PUD: The value of public power
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 7, 2026
At the Snohomish County PUD, we take a great deal of pride in being a publicly owned utility to serve you – our customer-owners.
We are officially a municipal corporation of the state of Washington formed by a vote of the people in 1936 to provide electricity (and water to about 23,000 customers through our Water Utility). We are the largest of 28 PUDs in Washington, and the 12th-largest public power utility in the nation in terms of customers served.
We believe that being a local, not-for-profit utility leads to multiple benefits for our customers. We are governed by a three-person Commission, composed of three elected individuals who live in our service territory. Our meetings are open to the public, where you can attend, learn about what we’re working on and share your thoughts.
Most of our employees are also customers and live in the communities we serve. We engage customers at community events, send PUD-trained teachers into classrooms to educate future generations on energy and efficiency, and provide financial assistance to make sure all customers can pay their energy bills.
Speaking of bills, our rates (and entire budget) are based on cost, not profit. As a not-for-profit utility, any proceeds we do net are reinvested back into our infrastructure, our people and our communities to better serve you. Our residential rate of 10.263 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is among the lowest in the region and well below the national average.
What does 10.263 cents – 1 kWh – run? Here are a few household examples:
• Running a dishwasher (1,000 watts): 1 hour
• Using a 100-watt light bulb: 10 hours
• Watching a 50-inch LED TV (80 watts): 12.5 hours
• Using a laptop (20-50 watts): All day
Further showing our commitment to our community, our fourth annual Energy Block Party will once again be held at our headquarters in downtown Everett later this month. There will be safety high-voltage demonstrations, a touch-a-truck event, giveaways, food trucks, info on jobs at the PUD, a show for children on the value of hydropower, a station with our mascots, a parachute drop fundraiser for our Community Energy Fund and more.
If you can’t make it, there will be another fun opportunity to help those in your community! Later this year we will be launching a new event: the Community Energy Run on Oct. 3 at our Water Operations Center in Lake Stevens. Lace up your shoes and join our route along the Centennial Trail as we raise money for our Community Energy Fund – which we’ve used to provide temporary bill relief to customers since 1982.
Visit snopud.com to learn more about both events and to sign up for the run. Prices for the run increase May 1 so sign up today!
Our community is at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be your public power utility and will continue to do all we can to provide you with reliable, affordable power, while energizing life in our communities.
David Krueger is a spokesperson for the Snohomish County PUD. If you have any questions about this article, or other PUD programs, you can reach out to him at dakrueger@snopud.com.
David Krueger is a spokesperson for the Snohomish County PUD. If you have any questions about this article, or other PUD programs, you can reach out to him at dakrueger@snopud.com.
