The Okanogan County PUD engineering department recapped their 2021 activities at the Jan. 24 board meeting, highlighting outage statistics and projects.

Chief Engineer Dan Simpson shared outage statistics for 2021, with a total of 360 outages. The average length of the outages (SAIDI) was 154 minutes, almost the same as 2020. The average frequency for customers to experience an outage over the year (SAIFI) was 1.01 – the national average is 0.96. The average time required to restore service (CAIDI) was 177 minutes, which is above the national average (102 minutes) because of the distance that Okanogan PUD line crews have to travel.

Simpson also said that staff completed substation repairs in both Oroville and Tonasket, and replaced four power transformers, two each at Oroville and Omak. This year, Okanogan will get two new substation power transformers and Tonasket’s substation will begin to see major upgrades, including two new transformers replacing one older unit.

Engineering Manager Allen Allie said the crews handled 526 electric and 61 telecom work orders in 2021, an increasing number in the last few years. Supply chain issues and high demand for equipment have made it difficult for the PUD to keep certain items in stock, so some work orders have had to be prioritized or rescheduled.

In other business during their January meetings, the board:

• Heard from several staff members who attended a regional wildfire meeting, who shared that many of the PUD’s longtime programs to reduce wildfire risk, such as the annual tree trimming program, were identified as key strategies. With insurance concerns, the PUD continues to look over its policies and examines options for reducing wildfire risk on its system.
• Approved the 2022 tree trimming program contract with Asplundh Tree Expert Co., not to exceed $800,000. The schedule for the year and additional information is posted on the PUD Tree Trimming page.
• Approved the repayment of the rate stabilization fund with about $1.4 million transferred this month, bringing the total of the fund back up to its $6 million target.