Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District (NWCPUD) is a customer-owned utility that provides nearly 25,000 people and businesses with electricity in Wasco County, Oregon. As our name implies, “people” are what we are all about. Discover why communities across the nation are choosing public power: Public Power for Your Community (PDF).
We take great pride in providing quality electric service at some of the lowest rates in Oregon, the Northwest, and the nation. The 80-plus employees who work at the utility greet each customer with a friendly smile and provide prompt, efficient, and courteous service. Our customers experience few power outages because our electrical system is well maintained.
The electricity that serves a majority of our customers is purchased from the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal power marketing administration that serves over one hundred thirty publicly-owned utilities in the Northwest with low-cost electricity. A substantial amount of energy is also contracted with non-federal suppliers to serve the specialized needs of industrial customers.
Strategic Plan 2025-2035
Public power means public purpose, public governance, and public service. Our 2025-2035 Strategic Plan honors this heritage while boldly embracing the future. Guided by transparency, accountability, and our unwavering commitment to customer-owners, this plan outlines how we’ll deliver on our mission to be the leader in reliable, affordable utility services. It’s more than a strategic document – it’s our promise to the communities we serve and our blueprint for the next decade of public power excellence.
Mission
Be the leader in delivering reliable, affordable utility services guided by and accountable to the communities we serve.
Core Values
Our core values are the foundation of our organization. They represent our commitments to each other, direct our actions, and provide the framework that shapes our culture as we navigate future challenges and seize emerging opportunities.
- Culture and Community: We believe in a workplace where employees support each other and our community. We work with trust, integrity and mutual respect, recognizing that our strength comes from collaboration with each other and with the families and businesses we serve.
- Customer Service Excellence and Equity: We deliver exceptional service by leveraging our expertise to provide solutions that benefit all our customer-owners. Beyond providing reliable power, we ensure equitable rates and policies and see each interaction as an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our community.
- Innovation and Leadership: We embrace innovation and empower all employees to seek new approaches and technologies. Our forward-thinking team develops solutions that optimize operations, guide decisions, and address emerging industry challenges. We promote public service by integrating our knowledge, abilities, and infrastructure with other public agencies to deliver expanded services to customers.
- Resilience: We strengthen our resilience through solid infrastructure and efficient distribution system operations, financial integrity, and emergency readiness to ensure a sustainable enterprise. We partner in community development to balance growth with reliability, engage closely with energy suppliers, and we adapt operations to evolving customer needs and climate realities.
- Safety: We prioritize safety as an unwavering core value at the heart of everything we do. Protecting the public, our employees, and the assets we manage is non-negotiable.
- Transparent Operations: We champion transparency as our responsibility as stewards of community resources. Openness, fairness, and equity are the foundation of our work, preserving community trust.