Commissioners seek review of electrical-service permit processing after complaints

Commissioners raised constituent complaints about delays in permit processing for electrical-service upgrades and asked staff to review the cause. A commissioner asked staff to "look at that and figure out why" a permit that used to be over-the-counter now takes longer; staff said some reviews are quick but others require coordination with Pacific Power or a building-inspector site check.

Staff said many simple service changes are processed the same day by building if the planning side has no issues, though complexity can extend turnaround to a few days or a week when engineered plans or transformer work is involved. The building-side staff described the normal practice of doing a field check and issuing a green tag when work is compliant and noted Pacific Power determines line and transformer capacity that drives some timing.

Board direction years earlier changed some over-the-counter approvals because of safety and site issues; commissioners asked staff to revisit whether the current practice could be simplified where appropriate to reduce time and cost for residents.