Meet Hoon Ha, Dedicated Helper

For almost 30 years, Hoon Ha has been an invaluable member of Team PUD. Over that time, he has improved everything from the Link Light Rail to his co-workers’ Crocs.

Hoon has overseen countless projects, including integrating Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail into the Cedar Valley substation, redesigning the Honor Farm/Qualco site in Monroe and working on Distribution and Engineering’s yearly capital budget planning, which maps out the next year of electric system capital projects for the PUD.

But it’s not just the big projects where Hoon shines. He is known for his fantastic customer service for large and small customers alike. Recently a flower shop in Edmonds called with a concern about their power. He looked into it and went all the way back to the substation to find the root cause of the issue.

Due to his hard work on a day-to-day basis, as well as all of the help and mentorship he provides others in his department, Hoon has been named the October Employee of the Month.

“Hoon thinks through issues deeply and brings a deep curiosity to his analysis,” said Jeanne Harshbarger, Manager of System Planning & Protection and Hoon’s supervisor. “Hoon doesn’t stop with the easy or obvious answer.”

“I have heard many great things about Hoon and his incredible career at the PUD,” said Colin Willenbrock, Chief Operating and Legal Officer. “He is consistently described as a champion for continuous improvement who embraces new technologies and uses them to make things better for the teams around the utility. Hoon’s passion for exploring how we can get better and going the extra mile is what public power is all about.”

Hoon was destined to work in the utility industry. During college he was an intern for Pacific Power & Light’s Standards department in Portland. His first job out of college was with Puget Power (now Puget Sound Energy) as an engineering contractor for their underground cable replacement program.

Next, Hoon moved to Alaska and worked as a contractor for Matanuska Electric Association and Chugach Electric until arriving in Snohomish County.

Hoon started at the PUD on Oct. 23, 1995, as a Customer Engineer in the Monroe office. In July 1998, he was promoted to Senior Designer. Shortly after, Hoon transitioned from the Customer Service Division to Distribution Engineering Services, where he became the Commercial lead until joining System Planning and Protection in 2013.

2024, Hoon earned the title of Engineer III, the position he continues to hold today.

His role includes being an integral part of getting the capital budget assembled and approved. Hoon handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes details and works with contacts in Finance and the SAP team to help progress happen seamlessly. Because he’s in charge of the south part of the county, he gets asked a lot of capacity questions. He regularly performs system impact studies, checking to see if there’s capacity available and how to accommodate everything that needs to happen.

“He is generous about doing whatever it takes to ensure that everyone has what they need, whether it’s information, help with a process, or dish soap near the sink in the group kitchen,” Jeanne said. “Hoon always comes through. When we had two vacancies a couple of years ago, Hoon kept the group afloat by addressing the critical issues that have to happen.”

“Hoon has been, and continues to be, a wealth of knowledge for me and others,” said Adam Peretti, Senior Manager of T&D Operations. “He was a mentor when I was in Distribution Engineering, and I know he continues to play that role for others in Distribution Planning. I doubt he remembers, but he got me my first pair of wireless blue tooth headphones, back when the technology was cutting edge!”

Also known as a do-it-yourself guy, Hoon’s safety moment at a staff meeting addressed a frequent flyer on the safety mishap list, slips, trips and falls. Applying creativity and best use of resources, Hoon discussed using a Dremel tool to cut slots in the soles of your Crocs to channel the water away so that they won’t slip on the wet cement of the garage floor.

“He doesn’t stop with the first answer. He keeps digging to the root of the problem,” Jeanne said. “He has an amazing amount of knowledge in his head, and if he doesn’t know the answer to a question, he’s got organizational savvy and can get you an answer quickly and correctly. He’s just a person that people like. He never tells anybody their way is wrong. He just shows them his way and then they want to do that.”

Hoon came to the U.S. when he was eight months old from Seoul, Korea. He grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, but has also lived in Kansas, Virginia and New York. These days, he enjoys spending time with his wife, three kids and mother-in-law. When he’s not doing car maintenance or repairs, Hoon enjoys camping and inline skating on the Centennial Trail.

Having grown up in Alaska, he is also an avid hockey fan. He loves cheering on the Seattle Kraken and Everett Silvertips and has served as a coach for both Seattle Junior Hockey and Everett Youth Hockey.

Hoon is immensely appreciative of all the help he’s received over the past 30 years and plans to continue to pass that along to his current group of co-workers.

“Everyone from past generations to now has contributed to my growth here at the PUD,” Hoon said. “There are so many talented, hardworking people here.  It’s humbling and a privilege to work amongst you.”