Chelan County Public Utility District No. 1 met state-mandated energy conservation goals for the 2024–2025 period, as confirmed by a recent Washington State Auditor’s Office report.
State auditors assessed how thoroughly the utility established its 23,389-megawatt-hour conservation objective and whether it secured enough energy savings to fulfill that target. The audit spanned the two-year period from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2025.
Auditors found no material deficiencies in the district’s adherence to applicable provisions of the Energy Independence Act. According to the report, “Our examination disclosed no issues that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.”
The Energy Independence Act, enacted via Initiative 937 following voter approval in November 2006, mandates that electric utilities serving over 25,000 customers achieve specific conservation and renewable energy benchmarks. Utilities must establish two-year conservation targets grounded in assessments of feasible, cost-effective efficiency measures and then demonstrate achievement of those targets over the designated timeframe.
Chelan PUD was among 14 municipal electric utilities and public utility districts selected for review under the act during the reporting cycle. While the latest audit concentrated on conservation efforts, it did not include a formal assessment of the district’s progress toward its renewable energy obligations.