JN and DBE Adjacent Areas
In the last two years we’ve built 200 miles of PUD fiber to 1200 homes between Quilcene and Gardiner. And, as of October 1st, we began construction on the next hundred miles for our Jefferson North (JN) and Discovery Bay East (DBE) grant funded fiber projects.
At this time, however, we are pausing construction to customers in our designated Adjacent Areas (in yellow on the map below) until late 2026.
When we began our project planning years ago, the areas we designated as “adjacent” were not eligible for state or federal funding. That changed in 2024. And as of last month, we were provisionally awarded a new, $6.4M grant to cover all construction costs for our Adjacent Areas next to JN and DBE and several other areas not included in prior awards.
I know that you have been waiting a long time for quality internet. I also know many of you would be happy to pay rather than wait. However, the PUD cannot pass up this opportunity to gain full funding for construction. The $750 construction charge we offered to customers in Adjacent areas only covers a portion of construction costs. Actual costs can range from $1000 to over $5,000 per home depending on distance or terrain. Also, grant funding will not reimburse any construction costs incurred before the contract is in place.
We will have final word on the grant award by year end. Once we have a contract in place for the funding, we will reimburse any construction charges already collected. If for some reason the grant does not go through, we will back revert to the original program. Either way we will be in touch after the new year.
