We Are Here To Serve You!
Franklin PUD is a customer-owned, non-profit electric utility voted in by the public in November 1934. We serve approximately 17,000 to 24,000 in areas of Franklin County, Washington with a full-time staff of 80. Franklin PUD is governed by a three- member Board of Commissioners elected from commissioner districts.

Our Mission Statement: "Franklin PUD provides quality services and achieves efficiencies that benefit our community."

What is a PUD?
Public Utility Districts (PUDs) are nonprofit, community-owned, and governed utilities that provide electric and water service. Washington's first initiative to the legislature, approved by voters in 1930, gave citizens of each county the right to form a PUD. The Washington State Grange sponsored the PUD initiative because private power companies at that time refused to bring electric service to farms and small communities.

Today, twenty-eight PUDs serve more than 1.5 million citizens across the state. They may offer electric, water, sewer, and other services, depending on local needs. For a listing of PUDs in Washington please visit Washington Public Utility Districts Association.

Each PUD has:

	A board of elected commissioners who set policy for their PUD. Most boards have three commissioners; some have five. Commissioners are elected by the community served by the PUD, and serve six-year terms on a nonpartisan basis.
	A professional manager and staff who operate the PUD.
	Open meetings, where members of the public can observe and participate in decisions made by the PUD board of commissioners.
	Utility rates based on the cost of service. Because PUDs are nonprofit utilities owned by the public, not by stockholders, they are in business solely to provide service, not to make a profit from utility service.
	A commitment to conserving electricity and water. PUDs offer programs to help customers use energy and water efficiently. They support policies that promote resource conservation. In 1992, a group of PUDs formed the Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES), a joint operating agency that offers conservation programs and develops energy projects that utilize renewable resources. Members of CARES are the PUDs in Franklin, Benton, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Klickitat, Pacific, and Skamania counties.
	Community involvement. PUDs contribute to the communities they serve in a variety of ways, such as: sponsoring water and energy educational programs for students and adults; offering use of facilities for public meetings; supporting local economic development efforts; helping low-income citizens pay utility bills or weatherize their homes; paying taxes that support schools and communities.