Business Community

Levels of transparency vary widely for utility co-ops like PenLight

Across the country, some member-owned electric cooperatives hold open monthly board meetings. Others hold annual meetings in person for their rate-paying member.

Still others post meeting agendas, their IRS nonprofit tax forms and data on renewable energy on their websites.

The level of transparency varies depending on each cooperative’s bylaws.

“There’s a joke in the cooperative world that, if you’ve seen one cooperative, you’ve seen one cooperative,” said Jan TenBruggencate, a board member of the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaii since 2010.  “They have similarities, but they can be very different.”

Nonprofit that operates like a business

Here in Gig Harbor, the Peninsula Light Co. operates more like a private business than a nonprofit entity, which is the way cooperatives are set up in Washington, according to the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

PenLight members can request certain information from the cooperative, said Britni Wickens, Peninsula Light Co. director of communications and board administrator. But other information — like its IRS nonprofit forms, which include salaries of key employees, revenues and expenses — are easier found on other websites.

What comes next

Members of Peninsula Light will select three new members of the cooperative’s governing board from a field of six candidates. Member are invited to learn about the successful candidates and to hear about the state of the utility at an annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 4, held virtually.

The nonprofit publication ProPublica, for instance, posts PenLight’s nonprofit forms.

The cooperative’s bylaws state that members can attend board meetings only after obtaining permission. The bylaws bar journalists from attending any meetings.

Once a year, PenLight invites its rate-paying members to its annual meeting to hear what’s happening. The 2026 version is at 5:30 p.m. May 4. Click here for information on how to attend virtually.

Other models

Yet Tanner Electric Cooperative — a Washington utility covering Anderson Island, Ames Lake and North Bend in eastern King County — posts meeting agendas and minutes and information on its fuel mix on its website for its 5,200 rate-paying meters.

Elmhurst Mutual Power & Light, which serves parts of Tacoma, operates more similarly to PenLight. It only posts information about the current board of directors on its website.

Elmhurst posts board meeting dates, but no information on agendas or minutes. It, too, holds an annual meeting. Its annual meeting is in person, as opposed to PenLight’s virtual meeting.

Neither Elmhurst nor Tanner responded to requests for information from Gig Harbor Now.

For the most part, these electric utilities fly under the radar and don’t garner much attention from members. In fact, Penlight’s last election eked by with a 10.39% response rate from voting members. Its bylaws require at least 10% of members to vote to constitute a quorum.

But in the wake of the ouster of Peninsula Light board member, Paul Alvestad, the community is talking.

The board of directors removed Alvestad in March. A statement from the utility alleged he breached confidentiality by disclosing information regarding a possible new headquarters building and created a hostile environment. He was a board member for 26 years.

Calls for transparency

Ken Manning, a Gig Harbor resident and Peninsula Light Co. member, said the utility needs to be more transparent.

“As a rate payer, my opinion is since it’s a member-owned utility, why not put proposals (to build a new headquarters) in front of the membership and tell them what it will cost and let them vote on it,” Manning said. “Why be so secretive? Nothing good happens in secrecy. The board should be more open and transparent on what’s going on.”

The electric utility, which is a power distributor, operates as a private, not-for-profit cooperative, Wickens said.

“The governance structure is intentionally designed so that the member-elected directors can proficiently act on behalf of the entire membership,” Wickens said.

Long-serving board members

Still, questions remain. Former Gig Harbor Mayor Kit Kuhn said in an interview that the electric cooperative is supposed to operate democratically.

Its board has no term limits, said Kuhn, who served as mayor from 2018 to 2022.

“At PenLight, they elect their own friends and everyone elects the names they know,” Kuhn said. “A lot of these people are good community people, but an effective board is one that has term limits. There’s a rotation and they live by their own rules. When the board becomes the same people over and over, it becomes immune to the people it serves.”

All but one of the current board members at Peninsula Light Co. have served multiple terms. The longest-serving member, Roger Spadoni, has been a board member for 39 years, whereas newcomer Erin Gatherum joined the board in 2022. Board members earn annual stipends ranging from $27,000 to $33,000, according to a 2024 IRS tax filing.

The role of cooperatives

Cooperatives generally provide power in rural areas and are owned by members. That’s the opposite of the standard electric company, a for-profit entity with shareholders focused on financial returns.

Nationwide, 830 cooperatives distribute power to rate-paying members, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Less than 6% of people in Washington receive their power from an electric cooperative. Most cooperatives operate in eastern Washington.

When electric cooperatives were formed decades ago, they were designed to provide power to rural residents and keep rates low because they don’t have to pay dividends to shareholders. In Washington, the prevalence of hydroelectricity helps keep rates low.

“I’m proud of how the cooperative continues to serve our 35,000 members,” said Debra Ross, Peninsula Light Co. board president. “Reliability remains a top priority, and our system consistently performs well across key industry benchmarks, helping ensure fewer and shorter outages. We also maintain some of the lowest rates in the area, balancing affordability with necessary investments in infrastructure and long-term system and utility reliability.”

Last year, PenLight secured a low-cost supply through 2044, which will help maintain long-term rate stability for members, Wickens said.

The electric utility’s rates are lower than neighbors like Tacoma Power and Puget Sound Energy, according to a chart provided by the utility. Peninsula Light Co. charges 7 cents per kilowatt of power, less than the 12 cents per kilowatt hour average in Washington.

Seven principles

Nationwide electric cooperatives operate on seven key principles, according to the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association. They principles include:

• Open and voluntary membership: Membership is open to all, regardless of gender, social, racial, political or religious preferences.
• Democratic member control: Members actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.
• Members’ economic participation: Members participate equitably to and democratically control their cooperative’s capital.
• Autonomy and independence: Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by the members.
• Education, training and information:  For members, elected representatives, managers and employees.
• Cooperation among other cooperatives: Cooperatives work together to strengthen local, regional, national and international structures.
• Concern for the community: Cooperatives work for sustainable development within their communities.

In general, most cooperatives operate more like a private company than a nonprofit, said John Farrell, a co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The institute is a Minneapolis think tank focusing on community over corporate control.

When cooperatives were created, they provided an innovative level of community control. But over the years, interest by cooperative members waned.

“When they were created it was an innovative approach to providing electricity, but over the years, there’s little interest in being involved,” Farrell said. “The board of directors often are their own entity.”

Local control

Over the years, some communities have forced transparency in their cooperatives, Farrell said. It’s something members generally have to do on their own.

“Most states do not exert any power over cooperatives,” Farrell said. “Public utilities commissions regulate for-profit utility rates and assume that the members of a cooperative can exert control over the cooperative.”

In Montana, for instance, community advocates proposed bylaw revisions after controversial decisions over a coal-fired generation station in 2010, according to a study done by the institute in 2026. Today, according to the institute’s report, the electric utility is among the most transparent cooperatives in Montana.

In Kentucky, one group suggested a bill of rights for cooperative members, according to the institute. And in Georgia, a consumer protection advocacy group created a checklist to determine levels of democratic actions in cooperative operations.

PenLight board candidates

At Peninsula Light Co., three board positions are up for election each year. Candidates generally include incumbents and challengers chosen by a committee of members recruited by the chairman of the board, Wickens said.

The election committee interviews and selects candidates, ensuring they meet qualifications outlined in the bylaws, she said. Members in good standing may ask to be considered by the committee.

“Peninsula Light Co.’s election process for its board of directors is governed by formal policies designed to ensure fairness, transparency and compliance with bylaws and applicable law,” Wickens said.

On Kauai, the cooperative is so anxious to get community involvement at the annual meeting that food is served as a lure, TenBruggencate said.

“Indeed we are so anxious to get people there that we serve chili and rice dinners and hand out free 5-pound bags of rice,” he said. “It’s Hawaii, after all.”