To cut expenses, the Okanogan County PUD will make changes to its Omak office location, beginning March 1.

As of March 1, the office will no longer be staffed on Fridays.

As of April 1, the office will no longer be staffed permanently. The drop box will still be available, and will be checked daily.

Staff and commissioners considered several ways to cut expenses and avoid higher rate increases for the 2020 budget year. Customer service already had one open position, making staffing for all six offices difficult. The decision was made not to hire that open position and no longer staff the Omak location, saving about $84,000 per year. The location will still house a network center.

Customers still have several options for paying their bills and getting services from the PUD. They can use the drop box, call the PUD’s pay-by-phone number, or use the free SmartHub program. SmartHub can be used either online or through an app on a smartphone for both bill pay and monitoring power usage. Customers in need of additional assistance can also travel 3.3 miles to the Okanogan office.