Seattle City Light’s new chief of staff, Noel Treat, brings more than 15 years of experience in management, policy and legal issues facing local governments to his new role with the utility.
Superintendent Jorge Carrasco named Treat as his chief of staff March 15, 2010. As Chief of Staff, Treat will be responsible for oversight of the utility’s External Affairs, Government & Legislative Affairs, Legal Affairs, and Communications & Public Affairs activities. Treat also will work closely with the Mayor’s Office, the City Council and the City Light Review Panel on utility policy issues
“I am delighted to have someone with Noel’s experience join the utility as our chief of staff,” Carrasco said. “City Light faces many challenges, including developing a biennium budget for 2011/2012 at a time when the utility has faced two very tough revenue years in 2009 and 2010. I am confident that Noel will be a valuable asset in helping the utility overcome those challenges on behalf of our customers and stakeholders.”
Before joining Seattle City Light as the Chief of Staff, Treat served as Chief of Staff for King County Executive Triplett. He also has worked as the Deputy Director for the King County Department of Facilities Management and as the Policy and Government Relations Officer for the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks.
Treat was the manager of the Real Estate and Transportation Section of the King County Prosecutor’s Office. He has also been the City Attorney for several jurisdictions and an Assistant Attorney General with Washington State. Just prior to joining City Light, Treat was in private practice. He received his law degree from the University of Arizona and a bachelor of arts degree from Colorado College.
Seattle City Light is the ninth largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.