This spring, utility customers for Clallam Public Utility District 1 will see continued rate increases following multi-year utility plans and increased costs for electricity, materials, infrastructure, and staffing.
Sizable utility projects are also planned in the Sequim area along with continued planning for a new Port Angeles Operations Center where a portion of the electricity rate increase will help with the project’s debt service.
Starting April 1, the new electric rate for the PUD’s nearly 37,000 metered customers will bring rates up 3.75%. It will increase again on April 1, 2027 by 3.75% following a two year plan approved by the PUD’s board of commissioners in September last year.
According to a letter signed by commissioners and PUD General Manager Sean Worthington, the 3.75% increase includes 1.75% going to operations, 1% to the new warehouse’s debt service, and 1% for capital project plans.
Staff reported to the Peninsula Daily News in November that the average customer using 1,300 kilowatt hours a month would see an average monthly increase of about $5.64.
Along with the increased electricity rates, new water and wastewater rates, now in the middle of a plan going through 2028, will go into effect on March 1. Water rates will increase by 4.75% for nearly 4,800 customers, and 9% for about 90 wastewater customers.
Commissioners finalized the district’s 2026 budget on Nov. 10 after staff reported the Electric Cost of Service Analysis (COSA) at multiple board meetings in the fall.
The PUD’s outflow electric budget is about $96.8 million; the water outflow budget at about $12.4 million; and the wastewater outflow budget at about $204,000.
Worthington wrote in an email that the district “works diligently to mitigate rate increases; however, we are not immune to cost escalation across multiple areas of operation,” including materials rising as much as 30%.
He said power procurement through Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which constitutes about 45% of the PUD’s electric utility’s costs, continues to increase.
According to the district’s budget packet, purchased power will go up by $1.8 million this year following the BPA’s transmission rate increasing from 2026-2028 by 19.9% and power rates by 6.5% while the PUD’s load levels remain flat.
Worthington wrote in an email that to reduce costs to consumers, staffers have emphasized cost control and long-term financial sustainability rather than short-term reductions.
“This includes disciplined budgeting, multi-year financial and capital planning, prioritization of projects based on safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance, and ongoing review of operating expenses to identify efficiencies,” he wrote.
PUD staff have also “taken an aggressive posture toward pursuing grant funding, with an emphasis on four primary community impact areas – grid hardening and resiliency, highly impacted communities, system reliability, and wildfire mitigation,” he said.
From 2023-2025, the district has been awarded about $43 million in grant funding for projects that Worthington said would have been taken on by ratepayers.
“We are proud of the work being done in this area, and our employees remain dedicated to serving the customers of Clallam PUD responsibly and transparently,” he wrote.
Utility assistance
The PUD continues to offer a Low Income Energy Assistance Program with applications at https://www.clallampud.net/low-income-energy-assistance-program/. Call (360) 452-9771 for assistance.
Image courtesy Clallam County PUD/ Nearly 37,000 metered customers of Clallam County PUD will see electricity rates go up 3.75% on April 1. The rate will increase again on April 1, 2027 by 3.75% following a two year plan approved by the PUD’s board of commissioners in September last year.
Staffing levels
According to the PUD’s budget book, personnel costs are projected to increase by 5% ($1.43 million) over 2025’s staffing levels to slightly less than $30 million. The increases are attributed to rising insurance premiums, and the district adding new positions, such as 10 summer interns and two student brush cutters. Staffing full-time equivalents (FTEs) will go from 170 to 180.
To offset some of the increased costs, administrators announced a reduction in Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) contribution rates from 10% to 6% contributions, according to the budget book.
Capital Projects
Worthington wrote that the PUD has significant planned investments in the Sequim area for both water and electric infrastructure in its 10-year planning horizon focused on maintaining reliability, addressing aging infrastructure, and meeting regulatory requirements.
Assistant General Manager Shailesh Shere wrote in an email that last year the PUD received approximately $2.5 million for grid hardening projects, $2.1 million for fire prevention projects, $2.1 million for underground projects, and $2.6 million for utility pole management projects.
Shere wrote that they’re prioritizing grant-funded projects to maximize reimbursement, such as replacing several end of life distribution poles and structures (i.e. cross arms, anchors), and underground infrastructure replacements (i.e. direct buried cross link polyethylene cable replaced with ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) cable in a conduit and J-boxes, junctions, elbow connectors and terminators).
Also of note, all scheduled transmission projects’ infrastructure is being upgraded to fiberglass construction to build wildfire resilience, he added.
Some of the capital projects in Sequim include:
• Diamond Point Undergrounding Phase II (budgeted cost $900,000)
This is the second and final phase to place more than 6,000 feet of wire underground to eliminate tree-related outages, reduce wildfire risk, and improve voltage and capacity along Diamond Point Road.
•Washington Street to Port Williams Transmission/Distribution Rebuild ($910,000)
This project will replace 29 transmission and distribution poles and a few span guy poles from the intersection of North Brown Road and East Washington Street weaving north along East Cedar Street to the old Sequim substation along an alley and going north to Port Williams Road and west to the Port Williams Road and North Sequim Avenue intersection.
• Gunstone Transmission ($270,000)
Replace 30 transmission poles between Blyn Substation and Discovery Bay.
• Breaker replacements in Sequim ($125,000)
Substation breakers in Evergreen and Dungeness Substations will be replaced.
As for the Port Angeles Operations Center in 2026, just under $2.8 million has been budgeted for design scope.
In the letter from commissioners and Worthington, they wrote that it “isn’t just about a building. It’s about ensuring that your PUD has the tools, facilities, and resiliency to serve you well, today and for the next 50 plus years.”
The building, constructed in the 1960s and on leased land, houses line crew, tree-trimming operations, an auto shop, and facilities workers.
Commissioners wrote that the warehouse is outdated, undersized, and ill-suited for modern demands of operating an electric and water utility. The PUD plans to build near its current building and Fairchild International Airport.
In a previous Peninsula Daily News story, Worthington said they hope to start construction by the end of this year, but more than likely start next year and tentatively ready by the end of 2027. He said it was too soon for an exact budget but staff estimate it to be between $30 million and $40 million.
Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash/ Clallam PUD staff plan to place about 6,200 feet of electric wire underground along Diamond Point Road, pictured here in 2024 with Debbie Long placing ornaments prior to Christmas. The $900,000 project would eliminate tree-related outages, reduce wildfire risk, and improve voltage and capacity along Diamond Point Road, according to PUD staff.
