CommunityLink Local news Top Stories Sports Features Business Opinion Obituaries Weather News of record News archives Recreation Golf Hiking, Etc. It is growing more obvious that if rising electric rates make you nervous, the best place in the West to live is somewhere in the central part of Washington state. Somewhere around here. But the situation is precarious, to say the least. With the wholesale power market sky high it wouldn't take more than a momentary shortage of local power to wipe out whatever advantage we have.
Cash reserves can disappear at the flip of a switch.
That price is high enough to make prudent people turn pale. But we are experiencing an odd era when such belching can seem like a prudent activity. The generators will delay the day when the PUD has to purchase power on the open market. The extra energy can be sold to build reserves to help us brace for that rainy day. The PUD will spend tens of millions of dollars to make electricity with diesel, while simultaneously spending tens of millions to bring its dams in line with environmental rules, most of which will reduce power output.