Seattle City Light

The approximately 906,595 residents (461,496 metered customers) served by Seattle City Light use about 9,074,062 megawatt-hours annually.[2] Seattle City Light was the first electric utility in the nation to become greenhouse gas neutral (2005)[3] and has the longest-running energy conservation program in the country. The utility owns a large portion of its generation, which is predominately hydro, so is able to offer some of the country's lowest rates to its customers (of utilities in urban areas).[4] Seattle City Light's customer breakdown shows 381,419 residential customers who consumed 2,914,563 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2015 and 41,391 non-residential customers that consumed 6,242,931 megawatt-hours.[5]

Cover of Seattle City Light Yearbook, 1926

Public responsibility for electrical energy in Seattle dates to 1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. In 1902, Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar River under the administration of the Water Department. Electricity from this development began to serve Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910 created the Lighting Department. Under the leadership of Superintendent James D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, which began supplying power in 1924. As superintendent, Ross instituted programs to make Seattle City Light a national model for municipal ownership, such as encouraging the use of electricity for home heating, cooking, and other appliances, and directly selling appliances to customers.[6]^:31 He staffed each branch office with an appliance salesman, and arranged for home economists to give lessons on new labor-saving devices.[6]^:52 City Light's program of offering free appliance repair, which began in 1910, was ended by a disastrous drought in 1977 that impacted hydropower capacity.[6]^:91

Both public and private power were supplied to Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the private electrical power supply operations, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary Project in northern Washington began operation in 1967 and currently supplies over half of City Light's power generation. Approximately ten percent of City Light's income comes from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the Northwest and Southwest. The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978 when the Department was reorganized.[7]

In 1957, City Light was one of 17 utilities to join the Washington Public Power Supply System (later named Energy Northwest), a municipal corporation, to combine resources and build facilities.[6]^:93

In 2014, City Light completed the installation of 41,000 LED street lights along residential streets. Installation of LED streetlights on arterial streets started in 2015 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.[8]

The utility's former CEO, Jorge Carrasco, entered a dispute with brand.com over search result "scrubbing" in 2014.[9]

The 2016 official fuel mix statistics by the state of Washington for Seattle City Light show approximately 88% hydroelectric, 5% nuclear, 4% wind, 1% coal, 1% natural gas, 1% biogas.[10] City Light's portfolio of energy sources includes electricity purchased through long-term contracts with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The remaining power comes from a mixture of sources.

Seattle's Energy 1990 plan bound City Light to meet load growth through conservation efforts as well as increased power generation. City Light encouraged customers to wrap water heaters, insulate attics, adjust thermostats, and weatherize windows and doors. Over 20 years, conservation efforts reduced use by 6.5 million megawatt-hours and customers' bills by $215 million.[6]^:100

City Light implemented programs in the 1990s to mitigate the impact of the Skagit dams on salmon runs. Modifying water regulation to ensure that salmon nests remained under water resulted in a loss equivalent to more than $45 million in potential power over 30 years, yet dramatically increased the number of salmon returning to the Skagit River.[6]^:98-99 Conservation efforts expanded in 2000, with increased emphasis on protecting salmon and other species and to develop renewable energy sources.[6]^:103

City Light became the first utility in the United States to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2005.[6]^:118

Policy changes instituted by the new superintendent, Gordon Vickery, in 1973, angered the employees. Electricians stopped working for 12 days in April 1974 to protest Vickery's management. A second strike by electricians in October, 1975, was at the time the longest public employee walkout in the history of the state. For the 98 days of the strike, supervisors and managers stepped in to keep the system functional, although routine maintenance and new connections stopped. [6]

Seattle City Light began commissioning decorative designs for its manhole covers in the 1970s after suggestions from Jacquetta Blanchett Freeman, a member of the Seattle Arts Commission. A set of 19 manhole covers with relief maps of Downtown Seattle were designed by city employee Anne Knight and installed beginning in April 1977 to aid with wayfinding.[12][13] Knight's covers use raised symbols to represent local landmarks, including the now-demolished Kingdome, that are labeled with a key on the outer ring other manhole.[14] Other commissioned designs include portraits of city figures, a Tlingit-styled whale, and Nothwestern flowers.[15][16] As of 2012, there are 115 manhole covers in Seattle with decorative designs.[17]

In 2012, the Seattle City Light Conservation Program hired Adam Frank to produce a large scale installation that featured the City of Seattle's hydroelectric power sources. This work of light was a projected living map of Seattle's hydroelectric generation and electricity use.[18]

• Seattle City Light website
• Guide to the Seattle City Light Department History Files 1894-1972
• Guide to the Seattle City Light Annual Reports 1910-2000