For more than 100 years, Peninsula Light Company has been dedicated to delivering reliable, community-focused utility services. While many know PenLight as their local electric cooperative, the organization has strategically evolved to operate through 3 complementary lines of business: its member-owned electric utility, Water Department, and PLC Energy Inc., the cooperative’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary.
Together, these 3 divisions create a stronger, more resilient organization. PenLight’s electric cooperative continues its mission of providing safe, reliable and affordable electric service to members, while the Water Department delivers high-quality water services to thousands of customers throughout the territory. Through PLC Energy Inc., PenLight operates PLCE Consulting Services, providing engineering, information technology, cybersecurity and utility consulting services to cooperatives, municipalities and organizations throughout the region.
By diversifying its operations beyond traditional utility services, PenLight has created revenue opportunities that help offset the financial pressures facing today’s utility industry, including rising operational costs, increasing regulatory requirements and slowing load growth. These supplemental revenue streams strengthen the cooperative’s long-term financial health, support investment in critical infrastructure and innovation, and help reduce pressure on future electric rate increases.
Although each business serves a unique purpose, they are united by a common goal: delivering dependable service, creating value for members and customers, and ensuring Peninsula Light Co. remains a strong, sustainable community partner for generations to come.
Celebrating 30 Years of PenLight Water Department - 3 Decades of Delivering Safe, Reliable Water to Our Communities
This year, Peninsula Light Company celebrates a milestone - 30 years of providing safe, dependable water service to our members and communities.
While PenLight has powered homes and businesses for more than a century, our commitment expanded in 1996 when the cooperative assumed responsibility for several local water systems. What began as a commitment to preserve community infrastructure has grown into a trusted service providing reliable drinking water to thousands of residents.
Over 3 decades, PenLight’s Water Department has invested in infrastructure modernization and regulatory compliance to ensure members receive high-quality water every day. From upgrading water systems and expanding storage to implementing advanced monitoring technologies, the department remains focused on reliability, sustainability, and public health.
Today, PenLight manages multiple water systems across the territory, with a dedicated team monitoring pump stations, distribution systems and treatment facilities around the clock, performing water quality testing, responding to emergencies and ensuring compliance with drinking water standards.
“Our members depend on us every day, often without realizing the work that goes into delivering safe, reliable water,” CEO Jafar Taghavi says. “Our Water Department exemplifies PenLight’s commitment to service, stewardship and investing in our communities’ future. We are proud of what has been accomplished and grateful to the employees whose dedication has made it possible.”
PenLight’s water employees live and work in the communities they serve, responding whenever needed - whether repairing a water main, restoring service after an emergency, or maintaining infrastructure to prevent future outages.
As our region grows, PenLight remains committed to investing in water infrastructure and protecting our most valuable natural resources. Careful planning, preventative maintenance, and long-term capital improvements help ensure reliable service for future generations.
As PenLight celebrates this milestone, we thank employees, past and present, whose expertise and commitment have shaped our Water Department and the members who have trusted us over these past 3 decades.
Here’s to 30 years of delivering clean, safe, reliable water - and to many more years of serving our communities.
PLCE Consulting Services: Turning Expertise into Opportunity
As Peninsula Light Co. navigated a changing utility landscape nearly a decade ago, Taghavi recognized that traditional revenue sources alone may not sustain the cooperative’s long-term financial health. With flat load growth, increasing regulatory requirements and rising operating costs impacting utilities nationwide, PenLight sought an innovative way to diversify revenue while remaining true to its cooperative mission.
In 2017, that vision became reality with the creation of PLCE Consulting Services, PenLight’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary.
Built on the expertise of PenLight’s employees, PLCE leverages decades of experience in engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, network infrastructure and utility operations to provide professional consulting at competitive rates. Rather than outsourcing talent, PenLight transformed its in-house expertise into a resource for utilities, municipalities and organizations seeking trusted industry professionals.
“One of our greatest assets has always been our people,” Taghavi says. “PLCE allows us to share that expertise beyond our service territory, while creating an additional revenue stream that strengthens PenLight and benefits our members.”
What began as a strategy to address industry challenges has grown into a respected consulting organization serving utilities throughout the Pacific Northwest. By partnering with electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and public utility districts, PLCE has helped clients modernize technology, strengthen cybersecurity and improve operational efficiency. This collaborative approach reflects the cooperative principle of neighbors helping neighbors - sharing knowledge and practical solutions that strengthen the industry as a whole.
Unlike traditional consulting firms, PLCE’s professionals actively design, build, secure, and maintain the systems they support every day at PenLight. This real-world experience enables the team to deliver practical, cost-effective solutions tailored to each client’s needs.
Revenue generated through PLCE helps diversify PenLight’s income, offset operating costs, and reduce pressure on future electric rates. Employees also gain valuable experience working alongside industry partners, bringing new ideas and best practices back to PenLight to enhance member service.
9 years after its founding, PLCE Consulting Services stands as a testament to forward-thinking leadership and cooperative innovation, demonstrating how investing in people and sharing expertise creates lasting value for clients, employees, and members alike.