Proposition 1, on the November ballot, would authorize the Kitsap Public Utility District to buy or build infrastructure to provide electricity. The district currently supplies water, sewer and telecommunications service. The measure would not immediately end PSE’s role: It would give the PUD authority to study whether taking on electric service is feasible and could save customers money.

PSE’s campaign has reached ferry commuters through advertisements at the Bremerton terminal and on the ferry Chimacum, as well as through television and mail. Supporters, meanwhile, had raised about $7,000 as of the week before the election, mostly for flyers, buttons and yard signs.

The contrast comes as many customers contend with sharply higher bills. PSE’s electricity prices have doubled since 2020 and risen 45% in the past two years, according to the figures reported for the campaign. A customer using 800 kilowatt-hours a month now pays about $160, up from $110 two years ago. PSE is also seeking approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for a proposed 29% electric-rate increase over three years.

The measure concerns about 130,000 Kitsap electric connections, representing roughly 12% of PSE’s electric customers. Supporters say voters should authorize a feasibility study before deciding whether public power makes sense. PUD officials say they were reluctant to spend an estimated $300,000 to $600,000 on a study without first having the authority to form an electric utility.

At the Bremerton ferry terminal in October, volunteers Lora Ferraro and Steve Johnson approached drivers waiting for a Seattle-bound ferry. Ferraro said she had handed out flyers near a large PSE advertisement at the terminal and described the contest as taking on a “Goliath.” The volunteer email list had about 30 people, Johnson said.

Bremerton resident Charlie Michel voted for the proposition, saying he believes the possibility of lower rates from a nonprofit utility is worth investigating. Seabeck retirees Scott and Julie Swanson, who said they live on fixed incomes, also supported it. Scott Swanson said the couple initially suspected a problem with their meter when their bill rose and had a technician check it.

PSE Senior Vice President of External Affairs Matt Steuerwalt said the utility’s rate increases reflect the cost of power. He questioned whether the county could lower rates in a constrained electricity market and said the central question should be whether customers—not the company—would benefit.

Public-power efforts elsewhere have also faced utility opposition, often centered on the potential cost of switching providers. Thurston County voters rejected a similar effort in 2012 after about $650,000 was spent, primarily by PSE, to oppose it. Jefferson County narrowly approved a public-power measure in 2008 and began providing electricity about five years later.

PSE’s Kitsap spending is among the largest amounts devoted to a local ballot measure in Washington in roughly two decades, based on state campaign-finance records. For Kitsap voters, the immediate choice is whether to authorize a study—not whether to make an immediate switch from PSE.