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Meet Our Participants: Chelan PUD
Published: April 23, 2009:Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
Our spotlight for this edition of GridLines lands on a public utility district in central Washington that owns the oldest hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River. Chelan County PUD, headquartered in Wenatchee, was formed in 1936, three years after Rock Island Dam began producing power. Today the PUD provides water, wastewater and fiber-optic services, in addition to serving about 47,000 electricity customers.
Chelan County PUD is an original member and participant in ColumbiaGrid, signing on when the bylaws were drawn up in 2006. The PUD owns and operates one of the largest non-federal, publicly owned hydroelectric systems in the country and provides electricity to a 3,000-square-mile service area that covers all of Chelan County and small parts of Douglas, Okanogan and Kittitas counties.
With about 335 miles of transmission line and 1,600 miles of distribution line, Chelan PUD moves power from its three hydroelectric projects – Rock Island, Rocky Reach and Lake Chelan – to serve customers in its own service territory and other parts of the Northwest. The PUD has high-voltage interconnections with four other utility systems, including BPA, Douglas County PUD, Puget Sound Energy and Avista. Power generated at Chelan PUD dams ultimately serves over 7 million customers, including residents of the Puget Sound area.
Earlier this year, the PUD celebrated renewal of its FERC license to operate Rocky Reach Dam. The dam, located on the mid-Columbia 215 miles south of the Canadian border, was completed in 1961 and four more generators were added in 1971. With 11 turbines and an overall capacity of 1,300 megawatts, it is the PUD’s largest generator.
Chelan County PUD expanded its renewable generating capability in recent years beyond Columbia River hydropower. The PUD owns a 12-percent share of the Nine Canyon Wind Project near Kennewick, WA, and also has a program to encourage local small-scale solar and wind generation. The PUD’s innovative Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP) offering connects customers who want to produce solar and wind power with customers who want to support the development of new local renewables.
For more information about Chelan County PUD, visit www.chelanpud.org.
