More than a dozen Snohomish County PUD customers called the utility to complain Wednesday after it was announced that business customers will receive refunds due to the 2000-2001 West Coast energy crisis settlement, but residential customers will not.
The $40 million settlement stems from an agreement the state reached with three energy marketers accused of running up electricity prices during the energy shortage.
The state Attorney General’s Office decided to issue more than $10 million in refunds to business owners in the state, including $1.6 million to businesses in Snohomish County. The decision on refunds came at the recommendation of a panel of business owners, energy experts and politicians, said senior assistant attorney general Tina Kondo.
Kondo said there was enough money to at least give some of the larger businesses a substantial refund.
That wasn’t the case with residential customers, who were due to get $12 million back statewide, with $3 million of that going to Snohomish County. Last year, the Attorney General’s Office asked the Seattle Foundation to find a fair way to divvy up the money to residential customers.
The foundation decided last fall to spend the money helping low- to moderate-income families pay their electricity bills and to help all residents make their homes more energy-efficient, since each residential customer would only get a few dollars if the money was refunded in cash allotments.
The PUD, the Snohomish County Energy Assistance Office and the Salvation Army applied for a grant to serve Snohomish County residents. In the end, the county was allocated $3 million, which was more than it had asked for.
The $1.6 million refunded to businesses is based on how much electricity each used in 2003, which means the largest energy user in the county, Kimberly-Clark pulp and paper mill in Everett, will get more than $100,000, while others will get only a few cents.
The PUD had no say in how the business or residential refunds were divvied up, said Julee Cunningham, a PUD spokeswoman.
“We didn’t have one single choice as to how we can allocate these funds,” Cunningham said.
Still, she said the PUD was happy that Snohomish County’s refunds for both businesses and homes were both among the highest in the state.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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