The Facts on Public Power
On November 3, voters will be asked whether Kitsap County Public Utility District (KPUD) should be authorized to sell electricity to residents of Kitsap County. PSE and others are making misleading claims about what that vote means. Here is what Kitsap residents should know before they vote.
A YES vote is the beginning of a process, not the end of one.
First, the studies. KPUD would conduct a feasibility study examining acquisition costs, financing, electric rates, reliability, infrastructure needs, workforce requirements, energy sources, environmental impacts, and long-term benefits and risks.
Then, public review. Any study would proceed through an open and inclusive public process, with independent financial and technical analysis, meaningful public participation, and full disclosure of major assumptions and findings.
Only then, a decision. If the studies show that public ownership serves Kitsap’s electricity customers, KPUD would move forward. Otherwise, the effort stops. There would be no purchase, no financing commitment, and no change in service without the evidence and public process.
History of PUDs
Since 1932, 28 PUDs have been established statewide to provide water, sewer, and broadband services. Of these, 24 provide electricity.
What is the Bonneville Power Administration?
BPA is a federal power agency established in the 1930s. It sells electricity generated by 31 federal dams located on the Columbia River, by the Columbia Generating Station, and other carbon-free resources. By law it must give priority access to its power to public bodies, such as public utility districts, municipalities, and cooperatives and sell that power to them at cost. BPA does not receive federal tax money.
Myths vs Facts
"Kitsap PUD is asking voters for a blank check."
Passage of Proposition 1 would give KPUD the authority to acquire PSE's infrastructure in Kitsap County but this authority will not be exercised until after a feasibility study is completed to determine whether offering electricity is in the best interest of Kitsap residents. The study will be reviewed in meetings open to the public and available for public comment.
"It won’t be cheaper."
The 24 existing Washington State PUDs that offer electricity all have rates lower than PSE. KPUD’s access to low cost federal power from BPA and non-profit operations means its rates overtime will very likely be lower than PSE’s.
"When Jefferson County formed an electric utility in 2008, costs were so much higher."
Jefferson PUD began offering electricity in 2013. Its rates held steady, but subsequently rates came down. Currently Jefferson PUD customers enjoy rates significantly lower than PSE’s. Their rate forecasts for the next several years are also lower than PSE’s.
"Operating an electric utility requires experience and expertise."
KPUD knows how to operate public utilities. It has a staff of nearly 100 professionals. It operates water, sewer and broadband systems in many parts of Kitsap County and maintains extensive underground and overhead systems and makes repairs during storms. If it were to offer electricity, KPUD would acquire PSE’s operating systems to add to its existing facilities. Its repair and construction crews would be locally based, direct employees, in contrast to PSE, which relies exclusively on outside contractors to build and repair their transmission and distribution system. Many of PSE’s contractual employees would likely be attracted by the higher pay and better benefits PUDs provide.
"Kitsap PUD has no experience operating an electric utility of this scale."
Kitsap PUD has experienced management offering utility services, including its new broadband network. KPUD will also be able to draw assistance from its sister PUDs, such as Snohomish PUD, which is more than twice the size of PSE’s Kitsap operations. These PUDs can use their experience to help Kitsap get established.
"Customer service and community have always been at the forefront for PSE."
Relative to Washington’s PUDs, PSE’s rates are higher and its reliability is lower. Given PSE’s requested rate increases, the discrepancy is likely to become greater.
Washington state has
done this before
Jefferson County PUD
Jefferson County voters approved public power authority in 2008. The purchase was completed in March 2013. It took five years and cost more than early estimates suggested: a pre-vote study projected about $47 million, and the final price was $109 million. JPUD held rates at exactly the level PSE had charged. Today, a PSE customer using 800 kWh per month pays $161.35, which is 26% higher than JPUD. Jefferson's experience is the reason this measure funds a study first.
Mason County PUD
Mason County shows what a small start becomes. PUD No. 3 began delivering power in 1939 and bought out Puget Sound Power and Light's properties in northeastern Mason County in 1948, adding just over a thousand customers. It now serves more than 36,000 customers across 600 square miles and buys virtually all of its electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration. Our neighbors in Mason County have had locally accountable electric service for more than seventy-five years.
Snohomish PUD
Snohomish County offers the long view. Voters created a PUD in 1936. In 1949 it purchased the electric system serving the entire county and Camano Island for $16 million, financed with revenue bonds rather than taxes. Seventy-five years later, Snohomish PUD is the second largest publicly owned utility in the Pacific Northwest, serving 2,200 square miles, and has built five hydroelectric projects of its own.
It is also the closest in size to Kitsap.
Kitsap would not be the first county to consider this question. Washington PUDs have provided electricity since the 1930s. Here are three examples of neighbors who made the change.
PUDs Offering Electricity in Washington State
Washington State has a long and successful history with Public Utility Districts. This map showcases the widespread network of PUDs that provide reliable, affordable, and locally-controlled power to communities across the state. In Kitsap County, we have the opportunity to join this successful model and take control of our energy future.
Also there are 24 PUDs in Washington, two of which are in Mason County which is why there are 23 counties and 24 PUDs. Additionally San Juan is served county-wide by OPALCO, a member-owned electric cooperative rather than a PUD.
Most of Pierce County and the City of Seattle are served by public utilities. Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula are served by a co-op
Image from Washington Public Utility Districts Association https://www.wpuda.org/energy
Select this paragraph to add your own text. Just drag and drop or click here to add this paragraph to your site, then you can add your own content and make changes to the font.
Select this paragraph to add your own text. Just drag and drop or click here to add this paragraph to your site, then you can add your own content and make changes to the font.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font.
Select this paragraph to add your own text. Just drag and drop or click here to add this paragraph to your site, then you can add your own content and make changes to the font.
Further Reading
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. "State regulators approve new rates for PSE." Jan. 2025.
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. "State regulators approve multiple orders impacting Puget Sound Energy rates." 2025.
Washington State Attorney General's Office. "AG Brown continues fight against excessive energy rate increases with challenge to PSE rate increase." July 30, 2026.
MyNorthwest. "Washington AG Nick Brown fights back against PSE's proposed 29% electric, 20% gas rate hikes." July 31, 2026.
Puget Sound Energy. "Rate news and filings." 2026.
POWER Magazine. "Public power's affordability edge faces its hardest test in years." June 2026.
American Public Power Association. "How public power compares to other electric utilities." Undated.
Sightline Institute. "Who owns a utility matters less for climate than the rules they play by." Aug. 21, 2025.
Cowlitz County Public Utility District. "What is a PUD?" Undated.
United States Code. Title 16, Section 832c. Preference to public bodies and cooperatives.
Bonneville Power Administration. "Provider of Choice resources." Undated.
Northwest Power and Conservation Council. "Pacific Northwest Consumer Power Preference Act." Undated.
HistoryLink. "Bonneville Power Administration." Undated.
Public Utility District No. 1 of Kitsap County. Board action on the ballot measure. July 28, 2026.
Kitsap Public Utility District. "KPUD board places public power authority measure before voters." July 2026.
Kitsap Public Utility District. "Electric service public listening session." 2026.
Kitsap Sun. "Kitsap voters to decide on public power authority this fall." July 29, 2026.
Kitsap Sun. "What potential change from PSE to KPUD could mean for Kitsap customers." Aug. 14, 2026.
Seattle Times. "Kitsap voters to weigh in on public power amid high energy costs." Aug. 1, 2026.
Bainbridge Island Review. "KPUD places public power authority measure on November ballot." July 29, 2026.
Kitsap Daily News. "KPUD places public power authority measure on November ballot." July 29, 2026.
Daily Energy Insider. "Proposed municipalization effort in Kitsap could put customers at risk, says PSE." 2026.
Brattle Group. "Electric utility municipalization: key statistics and risk considerations." February 2025.
Washington Policy Center. "Jefferson PUD to pay double initial estimate for PSE electrical service." Undated.
Utility Dive. "IOU, co-op or muni? Experts debate the creation of public utilities." Undated.
PSE and the consultants it funds make four arguments against this measure. Each of them is a reason to gather facts, and none is a reason to refuse to look.
"This is a blank check." PSE says a Yes vote lets three commissioners spend without limit. In fact, KPUD has already set aside money for a feasibility study, every KPUD meeting is public and open to comment, and the three commissioners are elected directly by Kitsap voters. Any decision to acquire would require further board action in open session, after the study is published.
"Jefferson County went from $47 million to $109 million." This comparison leaves out half the original number. The 2008 study projected about $47.2 million for the purchase plus $14.7 million in working capital — roughly $61.9 million in total. PSE's own consultant said at the time the cost would be $77 million or more, so PSE knew the lower figure was incomplete. And the final $109 million was a price PSE negotiated and agreed to. The study was wrong about the price. It was right about what mattered: rates in Jefferson County held steady, and today a PSE customer using 800 kWh a month pays 26% more than a JPUD customer. Jefferson's experience is the argument for studying carefully first, which is exactly what this measure funds.
"Most public power efforts fail." The Brattle Group, whose research is commissioned by investor-owned utilities, counts every abandoned effort as a failure. But most were abandoned because the studies showed the numbers did not work. That is the process succeeding, not failing, and it is precisely what KPUD has committed to do. In Washington, 24 PUDs already deliver electricity across 23 counties.
"Kitsap is too large for a PUD to handle." Snohomish County PUD serves an entire county and Camano Island and is the second largest publicly owned utility in the Pacific Northwest. Larger systems bring better economies of scale. Right now, Kitsap ratepayers help fund expensive upgrades in fast-growing areas like King County. KPUD already employs nearly 100 people operating water, sewer and broadband systems, maintaining overhead and underground infrastructure, and making repairs during storms.
PSE also says KPUD has produced no detailed plan to operate an electric utility. That is true, and it is what a feasibility study is for. PSE is demanding the plan while opposing the vote that would authorize producing it. Meanwhile, Washington's Attorney General is challenging PSE's request to raise electric rates 29% over three years as excessive and unreasonable. The case against this measure is that public power might someday raise rates. PSE is asking to raise them now.