Puget Sound Power and Light Company

Puget Sound Power & Light Company dominated the power and transportation business in the Pacific Northwest region during the first half of the twentieth century.

The origins of "Puget Power" are connected to the early activities of Massachusetts-based Stone & Webster Engineering Consulting Corporation. In the first decade of the twentieth century, Stone & Webster initiated aggressive expansion of the company's interests in Washington State. Its acquistion and consolidation of streetcar and power companies in Seattle, Bellingham and around the Puget Sound culminated with the incorporation of the Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Company in 1912, which re-incorporated as Puget Sound Power & Light Company in 1919. Puget Power and its subsidiaries were responsible for the construction and operation of interurban railways running from Seattle to Tacoma, Seattle to Everett, and Mount Vernon to Sedro Woolley. In the 1920s, growth of automobile travel led to a gradual decline in public streetcar use. The corporation increasingly focused its interests on Puget Sound power distribution and acquisition of Washington utility companies, and divested its railway interests. In 1997, Puget Sound Power & Light merged with the Seattle gas distributor, Washington Energy Company to form Puget Sound Energy.

From the description of Puget Sound Power and Light Company records, 1888-1990 1888-1932. (Western Washington University). WorldCat record id: 56391415

The Puget Sound Power & Light Company’s history began with Massachusetts-based Stone & Webster Engineering Consulting Corporation’s acquisition of streetcar and power company holdings in Seattle and the Puget Sound region. In 1900, Stone & Webster’s newly created Seattle Electric Company consolidated property and rights of small privately-owned transportation and utility businesses including Madison Street Cable Railway, Union Trunk Line, and Third Street & Suburban Railway. Stone & Webster acquired West End & North End Railway and Seattle Railway in 1901, and Seattle Central Railway in 1902. With the formation of Seattle City Light in 1904, Stone & Webster became a major provider of electricity and street lighting to Seattle. Its achievements continued with the 1908 formation of Pacific Coast Power Company (a subsidiary of Seattle Electric Company), which established control over the land and operations of the Tacoma Power Company, including pending construction of a hydro-electric plant at White River. In the same year, acquisition of Seattle Tacoma Power Company provided access to property and assets of Charles Hinckley Baker – including power plants at Snoqualmie Falls and electricity distribution rights in Seattle and Tacoma.

In 1902, incorporation of the Whatcom County Railway & Light Company marked the start of Puget Power’s domination of public transportation and power systems in the City of Bellingham. Whatcom County Railway & Light acquired the former interests of the Whatcom-Fairhaven Gas and Northern Railway & Improvement Companies. These companies themselves comprised earlier consolidations of local rail and utility services: Fairhaven Street Railway Company, Lake Whatcom Electric Street Railway Company, Fairhaven Electric Light, Power & Motor Company, Fairhaven & New Whatcom Railway Company, Bellingham Bay Electric Street Railway, and Bellingham Bay Gas Company. In 1906, Whatcom County Railway & Light Company expanded control over distribution of gas, electricity and lighting in Bellingham through acquisition of the utility holdings of Columbia Improvement Society (previously owned by Bellingham Bay Improvement Company), and a forty-year contract to supply power in the City.

In 1901, Seattle Electric Company assumed responsibility for financing and construction of the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban, forming the subsidiary Puget Sound Electric Railway to control and operate both interurban and street railway interests in Seattle. The final stages of interurban construction occurred in 1910-1912 with completion of the Seattle-Everett Interurban Burlington line and construction of the lines between Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley by Bellingham-Skagit Railway Company. In January 1912, the newly incorporated Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Company merged Bellingham-Skagit Railway and Seattle-Everett Interurban as Pacific Northwest Traction Company, responsible for the operation of several Puget Sound interurban railway lines. Whatcom County Railway & Light reorganized as the Bellingham Division of Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Company. In addition to their passenger lines, Puget Power provided freight services to regional businesses and industries such as the Renton coal-mines owned by Puget Sound Electric Railway.

As automobiles became more prevalent during the 1920s, the company – reincorporated in 1919 as Puget Sound Power & Light Company – had to respond to the gradual demise of the railroad passenger industry. Subsidiary company Pacific Northwest Traction offered bus services between Seattle and Bellingham from 1925 onwards, while the Seattle Interurban Motor Company provided services to Vancouver, British Columbia as early as 1921. The various interurban rail and bus services ultimately integrated as North Coast Lines in 1927, as use of the railway interurban gradually declined and were disbanded between 1928 and 1939. “Puget Power” increasingly focused its interests on the distribution of power in the Puget Sound region, divesting its railway interests, and stepping-up acquisition of Washington utility companies. Despite involvement in some major development projects (such as the construction of transmission lines across the Cascades range in 1922), support for municipal ownership forced Stone & Webster’s subsidiaries to compete for increasingly limited property and distribution rights. Puget Sound Power & Light faced increasing competition and legal challenges from Washington State Public Utility Districts, losing power distribution rights in Seattle and Tacoma by 1930. These conflicts continued through the 1960s, despite its 1943 restructuring as a Washington-based corporation. In 1997, Puget Sound Power & Light merged with the Seattle gas distributor, Washington Energy Company to form Puget Sound Energy.

From the guide to the Puget Sound Power and Light Company Records, 1888-1990, 1888-1932, (Western Washington University Heritage Resources)