There are 81 municipal electric utilities in Wisconsin. Like Sturgeon Bay, these communities believe that public power is the best choice for their citizens. Here are a few reasons why:
Community Ownership A communiity-owned utility is owned by the city or municipality it serves. It exists to provide a public service to the residents and businesses of the community Service - rather than profit - is the utility's mission.
Local Control and Regulation The rates and service of a municipal utility are governed by the city itself, in our case through an elected utility commission. Thus, the utility is governed by residents of the community who are also customers of the utility and are thoroughly familiar with its operations and services.
Quick On-Site Response We work hard to make sure you don't experience a loss of service, but some things like storms and accidents are out of our control. If an outage occurs, we're always just a few minutes away. We'll get to the problem and fix it as quickly as we possibly can.
Efficient Operation Since one of our goals is to be the low-cost provider of utility service, our current and future advantage lies in our efficient operation.
Keeping Dollars in the Community Here are some of the way a municipal utility helps to maintain a sound local economy:
- Local ownership means that customers' energy dollars stay in the community - creating jobs and supporting the local economy.
- Municipal utilities serve as an engine for economic development. Local flexibility and quanlity service offered by municipal utiltiies are a major advantage for the community in attracting and retaining commercial and industrial customers.
- Municipal utiltiies make significant payments-in-lieu-of-taxes to the city. The utility makes payments to the city's genral fund every year.
- On average, municipal utility rates are competitive and often lower than those of other utilities. Competitive rates mean more dollars are available to spend on other goods and services, which boosts the local economy.
Community Values Decisions about the operation of a municipal utilty are made locally - by members of the community - at open, public meetings. Because all decisions are made locally, a municipal utility is uniquely able to respond to the community's needs, build on the community's strengths and reflect and advance the community's values.