Who We Are

As a community-owned utility, Pasadena Water and Power is a not-for-profit public service owned and operated by the City of Pasadena for the benefit of its customers and the community. Our priorities are reliability, responsiveness to customers, reasonable rates and environmental stewardship. We measure our success not by profits but by how reliable and affordable our services are.

Pasadena Water and Power is a community enterprise that has always been essential to the health, economy and quality of life in our city. Today, PWP provides electricity to more than 65,000 customers within Pasadena. We also deliver water to almost 38,000 households and businesses in Pasadena and adjacent communities in the San Gabriel Valley.

 

Organization and Governance

The Pasadena Water and Power General Manager reports to the City Manager and is governed by the City Council with oversight from the Municipal Services Committee of the City Council.  Pasadena’s City Council determines how PWP’s services are provided within the community, including setting rates and approving services. Council members are residents of Pasadena who are customers of the utility.

In addition to local accountability, PWP is subject to requirements established by numerous state and federal regulatory bodies

PWP is under the management of the General Manager, and organized into five separate business units: Water Delivery, Power Supply, Power Delivery, Finance, Administration, and Customer Service, and Customer Relations and Legislative.
The Municipal Services Committee, made up of up to four City Council Members, oversees the electric and water services offered by Pasadena Water and Power. For information about the meeting agendas, meeting schedule, and contact information please visit the Municipal Services Committee Website.

Our History

PWP’s history starts when The Municipal Light and Power Department was established in 1906. Pasadena citizens passed a $125,000 bond to construct a power plant that would electrify street lights for less than what Edison charged at the time. Soon thereafter, another bond measure funded more capacity at the power plant, and the department began its first commercial electric service in 1908.

In 1912 cycles of drought and a population boom spurred the city to establish a unified, reliable water system. Following years of political struggle, citizens passed a $1.2 million bond to purchase three private water companies, and the Pasadena Water Department was founded.

Over the next two decades, the department overhauled infrastructure, modernized water treatment facilities and secured new and long-term water supplies. Pasadena also took on a leadership role in regional water matters, both in the formation of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1929 and in the 1944 adjudication of pumping rights for the Raymond Basin.

During the Great Depression we provided much-needed jobs, and in World War II we pitched in with the war effort. In the twentieth century PWP was largely focused on expanding service infrastructure and acquiring more resources to meet growing demand. More recently, PWP has contributed to Pasadena’s quality of life through multi-million dollar transfers to the City’s General Fund, which supports fire and police protection, street lights and maintenance, community centers and assistance to low-income residents, among other services.

Currently, we are focused on long-term resource management and environmental protection, embracing aggressive environmental goals that reflect our community’s values, including procuring more renewable energy and local water resources, while continuing our long history of reliable service at reasonable rates.