Resource adequacy is a term that has gained more attention in the electric industry recently, but for Franklin PUD it has been a core focus for decades. It serves as a vital measure of grid reliability and answers this question: “Does our power system have enough generating capacity and reserves to prevent outages even when equipment fails or demand spikes?”

Our electric system plan is reviewed and updated frequently to help us determine what infrastructure to build and which technologies to add to keep the power on reliably for our customers.

Unprecedented growth

At Franklin PUD, our mission is simple: To keep the lights on at the lowest cost possible for our customers without compromising safety and reliability. Procuring the resources we need to fulfill this mission is a challenge that grows each year, as our service territory continues to face unprecedented growth.

Over the past 10 years, our load growth has increased by approximately 6 average megawatts. To put that into perspective, based on estimates from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 6 average MW is enough energy to power roughly 4,800 Northwest homes for a year.

Franklin PUD is a not-for-profit consumer-owned utility. We work hard to balance our budget to keep costs low. Out of every dollar received, 64 cents is allocated to the power supply; 11 cents is for taxes and our debt service; and the remaining 25 cents is used for capital investment, operations and maintenance. You can see that power supply is, by far, our largest expense with no relief in sight.   

Keeping up with the growing need for power isn’t just about building new resources; it’s the tougher job of ensuring that electricity is there for everyone during the moments that matter most, like when a heat wave hits or a cold snap arrives. 

New power resources

We have been proactively acquiring new power resources. This year, we added 97 MW of nameplate capacity from the Wheat Field Wind Power Project into our resource mix. The Palouse Junction Solar project, being developed in partnership with OneEnergy, will be located in the city of Connell and will produce 10 MW of solar energy once completed in 2027. This project will connect to our Blanton Road Substation and will help meet the local area’s electricity needs.

Franklin PUD is seeking to install a 25 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) just north of our existing Railroad Avenue Substation. This strategic addition will strengthen our energy portfolio by increasing local storage capacity and reducing reliance on open market energy purchases. Over time, this investment is expected to deliver substantial cost savings for Franklin PUD ratepayers while enhancing energy reliability and operational flexibility.

We are also looking to add approximately 33 MW of nameplate solar capacity in 2026 through participation in Energy Northwest’s Ruby Flats Solar Project. This year alone, changes in grant funding requirements and increases on import tariffs are making projects such as this one less feasible.

Reliability of hydro

Although acquiring these intermittent resources will help us continue to meet our customers’ growing energy demands, they do not replace the value and reliability of our baseload resources such as hydropower, which makes up roughly 71% of our resource mix.

Baseload resources provide a steady, predictable minimum level of power 24/7, while intermittent resources generate electricity only when natural factors like the sun or wind are available.

Our peak demand occurs during summer months due to a combination of heat (air conditioners running) and irrigation usage (watering crop fields). Likewise, in the winter, our load increases when customers use more lighting due to shorter days and heating because of the cold temperatures.

One of the greatest strengths of hydropower is its ability to support intermittent resources which have fluctuating electricity output. Hydroelectric dams act as a natural energy storage system by holding water when solar and wind power are abundant and releasing it when more electricity is needed. Hydropower is a vital resource that we must continue to have if we want to be able to meet consumer energy demands.

Acquiring additional resources is only part of the equation of providing energy to everyone at all times, the other piece consists of maintaining a reliable infrastructure to do so.

Additional transmission line

We are in the process of planning a third transmission line at our newest substation, Railroad Avenue. This project will tap another Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission line to establish a third 115 kV transmission source for Pasco.

At approximately 1.5 miles long, it will add 20 new transmission structures to significantly improve system reliability by providing redundancy to Franklin PUD’s existing transmission infrastructure.

Infrastructure updates

In the mid-90s we began proactively replacing underground cable. We observed increased failure rates in cross-linked polyethylene underground cable that was installed up to the early 2000s. This particular type of cable is prone to “treeing” which causes micro cracks in the cable’s insulation leading to the cable failing much faster than its anticipated life cycle. Replacing this type of underground cable is critical to maintaining the reliability of our system.

Our infrastructure improvements are critical for the reliability necessary to support accelerating demand. This demand is fueled not only by population growth but also by the significant impact of electrification initiatives, the rise of data centers and the many requirements imposed by state policy to reduce carbon emissions. Particularly, Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) requires all utilities to transition to a clean electricity supply by 2045, with an interim goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2030.

These statutory requirements, coupled with robust commercial and industrial expansion in sectors like manufacturing and construction in Franklin County, require a calculated and proactive resource acquisition strategy.

We will continue to monitor emerging technologies, including geothermal, hydrogen and small modular nuclear reactors as possible future energy sources.

We remain committed to our mission, securing the necessary resources, and maintaining the infrastructure required to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to every customer today and well into the future.

Victor Fuentes is the general manager/CEO of Franklin PUD.