Craig Doesn’t Address the Real Question

 He is comparing “average salary” data with “PUD employee” data. This would only make sense if the types of jobs were the same, with the same level of training and experienced required. This is clearly not the case. He also assumes that salaries make a difference. When 67 percent of the PUD expenditures relate to the purchase of power, depreciation, and taxes there is not a large part that relates to salaries.  The REAL question is: How much do I pay per kilowatt hour? My PUD bill shows I pay 6.49 cents per kilowatt hour. In January, I used 715 kilowatt hours for a charge of $46.40. The national average is 9.83 cents per kilowatt hour and it is 16.41 cents in New York. If I paid the national average, my bill would have been $70.28 and if I had used this amount in New York, my bill would have been $117.33. We are fortunate to live where we have all this rural beauty and still get very cheap electricity with excellent service!

Howard Auble,

Willapa Valley