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Public Power
The benefit of public power is just one of the success
stories for rural and urban residents and businesses. Twenty-eight
Public Utility Districts (PUDs) serve more than 1.7 million citizens
across the state. Depending on local needs, they may offer electricity,
water, wholesale telecommunications, sewer and other services.
Mason County PUD No. 1 has its headquarters in Potlatch
along picturesque Hood Canal. PUD No. 1 serves approximately 5,249
electric customers. The publicly owned entity also currently owns
32 water systems within Mason County serving 2,389 equivalent residential
unit water accounts. www.masonpud1.org
Mason County PUD No. 3 has its head office located
in the county seat of Shelton, with an additional business office
and a line crew in Belfair. PUD No. 3 provides electric and wholesale
fiber optic service to nearly 30,000 owner/ratepayers. The PUD No.
3 service area covers 567 square miles, most of which is in Mason
County. Service is also provided to small areas of south Kitsap,
and east Grays Harbor Counties. www.masonpud3.org
Telecommunications
Mason County is one of the most wired rural communities
in the United States due to a heavy investment in internet infrastructure
by local PUDs No. 1 and 3. This infrastructure network includes
fiber optics and broadband capacity.
Mason County PUDs provide wholesale telecommunications
services at speeds over 50,000 times faster than what the federal
government defines as “high speed service”.
True broadband offers communication at speeds of
at least 200 kbps (1 megabit per second). An ever increasing demand
for the following means access to broadband is important to business.
- Faster computer networks
- More complex information services delivered
via the internet
- Upgrades to telephone and video networks for
business and industrial use
- Unknown future demands for bigger and faster
pipes for data services
There are a number of retail internet service providers
in Mason County including Hood Canal Communications, Qwest, Wave
Communication, and Comcast.
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