community-owned electric utility
SMUD
Industry Utilities
A community-owned electric utility serving the Sacramento region with public governance and a published clean-power transition plan. SMUD scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned and governance has stronger accountability than peers, though ecological harm still limits the evaluation.
Why this matters: SMUD is a better utility option because public ownership and clean-power commitments constrain the usual investor-owned utility extraction pattern.
Letter grade A Good Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1
Final Score
50* A - Good
A* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.
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Evaluation Overview
A - Good
The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Ecological Harm.
Strengths
- Ownership8/10
- Governance7/10
- Extraction6/10
Penalties
- Ecological Harm-1
Evidence state
- ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
- ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
- Linked claims3
- Direct axis claims3
- Coverage3/10
Scoring Axes
| Axis | Score | Why this score |
|---|---|---|
Ownership
?
Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control
at 10.
|
8 / 10 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence
|
Governance
?
Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic
stakeholder control at 10.
|
7 / 10 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Extraction
?
Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured
extraction judgment.
|
6 / 10 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Labor Sovereignty
?
Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at
7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence
shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling,
retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of
worker voice, or extreme turnover.
|
5 / 7 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Solidarity with the
Unemployed
?
Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment,
and non-competes.
|
6 / 7 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Loss-Bearing Fidelity
?
Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and
public obligations.
|
6 / 7 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Market Conduct
?
Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.
|
4 / 5 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Product Integrity
?
Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.
|
4 / 5 |
SMUD provides electric utility service and publishes a Clean Power 2030 plan, supporting Product and Scale Integrity while leaving some residual ecological burden. Linked evidence
|
Scale Integrity
?
Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.
|
5 / 5 |
The linked record identifies SMUD as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership. Linked evidence |
Penalties
| Penalty | Applied | Why this penalty |
|---|---|---|
Ecological Harm
?
Footprint, trajectory, irreversibility, culpability, and scale,
including whether ecological harm is central to the model and continued
after credible notice. Range: -30 to 0.
|
-1 |
SMUD still operates in the electric-utility sector with generation and grid impacts, so a small Ecological Harm penalty remains despite public ownership and clean-power commitments. Linked evidence
|
Bonus Credits
No bonus credits applied in this version.
Confidence Basis
Confidence Basis
Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.
Medium 69/100
3 verified linked claims 3 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 3/10 components covered
This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.
Claim confidence 20/20
3 verified linked claims
Source quality 11/18
Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability
Direct axis-specific claims 6/18
3 direct claims across 10 active components
Dispute load 12/12
0 disputed claims on this entity
Recency 10/10
Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026
Reviewer status 7/12
Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding
Component coverage 3/10
3/10 evidence-bearing components have direct support
Evidence State
Evidence State
Profile stateAI draft / human-pending
VerificationUnverified
ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for
factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation
mistakes.
Company responseCompany representatives can
submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or
reviewer authority.
Claims and Sources
Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.
* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.1SMUD describes itself as a community-owned electric utility, describes conduct considered under Ownership.
- SMUD About usOfficial self-description · 68%
2SMUD provides electric utility service and publishes a Clean Power 2030 plan, supporting Product and Scale Integrity while leaving some residual ecological burden.
- SMUD Clean Power 2030General web source · 58%
3SMUD still operates in the electric-utility sector with generation and grid impacts, so a small Ecological Harm penalty remains despite public ownership and clean-power commitments.
- SMUD Clean Power 2030General web source · 58%
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How This Page Is Maintained
Evidence comes in through contributors, is checked by verifiers, and is synthesized by reviewers. Founder authority remains narrow and visible; scores recalculate when verified claims or the rubric change.
Civic Note
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Audit Log
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