Submitted by Shelly Timm-Harrison

Okanogan County PUD

OKANOGAN – Due to bitterly cold temperatures, energy demand in Okanogan County hit a record breaking 178 megawatts at 8 a.m. Thursday morning, Jan. 12. This surpassed a previous historic load record of 173 megawatts set in December 2008.

December 2016 shattered previous month high usage records with PUD customers using a total of 82,986 megawatt hours. The previous record was 82,582 megawatts set in December 2008. It is estimated that by the end of this month, January, Okanogan County residents will again break the high usage record that was just set in December.

With load records being broken, customers may notice that their bills are higher than anticipated. These high bills are not due to rate increases, but by customers’ personal energy usage. The approved 2017 Okanogan PUD budget does not include an electric rate increase.

To monitor personal energy usage, sign up with the District’s new online system SmartHub. SmartHub outlines energy usage in graphs and includes a free app for your smartphone or tablet, which enables you to view energy usage and pay your bill at any time. Furthermore, SmartHub provides 24-hour access to customer accounts and displays current and historical energy usage, billing information and payment history. SmartHub lets you manage all aspects of your utility account online or with your mobile device. A link is available on our website at www.okanoganpud.org.

Customers can visit www.energy.gov for valuable winter energy savings during these cold time.