Every home, small business and school runs on electricity. So when the price of electricity rises, the impact is felt by all.
During its bi-monthly Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 2, the Snohomish Public Utilities Department made the decision to raise the electric rate for 2026 by 2.5%, due to “rising costs of materials.”
Going into effect on April 1, the decision “includes a modest rate increase for all customer classes,” according to a PUD press release. They said that it is 0.5% less than in the original plan.
Residential customers, meaning homeowners and those renting, will see an increase of $3.22 per month ($38.64 per year). Small businesses will pay approximately $4.55 per month ($54.60 per year) extra on their bills.
Everett Community College is a part of the small business category. The EvCC 2014 Facilities Master Plan states that “all EvCC buildings are connected to the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) electrical grid.” The PUD also provides “water and sewer service to the campus.” This plan includes different project objectives ranging from five to 20 years.
As for the buildings here on campus, Chris Carson, the Associate Vice President of Campus Operations, said the PUD provides “the electricity for a majority of them, if not all of them.”
As for what this means for EvCC, and what is being done in response, Patrick Snowden, the Resource Conservation Manager, provided those answers.
Snowden began his work in the Facilities Department, managing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing for the college. He then moved up to become the Facilities Manager for around eight years. The past couple of years, Snowden’s new position has been in the Sustainability Department.
His main focus: Energy efficiency.
Snowden said that after the previous manager suddenly left, things fell apart in that department. “I’m helping to revitalize that … help get our sustainability efforts up, but my big role is dealing with our energy use.”
As for the increased electric rate, “it’s going to affect us pretty harshly … and any business that uses a lot of electricity,” Snowden said.
“We have a Strategic Accounts group that works closely and communicates directly with schools and other large businesses to help them plan for rate increases,” Erica Keene, a Snohomish PUD spokesperson, said in an email.
Snowden pointed out the PUD’s decision was made in December, halfway through EvCC’s fiscal year, which is from July 1 to June 30. The school’s budget decisions are made between January and February, but are for the following year.
What this means is that whatever budget decisions were made last year, can not be adjusted for the upcoming rate increase in April. It’s too early to tell, Snowden said, but it will all depend on how much energy is used in this season. Costs are higher during colder seasons, because more natural gas and electricity is used.
Snowden said that some efforts have already been made for quite some time to alleviate costs, and won’t affect students directly.
Lights are turned off at night in any buildings that don’t have classes late into the evening. The same goes for the ventilation and heating. Night classes are placed in three buildings to reduce costs: Gray Wolf Hall, Whitehorse Hall and Shuksan Hall.
“That’s one of the big strategies we’ve been doing,” Snowden said, “and that’s saved us quite a bit of money.”
Not only did EvCC save a lot of money with these actions, but it also provided the school with money. Snowden said the school was given a rebate check of $9,000 from the PUD last year because of their efficiency efforts and he “was able to secure a really big grant from the Washington Department of Commerce.”
This grant will help with the upcoming installation of solar panels on Shuksan Hall, sometime between February and March. It’s supposed to provide 160,000 kilowatt hours per year in energy output to Shuksan Hall. That’s the equivalent to 1,000 homes in Washington per year.
This building was picked not only for its ideal position and roof structure, but because it also houses the school’s internet servers. Currently, Shuksan Hall uses a back-up diesel generator in case of a power outage. The plan is for the solar panels to assist in keeping the batteries charged as a contingency.
The main reason Snowden and his conservation team have been so focused on cutting back on costs is because of the Clean Buildings Act. “Buildings that are 20,000 square feet or above have to meet…special energy targets,” Snowden said. “My main work right now is making sure the campus complies with the Clean Building Act.”
Hopefully this effort will also offset any increased costs for EvCC, that will come from the increased electricity rate.
While EvCC makes an effort in cutting energy costs, students can make an effort as well in their own homes.
The PUD, having raised energy rates in the past, has recognized that people need ways to save on their electricity bills.
Here are a few of them: turn off lights in unoccupied rooms; take advantage of natural light during the day; turn off computers and unplug chargers; and use your microwave instead of your oven when possible.
By taking these simple steps, before April rolls around, both EvCC and its students will be better prepared. These higher costs will give everyone a chance to rethink their energy consumption, and attempt to save money.
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