Business Community
PenLight cooperative members to vote on new directors
Rate-paying members of Peninsula Light Co. should receive ballots this week for the electrical cooperative’s board of directors election.
Who those candidates are, however, remains under wraps until ballots are mailed to rate-paying members. That is standard procedure for the electrical cooperative, but the removal of long-term board member Paul Alvestad, whose tenure spanned more than two decades, put a new spotlight on board elections this year.
“I was removed from the Peninsula Light Co. board because of fairness, transparency and fiduciary duties requires that I disclose to the members that an expensive facility study was underway,”Alvestad said in an email on March 29. “It had not been disclosed in the CEO’s report to the members at several previous annual meetings.
“It had previously been disclosed to non-members of other power companies by other board members.”
L. Paul Alvestad
Two vacant positions
Only seven of the nine PenLight board positions are currently occupied. In addition to Alvestad’s removal, James Smalley resigned earlier this year.
PenLight leaders have discussed replacing the cooperative’s headquarters building on Goodnough Drive NW, Alvestad said in an interview Thursday. The utility has released no details about a possible new headquarters, nor has it posted information on its website.
PenLight’s annual meeting is slated for 5:30 p.m. May 4. The cooperative will announce results of board elections at that meeting. PenLight members have until April 27 to vote.
Last year, PenLight mailed 32,409 ballots to members; 3,367 were returned, a 10.4% participation rate, according to the Peninsula Light Co. website.
The board of directors oversees the finances of the electrical cooperative, a membership organization that provides power to about 35,000 meters in Gig Harbor.
“My main concern is in other instances when the same architect and engineer designed buildings that they did extensive consensus building if a new facility is needed and what it should entail,” Alvestad said in an interview. “A decision was made early on by the CEO and consultant without board involvement (to build a new headquarter building).”
“The utility is headed for this big expensive building that the bylaws allow them to spend without member consent,” Alvestad said. “I wanted to reveal it.”
PenLight finances and salaries
The electrical cooperative considers itself a quasi-private entity and therefore doesn’t encourage public participation, Alvestad said. In fact, its bylaws state that rate-paying members of the cooperative need permission to attend the board’s monthly meetings.
The bylaws prohibit reporters from attending any meetings.
CEO Jafar Taghavi runs the light company. He was paid $564,000 in salary in 2024, according to an IRS filing for the nonprofit. Board members also receive a salary for six hours of work a week, according to the filing. Annual salaries for the board members range from $27,000 to $33,000.
Peninsula Light Co. had about $68 million in revenues and $62.4 million in expenses in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the light company’s IRS filing. The light company had $216 million in assets and $34.7 million in liabilities, according to the filings.
Starting this month, the electric utility will raise rates $7 to $10 a month for rate payers because of rising costs for materials, equipment and labor, according to the utility’s website. The higher rates ensure that the utility can continue to replace infrastructure, support growth and fund improvements and modernization, according to the utility’s online statement.
“This is your company,”Alvestad said in the email. “Before you vote, please carefully review candidate positions.”
Editors note: Reporter Suzanne Roig is a rate paying member of Peninsula Light Co. The utility also is a contributor to Gig Harbor Now.