SMUD history

In 1948, while SMUD was still actively gathering its labor pool, Kenneth “Slim” Ambrose was working for PT&T, the local telephone company.

During the first decade of operation, through 1956, the number of electric customers would double.

The building, opened in 1959, stands as a prime example of the Mid-Century Modern style.

SMUD’s aforementioned headquarters building in East Sacramento opened in 1960.

In 1966, the company purchased 2,100 acres in Herald, in southeast Sacramento County, for the purpose of constructing its once controversial Rancho Seco nuclear power plant.

Ambrose served a stint as assistant line superintendent; Klassen retired in 1974 as acting line superintendent.

Furthermore, a major drought in Northern California in 1976 resulted in the drying out of SMUD’s largest reservoir.

But by 1977, Rancho Seco seemed to be living up to its original promise.

Leonard Williams, who went on to work as a senior construction inspector and a fault locator before retiring in 1979, hung onto a Local 1245 “B” card throughout his career.

In 1984, Folsom residents voted to join SMUD.

On June 6, 1989, 53.4 percent of the voters called for SMUD to close the nuclear plant, and the next day SMUD took Rancho Seco offline.

In 1999, our customer base jumped past 500,000 and peak electricity usage reached 2,759 megawatts for the first time ever.

The terrorist attacks in New York in 2001 caused heightened security at SMUD's facilities and offices.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Headquarters building and site were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.