PORT ANGELES — Clallam County PUD District 3 candidates differed on local energy production and how to reduce energy costs during a candidate forum.
At the Port Angeles Business Association meeting at Joshua’s Restaurant on Tuesday, appointed board member Phyllis Bernard and challenger Ken Simpson agreed on the importance of hydropower.
Bernard, who was appointed in May to fill an open seat left by the death of Jim Waddell, has a legal background, spent 16 years on the board of directors of Southwest Power Pool Inc. and is a commissioner for the Olympic Medical Center board.
“I turned my life upside down, inside out to be here,” she said.
Simpson has spent 34 years as an electrician and contractor and is the vice president of Angeles Electric.
“I’m not interested in running for anything other than Clallam County PUD, and I’ve been training for it the bulk of my adult life,” he said.
They will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
Much of the candidates’ conversation revolved around local electricity generation and what to do in the event of a large natural disaster.
Clallam County PUD electricity is made up of about 86 percent hydropower, 11 percent nuclear and a 3 percent a mix of other sources.
The PUD gets most of its electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which, in turn, generates a majority of its power from dams on the federal Columbia River Power System.
Both candidates expressed their support for hydropower, which Simpson said is the “cleanest energy we’re going to get.”
“We have the cleanest, cheapest power in the country, and my purpose here is to make sure we keep providing you that clean, economical power, whatever the cost,” he said.
Bernard said she was worried that very little electricity is locally produced. She described BPA as an extension cord that is piping electricity into the area.
The PUD should have the ability to generate its own electricity in an emergency situation, she said, so that “we get off the extension cord with Bonneville.”
Bernard discussed the potential to use electricity from coastal currents and tides, which is currently being researched by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim.
She said PUD customers also should be educated and encouraged to generate their own renewable energy.
“I am a great one for independence and for people to be able to do their own solutions, with our support,” she said.
Simpson agreed that the PUD is tied to the BPA, but he didn’t think it was a problem.
“We want to be tied to Bonneville, we are tied to Bonneville, and that’s where we want to stay,” he said.
Candidates also addressed strategies to lower electricity costs for consumers.
Simpson said the PUD should focus on keeping rates low and offering reliable electricity. If he was a commissioner, he said he would lower electricity costs by pursuing targeted grants such as those offered through the state Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Bernard said she was doubtful about grants being a solution to long-term financial struggles.
“Grants exist so long as you have grant money,” Bernard said. “I don’t believe grants are a lasting solution to anything.”
Bernard said she would unpack base rates, examine whether rates are progressive, and focus on helping households that don’t qualify for low-income assistance but can’t afford high electricity costs.
“I do not want a person’s utility bill to be a part of why someone is homeless or on the edge of it,” Bernard said.
If she gets elected, Bernard said she is “interested and committed to being the best for you as I possibly can.”
Simpson said his local background would help him as a commissioner.
“The decisions that need to be made, that count, are all local decisions. I have the local background here,” he said. “You can bet that I’m accountable to you every day.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
