Public utility districts (PUDs) are nonprofit, community-owned and governed utilities that provide electricity, water , wholesale telecommunications and sewer service.

Washington's first initiative to the legislature, approved by voters in 1930, gave citizens of each county the right to form a PUD. The Washington State Grange sponsored the PUD initiative because private power companies at that time refused to bring electric service to farms and small communities. Click here for more about PUD history.

The PUD law is RCW 54. Download a PDF version of RCW 54.

Today, twenty-eight PUDs serve more than 1.7 million citizens across the state. They may offer electricity, water, wholesale telecommunications, sewer and other services, depending on local needs. For individual PUD information/links, click here.

Each PUD has:

• A board of elected commissioners who set policy for their PUD. Most boards have three commissioners; some have five. Commissioners are elected by the community served by the PUD, and serve six-year terms on a nonpartisan basis.
  
  
• A professional manager and staff who operate the PUD.
  
  
• Open meetings, where members of the public can observe and participate in decisions made by the PUD board of commissioners.
  
  
• Utility rates based on the cost of service. Because PUDs are nonprofit utilities owned by the public, not by stockholders, they are in business solely to provide service, not to make a profit from utility service.
  
  
• A commitment to conserving electricity and water. PUDs offer programs to help customers use energy and water efficiently. They support policies that promote resource conservation.
  
  
• Community involvement. PUDs contribute to the communities they serve in a variety of ways, such as: sponsoring water and energy educational programs for students and adults; offering use of facilities for public meetings; supporting local economic development efforts; helping low-income citizens pay utility bills or weatherize their homes; paying taxes that support schools and communities.
  

• PUDs provide electricity service to 28 percent of Washington's population. Publicly-owned PUDs and municipal utilities combined serve 49 percent of the state's population, with co-ops and mutuals serving an additional 5 percent. Nationally, 14 percent of the population is served by public power utilities and 11 percent by cooperatives.
  
  
• Total PUD sales in 2002 (excluding sales for resale): 26,680,270 kwh (10,918,565 kwh residential).
  
  
• Total PUD kwh sales per customer, 2002: 32,080 (15,673 residential).
  
  
• Total revenue from PUD energy sales (excluding sales for resale), 2002: $1,443,612,370 ($714,989,764 residential).
  
  
• Annual revenue per customer, 2002: $1,735 ($979 residential).
  
  
• Average revenue per kwh, 2002: 5.41¢ (6.55¢ residential). Compare to investor-owned utilities: 6.20¢ (6.08¢); municipals: 5.71¢ (6.38¢); co-ops 5.40¢ (6.00¢).
  
  
• Total taxes paid by PUDs, 2002: $91,994,221
  
  
• Total electric power and energy generated by PUDs, including Energy Northwest: 6,336 mw peak, 32,461,000 mwh (approximately 10 percent of electric generation in the Northwest).
  
  
• Approximately 26 percent of Bonneville Power Administration revenue comes from Washington PUD purchases. Collectively, PUDs are the largest customer of BPA.

View comparative data for Washington's PUD, municipal, cooperative and investor-owned utilities