Tacoma Power is a
public utility
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...
providing
electrical power
Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...
to
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
and the surrounding areas. Tacoma Power serves the cities of
Tacoma,
University Place,
Fircrest, and
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, and also provides service to parts of
Steilacoom,
Lakewood, and unincorporated Pierce County. It is a division of the
Tacoma Public Utilities and owns the
Click! Network, developed by Steven Klein, Tacoma Power's former superintendent.
History
In 1884, Charles B. Wright was granted the exclusive right to create Tacoma's first power and water company, incorporating the Tacoma Light and Water Company. Wright's system drew water from Tule and
Spanaway Lakes and
Clover Creek. The water was transported to the city through a 10-mile wooden
flume that emptied into an in-town reservoir. The flume was mostly uncovered and attracted thirsty cows and children in search of a good wading pool.
[Bjork v. Tacoma (1913) 76 Wash. 225, 135 Pac. 1005] This led to the spread of disease.
Tacoma City Light was created in 1893 when the citizens of Tacoma voted to buy the privately owned Tacoma Light & Water Company to ensure its safety and longevity. Its first independent power generation came with the construction of
LaGrande Dam on the
Nisqually River, 36 miles away from the city, producing hydroelectric power as of November, 1912.
In 2011, Tacoma Power received the first-ever Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency from the
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The award recognizes Tacoma Power's "exceptional creativity, leadership and achievement in the pursuit of
energy efficiency." The utility competed against other utilities and organizations served by BPA in
Washington,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
and
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
.
See also
*''
PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology''
References
External links
Tacoma Power web site*
*
{{authority control
Municipal electric utilities of the United States
Tacoma Public Utilities