Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell

Back in February of 2009, I posted a piece about Seattle City Light’s ongoing negotiations with Pend Oreille County over the amount the Utility should pay Pend Oreille County for the impact of City Light’s Boundary Dam there. Boundary Dam accounts for approximately 50 percent of the electricity used by City Light Customers. After more than a year of negotiation, an agreement has still not been reached. Legislation was introduced in Olympia that we believed would not have been favorable to City Light or its customers. It called for City Light to pay Pend Oreille County 7 percent of the Utility tax that City Light pays annually to the City of Seattle, which would have amounted to $2.3 million. This is significantly higher than the $1.4 million City Light has paid annually for the last 10 years to Pend Oreille County.

I, along with representatives from the Office of Intergovernmental Relations and City Light, reached out to elected officials in Olympia to make sure that the Bill did not pass as introduced. We were successful. The approved bill specifies that City Light pay Pend Oreille County based on the previous contract when an agreement cannot be reached regarding what the new impact fee should be. The bill also specifies that arbitration can be initiated by either City Light or Pend Oreille County. This was not in the old agreement.

While it is always preferable to settle disputes amicably, arbitration may be the next step if a fair settlement is not reached. Our goal remains to protect you, as ratepayers from unreasonable costs and, at the same time, be fair to the residents of Pend Oreille County.