Seattle City Light Annual Reports, 1910-2017

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle City Light
Title
Seattle City Light Annual Reports
Dates
1910-2017 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.1 cubic feet, (5 boxes)
Collection Number
1802-F6
Summary
Annual reports for Municipal Light and Power Plant and System, Lighting Department, and Seattle City Light. Includes financial reports as well as comparative reports on highlights of years. Lighting Department annual reports contain historical reviews, illustrations, and statistical information. Also includes the 1977 and 1978 annual reports for the City Light Office of Conservation.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

City Light provides electricity and electrical and conservation services to its public and private customers. It is the largest public utility in the Pacific Northwest. Public responsibility for electrical energy dates back to 1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. The formulation of this public utility stemmed from fear of monopolization by private companies and was reinforced by the inadequacy of those companies during the Great Fire of 1889. Unable to gain access to private water, much of the business district was burned to the ground. Citizens responded eagerly to the idea of publicly owned water and electricity, which was later encouraged as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s.

In 1902, Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar River under the administration of the Water Department. This was the nation's first municipally owned hydroelectric project. Electricity from this development began to serve customers in Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910 created the Lighting Department, making it a full member of the City's Board of Public Works. Under the leadership of Superintendent James D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River hydroelectric project which began supplying power in 1924 with the completion of the Gorge Dam.

Both public and private power was supplied to Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the local private electrical power company, the Puget Sound Power and Light Company, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary Project in northeastern Washington began operations in 1967 and supplied over half of City Light's power generation. By the early 21st century, approximately ten percent of City Light's income came from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the Northwest and Southwest with the remainder of City Light's financial support coming from customer revenue.

The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978 when the department was reorganized. As a municipally owned public power system, Seattle City Light is governed by elected Seattle officials. Administrative authority rests with the Superintendent and an executive team that includes the department's Chief of Staff, Service and Energy Delivery Officer, Human Resources Officer, Power Supply and Environmental Affairs Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. City Light is responsible for electrical service and streetlight service, streetlight problems, and also conservation, both residential and commercial/industrial.

City Light provides low-cost, reliable, and environmentally responsible electric power to approximately 395,000 customers in Seattle and neighboring areas, including Burien, Lake Forest Park, Normandy Park, Renton, SeaTac, Shoreline, Tukwila, and unincorporated King County. It is the ninth-largest public power system in the United States and has the lowest rates among comparably sized cities in the United States.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Included with the City Light annual reports are reports for the Municipal Light and Power Plant System dating from 1913 to 1917; these are signed by J.D. Ross. Lighting Department or City Light annual reports date from 1910 to 1988, although reports for some years are missing. For some years there are two reports; some are financial reports, others are comparative or reports outlining highlights of the year addressed to the Mayor and City Council. Beginning in 1911, Lighting Department annual reports contain an historical review, photographs as illustrations, graphs, and statistical information. Many reports include maps and detail power plant development. The reports, although shorter, continue to be well illustrated and to supply statistical information through the 1970s and 1980s. They reflect issues such as conservation and droughts. The 1977 and 1978 annual reports for the City Light Office of Conservation are also included.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

CF Project. A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed "on file" with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which is periodically purged. Beginning in 1987, certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC. A single accession number, 1987-048, was assigned to the transfer of the CF to the Archives. The initial transfer included records dating from 1895. These records remain in the CF series until approximately 15 years after they were filed with the OCC, at which point they are removed to the Archives. The transfer of CF records to the Archives is routine and regular. New accession numbers are not created when these transfers are made.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle City Light Annual Reports, Record Series 1802-F6 Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1 Lighting Department Annual Report 1910
1 1 Lighting Department Annual Report 1911
1 1 Lighting Department Annual Report 1912-1913
1 2 Municipal Light and Power System Annual Report 1913
1 2 Municipal Light and Power System Annual Report 1914
1 2 Municipal Light and Power System Annual Report 1916
1 2 Municipal Light and Power System Annual Report 1917
1 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1914-1915
1 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1915
5 1 Lighting Department Financial Report 1918
1 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1919
5 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1920
1 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1921
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1922
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1923
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1924
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1925
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1926
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1926
1 4 Lighting Department Annual Report (Supplemental) 1926
1 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1927
1 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1927
1 5 Lighting Department (unpublished) Annual Report 1928
1 5 Lighting Department (published) Annual Report 1928
1 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1929
1 6 Lighting Department (published) Annual Report 1930
1 6 Lighting Department (unpublished) Annual Report 1930
1 6 Lighting Department Annual Report 1931
1 6 Lighting Department Annual Report 1932
1 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1933
1 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1934
1 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1935
2 1 Lighting Department Annual Report 1936
2 1 Lighting Department Annual Report 1937
2 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1938
2 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1939
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1940
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1941
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1942
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1943
2 3 Lighting Department (includes Financial Report) 1943
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1944
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1945
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1946
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1947
2 3 Lighting Department Annual Report 1948
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1949
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1950
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1951
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1952
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1953
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1954
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report - "Highlights" 1954
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1955
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1955
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1956
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1957
2 4 Lighting Department Annual Report 1957
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1958
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1959
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1960
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1961
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1962
2 5 Lighting Department Annual Report 1962
2 6 Lighting Department Annual Report 1963
2 6 Lighting Department (includes Financial Statement) 1964
2 6 Lighting Department Annual Report 1965
2 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1966
2 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1967
2 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1968
2 7 Lighting Department Annual Report 1969
2 8 Lighting Department Annual Report 1970
2 8 Lighting Department Annual Report 1971
2 8 Lighting Department Annual Report 1972
2 8 Lighting Department Annual Report (Financial) 1973
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1968
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1969
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1970
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1971
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1973
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1973
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1974
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1975
3 1 Underground Wiring Annual Report 1976
3 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1974
3 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1975
3 2 City Light Annual Report (Financial and "Highlights") 1975
3 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1976
3 2 Seattle City Light Annual Report and Highlights 1976
3 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1977
3 2 Lighting Department Annual Report 1977
3 3 City Light Annual Report - Office of Conservation 1977
3 2 City Light Annual Report 1978
3 3 City Light Annual Report - Office of Conservation 1978
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1979
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1979
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1980
3 4 City Light Annual Report (Financial) 1980
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1980
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1981
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1982
3 4 City Light Annual Report 1982
3 5 City Light Annual Report 1983
3 5 City Light Annual Report 1983
3 5 City Light Annual Report 1984
3 5 City Light Annual Report 1985
3 6 City Light Annual Report 1986
3 6 City Light Annual Report 1987
3 6 City Light Annual Report 1988
3 6 City Light Annual Report 1989
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1990
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1991
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1992
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1993
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1994
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1995
3 7 City Light Annual Report 1996
4 1 City Light Annual Report 1997
4 1 City Light Annual Report 1998
4 1 City Light Annual Report 1999
4 1 City Light Annual Report 2000
4 2 City Light Annual Report 2001
4 2 City Light Annual Report 2002
4 2 City Light Annual Report 2003
4 2 City Light Annual Report 2004
4 3 City Light Annual Report 2005
4 3 City Light Annual Report 2006
4 3 City Light Annual Report 2007
4 4 City Light Annual Report 2008
4 4 City Light Annual Report 2009
4 4 City Light Annual Report 2010
4 4 City Light Annual Report 2011
4 5 City Light Annual Report 2012
4 5 City Light Annual Report 2013
4 5 City Light Annual Report 2014
4 6 City Light Annual Report 2015
4 6 City Light Annual Report 2016
4 6 City Light Annual Report 2017

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Electric power production--Washington (State)

Corporate Names

  • Seattle City Light
  • Seattle City Light. Office of Conservation

Geographical Names

  • Seattle
  • Seattle (Wash.)