Sue Ellen White / For the Examiner
Bertrand Valdman of Puget Sound Energy addresses a crowd in Clinton gathered to hear the pros and cons of establishing a public utility district to deliver electricity to Whidbey Island customers.
By Sue Ellen White For the Examiner
Whether a public electric utility on Whidbey Island is too risky - or the route to cheaper and more reliable power - is the subject of a debate in Coupeville next month.
The debate is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 at the Coupeville Recreation Hall.
A recent debate in Clinton on the pros and cons before an overflow crowd was a preview of the upcoming Coupeville debate, to be sponsored by the Whidbey Island League of Women Voters.
Representatives of Puget Sound Energy and People for Yes on Whidbey PUD pressed their points about the upcoming ballot issue. According to the utility, which currently serves the Island with electric power, forming a PUD will be risky and very expensive and won't change the basic reliability problem on Whidbey.
"What is the business problem you are trying to solve? Starting a PUD won't stop the wind from blowing," said Bertrand Valdman, chief operating officer for Puget Sound Energy.
Advocates for public power said a nonprofit PUD would provide lower rates, local control, better service and more local family-wage jobs. Benton County PUD General Manager James Sanders, who attended the meeting, said all of the state's 23 electric PUDs charge lower rates than Puget Sound Energy. He encouraged the crowd to support the PUD effort so they can enjoy similar benefits.
"It is very doable. Start now and get in on the Bonneville low-cost power. You'll have a going entity," Sanders said.
The move to create a PUD came this year after news that PSE will be acquired by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, a consortium that includes Australian-owned Macquarie Bank and several Canadian pension funds.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission regulates the utility, and would need to approve the proposed deal.
Last July, People for Yes on Whidbey PUD collected enough signatures to put the formation of a public utility district on the November ballot. Similar efforts are under way in Skagit County and east Jefferson County. While the electric PUD on Whidbey would be a new entity, existing water PUDs would add electric service in Skagit County and in the portion of Jefferson County that includes Port Townsend.
PSE is the state's largest utility, serving more than 700,000 gas and 1.1 million electric customers in the Puget Sound region. Camano Island is served by Snohomish County PUD.
