2024 Director’s Letter
Our utility takes great pride in serving you. This 2024 Tacoma Public Utilities Annual Report highlights key accomplishments across our five divisions: Tacoma Power, Tacoma Water, Tacoma Rail, Customer Experience & External Affairs, and the Management Services Office. Together we delivered safe, reliable, and affordable services while strengthening the customer support our community relies on every day.
Beyond daily operations, we advanced key initiatives that improve our resilience, equity, and sustainability. This work is guided by our unified mission to deliver clean, reliable services that are essential to your quality of life and by our vision to be a trusted community partner where our employees are proud to serve. Our core values of Safety, Belonging, Customer Focus, Integrity, and Respect anchor every decision we make.
I’m proud of how our employees put these values into action by caring for people and infrastructure and helping our communities thrive.
In 2024, we also launched a unified Public Utility Board-approved Strategic Plan to guide us over the next three to five years. It focuses on three priorities: Employee Experience, Customer Experience, and Operational Excellence.
At the center of it all is our North Star: ensuring that you experience compassion and equity in action and are understood, valued, and empowered to manage your essential services. What follows is a brief look at each division’s work, rooted in our values, and aligned with our mission and vision.
Tacoma Power maintained exceptional reliability with 99.970% service availability while serving more than 180,000 customers. The utility earned the American Public Power Association’s Platinum Safety Award, the highest honor in the industry. Tacoma Power advanced its critical grid modernization efforts, expanded environmental stewardship programs, and deepened community engagement through education, safety training, and coordinated storm response.
Tacoma Water delivered clean, safe drinking water while modernizing key parts of the system and helping customers conserve resources. Our teams replaced leaking service lines, saving over 73 million gallons of water, distributed nearly 2,000 water-saving kits, and continued progress on PFAS planning and system resiliency upgrades. We also supported responsible development and strengthened workforce training to ensure we can meet both today’s needs and those of the future.
Tacoma Rail upheld its long tradition of exceptional freight service with 100% on-time outbound intermodal performance and significant growth across its service areas. An $8.3 million federal grant will help repower older locomotives with cleaner Tier 4 engines, reducing emissions and supporting a more sustainable future for the Port of Tacoma. Improvements across all safety indicators reflect a deeply engaged workforce committed to hazard prevention and operational reliability.
Customer Experience & External Affairs (CXEA) enhanced accessibility, equity, and digital engagement for customers. The Bill Credit Assistance Plan expanded from fewer than 800 to more than 10,000 participating households, distributing $7.2 million in utility bill support. Customer satisfaction increased, MyAccount adoption grew to nearly 80% of customers, and outreach teams connected with thousands of residents and more than 3,000 youth. Communications, analytics, and community partnerships continued to strengthen trust and transparency.
The Management Services Office (MSO) advanced TPU’s financial stewardship, public transparency, and emergency preparedness. The team supported biennial budget and rate development, processed nearly 5,000 public disclosure requests, improved records management practices, and led critical updates to TPU’s Continuity of Operations Plan. With zero recordable injuries, MSO exemplified a strong culture of safety and resilience.
Across all five divisions, TPU made meaningful progress in modernizing infrastructure, supporting customers, enhancing environmental sustainability, and investing in the people who advance our mission.
I encourage you to explore our more detailed division reports, which highlight even more of our work in 2024. As we look ahead, we remain committed to delivering clean, reliable services, strengthening community partnerships, and ensuring every customer benefits from a more resilient, equitable, and innovative utility.
Thank you for your trust and partnership.
Jackie Flowers
Director of Utilities