Chances are you don't think about who owns your electric utility. As long as the power is reliable, the customer service responsive and the energy efficiency and rebate programs abundant, what difference does it make?
At SMUD, we think it makes a lot of difference. That's because unlike other utilities, we report solely to our customers, because they - you - are not just customers, but also owners. Created by a public vote and overseen by an elected Board of Directors, SMUD's status as a public utility makes a difference every day, in every way.
The leadership of SMUD is responsive to the public. Our business is conducted in public, at meetings open to the public, and at which the public is free to speak to SMUD's elected leadership.
Dates and times of the SMUD Board of Directors meetings are posted in advance along with agendas and all other related documents, and are available on smud.org. Also included is information on the members of the Board. Click on the "Board of Directors" tab to find the information.
And that's not all. SMUD posts many reports online, from information on upcoming projects and system improvements to the sources of its energy, both from conventional and green sources. This information can be found by clicking on the "About" tab at smud.org. Much of this information is also available in print at the public library - and all of it can be accessed through the free Internet service at library branches.
Public access to information and public input into the decisions and direction of SMUD has been what has set us apart for more than 60 years. Many things have changed in those decades, but the idea of a utility owned by and responsive to its customers has not changed, nor will it in the decades to come.