Truckee Donner Public Utility District
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"Where Does Our Water Come From?" TDPUD's Communications Team talks with Truckee-Tahoe Radio about all things Truckee water—where it comes from, how we deliver it to you, and the upcoming water rate public process.
"Truckee Donner PUD modernizes bill pay methods" In April, TDPUD's Board of Directors approved new account management tools for customers, accepted new funding from grants and insurance reimbursement for training and operations, and recognized staff for their hard work, both on the job and at the recent Lineworkers Rodeo. Read more here.
"TDPUD Approves Power Cost Adjustment Credit" TDPUD's Board of Directors approved several key initiatives at its March meeting, including a power cost adjustment credit to electric customers, a new bill round-up program, and a resolution outlining the impacts that federal funding cuts will have locally on wildfire mitigation and readiness. Read more here.
"Truckee Donner PUD recognized for transparent financial reporting for fourth year in a row" TDPUD's Financial Reporting Team was honored by a government finance industry group for its excellence in financial reporting. Read more here.
"Truckee Donner PUD Launches New Scholarship Program" TDPUD has launched a new scholarship program that targets both college-bound high school seniors and local students interested in pursuing the trade and vocational skills that make electric and water utilities function. Read more here.
"Martis Valley Groundwater Basin: A Vital Resource for the Region" Do you know where Truckee's drinking water comes from? The Sierra Sun dove deep into our unique underground resource. Read more here.
"TDPUD Board Advances Groundwater Plan Update and Broadband Expansion" Exciting projects were approved by the TDPUD board at the February meeting. Read more here.
"Truckee Donner PUD Board Kicks Off 2025" The TDPUD board held its first meeting of the year. Read more here.
"Truckee Donner PUD Reflects on a Transformative 2024, Plans for a Resilient Future," General Manager Brian Wright spoke to the Sierra Sun about TDPUD's successes in 2024 and trajectory going into 2025. Read more here.
"TDPUD Recaps its 2024," TDPUD's Communications Team talks with Truckee-Tahoe Radio about what the agency accomplished in 2024, and its plans for the future.
"Truckee Donner PUD awarded Transparency Certificate of Excellence," Truckee Donner Public Utility District has been awarded the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence from the Special District Leadership Foundation, in recognition of its outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance. Read more here.
"Resource Planning Efforts, Battery Storage Assessment Detailed by Truckee Donner PUD GM," In the latest episode of APPA's podcast, Public Power Now, Brian Wright, General Manager for California public power utility Truckee Donner Public Utility District, discusses the utility’s resource planning efforts and details a battery energy storage system assessment. Listen here
"Truckee Donner PUD Honors Board Member Joe Aguera's 37 Years of Service," Truckee Donner Public Utility District named a newly-built water pump station the Joseph “Joe” R. Aguera Pump Station, in recognition of Aguera’s 37 years of commendable service. A ceremony was held at the pump station on Aug. 28, which included Director Aguera’s family, friends, colleagues and local agency leaders. Read more
"Truckee Water Agencies Celebrate 8th Annual Water Professionals Appreciation Week," Truckee Sanitary District, Truckee Donner Public Utility District and Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency express their gratitude for the community’s great water professionals and everyone who supports them. Read more
"Beat the Heat Without Breaking the Budget," TDPUD shares tips for staying cool while limiting energy use. Read more
"TDPUD Fire Season and the Possibility of Power Loss," TDPUD staff speak with KTKE Truckee-Tahoe Radio about preparing for wildfire safety outages and TDPUD's wildfire mitigation efforts. Read more and listen below.
"Finding the Pieces for the Resource Adequacy Puzzle," TDPUD Electric Utility Director Jared Carpenter spoke to the American Public Power Association about the challenges the district faces in procuring the energy needed to power Truckee, and how our IRP addresses these obstacles. Read more
TDPUD Press Releases
TDPUD Recovers $1.2M for Dec. ’21 Storm Damage
TDPUD Recovers $1.2M for Dec. ’21 Storm Damage
- Disaster recovery reimbursement will partially offset nearly $2 million in unbudgeted costs from the historic December 2021 storms.
- A successful example of collaboration between TDPUD staff, state-wide public power and water joint-action groups, and local and state representatives from the California Office of Emergency Services.
Click here for photos of TDPUD storm damage and crew response**
**For editorial use only, courtesy Truckee Donner Public Utility District
Truckee, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2023) – Truckee Donner Public Utility District recently received $1.2 million in disaster relief to help offset nearly $2 million in storm-related damage from the historic December 2021 storms. The Truckee region—and overall Sierra Nevada—experienced historic winter storms starting on Dec. 10, 2021, with snowfall records smashed by the end of the month. TDPUD experienced a more than two-week period where significant damage was incurred for both the water and electric utilities.
“This is a great win for our customers. TDPUD’s field crews and staff worked tirelessly in extremely challenging conditions to respond to a series of major weather events and safely restore power,” said Brian Wright, TDPUD general manager. “At the same time, we were advocating to be eligible for the disaster recovery funds and our administrative team did a great job documenting our expenses and completing the disaster recovery application.”
TDPUD began experiencing damage on Dec. 13, which continued relentlessly for more than two weeks. This was an “all-hands” event for TDPUD, and crews worked around the clock to restore power and repair storm damage. This effort, plus the help of mutual aid and additional contract resources, allowed TDPUD to fully restore power to its system by Dec. 27. TDPUD crews and contractors continued to work into 2022 to remove debris piles and fully complete projects related to the December 2021 storms.
The state of California declared an emergency starting on Dec. 10. However, both Nevada and Placer counties, in which TDPUD operates, had storm damage and declared emergencies on Dec. 26 and 27, respectively. This inconsistency with the state’s declaration could have disqualified TDPUD from state disaster recovery funds. TDPUD, in response, quickly raised awareness of the inconsistency and mobilized state-wide partners to work with CalOES staff both locally and in Sacramento. As a result of this effort, eligibility for disaster recovery was made available to all counties starting Dec. 10, regardless of the actual county declaration.
General December 2021 storm-related damages and costs include:
- Total district personnel hours worked: 3,378
- Total Roseville Electric mutual aid crew hours worked: 1,170
- 98 tree damage locations addressed
- Pole replacements: 12
- Significant pole repairs: 15 (27 total out of 5,000+ poles)
- 6,840 feet of primary conductor wire down (1+ mile out of ~130 miles overhead)
- 50 overhead service drops damaged (customer-owned connection to home/business)
- Mutual aid response: Roseville Electric sent two full electric line trucks, each with a crew of four, who worked tirelessly for nearly 10 days.
- Additional contract tree crews from Los Angeles to supplement existing crews
The board and staff of the TDPUD again thank our crews for their tireless work, and our customers and community for banding together during times of crisis. This gratitude is also extended to Roseville Electric for their timely mutual aid assistance, a great example of regional collaboration amongst public-owned utilities.
About Truckee Donner PUD:
TDPUD is a public utility district created in 1927 and overseen by a locally-elected board of directors. TDPUD is a not-for-profit entity that provides the greater Truckee area with reliable and high-quality water and power services, while guiding the community to conserve resources. For more information about TDPUD, call 530-587-3896 or visit tdpud.org.
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Media Contact: Steven Poncelet, Truckee Donner PUD, 530-582-3951, stevenponcelet@tdpud.org
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Media Contacts
Steven Poncelet, Strategic Affairs & Public Information Director | stevenponcelet@tdpud.org, 530-582-3951
Alex Spychalsky, Communications Program Manager | alex@tdpud.org, 530-582-3986