FAQ: I'm an OCEC customer - why should I care about the PUD?

I, myself, am a PUD customer. However, this is a common question I get from folks in the Methow Valley who are served by the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative, but also live and vote in Okanogan PUD District #2. Here are nine reasons I think you should care about the PUD, even if you aren't a PUD electric customer:

1. OCEC uses the PUD’s infrastructure to deliver power to parts of its service territory. The costs of using this infrastructure are baked into your rates.
2. OCEC relies on the PUD’s equipment and mutual aid to respond to outages, and support other field operations.
3. The PUD owns the backbone fiber optic network that serves Twisp, and provides access to its network to Methownet.  
4. The PUD owns transmission and distribution infrastructure in the Methow Valley and is responsible for managing its operations during extreme weather events. When fire risk is high, the PUD’s operational decisions can impact all of us.
5. The PUD provides essential services in the Methow Valley and county-wide that all residents rely on and benefit from - hospitals, emergency response, irrigation pumping, frost protection, etc. If you use any of these services (or if you enjoy eating delicious produce from Okanogan county farmers) you should care about keeping PUD power reliable and affordable. 
6. It is important for the PUD and the coop to have a good relationship. The PUD is much larger than the coop. If there ever are conflicts between the PUD and the coop, it is important to have a PUD Commissioner who cares about the interests of coop members. That is why you are in District #2 and get to vote for PUD Commissioner.
7. PUDs have much broader legal authority than electric cooperatives under Washington state law. The coop is a private nonprofit (RCW 23.86), whereas the PUD is a division of local government (Title 54 RCW). The PUD has the powers of eminent domain and condemnation. The PUD could also decide in the future to get into any number of new lines of business - retail internet, renewable natural gas, irrigation and water, sewage, thermal energy, etc. If Okanogan PUD ever considers providing these other services, you have a say.
8. PUD Commissioners and management participate in a number of associations and boards which exercise influence over state and federal policies that affect all residents, and make other decisions that have broad public impact, including Washington PUD Association and Energy Northwest. As an Okanogan PUD constituent, you are represented by Okanogan PUD in these venues.
9. As a member of this community, you probably have friends who are PUD customers.