Kitsap voters deserve facts before being asked to approve a blank check

Bellevue, Washington (7/28/2026) Before you make any big purchase, like buying a car or a house, you do the work to find out how much it will cost and how you will pay for it. In less than a month, Kitsap PUD has moved forward a proposal that could fundamentally change how electricity is provided with minimal public input and no idea how much it would cost, much less how they would operate, PSE’s system. They’re asking voters for a blank check. Voters deserve clear, fact-based information before being asked to make a decision of this magnitude.

If voters say yes and allow Kitsap PUD to move forward, the three Commissioners will be able to proceed with full acquisition of PSE’s system regardless of the cost. There is no requirement for another public vote.

Key issues to consider:

• It won’t be cheaper. There will be a massive cost associated with buying our system.  Acquisition is only the beginning. Customers need to know the full cost of operating, maintaining, modernizing, and reliably serving a system of this size, as well as how long they would be paying back any debt used to finance it. Jefferson County voted to municipalize in 2008. Proponents said it would cost $47 million to purchase  PSE’s system. The  final cost was $109  million, more than double what voters were told. After promising no rate increases, costs were so much higher the public utility had to go into debt, increase rates, double service charges, and impose a county wide property tax which residents are still paying. Jefferson County had 18,000 customers at the time—a fraction of the customers served by PSE in Kitsap.

The days of cheap federal hydro power are gone and Kitsap PUD will not be able to access that like other PUDs. Kitsap PUD will have to compete to  purchase  all the energy customers need and will be starting with none. PSE’s power cost supply costs have more than tripled since the state passed its landmark clean energy law in  2019 and currently cost around $2 billion a year.

• There  is no plan. Kitsap PUD has not presented a public plan explaining how it would fund, operate, maintain, or power an electric utility serving more than 130,000 customers. There has been no public discussion of essential questions such as power supply, financing, operations, staffing, storm response, compliance with Washington's clean energy laws, or long-term investment needs.


• Operating an electric utility requires experience and expertise. Customers should ask what experience the PUD has managing a system this large and complex before being asked to hand over responsibility for an essential service. It requires highly skilled workers, 24/7 operations, storm response, wildfire planning, system maintenance, customer service, power procurement, regulatory compliance, and long-term grid investment.
  
  PSE  has more than 70 employees who work in Kitsap on a daily basis, alongside more than 50 Potelco employees, including 34 line workers. In a storm or emergency, we  are  able to draw on experienced crews and resources from across the Western United States, helping restore service faster.  Kitsap PUD has no experience  operating  an electric utility  of  this scale and would need to build these capabilities from the ground up.

Customer service and community have always been at the forefront for PSE and remain so, even amid these challenging times with rate increases. We know our customers depend on us day in and day out for reliable electricity, powering their homes, the schools they send their kids to, the community centers, the cars and ferries that transport people back and forth across the sound. We are committed to proudly serving our 130,000 customers in Kitsap.

 

Media Contact:

888-831-7250, psenewsroom@pse.com