Celebrate Public Power Month with OMU

OMU is public power

As part of a national celebration in October, Owensboro Municipal Utilities is marking Public Power Month along with more than 2,000 other electric utilities that provide electric service to their communities on a locally-owned, not-for-profit basis.

What is public power?

Simply put, public power is community power. That means the decisions about how the electric utility is run are made by people who live and work in the community, not corporations. Public power utilities are rooted in and committed to the communities they serve, and invest revenues directly back into the community.

Local decision making

Decisions about your services are made locally, by representatives in our community who are also customers of the utility. In fact, rates for OMU’s electric and water services are considered in an open forum by both the OMU Utility and City Commissions. The OMU Commission is appointed by the Mayor and Owensboro City Commission. 

Reliability

OMU was awarded the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3)® Diamond designation from the American Public Power Association for providing reliable and safe electric service. Customers of public power utilities lose power less often. Customers of a public power utility are likely to be without power for just 59 minutes a year, compared to customers of private utilities that may lose power for 133 minutes a year — provided there are no major adverse events.

Customer-focused

OMU is focused on providing the most reliable service at the most economical cost. In doing this, we work to provide the best customer care. Our programs are developed to meet the needs of our customers and our community. 

Giving back

OMU, like other public power utilities, is embedded into the fabric of our communities and supports a range of community programs including charitable, educational, and beautification programs. Each dollar of a public power utility employee’s paycheck circulates through the community an estimated five times.

In addition, OMU pays a percentage of our electric operating revenues back to the City of Owensboro through a dividend and services.

Public power entities give 33 percent more back to the community than private utilities.

Celebrate public power

OMU will honor its customer-owners throughout the month of October with a Customer Appreciation Day each Wednesday. Visitors to the Customer Service Center at 2700 Tamarack Road will receive a free gift, while supplies last.

OMU kicked off its celebration with its annual 5K Power Run/Walk on September 21.

For more information about how your public utility serves its community, visit omu.org/programs.