2016), the utility
recognized Blue Fridays leading up to each Seahawk game. T-shirts,
sweatshirts, jerseys and headbands were the uniform of the day as the
utility bathed itself in blue and green and ended many conversations
with “Go Hawks.”
Although the season ended far sooner than we would have liked,
the Seahawks continue to be an example of sports bringing people
together in a common passion and purpose. Thanks for the good times
Hawks and just wait ‘til next season!!!
Commission
Meeting Dates
Meetings are held in the
Nichols Building, 220 Myrtle
Street, Hoquiam.
February 2016
Monday - February 1
Tuesday - February 16
(rescheduled in observance of
President’s Day)
March 2016
Monday - March 7
Monday - March 21
Regular business meetings
are scheduled to begin
at 4:30 pm. A one hour
workshop (3:30 to 4:30
pm) will precede each
business meeting, unless
otherwise noted. The public
is welcome to attend all
commission meetings,
special meetings, workshops
and public hearings. Public
comment periods are
included at the open and
close of every meeting.
Commission meetings may
be cancelled and special
meetings may be scheduled.
Please visit our website
(www.ghpud.org) for
updated information.
PUD engineering staff show their
Blue Friday spirit.
ON-LINE
BILL PAYMENT
Seahawks spirit greets customers in
the PUD customer service office.
Proud 12s in the PUD accounting
office.
Want to pay your bill on-line?
Now you can pay your bill
instantly without ever leaving
home. Just go to ghpud.org,
click the “Pay Bill/Smart Hub”
button on the bottom left
hand side of the screen and
follow the instructions. If you
have any difficulties using the
online service, please call
Customer Service at 1-800562-7726 or you may email
[email protected].
PAGE 3
Manager’s Message
by PUD General Manager Dave Ward
I am so proud of the many positive steps the Grays Harbor PUD
has taken in the past year. Through innovative thinking, resilience and
just plain hard work, our employees who have dedicated their efforts
to serving the public have succeeded in fulfilling the PUD mission of
providing high value utility services. Now we look forward to 2016 and
the opportunities that lay before us.
First and foremost, the PUD will be able to focus all its efforts on
our core mission of utility services. With the completion of the Harbor
Paper clean-up work, the PUD fulfilled its contractual obligations to
help leave the former mill site “clean” to the standards set by the Grays
Harbor County Health Department and the Department of Ecology.
This was a massive undertaking and one that was accomplished thanks
Dave Ward
to a true team effort. I know the term “outside of the box thinking” has
become a favorite when describing project management, but I can think of few instances when innovation
came in so many different forms, from utilization of resources to finding new funding sources. With the
project complete at a substantially lower cost than early estimates, the PUD can put its days of industrial
clean-up behind it and focus on the utility work you have entrusted us with.
One of the most remarkable facts about our utility is that despite its location, the power system which
supplies energy to our customers continues to stand up to the violent storms that repeatedly batter the
Washington coast. This is not accidental. It comes from the foresight and hard work of our operations and
engineering teams who strengthen the utility infrastructure and oversee the vegetation management program
to keep the trees that make Washington the Evergreen State from threatening our system. Reliability is at the
heart of the PUD mission and I am determined to continue that tradition in the coming year.
2016 will also mark the first major update to our strategic plan. In 2014, this blueprint was authored by
the employees of your PUD and put into action to point the way to our future. I’m proud to say that rather
than sitting on a shelf, this plan has become a living document; one that has seen many of its first points
through to completion. Now I look forward to reconvening our employee, customer, finance, stewardship,
safety and reliability, and process and procedures groups to make the updates and additions to the plan that
will recognize the new challenges and opportunities the utility will face in the coming years. The completion
of this strategic plan in 2014 was a proud moment for the utility and I look forward to continuing it.
These are just some of the steps your Grays Harbor PUD will take as we move into 2016. I invite you to
be part of the process by attending our twice-monthly commission meetings on the first and third Monday’s
of each month, and lending your voice to the future of the utility. It is that process which has brought the
PUD through 75 successful years and will continue to guide us for the next 75.
PAGE 4
I-937, Carbon Discussed at Legislative Send-off
Energy and environmental issues were discussed
by the Legislative “Coastal Caucus” as they met
with Grays Harbor business members at the Greater
Grays Harbor Inc. Legislative Send-off in January.
Among many issues discussed, Senators Jim
Hargrove and Dean Takko and Representatives
Brian Blake, Steve Tharinger and J.D. Rossetti were
asked about carbon emission legislation and I-937.
Sen. Takko spoke to the question of the global
warming and the carbon reduction question as
it pertains to environmental and forest issues.
Carbon emissions are expected to dominate most
environmental discussions with Gov. Jay Inslee
supporting several methods aimed at reducing the
state’s carbon footprint.
Members of the Coastal Caucus answer questions at the
Legislative Send-off.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Cook
Energy production and Initiative 937 were brought to the discussion by Custom Security and Reach One
representative Fred Rapp who urged the caucus members to seek a way to have Washington hydro power
listed as renewable under I-937, Washington’s version of the Energy Independence Act. Rep. Blake explained
that in spite of nearly unanimous opposition by the Coastal Caucus, I-937 was approved by the voters,
making it difficult for the legislature to overturn the initiative. Sen. Takko added the initiative was poorly
written and lacked the scrutiny provided by legislative debate and illustrates the need for lawmakers to
cooperate to pass meaningful laws.
PUD Offers “No-Charge” Bill Payment
Your Grays Harbor PUD offers several choices for customers to pay their monthly electrical bills without
being forced to pay a payment service charge. In addition to paying
your bill in person or using your credit or debit card over the phone
ENERGY, an informational newsletter,
(by calling PUD Customer Service at 360 532 4220), customers
is published monthly for families and
may also log into the payment page of the PUD website, ghpud.org.
businesses energized by Grays Harbor
PUD.
By using any of these methods, customers will be charged only for
the payment amount; no additional service charge will be added.
2720 Sumner Avenue
Aberdeen WA 98520
Customers who choose to use an outside payment service not
associated with the Grays Harbor PUD run the risk of being forced to
Customer Service 360-532-4220
Toll Free 800-562-7726
pay an additional service charge,
Fax 360-532-6085
applied by the outside payment
Outage Numbers 360-537-3721
service provider. Many of these
Toll Free 888-541-5923
sites may appear to be affiliated
Visit us at: www.ghpud.org
with the PUD, but if the URL
General Manager: Dave Ward
is not ghpud.org, they are not
Editor: Ian Cope
a secure PUD site. For more
Commissioners:
information, contact the Grays
Arie Callaghan • 360-538-6514 • [email protected]
By clicking this icon at ghpud.org,
Harbor PUD at 360 532 4220 or
Russ Skolrood • 360-538-6289 • [email protected]
customers
may
pay
their
bills
without
go online to ghpud.org.
Dave Timmons • 360-538-6267 • [email protected]
a service charge.