Electric Utility Service History
Clark Public Utilities was formed by a vote of the people in 1938. The utility began serving AIRCO, its first electric customer, in 1942. The next area to be served by the small utility was a project for the Vancouver Housing Authority on McLoughlin Heights.
The utility acquired facilities owned by Portland General Electric in 1946 and bought out Northwestern Electric (now Pacific Power & Light) in 1948, expanding our electric service area to all of Clark County.
Clark Public Utilities is governed by an elected board of three commissioners. The commission sets utility policy, approves annual budgets, establishes rates, approves major purchases and investments, and selects a general manager to oversee the utility operations and staff.
Today’s Electric Service Area
Clark Public Utilities now provides electricity to all of Clark County. The system includes 55 substations/switching stations and 6,600 miles of power lines. In urban parts of the county many of the lines are underground, but we still maintain more than 62,000 poles.
Water Utility Service History
We entered the water business in 1951 when a few hundred customers in the Hazel Dell area asked the utility to take over and operate their private water system. The system grew as Hazel Dell and areas north of it became more populated. Our water utility is now one of the ten largest water utilities in the state, providing water to a city, a town, and numerous rural centers and satellite facilities.
Today’s Water Service Areas
The utility’s water system now serves more than 30,000 homes and businesses throughout Clark County. We continue to add new production wells and reservoir storage capacity to keep up with the system’s rapid growth.
Our service area covers about 200 square miles and includes the communities of Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek, Lakeshore, Felida, Mt. Vista, LaCenter, Brush Prairie, Hockinson, Venersborg, Heisson, Meadow Glade, Dollars Corner, Duluth, Pioneer, Manor, Amboy and Yacolt. We also operate several small “satellite” systems for small groups of homes throughout the county.