Celebrating Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week

Published on October 02, 2023

Every year during the first week of October, utilities across the US celebrate Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week. The purpose of these campaigns is to raise awareness about public utilities and the benefits that local ownership provides to our customers and community.

The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) has been proud to serve the Palo Alto community for nearly 130 years and we want to thank you, our customer-owners, for your support as we strive to ensure we stay true to our mission. CPAU’s mission is to provide safe, reliable, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective services.

Benefits of Publicly-Owned Utilities

Competitive rates and economic development that attracts residents and businesses
Efficient services and focus on cost containment to keep your rates low
Local policy control through public involvement – decision makers are your neighbors
Responsiveness to customer concerns – every citizen is an owner with a direct say in policies
Focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship
Equal or greater service reliability than larger, investor-owned utilities
Faster service and emergency response time from crews located within the City

CPAU’s Commitment to You

We are committed to building for the future to ensure reliable, affordable, sustainable, and customer-focused service to our community for many years to come. That means we're working hand-in-hand with customers and community leaders to make sure our utility reflects the long-term goals and needs of members of our community. Knowing our community and its needs helps us keep homes, schools, businesses, and public places powered year-round. As a not-for-profit utility, our loyalty is to our customers, not stockholders. This means that our rates are often lower than neighboring utilities, yet set at a level to ensure we continue to safely and reliably operate and maintain our utilities infrastructure.

Electric and Natural Gas Utility

One of our priorities is sustainability and climate action, and we have a goal of transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity to power our buildings and transportation. As a natural gas utility, we continue to highlight the importance of safely and reliably operating this system as long as customers are connected to the system. We also appreciate and respect the dedicated work of our employees who maintain and operate the gas system in Palo Alto.

More About Your Publicly-Owned Utility

Important Phone Numbers

Electrical problems or outages: (650) 496‐6914
Gas, water or sewer emergencies: (650) 329‐2579
Streetlight outages: (650) 496‐6914
Call before you dig: 811 [call 48 hours in advance to have underground utilities marked]
Refuse/Recycling Service issues: (650) 493-4894
Storm Drain issues: (650) 496-6974 [after hours: (650) 329-2413]