Who We Are
Chelan County Public Utility District delivers clean, reliable, and affordable energy to the residents of Chelan County and, through power contracts with companies such as Puget Sound Energy and Avista, to communities across Washington, from Bellevue to Spokane.
We own and operate one of the largest non-federal hydropower systems in the nation, enabling us to maintain low electric rates while upholding a long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. We are also at the forefront of innovation, investing now to build our clean energy future. This year, in partnership with Chelan PUD, Helion Energy began construction on the world’s first fusion power plant.
Local control is essential to our mission. As a public power utility governed by an elected Board of Commissioners, our decisions are always made in the best interest of our customers and are not driven by shareholder profits.
We are proud of Chelan PUD’s legacy of leadership, and we are committed to helping Washington meet its clean energy goals without compromising affordability, grid reliability, or community governance. We look forward to working with state policymakers and agency partners in 2026 to build a stronger, more resilient energy future.
2026 State Legislative Priorities
1.) Address utility wildfire risks
The communities we serve in North Central Washington face some of the highest wildfire risk in the state. As a public utility, we understand what is at stake. When wildfires strike, it is our customers and coworkers who are directly impacted. For years, Chelan PUD has invested heavily in proactive mitigation and community partnerships to reduce wildfire risk.
Despite significant investments in mitigation and preparedness, the rapidly declining health of our forests presents an escalating challenge. As fire risk grows, so do insurance premiums and liability exposure for utilities, which are costs that ultimately impact customers.
We appreciate ongoing legislative interest in helping utilities address the skyrocketing cost and risk related to wildfire. A well-designed state fund to help compensate fire victims and their attorneys may provide some support, but addressing Washington’s wildfire challenge requires a holistic policy response. The Legislature must fully fund the state’s mitigation and wildfire-fighting responsibilities and must also address utilities’ rising liability exposure to ensure accountability and financial sustainability.
Guiding principles:
• Advance policies that prioritize wildfire prevention and preparedness, not just post-fire compensation.
• Restore critical state investments in wildfire response and forest health.
• Ensure the state’s legal framework compensates wildfire victims without jeopardizing affordability and delivery of essential utility services. Or Chelan PUD customers
2.) Preserve affordability for Chelan PUD customers
Chelan County has the lowest energy burden in Washington. Residents spend less of their income on electricity, leaving more for essentials like food, transportation, and housing. This did not happen by chance. It is the result of bold, forward-thinking investments in hydropower made by Chelan PUD leaders. These investments were economically risky and were made for the good of the community that bore those risks.
Today, as utilities that historically relied on fossil fuels work to decarbonize, Chelan PUD’s clean hydropower continues to provide some of the lowest electric rates in the nation. We pair those low rates with customer support options including bill discount programs, partnerships with trusted community organizations, and personalized assistance to help keep the lights on for everyone.
In 2025, our Board of Commissioners approved a new income-qualified discount program that will remove participation barriers and significantly expand the reach of our assistance efforts. Our commitment is clear and bold: to eliminate energy burden in Chelan County.
We support efforts to make energy more affordable statewide, but we oppose the creation of a statewide assistance program funded through a utility tax or system benefits charge added to customers’ bills. Such an approach would raise rates for low-income customers in Chelan County and erode the affordability we have worked to achieve.
Guiding principles:
• State investments should complement – not replace – local utility assistance programs.
• Public utilities must not be required to fund a statewide program that doesn’t reflect the needs of our customers.
3.) Balance data center growth and resource adequacy
Chelan PUD is facing an unprecedented wave of demand growth driven largely by data centers. Our current average annual load is about 228 average megawatts, while our interconnection queue includes requests totaling an additional 1,428 megawatts. The scale of potential growth signals a fundamental shift that could reshape our entire system.
Across the Northwest, the energy system is under immense pressure. The Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee’s 2025 forecast anticipates more than 30 percent load growth by 2034. A recent Energy and Environmental Economics analysis warns that without action to close the widening gap between supply and demand, the region could face rolling blackouts as early as next year under extreme conditions.
Ensuring resource adequacy is a critical challenge that demands coordinated, bold solutions. We support responsible economic development guided by transparency and long-term reliability. Chelan PUD requires new large loads, such as data centers, to pay for necessary system upgrades and follows a structured process to protect stable, predictable rates for existing customers.
Through this approach, we have formed productive partnerships with data center developers, including Microsoft, which opened a new facility in Chelan County this year.
Guiding principles:
• Consider resource adequacy a foundational priority in any state energy policy.
• Require large load developers to disclose duplicative interconnection requests across balancing authorities.
• Maintain flexibility in state policy implementation to reflect real-world grid conditions.
4.) Accelerate development of transmission and generation
Chelan PUD owns and operates 325 miles of transmission lines and approximately 1,900 miles of overhead and underground distribution lines. While this infrastructure meets today’s needs, regional load growth will require expansion in the near future. This may include constructing new transmission lines within Chelan County and building or upgrading transmission infrastructure outside the county to import additional power.
We support efforts to reduce the time and cost required to build the energy infrastructure needed to meet growing demand. Our recent partnership with Douglas County PUD, Grant County PUD, and the Bonneville Power Administration illustrates the challenge, requiring four years of study and thirteen years to build just 8.5 miles of transmission line.
Guiding principles:
• Streamline permitting and remove regulatory process barriers to accelerate clean energy and transmission development.
• Avoid creating new state offices that add administrative complexity and duplicate existing work