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 Board Shares Appreciation for Staff Following Major Snow Storm
Truckee, Calif. (March 12, 2024)—Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s board of directors met last Wednesday for its regularly scheduled monthly meeting, which fell just after TDPUD staff spent days working long hours in tough conditions to keep the power on during this winter’s biggest storm so far.
Blizzard Response
To start the month, Truckee was hit with a multi-day, severe winter storm that brought high winds and heavy snowfall to the area, causing outages for some TDPUD customers. Significant outages began Friday afternoon while the storm was at its most extreme. At its peak, TDPUD had about 10 percent of total customers out of power, and the majority of customers were restored within six hours.
Most of the issues were in Donner Lake and Prosser, where falling trees and high winds caused downed lines, equipment damage and a major broken power pole. Obstacles to response included roads blocked by snow and fallen trees, winds that were too strong for bucket truck use, and downed lines in backyards and remote areas where bucket truck access was not possible. Linemen had to snowshoe into some locations, carrying all the equipment they needed to climb poles and make repairs. Even vehicles equipped with snow tracks struggled in the intense snowfall.
TDPUD would like to thank its customers for their patience, understanding and support during this storm, and its staff for their incredible work in difficult conditions to safely serve the community.
March Board Meeting Recap
The board meeting began with director updates from each department. The electric utility director provided statistics and a recap of all the work done during the recent blizzard, as well as a brief update on capital projects like the substation rebuild, the construction of a battery energy storage system and various development projects with TDPUD involvement.
The water utility director shared that to start 2024, water demand is down nearly eight percent year over year, which is likely due to poor snow conditions resulting in less tourism. He also spoke about water leak detection, which has always been an important part of the water department’s oversight but will become even more crucial when new conservation regulations go into effect in 2025. TDPUD has different ways it detects leaks, including using satellite technology to locate pipeline leaks underground, installing temporary antennas on hydrants to monitor water flow data, and installing master meters to more accurately pinpoint where water loss is occurring.
The board also heard a presentation from TDPUD’s chief information officer on the IT department’s roadmap for the future of the utility. Some of the elements that are driving TDPUD’s digital transformation are customer experience, operations agility and workforce enablement. TDPUD can better serve its customers and support its staff with modern tools and technologies that help get the job done efficiently and effectively.
After analyzing TDPUD’s needs and deficiencies —now and in the future —the IT team is prioritizing projects that will improve mapping systems, the outage management system, and network connectivity in the field for better crew communications and workflow. They will also be looking to harness business intelligence to use data to solve problems, and are focused on cybersecurity, to make sure TDPUD is prepared to face modern-day threats.
The board also voted to approve water projects like pipeline replacement in Tahoe Donner and tank rehabilitation in Prosser, which will be done this summer. It also approved a contract renewal for software used by TDPUD’s conservation department to conduct virtual energy audits for customers.
Information about TDPUD board meetings and access to agendas, minutes, live streaming and archived video can be found at tdpud.org/boardmeetings.
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