West Richland Complex Information & Comments Form
In 2021, Benton REA purchased 17 acres of land for future development. The land is located in West Richland on Cooperative Way, just off Keene Road.
Aging facilities require improvements in both West Richland and Prosser.
- Increase costs to address maintenance and repair issues
- Current HVAC failing - increased frequency of service calls and cost
- Electrical issues causing internal loss of power, overloading circuits
- Run down facilities due to age and increased traffic
All members benefit from future property improvements.
- West Richland complex results in several properties in Prosser and West Richland that are surplus and can be sold
- District office and crew will remain in the Prosser area to serve members closer to it
- Will consolidate district office facilities and eliminate crews stopping at 2-4 locations to get material before they leave for the outage or job site
- Operational efficiencies result in more work time, faster response time = better service
- Improves service to everyone, not just those closer to West Richland
All comments will be posted on this site for members to view. Please refrain from using profane language. All comments will be reviewed for such language prior to posting.
I oppose the new facility and want you to sell the land that was acquired in 2021 and use that money to upgrade the current facilities.
This is not CA and Benton REA is not PGE, this is WA and Benton REA is a Rural Electric Group.
Fancy new buildings won't do anything but increase the rates most of us pay for power and make your customers lives more difficult at a time when inflation has many of us on our knees just trying to put food on the table each day. Honestly, your timing is incredibly inappropriate and I'm wondering where your heads are at.
We will look at the new building on Cooperative Way every time we pass it on the way to Queensgate and say to ourselves, that is why my electric bill is sky high now. To support this increase in my electric rates I would need to see a payback plan with a definite end and a plan to cut staff once the building is complete and efficiencies lead to less work for a leaner and more efficient workforce. Also, maybe wait until the economy is in better shape and your customers aren't struggling to feed themselves and their families.