By a vote of 8-0, the Seattle City Council today reconfirmed Jorge Carrasco for another four years as Seattle City Light superintendent.
Jorge Carrasco is sworn in July 23 for a third 4-year term as Seattle City Light superintendent.
By a vote of 8-0, the Seattle City Council today reconfirmed Jorge Carrasco for another four years as Seattle City Light superintendent. Mayor McGinn submitted the superintendent’s reconfirmation legislation in early June.
“City Light serves hundreds of thousands of customers every day using environmentally sustainable hydroelectric power, “McGinn said. “Jorge has helped lead City Light’s commitment to running our first in the nation carbon-neutral public utility. He has done this while cutting costs, focusing on reliability of services and implementing a six-year strategic plan to keep rates low and predictable. And this year, City Light earned its highest J.D. Power ranking ever: 2nd among midsize Western utilities. I thank the City Council for unanimously reconfirming Jorge as superintendent of City Light.”
Carrasco has worked with the Mayor’s Office and the City Council to create a rate stabilization account designed to protect City Light customers from the uncertainty of energy markets and snowpack that adversely affect surplus power sales revenue. This has helped to solidify the utility’s bond ratings . In July of this year, the City Council unanimously adopted the utility’s six-year strategic plan, further stabilizing the utility’s financial position and providing customers with rate predictability.
“Superintendent Carrasco has been instrumental in working with the Council, the Mayor and the City Light Review panel to craft the recently adopted six year strategic plan,” adds Councilmember Mike O’Brien chair of the City Council Energy and Environment Committee. “This plan lays out the investment priorities for the utility and gives us clear direction for where the utility is going and the revenue requirements needed to get there. I admire Jorge’s commitment to giving all City Light customers the conservation tools they need to better manage their own energy usage and bills. I am looking forward to working with him on the plan’s implementation.”
Seattle City Light has a workforce of 1,800 employees and a customer base of about 408,000 accounts representing 1 million people. City Light’s operating budget is $1 billion. Always a leader in energy conservation efforts, City Light was the first utility in the country to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and plans to meet load growth through increased conservation and new, renewable energy sources.
J.D. Power recently released its latest rankings by residential utility customers. Of the 126 utilities included, City Light ranked 12th overall nationally and 2nd in the midsize Western Region utilities. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by City Light.
“It is truly an honor to serve our community as the superintendent of Seattle City Light,” Carrasco said. “I want to thank every City Light employee for the part they have played in the success we have achieved. We have many challenges ahead and I look forward to the opportunity to continue the improvements we are making on behalf of our customer-owners.”
To view the Council action on reconfirmation, please visit http://www.seattlechannel.org