I called into Tacoma Public Utilities because our sprinklers were going on and off in a weird way. I tried to fix the issue by flushing out the pipes for air bubbles, but it didn't seem to help and the issue happened to the whole house when the sprinklers were running. When I called in I got a person in like 2 minutes and when they didn't know the answer they transferred me over to the water division, but the first representative stayed on the line with me until the person at water picked up so I didn't get stuck in a hold loop. The representative at water did not know the answer to my question but said that she would get my info over to a supervisor and they would call me back. I got a call back from Bob Hinzman in just a couple hours and he explained that in my area the water pressure is higher and they have to regulate the pressure; sometimes these pressure regulation valves can cause and issue like that. There is one on the mainline and one in my house line, he walked me through how to adjust mine and then said he would call to the mainline pressure regulation station and see if they were having any issues. After a couple more hours I was called back by Bob saying that he talked to the supervisor at the mainline station and they had some odd readings on their last test that may have caused some issues for me. I had been the only person to report any issues but they still moved the scheduled maintenance that they had for next week to tomorrow so that they could let me know before the weekend if the issue was there or likely on my end. He also said that if that wasn't the issue and my valve adjustment didn't fix it they would come install a monitor on the fire hydrant in my culdesac to check for irregularities. I was amazed by how competent and through the service was and how pleasant it was to work with their support agents. Time and time again I am so pleased with Washington State and their public programs. Thank you! read more

I've had nothing but great service from the people at TPU over 20 years. The only exception is when they failed to hold a contractor accountable for flood damage he caused in Dash Point State Park by improperly releasing thousands of gallons of water from a surface impoundment run by the city in NE Tacoma. Overall, staff have done an excellent job at promoting environmental savings for customers and are easy to work with. I couldn't ask for better. read more

Received a letter from them apologizing for a billing mistake. Spoke to Anita at the front desk and she was mad at me for their mistake. Told me inaccurate information. No wonder they have guards in their lobby. read more

They double charged my account and refused to refund me for one of the charges. I paid my bill and set up auto pay on the same day, this caused a double charge. No problem I thought I will call and have them refund one of the charges. They literally told me there was no way they could refund me, WTF! So, they have no problem taking your money but when it comes to giving it back all of a sudden there are problems. Poor business practices, watch out for thieving practices. read more

Terrible customer service. Utilities were shut off with no notification. If I had a choice I would discontinue service with them forever. read more

I spoke with Steve in the power shop many times and was instrumental on helping me figure out why I was having power surges and voltage drops. He was also very attentive and great to work with. What a great employee they have. Thanks so much Steve, Robert read more

I have never experienced such horrible customer service before encountering this company!! They only look out for themselves and don't care about struggling families! They will shut off your power before trying to work with you. I've even asked them to please just charge me the late fees to keep my power on. That I have kids that will also be impacted. I had Covid and couldn't work. However was receiving my check in just a few days. I was forced to choose to have my power shut off. Or .. to pay my rent. This company has no empathy towards struggling families. It should be illegal to shut off your power for a minimum past due balance!!! read more

Speedy service and lower costs than most other towns, cities, and states that I've resided in the past.

They're always looking for ways to assist customers in using renewable energy. I have participated in the program to receive a rebate for a home car charging station and am about to get a heat pump with a healthy rebate from TPU. Great organization! read more

I just thought it was funny, they have a video to watch about the new water and power meter upgrades. They monitized the video so you had to watch a commercial before their video. read more

Beware notifying TPU of an account owner's death. Upon notification they will send a letter saying the utilities will be shut off within a month unless a new account owner is established. So it's better not to notify them until you are ready with the paperwork meeting one of these conditions: 1) There is a (living) joint owner on the deed, or 2) Letters Testamentary are available if it's a probated estate i.e. property will be transferred according to a will, or 3) the property transfer to a new owner is complete and recorded, such as 4 ) If there is a transfer-upon-death deed (TUDD), the death certificate has been submitted to the county and officially recorded. They will not establish a new account otherwise, and are dreadful to deal with until you meet one of the conditions above showing your authority or ownership. It's an excruciating bureaucracy for a bereaved person to deal with. read more

Top notch service across the board. When I had my house rewired, their inspectors were in my corner to make sure everything was done to code. When I've called TPU to learn about services, reps have been efficient and knowledgeable. And when I learned that they will trim trees away from power lines, and requested that service, they sent someone over literally hours later to get the process started! read more

The worst company. Unable to reach the inspector. They are unresponsive and unhelpful. I wish I didn't buy a home in a Tacoma!!

Have dealt with TPU twice in the past month, once in person to set up an account and a second time via phone to get an explanation about the billing process and associated charges. In both instances I found the TPU reps to be pleasant, courteous, knowledgeable and efficient. Was quite pleased with the interactions I had with them. read more

Absolute creeps. TPU never gets our mailing address correct (other reviewers have stated this) please also check their other reviews around the web to see the truth to this monopoly. They charge astronomical amounts and they can get away with whatever they desire to get away with. The utilities are higher than a new car payment. Ours have been $500 on average for an 1100 sq foot home running no lights at night, and we keep our heater set to 60 degrees at night and 64 in the day (we freeze). If they shut you off without a notice (and they do this to a lot of people in this neighborhood I have seen the yellow tags) you don't just live with a candle for the night you live without water and flushing toilets. They have the garbage, waste water, solid waste, another water thing, water, and electricity all on one single bill. You must use only their services unless you are blessed to be in a PSE zone (PSE is better, way better I had PSE in the past). We also have the smallest can and risk taking our garbage and dumping it ourselves. We use hardly no water we only flush the toilets every 3-4 uses and we take community showers. The bill is just insanely high no matter how much we cut. We only have 1 power saving refrigerator plugged in and we wash/dry clothes in power saving appliances. They also don't work with payment arrangements since they never send a statement out in time before a problem arises. They always demand full payment they don't work with you. For summer (and we have no airconditioner either the bill was $700+) and they demanded $734 something up front and then they stated since it was on a budget billing they were cancelling that and wanted $400 something due again in 3 weeks plus a $200+ deposit. They just keep digging and digging for more money. They are absolute thieves. We have applied for utility assistance, senior citizen/disabled discounts since my disabled mother resides with us, and we still struggle to pay their very high rates. They can charge what they want and do what they want. The WA Utility Commission does not oversee these creeps either their best advice for dealing with them is to speak with a manager. Do not live in any Federal Way or North East Tacoma area where these guys service the utilities. RUN RUN RUN! It is sad I love our home but not the utility company. Because of them I will have to move at the lease end. I will not be doing a purchase option. read more

Lacking in many areas. Poor customer service. customer service line is frequently busy. Had an outage recently and was not able to get updates and or able to contact anyone. Billing is shady. I was gone about 3 weeks and not utilizing utilities and still received a bill in the amount of full use. Not good in my present experience. Miss PSE. Everything with this company is sketchy especially billing. My 1st bill through them was about $70 for 2 days or the month. Bill was not prorated or calculated based on usage in addition to that there was a fee for setup of service. ***** Zero Stars***** This is not a company that has the best interest and or service for the consumer. Terrible read more

worst worst worst company EVER!!! good luck getting a human being on the fn phone. 3 weeks of trying, 45 min hold times to be disconnected. f that company. read more

Increasing rates will continue unless citizens organize to stop the financial hemorrhage: In TPU's News & Publications blog from 2015 they stated that: "As a cable-only provider, Click! has not been able to cover approximately $9 million in operating costs each year, and has required financial support from Tacoma Power electric revenues." TPU has been forcing rate payers to subsidize Click! for more than twelve years and it's gotten worse - REALLY look at your bill. First, you are charged for your actual kWh usage, then you get charged AGAIN for that same usage under the label "Distribution" - access to a live current is not distribution or as was labeled in the past, "Delivery." You pay for access with your hook up fee and maintenance through the continued monthly flat rate charge. Then, they introduce obscure fees for water: you pay for centum cubic feet used or ccf. Each ccf = 748 gallons of water. You will note that you are charged for ccf usage, then charged again for secondary ccf usage with no reference. You are charged for waste water (toilet) and surface water. The waste water is now an estimated "usage based on the city average." Every time you flush it is registered on the water meter (yes, ccf usage), so in reality you are paying for your actual usage then charged again for usage based on an average - a guess. Now they have added a "Parcel charge" for surface water with no real explanation of what it is. In addition the City Council has a mandate to enact the will of the people and not as an agent for TPU. Instead, they have voted to increase our rates yet again: $3 added to the monthly flat rate + 3.8% to the kWh charges - because we are charged twice for each kWh used, that increase will be 7.6%: 3.8% increase to kWh usage + 3.8% to kWh usage "Distribution." I wrote to the entire council with my concerns and respectfully requested that they reconsider their vote as the residents of Tacoma cannot sustain continued rate hikes. Yep. I got a two sentence response from Keith Blocker. The median household income is $52,000 per year yet the TPU Director, William Gaines, enjoys an inflated salary of over $330,000 per year. Consider that the President of the United States is paid $400,000 yearly. TPU states that it is a "Citizen-owned utility" if this is true, then the citizens should control the rate schedule. read more

Lousy customer service... they aren't good at getting bills into your hands, so I discovered thst my bill was late when my power got disconnected. More than once. read more

This is one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had, they're even worse than Comcast. I moved out of my previous apt several months ago, and called them to disconnect the services from my name at that time. I have record of this phone call in my call history and the move out paperwork from the property manager. They claim that they don't have record of this call and when I tell them that I do, they don't seem to care. I was asked if I remember who I spoke to multiple times, the rep was clearly not listening to me and seemed to have the critical thinking skills of a cardboard box. When a customer has proof, you should accept that it was a computer glitch/human error on your part and not weasel (aka steal) more money from your customers. After dealing with the reps I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely deleted record of this cancellation. This is a super shady company with poor management. Avoid dealing with them at all costs. read more

It's unfortunate we are forced to deal with being nickel and dimed to death by people that can't even keep their accounts current. I'm sitting here trying to OVER pay my bill and my payment is being declined because it is within the recommended grace period. It's like dealing with usps. An obligation by proxy and garbage at best. Tpu WILL be the reason I leave this dusty jewel. read more

Late paying bill, $60 to put power back on plus fee plus billing for 2 months. Would not split the turn on fee or bill it. Money up front or no power. :( Customer service was rude. Tacoma Public Utilities is the public utility service for the city of Tacoma, Washington. It was formed in 1893 when the citizens of Tacoma voted to buy the privately owned Tacoma Light & Water Company. It is the largest department in Tacoma City government, with a 2015-2016 budget of $1.2 billion and 1,378 employees. Operations are funded entirely by revenue generated from sale of services, not from taxes. (Quotes from articles) read more

We moved from one location to another. We have excellent credit but they wanted to charge us for another deposit. We did the required work to not have to pay one....they took it out of our checking account anyway. Months later we're still trying to remedy the issues. They don't seem to be able to take care of it properly. In addition, they keep adding penalties to our bill and refuse to remove them. It is the worst customer service that I've seen. It is very frustrating to say the least. This shouldn't happen to anyone. read more

How is it legal for them to charge based on what others are paying. I got a bill that was double what its ever been and I have to pay it. I try really hard to keep my consumption low so my bill is low and they hit me with this. Why? I wish I could afford Solar panels so I could stop paying these huge bills. We pay more to flush water down the toilet than to use it,my Electricity bills usually $100 and my bills $900 because you based it on the average bill in my area. read more

Such a ripoff. I can't believe it's legal. They charge based on city averages regardless of usage. For 4 months prior to moving in we were charged as if we were living there full time! We weren't even in the house and were being charged for wastewater usage that wasn't being used. We are so conservative with our wastewater and water usage, and they are still charging us based on city averages for winter water use. At this rate, we might as well be over-consuming since we're being charge regardless. read more

This is a Creeps place. I feel bad for people that work there (or maybe not) getting a bunch of heat from Customers because of this SUPER AWESOME (sign***)Company or whatever the heck it is. They charge you ridiculous amount for servicing water and electricity or basiclly anything that they can charge. The best park is you don't even know until you got you bill. I lived in Federal Way and didn't know that Tacoma Public Utilities services our area. I guess i have to find another place to move soon. read more

These people have a monopoly and don't give a crap about anything. I gave proper notice to stop power. Called two weeks later to get final billing amount and to give them new address. I pay bill. Fast forward 6 weeks later and I get some crappy bright yellow bill, telling me I'm late and they will send me to collections. Nice Post mark on envelope is June 17th. Bill is due June 6th. They sent to me late!! It's June 22nd - so I'm SUPPOSEDLY two weeks late and they are gonna send me to collections for $38 bucks? FU They mail it out to me late and it's my fault. They are so stupid. Clearly those idiots mailed my bill to my Puyallup address and got it returned to them - then some moron looked at the account and noticed I GAVE THEM my new address but gee it didn't go there - so they wait for the next billing cycle to hit and send me a late notice billing to my new address. FU TWICE. Don't use this company unless you have to. read more

Tacoma Public Utilities is the worse. They have rude technicians and reps. Why is that they can disconnect someone's power or water without knocking on the door to inform the residents? It's not hard to take a minute out of your schedule to knock!! Then when I called to make a complaint the rep said that they don't have to knock. What if someone is on oxygen or medical device that needs power??? Their rates are horrible and it only gets worse ever year. Also who charges for rain water/standing water; we live in the Pacific Northwest and it rains!! If you ever have a problem with the bill or charges they can't give a reason other then it's your fault. No one should being paying $300 plus dollar every 2 months for poor customer service or utilities. So much for being a company owned by the customers in the city. Maybe if they would lower the price of utilities, more customers wouldn't complain or move out of the city. Honestly when I lived in the Spokane Area they where more willing to help people struggling with power bills. It's cheaper over in Spokane for utilities and they offer more assistance. Why can't tacoma take a lesson from other companies?? It's horribly expensive to live in the area right now and with the cost of utilities in Tacoma no wonder people hate this company. The budget billing is a joke and they pick and choose who qualify for it. A senior citizen, veterans and disabled citizens shouldn't be kicked off the plan if they fall behind because the company keep upping the prices. I would stay far away from company if you have the opportunity to. read more

Too bad there isn't a 0 Star button. We have had to use this company for only 5 months and I am not impressed at all. There have been so many incidents where there has been lack of customer service and so so many rules of what I am not allowed to do to the home we are in because I need to pay someone extra money or I will be illegally fined for it. For instance, A new customer can turn on their own water but someone who was behind on a payment but who then caught up cannot walk out and turn their own water back on? I would have to pay someone an extra $60 to take a shower or drink a glass of water in my own home? Wow. and if they can't fit me in tonight I can still pay $12 to wait till tomorrow to shower and use my life necessity? There amount of money we pay you every month of $400-500 isn't enough for you? .. Thanks so much TPU, for the horrible customer service, guidelines, and such a huge pain in the A and a waste of money. read more

Tacoma Utilities notified me by mail that they suspected I had a water leak, which I was unaware of, due to a dramatic increase in the amount of water I had used the prior month. They then also sent out, without my requesting it, a technician to warn me and check on the leak. This led to me finding out I could possibly get a one time waiver of the charge and avoid an increase in my annual sewer bill. Thanks to them for catching this and saving me a good bit of money! read more

This customer has the WORST customer service anywhere. We had to constantly keep on them to correct their errors. They do not listen. My advice...don't live where you must have them for your service read more

Horrible customer service and ridicules "fixed" charges. Building a new house with no plumbing installed and only the main water line in place and my bill was over $200 for using less then $1.00 worth of water. Fees are based on surrounding lot averaging when your house isn't using enough water. Hate this company! read more

So much cheaper that PSE. I've never had any issues with TPU. I had PSE in Lacey and paid the same amount in just electric and gas as I did with all my utilities with TPU in a home that was over 30 years older and not well insulated. Now that I've moved again, I'm back with PSE and sad that I'm paying so much more. read more

Absolutely horrific customer service / relations. I just purchased a house in which the previous tenant left behind a power bill. Apparently they could not fax over the correct info nor could my escrow service actually receive a final bill, so they shut off the power. Called multiple times in which the reps acted like I was some bum who couldn't pay his bills, when in reality they don't have their crap together and we had a party more than willing to pay the bill that was owed. I was then asked to pay a power bill that wasn't mine, like anyone in their right mind would have done that. Now I'm moving into a house with no power!!! read more

Constant billing issues. To be fair, I've had one or two challenges on my end (banks cancelling debit cards in the great chip change, etc) but it's a good thing they don't charge to call per minute anymore because I have to be on the phone negotiating with these people at least once a week. Since June. They operate like the mafia, "give us obscene amounts of money in the next day or dire consequences await". I bumped my review up a star because even though I find their business practices pretty awful, they have some really great employees who seem to genuinely want to help. Ok, off to go fight for my electricity to stay on. Again. For a bill completely unrelated to my budget-billing utility bill. read more

TPU has the worst customer service I have ever experienced with a utility company of any kind, in any state. Every phone call I have had with them (typically after a 10 minute wait in the phone queue), has been a maze of conflicting and incomplete information from the varying customer service reps I spoke with. To boot, they generally have an attitude that the problem is that the customer is not doing things the TPU way, and that nothing is TPU's fault. I had a rental house that became vacant and it was an uphill battle the entire way to get the account moved back to my name and get the water turned back on. And, neither myself nor the property manager was notified that the water was shut off in the first place. Then, when TPU stopped by and did not turn on the water as scheduled (as there was indication a faucet might be open), the only notification was to leave a paper note at a vacant house. It was 4 days later, when I had a contractor showing up, that I discovered the water had never been turned on. I asked why they did not call or email me with notification of the success/failure of their service call, and they explained they "just don't do that". Next, I made an second attempt to get the water turned on. I explained that I would get someone to stop by the property (I was not in the city), and check that all faucets were closed, prior to their arrival. They agreed to show up between 12 and 5 to turn the water on. But, when they did show up, they left AGAIN, without turning on the water. When I called and asked for an explanation, they said they required someone to meet them at the property, as a 12 to 5 time window constituted an "appointment". I was NOT told by the rep that anyone needed to be at the house. Lastly, it was explained to me that if I want them to go out and turn the water on NOW, it will be a $60 fee!! At this point, I ask if I can just have my contractor turn the water on -- as they said the meter was not locked. The rep that morning had explained that that was an option. This second rep, said he could not give me permission to do that. After going in circles with this guy, I ask why the first rep told me that I CAN turn it on myself. Finally, he admits that yes, I can turn it on myself---completely reversing what he said 2 minutes before! So I ask if they have instructions as to how to do so. He says yes, but he cannot give me the instructions! They are a completely ridiculous organization. If you have to deal with them, plan for wasted time and effort to get the simplest things accomplished. read more

Tacoma public utilities claims they send your bill to you beware they don't they disconnected my home with no notice charged me $60.00 reconnection service told me service would be back on by 8:00pm service didn't get connected till 10:30 pm when I called them at 4:00. The dispatch person did not care when I called these people could of made one phone call and I could easily paid them yet they pay people to disconnect overtime and gas to come back what a waste of time and money . What happened to customer Service and common regard for people especially when they made the mistake to begin with!!!! read more

I recently went through the process of buying a house on short sale, and as a result, I had to make several calls to TPU to get the electrical inspection, turn on the utilities for inspection, shut off the utilities again, then turn them on and off again for a second inspection, and finally turning them on for full service (once the sale was complete). So I dealt with this office several times in the last couple of months. I have to say that never have I had such efficient and friendly customer service. Each time I called, the hold time (if any) was short, the representatives took care to help me with my complicated issues, and I was very satisfied by the service. I know everyone has their own experience and their own opinion, so I'm not saying any of the people who gave poor reviews were wrong ... I can only report my interactions with TPU, and they have been absolutely great. If every utility were this efficient, life would be a lot better. read more

Tacoma Public Utilities has the worst customer service of any business I have ever dealt with AND considering its pretty much a life necessity to have electricity you would think that wouldn't be the case. Nothing will ever change here considering its a monopoly, but I will write my woes anyways. If I have to call them I immediately know I'm going to be pretty much in tears by the time the phone call is over. God forbid you should have to ask for a payment arrangement trust me they will let you know how god awful of a human being you are for even requesting such, and never can someone actually help you achieve this without having to speak to a higher up manager. I just don't see how you can work for a company (well maybe I can the city does pay well) listen to peoples horrid stories everyday about how they cant pay their bill and not offer some sort of assistance to help them achieve this. I'm not talking about oh I cant pay my disconnect notice please give me another month... I'm talking I can pay 3/4 of the bill today and give me four days to pay the rest on my payday. Again, considering this is a life necessity for me and my 3 kids and I was offering to pay pretty much the entire bill in a matter of 4 days how is this unreasonable? It isn't. I couldn't live with myself going home and night knowing how many families I was affecting by simply telling my customers nope, cant help you, sorry. So in return instead of being flexible and working with the customer you are turning off electricity to kids and families who need to keep warm... INSTEAD you are creating a mound of other worries and problems for someone who maybe is just trying to do the right thing and is having a hard time for a short period of time. This is totally unacceptable and a true disgrace. I would never ever recommend this power company to anyone considering after every phone call I have ever made to them I am left feeling less than a human. Awful business practices and something should really change to help the people instead of working against them! read more

These people are crooks. I've done business with them for a year, I've always paid my bill on time. I've even over-paid it on occasion. When I moved out of my apartment, my payment somehow "did not process" and they decided to charge me an additional 20$. They refused to help me in any way with this issue. They're jackwagons, avoid doing business with them if you can. read more