Dear Seattle Weekly Editors:
We're happy to see the Seattle Weekly participating in the dialogue about Seattle City Light but disturbed about some inaccuracies in the February 18 article. It quotes anonymously a regional utility manager as blaming investments in environmental programs as the reason for the large debt that City Light accumulated. That is just not the case. The Advisory Board spent nine months carefully studying the utility's finances and gaining input from the bond rating agencies, CEOs of neighboring utilities and Seattle City Light's independent financial advisors.
The Weekly article calls out City Light's conservation and Skagit salmon recovery programs as major contributors to debt. The Skagit River now has the largest and healthiest populations of wild salmon in the Northwest. It is one of the few success stories in salmon recovery in the nation. Chum and pink salmon populations have increased 6 to 8 fold, while the Upper Skagit chinook population is the only one in Puget Sound that is increasing rather than declining. All of this has been accomplished at the cost of about 25 cents a month to the average residential customer. And these programs are pay as you go; less than one-tenth of one percent of City Light's outstanding debt is due to fish recovery.
Likewise, conservation has had a small effect on City Light debt. Less than 8 percent of outstanding debt is attributable to conservation programs. Meanwhile, over the last two decades, customers participating in conservation programs have saved $367 million in reduced energy bills. Seattle City Light's leadership on behalf of its customers in investing in efficiency programs has resulted in significant savings over the last two decades for all of its customers. During the West Coast energy crisis, for example, the utility's purchased power costs were $137 million less due to cumulative investments in conservation.
The high debt was primarily due to borrowing a large portion of the money needed for the utility's capital improvement projects and the costs of power supply shortfalls during the energy crisis.
One of our strong recommendations is to significantly reduce their debt ratios but it is important that everyone understand how that debt was actually built up.
Sara Patton, member
Seattle City Light Advisory Board (on behalf of the Board)
Read the article from the February 18 Seattle Weekly
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