At Seattle City Light, we’re always striving to serve you and make a meaningful impact throughout our service area. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from last year — and how they reflect our ongoing commitment to you.
We continue our work to put customers first.
We’re proud to put our customers at the heart of everything we do by offering reliable support, practical solutions, and innovative programs to meet your needs.
Helping customers save: 2024’s Lighten Your Load campaign offered practical tips on conserving energy and reducing bills. We also shared details about our bill assistance programs and energy efficiency initiatives, making it easier for customers to manage costs.
Supporting our business customers: For the third year in a row, we had the honor of being recognized in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study, earning the highest index score among midsize electric utilities in the Western United States.
Working to provide customers choice: We’ve also made progress on our Time-of-Use (TOU) rates, a new initiative set to launch in 2025. TOU rates are designed to help customers lower energy costs by shifting their energy use to off-peak hours.
We continue our efforts to protect the environment.
Sustainability is at the core of our mission. Last year, we continued to advance environmental conservation and clean energy programs to support a greener future for all.
Celebrating partnerships: We celebrated the opening of the Native Salmonid Conservation Facility in Usk, Washington. This new hatchery is a significant step in our efforts to restore native fish populations and protect local ecosystems, made possible through partnerships with the Kalispel Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and others.
Relicensing our hydroelectric projects: We continued our work toward relicensing dams at the Skagit Hydroelectric Project and officially started the process of relicensing the South Fork Tolt Hydroelectric Project. Central to the federal relicensing process is our commitment to sustainability, protecting natural and cultural resources, and responsibly managing the dams and their impact on the watershed.
Developing electrification strategies: Our completed Building Electrification Strategy leverages Seattle’s carbon-neutral electricity to help make buildings more energy-efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This work includes promoting awareness, reducing upfront costs, and fortifying grid resiliency to move toward Seattle’s goal of net-zero emissions from large buildings by 2050.
Expanding our electrification efforts: Transportation electrification remains a key element of our broader electrification strategy. In 2024, we worked to support fleet electrification and multifamily EV charging, as well as provide shore power and expand electrified public transit.
- Our multifamily EV charging program now includes over 200 charging ports, while the fleet program has provided rebates to install more than 90 EV chargers.
- The first phase of our public, curbside, Level 2 EV charging pilot program energized 58 chargers across 31 neighborhood locations.
- We brought shore power to Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66, allowing cruise ships to dock and plug into the electrical grid.
- We joined King County Metro to break ground on the county’s first all-electric bus base.
- We hosted the second annual Electric Car Guest Drive, and launched an EV Charging Installer Program with a focus on training technicians employed at women- and minority-owned businesses.
We remain focused on strengthening our communities.
We’re committed to making sure every member of our communities has equitable access to affordable energy.
Providing financial assistance: Last year, we distributed $18.7 million in bill credits funded through the Washington Climate Commitment Act to more than 93,000 income-qualified residential customers, reducing past-due balances by $5.3 million.
Supporting local education: Our Energy Heroes education program brought interactive lessons on sustainability, energy conservation, and electrical safety to 5,300 students across 44 schools. Two of the workshops are now available in Spanish, helping us engage even more students from historically underrepresented communities.
Working on affordable housing partnerships: City Light supported the completion of two major energy-efficient housing developments — Beacon Pacific Village and the Sawara Building at Yesler, representing an investment of more than $1.3 million.
We are improving the reliability and resilience of our systems.
Last year, we delivered power to a record 512,000 metered accounts, producing over 9.6 million megawatt-hours of electricity.
Infrastructure upgrades: To meet the increasing demand for electricity, we focused on essential upgrades, including replacing aging equipment at the East Pine Substation and beginning cable replacement work in Burien’s Hurstwood neighborhood.
Storm preparedness: We responded to the largest storm of the past two decades — November’s bomb cyclone — restoring power to more than 114,000 customers.
Planning for the future: With the Seattle City Council’s approval, we updated two core plans—the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan and the Integrated Resource Plan — to guide us toward a resilient and sustainable future. Our efforts include adding renewable energy sources to our portfolio, such as long-term agreements to purchase solar power from central Oregon projects.
Thank you for your ongoing support and trust as we work together to build a brighter, more sustainable future.