The September 18th meeting of the Natural Resources Committee hosted a presentation by John Hoffman, Chief Customer Officer for Snohomish County PUD. John began by detailing “Who We Are.” He emphasized that the PUD is a public power and water organization created by voter initiative in 1936. It is led by a three-person, elected commission. The second largest utility in Washington, its energy is 90 percent carbon free.
John then turned his full attention to the current topic of data centers. John explained that Snohomish County PUD currently has no hyperscale data centers in their system requests, with only one small data center project at Project Cascade, abandoned in December 2024. They do have a duty to serve, but large load requests are required to do a number of studies upon their submission.
John emphasized that one of the main attractions for building a hyperscale data center is speed. Snohomish County as a site has a number of cumbersome hurdles. The utility district operates differently from deregulated markets by purchasing most of their power from Bonneville Power Administration rather than generating it directly, which makes them less attractive to data center developers seeking to negotiate power rates. This is not true in many eastern Washington counties, which acts as a draw.
John outlined the utility's process for handling large commercial customers over 2.5 megawatts, which includes modeling infrastructure needs, determining power supply sources, and requiring developers to pay for infrastructure before connection to the grid. He addressed transmission line challenges, explaining that developments over 13 megawatts would require transmission studies and that securing power doesn't guarantee delivery due to transmission capacity limitations. Studies, requests, and reports are a matter of public record.
John discussed the utility district's focus on ensuring safe, reliable service for existing customers while maintaining affordability and community partnerships. He clarified that there is no nondisclosure agreement with Northpoint’s request for the Cascade Industrial Center, and after conducting a system impact study for a 20.8-megawatt development in December 2024, Northpoint decided not to pursue the project further. Julie Winchell offered that the nine-building scale of the original proposal was now reduced to that of a single building that straddles Marysville and Arlington. John offered no substantiation from his records and said they did have an 8.4 megawatt request for a single building of nine on site. Julie Martinson raised concerns about fish passage impacts from the relocated Edgecombe Creek. Nancy Johnson asked about the PUD's relationship with BPA, and John clarified that while BPA functions as a quasi-federal agency, the PUD has some influence as their largest customer, though BPA will need to handle long-term power supply needs and pass on associated costs.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 14TH, 10:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.,
ZOOM: Lobby Team Action and Shoreline Update with Ann Aargard! Address the legislative bill priorities for 2027! Note Change of date!