Our History . . .
Electricity was first introduced to the town of Republic in
1901. After contracts with three different companies failed to produce
power, the Town Council granted Patrick H. Walsh the franchise to produce and
transmit electricity for the area.
Walsh's company, The Republic Light & Power Company, built
its generation plant on O'Brien Creek, about three miles northeast of
Republic. With winter temperatures dropping to -30F, it was not possible
for a hydroelectric system to operate year-round, so, during the months
when the creek was flowing, it operated as a hydroelectric plant. During
the winter months, power was supplied by a wood-fired steam generator.
This method of producing electricity was used for over thirty years.
By 1933, the town of Republic had outgrown its Light and Power
company. Power outages due to generation failures prompted residents to
seek out a new source of electricity. P.D. Snyder of the San Poil Power
and Light Company proposed a plan for a power plant which was driven by two
large surplus diesel submarine engines. He was given a franchise to
produce electricity in April 1933, but didn't receive the first engine until
February 1934. The 350 horsepower submarine engine weighed over 18 tons
and drove a 200 Kilowatt generator that weighed almost five and a half
tons. It took almost a week to move both pieces of machinery into the old
mill building which housed them. The San Poil Power and Light Company
almost lost its franchise when power generation was unpredictable and slow in
coming. It was saved when the Company purchased a second engine and
generator. Snyder's generators did not begin to produce commercial power
until June 1934. Then, three months later, an exhaust pipe on one of the
generators caught the power plant's roof on fire and the building burned to the
ground destroying all its contents.
The Republic Light and Power Company was forced to reopen to
supply power to the town. However, the San Poil Power and Light Company
ordered a new engine and generator and was producing power again by November
1. Both power companies continued to produce electricity until April 1936,
when the San Poil Power and Light Company was forced to shut down due to
financial hardships.
In 1935, plans had already been made to link Republic to the
Washington Water Power lines located 40 miles west of Republic in
Tonasket. Work on the project began in August 1936 and was completed in
March 1937. This link was the first consistent source of electricity that
the town of Republic ever had.
Soon after the transmission lines were put in place, a public
utility district (P.U.D.) was created for Ferry County. In 1942, the Ferry
County P.U.D. contacted the Rural Electrification Administration asking for a
loan to buy the Republic Light and Power Company. The company was sold to
the P.U.D. in August 1945. Soon after, the P.U.D. contracted with the
Bonneville Power Administration and began taking power from the Northwest
regional power grid.
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