There are a lot of differences between an Investor Owned Utility (IOU) and a Public/Municipal Power Utility. An Investor Owned Utility is in business to make money for stockholders and investors. A Municipal Power Utility is in business to give its consumer/owners the best possible service at a good price. A municipal system is a hometown service. The people that operate, maintain and make decisions that affect your electricity are your friends and neighbors. When you call for service or have a question concerning your last power bill, you call City Hall, not some 1-800 number that is answered "who knows where." You elect the CEO and Board members of your utility when you step into the voting booth to vote for your Mayor and Council. You have a voice in your rates, quality of service and in how profits from your utility are used within your community. Unlike the big utility companies that pay dividends to stockholders, municipal power systems put those profits back to work in your community.
When you think of democracy, what images come to mind? Maybe it’s the American flag blowing gently in the wind or the bald eagle soaring high in the clouds, or perhaps it’s a scene from an old Norman Rockwell painting. Whatever the image, democracy – representative government by the people – is a basic right each one of us holds sacred.
In public power communities, there is another image of democracy: the publicly owned electric utility. You may not think of a utility office as a common symbol of democracy, but indeed it is in a public power community.
The citizens of public power communities empowered themselves economically by choosing – based on citizen election – to establish a public power system. They believed local ownership and control would ensure lower rates, and that consumers would receive better services. They also believed that a community-owned electric system would be a mainstay of community prosperity. They were right!
Public power will remain the best buy in the future, just as it has been in the past, because of the deep democratic roots associated with it.
The reason public power rates remain reasonable is because public power communities don’t have to pay dividends to stockholders around the country, or around the world like some IOU’s. That means public power can charge not-for-profit rates and keep the proceeds of the utility in the community.
In addition, public power provides outstanding service. Unlike some of the private power companies that may even be owned by foreign investors or large conglomerates, you know where to find us when you need us. Your public power system is not a “1-800” call. They are just down the street from you if you have questions, suggestions, or comments about your service or how it operates.
Democratic ideals don’t stop at the ballot box either. Ongoing decisions about service aren’t made in some corporate boardroom located across the country or overseas. Every citizen has an opportunity to help make decisions about electric service. This is because the local policy board is the town/city council. They are elected by you and are directly accountable to you for their actions.
The availability of safe, reliable, and low-cost electricity is a major factor in a community’s ability to attract and keep businesses, and help those businesses and individuals who work for them prosper. Public power is the best avenue for this.
In public power communities, public power has always been the citizen’s choice because it is the wisest choice economically for individuals and for the community as a whole. Next time you drive past the town/city hall, think of it as another symbol of democracy at its best – of local citizens reaching consensus on an important community service.
There are over 2000 communities across the country, and 12 across Wyoming, with a publicly owned electric utility that is a valuable community asset.
The 12 public power communities of Wyoming are Lusk, Lingle, Fort Laramie, Guernsey, Pine Bluffs, Wheatland, Cody, Powell, Gillette, Torrington, Basin, and Deaver.
The Wyoming Municipal Power Agency (WMPA) serves 8 of those communities, and represents the remaining 4 on public power issues.