Kyle Roadman, EPUD General Manager
Happy Fall Emerald Customer-Owners,
Each year as the leaves begin to turn color and kids head back to school, EPUD goes through our own annual ritual by constructing a budget for the upcoming year. True to form, last week we published the 2026 Budget Proposal, which you can find at the link below:
In all honesty, this was one of the more difficult budgets we’ve had to put together in my time as General Manager. Major headwinds include:
- Substantial increases in what we pay the Bonneville Power Administration for our wholesale power (+10%) and transmission (+20%)
- Years of inflation within our industry have raised our costs across both labor and non-labor categories
- Lack of clarity on our FEMA claim for the 2024 ice storm is forcing us to make alternative plans to rebuild our cash reserves.
Although we’ve worked hard to hold the line in other areas of the budget, we still find ourselves needing to pass along at least a portion of these costs to customers. Accordingly, our budget proposal assumes a 6.0% retail rate increase beginning on April 1, 2026.
The great thing about a customer-owned, not-for-profit utility is that you all have a say in where the final version of the budget ends up. Our staff will be presenting the rationale for this proposal in upcoming Board meetings, as well as in a meeting of our customer-led Finance and Rates Committee. A schedule of important dates includes:
- October 7, 3:00 PM
Initial Board Review
EPUD Headquarters or Online - October 14, 5:30 PM
Finance and Rates Committee Review
EPUD Headquarters or Online - October 21, 3:00 PM
Finance and Rates Committee Recommendation
Additional Board Review
EPUD Headquarters or Online - October 21, 5:30 PM
Public Hearing
EPUD Headquarters or Online - November 18, 3:00 PM
Additional Board Discussion and Vote
EPUD Headquarters or Online
All customers are welcome to join us at these meetings and offer comment on the budget proposal. You can also reach out directly to me by email at kyle@epud.org and I will be sure to pass your feedback to our Board.
Finally, it’s worth noting that even with this 6.0% rate increase, EPUD would remain the second lowest electrical provider (of six) in the local area:
Although this is helpful context, I want you to know that we don’t look at this as our north star. We fully understand that any rate increase is hard for customers and we always start from the position of trying to minimize impacts to customers.
I invite you to participate in our budget process this year and let us know how we’re doing on this front.
Please stay safe,
