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Low-Income Senior Pilot Program
Qualified Lewis County PUD customers may now receive a reduced or zero daily Service Charge, based on their total annual household income, family size, and the age of the account holder.
Our PUD Board of Commissioners passed the resolution in May that created the Low-Income Senior Pilot Program and it went into effect June 15.
To apply, contact Community Action Council at 360- 736-1800 to schedule an appointment.
Only one discount per customer is allowed and will be applied to the account holder’s residence. The discount will go into effect on the first day of the customer’s next billing period after the application has been processed and will continue for 24 months.
An application, income verification, and age verification are required every two years, or upon request of the PUD, to receive the monthly discount. If your income declines within the two-year period, please contact us to determine if you are eligible for a higher discount.
ELIGIBILITY
Age
Customer, account holder, must be at least 62 years of age.
Low Income Qualification
TOTAL ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME, from all sources, must be equal to or less than 225% of the Federally Established Poverty Guidelines.
| 2023
Size of Family |
Reduced Daily Service Charge ($0.48/ day)
Up to 225% of Poverty Level |
Zero Daily Service Charge ($0.00/day)
Up to 150% of Poverty Level |
| 1 | $32,805 | $21,870 |
| 2 | $44,370 | $29,580 |
| 3 | $55,935 | $37,290 |
| 4 | $67,500 | $45,000 |
| 5 | $79,065 | $52,710 |
| 6 | $90,630 | $60,420 |
| 7 | $102,195 | $68,130 |
| 8 | $113,760 | $75,840 |
Coming Soon – AMI
Your PUD is constantly upgrading and improving its electrical distribution system to provide our ratepayers with the best and most reliable service available.
The Meter Refresh Program is the next way we are improving our system by moving to Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI. This means new meters will be coming to everyone throughout our service area.
AMI will allow us to save money by reading the meters remotely. It will improve outage restoration times by sending alerts when you are out of power, and more accurately pinpoint the problem area for our crews.
AMI will give customers the chance to sign up for energy alerts to let them know when energy use is greater than what they budgeted. This can help you detect if there is an issue with an appliance or equipment such as a hot water heater or a heat pump.
You’ll be able to see your daily energy-use information, which helps you make more informed energy-related decisions. Knowing when you use the most electricity, and finding ways to reduce consumption, can help you reduce costs.
The new meters also provide efficiencies for the PUD, creating cost savings that can help stabilize rates.
There is no additional cost to the customer for the replacement meter.
To learn more about the Meter Refresh Program visit LCPUD.org.
Kids Fishing Derby
Our 28th annual Kids Fishing Derby at the Cowlitz Falls Day Use Park was a great time!
Thank you so much to all who volunteered to make it such a great event including Joe First, Laura Wolfe, David Hood, Cyle Coleman, Shaylee Peters, David Martinez, and Stacy Davis.
Thanks also to non-PUD volunteers Teresa Fryer and Evan Wolfe who helped out as well and the Forest Service which came by and donated a lot of fishing poles for the kids!
PUD Awarded Grants
The PUD was recently awarded an $11,958,421 grant from the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) to bring fiber optic broadband to the Bunker Creek service zones, which includes the Ceres and Crego Hill areas.
The PUD was also awarded a $24,200,086 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bring fiber optic broadband to the Glenoma, Randle, and Packwood service zones.
These projects will bring broadband to over 4,850 residential and commercial customers in these rural, broadband-unserved communities in Lewis County.
“These are exciting steps on our way to providing broadband to underserved communities in our District,” said PUD General Manager David Plotz. “Thanks to the leadership of our Board and the professional acumen of PUD staff and our regional partners, we are working toward solving this issue and we are grateful WSBO and USDA has partnered with us.”
The PUD will operate this infrastructure as an open access network, from which internet service providers will offer service to residential and commercial customers.
“The high costs of deploying broadband infrastructure have made it difficult for internet service providers to offer reliable and affordable broadband internet to rural areas,” said the PUD’s regional partner Northwest Open Access Network’s (NoaNet) Senior Executive Director of Infrastructure Strategy, Chris Walker. “However, through these broadband funding grants and the leadership provided by Lewis County PUD we are addressing these issues and solving real problems.”
Both projects are planned to commence construction in late 2024.
