Skagit County residents would save millions in electricity rates if the Skagit Public Utility District acquires and operates Puget Sound Energy’s power system here, according to a consultant’s report released today.

The report, prepared at the PUD’s request by D. Hittle & Associates Inc. of Lynnwood, suggests that the PUD could readily find financing to take over PSE’s system and would find reasonably priced power to keep rates from skyrocketing under public ownership.

The PUD study contrasts starkly with a report issued last week by a consulting firm that PSE hired to ask the same question: What would be the possible consequences of the PUD buying out PSE in Skagit County?

PSE’s commissioned study suggested that the PUD might have trouble financing a deal, finding sources of reasonably priced power in a competitive market, and keeping consumer rates under control.

Bob Schneider, one of the authors of the PUD’s study, said Monday that local takeover of PSE’s system is “technically feasible and economically feasible.”

The PUD’s board of commissioners is considering a November ballot proposal that would ask Skagit County residents if they want to pursue takeover of PSE’s local system.

Bellevue-based PSE, a publicly traded company, has announced a proposed deal in which its assets would be acquired by an Australian investment bank for $7.4 billion. The state Attorney General’s Office and Washington Public Utilities Commission have both recommended that state regulators reject the proposed sale.

For more details, see Tuesday’s print edition of the Skagit Valley Herald.

The complete PUD consultant’s report is available on the utility’s Web site, http://www.skagitpud.com.