(Guest post by George Caan, executive director of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association)
George Caan, WPUDA Exec. Dir.
Sometime
today you will use electricity. It may be in your office, when you
make your morning coffee, or when you login to your computer.
Electricity is a staple of our lives and of our economy. October 4-10
is National Public Power Week; a national, annual event sponsored in
conjunction with the American Public Power Association recognizing the
2,000 public utilities across the nation that collectively provide
electricity on a not-for-profit basis to 46 million Americans. While
Public Power Week isn’t a holiday marked on your calendar and won’t
likely be celebrated with family gatherings, special decorations, or a
large sphere dropping in Times Square, that doesn’t mean it should go by
without at least a little recognition - because here in Washington
state, not-for-profit, consumer-owned utilities play an important role
in meeting the daily electricity needs of communities.
Public Power's contribution
Washington’s
consumer-owned utilities serve more than half of all electric customers
while delivering almost two-thirds of the electricity in the state.
Public Utility Districts, part of the public power family, serve almost a
third of the state’s electricity needs and about half the state
geographically. As not-for-profit utilities owned by the communities
they serve and governed by locally-elected boards of commissioners, PUDs
not only strive to help residential customers maintain comfort in their
homes but also work to support local, mainly rural economies. This
Public Power Week is a good time focus on the contribution of public
power as an economic driver in our state.
Rates
and reliability are key factors in attracting new industry to
Washington and helping existing businesses thrive. Washington’s PUDs
offer the lowest electricity rates in the nation. Not-for-profit
services along with local control and local accountability contributes
to affordability and reliability in areas served by PUDs, providing a
competitive advantage for existing businesses as well as those seeking
to expand or to locate in Washington.
A Source of Clean Energy
But
affordability and reliability are just part of the picture.
Washington’s consumer-owned utilities offer something else in demand by
many businesses and industries: clean energy. Washington consumer-owned
utilities are far out ahead of the curve nationally, serving customers
with some of the cleanest energy in the nation, thanks to our vast
hydropower resources complimented by other renewable energy resources
and nuclear power. In fact, 95 percent of the resources that serve PUD
customers produce zero greenhouse gases, an attractive feature not only
for residents but for businesses and industries seeking to power their
operations with clean energy.
Energy Northwest has 27 public power member utilities located throughout the state of Washington.
Promoting conservation and efficiency
To
maximize our existing clean energy resources and keep rates affordable,
PUDs have a long history of promoting conservation and energy as a
least-cost, environmentally friendly resource. In 2014 alone, PUDs
helped customers save more than 350,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.
That is enough to power more than 30,000 homes. Industrial and business
customers have seen the financial advantage of working with their local
PUDs on energy efficiency improvements with bottom line energy savings.
As
Public Power Week gets underway, you don’t have to celebrate by carving
a large orange gourd or sending out “Public Power Week” greeting cards;
just take a moment when you flip on the light switch to remember there
are consumer-owned utilities in Washington working hard for you, for our
economy, and for our environment.
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