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 Oct 16 Board Meeting Recap
TDPUD Board Reviews Electric Cost of Service Analysis and Rate Design Study
TDPUD continues to prepare for the 2024 and 2025 electric and water utility budgets balancing reliability, sustainability, and affordability.
Truckee, Calif. (October 24, 2023) The Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s board of directors met on Oct. 18 for a regularly scheduled meeting. The board received a presentation from HDR Consultants, an industry expert in cost of service and rate design, and held the third formal workshop on the fiscal year 2024 and 2025 budgets.
HDR Consultants presented an Electric Costs of Service Analysis (COSA), rate recommendations to cover costs, and pilot rate options for the board to consider. TDPUD - as a not-for-profit, community-owned, and locally-governed electric and water utility - charges customers only for the cost of the services that they demand. TDPUD’s electric and water utilities operate in dynamic environments which have seen increasing cost pressures and market volatility over the past few years. This includes increases in supply chain costs, energy market volatility, inflation, and unfunded government mandates. TDPUD’s dedicated staff and board are working hard to balance service reliability, environmental sustainability, and customer affordability.
HDR Consultants also presented some new rate tools for TDPUD’s board to consider for adoption, including Time of Use (TOU), commercial Electric Vehicle (EV) charging, and a clean energy rate. TDPUD is a winter/weekend/nighttime peaking electric utility which peaks from 4 to 9 p.m. daily. This customer demand profile dictates what kind of electricity TDPUD needs to buy, and electricity purchased during peak times is almost always more expensive and not clean
While conservation and energy efficiency are very important, customers also can change their behavior and use electricity at off-peak times, when possible. A pilot TOU rate, which would be voluntary for customers who choose to participate, provides a peak rate that reflects the higher costs during that period and a reduced rate for the lower costs during the off-peak period.
HDR also presented a new Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) rate option that would allow electric bills to reflect, up or down, recent changes in electric resource procurement costs. The TDPUD experienced severe price spikes during last winter’s natural gas shortages which required the board to utilize a portion of electric rate reserves which now need to be replenished. The PCA would provide another tool to reflect changes in electric resource costs on customer’s bills.
“The continued success of our electric and water utilities requires that we make smart investments in operations, maintenance, capital and regulatory compliance,” said TDPUD board president Jeff Bender. “TDPUD’s board and staff are committed to providing affordable, reliable and clean utility services, while seeking opportunities to further enhance the quality of life and protect the environment in Truckee.”
The board also held the third workshop to review and discuss the proposed fiscal year 2024 and 2025 budgets. The workshop provided details on the electric and water utilities revenues/expenses, capital expenditures, overheads, personnel and financial master plan. The budget process leverages information from TDPUD’s 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, 2022 current budget, TDPUD District Code, and TDPUD Strategic Plan mid-cycle update.
A public hearing to consider increasing electric rates and consideration of adoption of the fiscal year 2024 and 2025 budgets are scheduled for the TDPUD regularly scheduled board meeting on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. Information about TDPUD board meetings and access to agendas, minutes, live streaming and archived video can be found at tdpud.org/boardmeetings.
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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