Public Power and Public Natural Gas Week
Published on October 04, 2024
Every year during the first week of October, utilities across the US celebrate Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week.
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.
What Are Not-For-Profit Public Utilities?
When a local government operates a utility, that means the utility is a not-for-profit entity owned by and accountable to the citizens that they serve. The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) is one of over 2,000 community-powered, not-for-profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 54 million Americans across 49 states and five territories. CPAU is also one of more than 1000 not-for-profit gas utilities in the country.
Benefits of Public Utilities
As a locally owned power company, we take great pride in the public utility services that we provide to residents and businesses. Since we operate right here in Palo Alto and serve our friends and neighbors, we care a great deal about helping our customers save energy and money, and providing the most reliable service possible.
CPAU customers benefit from local control of utilities in several ways:
- Affordability: Public power utilities are owned by their communities. This keeps gas and electricity costs affordable and competitive.
- Local control: Important decisions are made locally, by both citizens and their elected officials, through public processes and civic engagement. We call that “local solutions for local issues.” This supports local commerce and jobs which puts investment back into the community and creates policies, programs and services that are driven by community values.
- Safe and reliable operations: Equal or greater service reliability than larger, investor-owned utilities. Our utility staff provide consistent support, assistance, and resources to customer-owners every day. Safety is our top priority and we work hard to ensure that our gas and electric systems are operated and maintained to deliver a safe and reliable supply for our customers.
- Environmentally sustainable: Public power utilities care for the environment when they buy or generate electricity from diverse sources. Here at CPAU, we provide carbon neutral natural gas (methane) and electricity. Together, we’ve made Palo Alto a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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.
Being an Electric and Natural Gas Utility
One of our priorities is sustainability and climate action, and we have a to power our buildings and transportation. As a natural gas utility, we must continue to safely and reliably operate the gas distribution system as long as customers are connected. We also appreciate and respect the dedicated work of our employees who maintain and operate the gas system in Palo Alto!
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When you share your voice and viewpoints with us, you help influence our decisions. By working together, we can produce better results. We welcome your input on important issues. Please stay engaged with us and feel free to join us at a City Council or other advisory committee meeting at cityofpaloalto.org/councilagendas.
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