Grant County PUD Customers Bracing For Rate Hike

Grant County Public Utility District (PUD) customers will soon be seeing an increase to their power bills.

At a meeting this week, PUD commissioners unanimously approved the utility's annual budget for next year.

The total budget amount of $347.2 million for 2024 marked a 9.5% increase over this year's $317 million budget, which means PUD customers will be incur a rate hike.

The PUD says the marked rise is due to what it calls the "lingering effects" of inflation and ongoing, large-scale projects at the utility, including the rehabilitation of turbines at Priest Rapids Dam and the design of a new service center location in Ephrata.

The PUD is now in the process of calculating the rate increase and determining when it will go into effect.

The utility says it plans to hold a public comment period before any new rates are implemented.