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c nnected
The MonthlyNewsletter of Cowlitz PUD
Volume 17 - No. 12
December 2014
East Kelso Substation Rebuild
For those District customers that frequently drive
the Vine Street or Grade Street corridors, you will
have noticed the major reconstruction of the East
Kelso Substation during the summer of 2014. The
work is expected to complete in January, just in
time for the winter electric peak demands. The
original substation was built in 1960.
The District is in year seven of its 10-year plan
to convert our transmission grid to 115 kV and
link all substations with at least two transmission
feeds. When complete, a transmission fault will
not interrupt power flow to our customers beyond
a flicker. East Kelso Substation is a hub for the 115
kV transmission system and its reconstruction will
go a long way to improve the District’s reliability.
Last spring the District off-loaded the East Kelso
Substation customers to other nearby substations.
We can do that at Cowlitz PUD because early
designers of our system sized feeders to twice
the ampacity that the cables
would normally see. This
ability has given the District the
opportunity to take down any
substation at any time of the
year without disrupting service.
regulations. Concrete foundations were placed and
new electrical equipment has been installed. The
new electrical equipment will provide 60 years of
service, thus benefitting our great-grandchildren.
We benefitted from those who came home from
World War II and built the East Kelso Substation
originally. It’s good that we can pass that benefit
forward.
The substation has been surrounded by architectural
concrete panels which provide increased security
and overall neater appearance than cyclone fencing.
The high-voltage wiring, buswork and controls are
all being installed by PUD wiremen, meter men and
linemen. Much of the engineering and inspection is
performed by PUD engineers. This not only saves
money but assures that the people that operate the
station are the same people that put it together. The
result is very high quality workmanship.
Total cost for the East Kelso Substation Rebuild is
$3 million. That is a lot of money, but the benefit
to our customers supports the expenditure. The
return on this investment is much
improved reliability, reduced
energy losses and replacement
of equipment that had worked
well beyond its useful life. A
reasonable metaphor here is our
collective need for transportation.
A car or truck will last only a
finite amount of time before it
fails or becomes too expensive to
maintain. Transformers and high
voltage switches are in many
ways like our automobiles; we
use them as long as we can and
then replace them just before they
fail.
After a competitive bid process,
local contractor JH Kelly was
selected to perform the work.
The site was cleared of all the
old equipment. In the process
of excavation, an old buried
petroleum tank was discovered.
Contaminated soil and the
old tank had to be removed
East Kelso Substation Grade St & Vine
per stringent environmental
www.cowlitzpud.org
Connected: We Want Your
Feedback
As we contemplate changes to our Connected
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customers in the process. Please provide your
feeback to the following questions:
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c nnected
The MonthlyNewsletter of Cowlitz PUD
Cowlitz PUD forwards all Warm Neighbor
funds to CAP, which in turn uses them to
assist qualified low-income Cowlitz County
residents who are struggling to pay their
Customer Survey
10) What, if any, information would you like to
see included in the newsletter in the future?
Please write your answer on a separate piece
of paper.
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should be removed from the newsletter?
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Future meeting dates:
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Commission Information
Where and When:
John Searing Auditorium at 2:00 p.m.
Cowlitz PUD - 961 12th Avenue in Longview
Go to our website to find out the latest Board of
Commissioners activities at www.cowlitzpud.org.
Click on the Commissioners drop down menu.
Be Prepared for
Power Outages
It is very important that we receive feedback
from you, our customers. We desire to keep you
informed about current and future issues that
impact you as a ratepayer. One way to do that is
through Connected. Please consider completing
this questionnaire and returning it to us.
You may mail the survey back to us at,
Cowlitz PUD
Attn: Connected Survey
PO Box 3007
Longview, WA 98632
you may also drop it off to our Longview main
office at 961 12th Avenue or you may take the
survey online at:
www.cowlitzpud.org/connectedsurvey.
Thank you in advance for participating in this
survey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Have the following items on hand:
2-3 Day Supply
of Packaged
Food & Water
Blankets
Flashlight,
Radio &
Batteries
Twitter
Outage
Alerts
Outage Alert Hotline
(360) 423-1200
Be A Warm Neighbor:
Give to the Warm Neighbor Fund
Cowlitz PUD forwards all Warm Neighbor
funds to CAP, which in turn uses them to
assist qualified low-income Cowlitz County
residents who are struggling to pay their
winter electric bills.
Learn more at: cowlitzpud.org/warm_neighbor.php
Moving Forward
As you may already know, the State of Washington’s
Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) recently
completed its investigation into alleged violations of
State campaign laws and regulations by former PUD
General Manager Brian Skeahan and former Cowlitz
PUD Commissioner Mark McCrady. On November 4,
2014 the PDC entered its Final Orders on the matter.
The Final Orders adopted stipulations (a form of
agreement) between the PDC and Mr. McCrady and
Mr. Skeahan that stated that both men had “committed
multiple violations” of State campaign laws. PDC
staff found that Mr. McCrady and Mr. Skeahan had
both unlawfully used or authorized the use of District
facilities to support then-Commissioner McCrady’s
re-election campaign. The PDC Commissioners then
assessed a $1,000 fine against Mr. Skeahan and a $500
fine against Mr. McCrady. The PDC further agreed
to suspend half of Mr. Skeahan’s and Mr. McCrady’s
fines if they complied with certain terms, including
that neither is found to have committed further
violations of campaign laws for a period of four years.
A copy of the orders and stipulations is available
online at the PDC website http://www.pdc.wa.gov/
home/laws/reportsofinvestigation.aspx?report=293.
The District wishes to thank the PDC for its
thorough investigation of these allegations. The
complaint was first filed in January 2013. The PDC
investigative reports issued in October 2014 show
the PDC interviewed numerous witnesses, analyzed
relevant documents and gave the matter careful
consideration before delivering its findings in an over
300 page report. A copy of the PDC investigative
report is available online at http://www.pdc.wa.gov/
archive/commissionmeetings/meetingshearings/
pdfs/2014/13022.ROI.pdf.
Finally, the District notes the troubling and unfortunate
personal, political and legal attacks that Cowlitz PUD
General Counsel, Paul Brachvogel has endured as a
result of his participation in the District’s brief internal
investigation of these matters. The District cannot and
will not tolerate any form of employee harassment. In
the past two years, these unsubstantiated attacks against
Contact Information
CONNECTED is published by Cowlitz PUD.
COMMISSIONERS: Buz Ketcham, Ned Piper,
and Kurt Anagnostou
GENERAL MANAGER: Don McMaster
EDITOR: Brent Arnold, Communications Manager
Mr. Brachvogel and others have cost the District
more than $100,000 in attorney’s fees. The District
has reimbursed these fees as provided for by law, and
particularly, RCW 54.16.097.
The District’s overall legal expenses for this calendar
year remain well below average, but significant costs
could have been avoided over the last two years.
The District sincerely hopes that the conclusion
of the PDC’s investigation also brings to an end
the unsubstantiated attacks on the District and Mr.
Brachvogel and allows us all to focus on serving our
ratepayers.
With every challenging situation there is something
positive to look forward to, if we take our time to
look for it. With the recent election now concluded,
we appreciated the interest from both candidate
Loren Sievila and candidate Dena Diamond-Ott to
serve on the Board of Commissioners. We especially
appreciate the larger than normal voter turn out to
help Cowlitz PUD move forward.
Dena Diamond-Ott was selected by the voters and
will be sworn in prior to assuming her office and
beginning her six-year term on January 1, 2015.
She will begin her training at the Washington PUD
Association New Commissioner Orientation on
January 14, 2015.
We also appreciate and thank Commissioner Merritt
‘Buz’ Ketcham for twelve (12)
years of contributions to the
District, including his support for
the infrastructure improvements
that have greatly improved the
capacity and reliability of our
electric system.
The future of Cowlitz PUD
is very exciting. We have a
talented and visionary staff
dedicated to serving public
power and our customers.
I am honored to be part
of our team.
General Manager Don McMaster
Cowlitz PUD - 961 12th Avenue
PO Box 3007 Longview, WA 98632
(360) 423-2210 - Toll Free (800) 631-1131
website: www.cowlitzpud.org
Email: mailbox@cowlitzpud.org