Municipal Electric Centennials

The Baldwin City Signal reports on the 100th anniverary of the City of Baldwin City, Kansas, municipal electric system. The years around the turn of the century were noted for the establishment of local power plants for street lighting and lighting of homes and businesses in a number of Kansas communities. The size of the cities simply did not attract the interest of private utility investors, just as rural areas were ignored until rural electrification was made real by the New Deal. Community leaders acted to meet the needs of their residents for electric and natural gas service, just has they had for water. As the uses of electrical power grew, so did the municipal electric systems. Today, allied to secure power resources through quasi-public agencies like the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency, city-owned electric sysytems continue to serve the needs of the communities they serve.

You can always tell a city with its own electric system by the high quality of its street lighting service. Private power companies charge steep rates for each lamp fixture and pole, causing city budgets to be unable to afford more than a minimal level of service. Municipal utilities usually absorb the cost of public lighting in their rates, which in the case of the larger systems are competitive with their private sector counterparts. The public benefits of municipal ownership shine on, particularly at night.