Clark Public Utilities, Pend Oreille Public Utility District Enter Hydro Power Sales Agreement

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
November 29, 2022

Clark Public Utilities and the Pend Oreille Public Utility District (PUD) have entered into a long-term power sales agreement under which Pend Oreille PUD will sell all energy produced by the Box Canyon hydroelectric project in Washington State to Clark Public Utilities from Jan. 1, 2026, through December 2041, with contract extensions available under mutual agreement.

The Clark Public Utilities Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 16-year power sales agreement on Oct. 18 following unanimous approval by Pend Oreille PUD’s Board of Commissioners on Oct. 4. Clark Public Utilities and Pend Oreille PUD are both located in Washington State.

The agreement “reflects a long tradition of collaboration and cooperation among the state’s customer-owned public utility districts to deliver reliable, responsible power to the local communities served, and is a critical piece of Clark Public Utilities’ strategy to meet state-mandated emissions reduction targets ahead of schedule,” the public power utilities said.

The Box Canyon Dam averages approximately 50 megawatts of generation annually.

Clark Public Utilities will pay the forecasted dam costs and debt service payments associated with the power plant modernization and the environmental mitigation modifications made by Pend Oreille PUD over the last decade.

The contract secures a stable, long-term customer for Pend Oreille PUD, which, since 2019 has undertaken a multi-phase remarketing effort of its energy supply, both in anticipation of and following the closure of the Ponderay Newsprint Company, which represented about 70 percent of the utility’s historical load.