Whidbey PUD proposal worth a listen

A small sampling of islanders is playing the role of Jack against the giant Puget Sound Energy as they attempt to convince voters to create a Whidbey Island Public Utility District to take over electrical distribution.

It’s always fun to root for the underdog, and this case is no exception. But rooting is one thing; buying into a proposal that will cost ratepayers a ton of money is another. With proponents of the Whidbey PUD facing a July 4 deadline to gather enough signatures to put the proposal on the November ballot, they have a lot of explaining to do in a hurry.

Primarily, voters, who are also ratepayers, have to be convinced that publicly purchasing the Puget Sound Energy infrastructure in the island will ultimately provide better electrical service at a lower cost under local management. PSE is in the midst of trying to sell itself to foreign investors, which is what prompted the PUD movement not only on Whidbey, but in Skagit County as well.

In its earlier incarnation as Puget Power, PSE was generally well liked on Whidbey Island. It kept its local service centers in Oak Harbor and Freeland fully staffed and equipped with their own vehicles to quickly respond to emergency power outages. Islanders living in the cold and dark knew who to call for power updates, and in many cases they knew the Puget Power employees personally. It was more of a family operation, well supported by the community.

But since PSE went corporate a few years back, its public relations have soured. Local service centers were closed and local line crews were eliminated. Residents were given a 1-800 number to call when the power went out, and only get the barest information if they are lucky enough to reach a PSE representative in person. Generally, it’s only a recording. Emergency line crews are called in from outside the area.

Meanwhile, PSE continually has rate hike proposals in the works, always wanting to charge more for poorer service.

Energy production and distribution is a very complex issue, and it says something about the level of frustration in PSE territory that so many people are willing to get involved in the PUD effort. If service from Bellevue is already bad, we can only expect worse if foreign investors take over.

PSE suffered a setback last week when the state Attorney General’s office recommended against the $7.4 billion sale, saying it’s not in the public interest. In a nutshell, PSE executives would profit handsomely, while the ratepayers would have to pay off more debt accrued by the purchaser. But that doesn’t mean the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission won’t ultimately approve the sale.

Meanwhile, the PUD movement has the benefit of public sympathy, but it will take a lot more than that to get the public’s support. Produce some hard, reliable numbers on costs and some solid projections of the benefits.

Even if the numbers are verifiable and look good, creation of a PUD on Whidbey Island will be a hard sell. But we’d like to see it get on the ballot if for no other reason than to make PSE uncomfortable, and therefore more responsive to the community.

Beach access top priority

Island County officials erred in not preventing a Greenbank property owner from building a wall that will preclude public access to Holmes Harbor in the Greenbank area.

Most people knowledgeable about the dispute agree ownership of the beach access land is in doubt. However, the public has been using the property at the end of Wonn Road for many years. Now, it has been purchased by someone who wants to keep the public out, and decided to build a wall to do just that.

The property owner has his own legitimate reasons for wanting to protect his septic drainfield and his property rights. But first, the county should have required clear title to the property before a wall is built on dispute property. Instead, the county agreed to allow the wall to be built, with the stipulation that it might have to be torn down later if the legal process eventually rules against the property owner.

County employees should remember who’s paying their salaries, and whose rights they should be protecting. And that is the vast majority of the people in the county, not one individual involved in a property dispute. The traditional public access should have been kept open until legal issues are resolved.

The bigger picture is that in vast areas of Island County there is simply not enough beach access open to the public. The county should do more to acquire access, which should be a big campaign issue in this election year.

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