As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers. Fire protection remained a vital concern, but 378 hydrants on the 38 miles of water main provided a far better safety net than the 208 fire plugs on the 17.5 miles of main when the city bought the system. RPU operates under the direction of a five member, mayor-appointed Utility Board and under the Rochester City Council. As a result, city leaders were looking at water and electric service changes for Rochester. § 825l(b), and Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“NJBPU”) and Public Service Commission of Maryland The only water storage was the Saint Mary’s Park standpipe (built in 1887) and 500,000-gallon underground reservoir (built in 1916 – 1917) near the waterworks. As a result, city leaders were looking at water and electric service changes for Rochester. 1999 – Board approves a new combustion turbine. The high quality groundwater is lead-free and meets all state and federal guidelines and regulations. ), 2014 – The 2 million gallon 50th Avenue Hydropillar was completed. As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 54,000 customers. (photo DJI 0015) The first 161 kilovolt (kV) transmission line for the Hampton-Rochester-LaCrosse (WI) part of the CapX2020 transmission project was energized. Not attracting as much attention as the electric plant opening was the struggle the water works faced in the 1890s. The project was completed in 2002. After this plant burned down in October 1915, the dim working conditions and rough floor boards were replaced by the new plant construction on North Broadway. With the introduction of the Clean Air Act in 1976, issues of power plant emissions, PCBs, and water quality were addressed by RPU and other utilities. The Lake Zumbro facility has used water-driven generators to supply electricity for Rochester consumers since the powerhouse was placed in service on Nov. 7, 1919. The agreement was approved by a representative of the Rural Electrification Administration from Washington, D.C., and all parties were pleased by the arrangement that was to last almost 20 years. RPU's commitment to the environment did not end with costly construction projects. Rochester Gas & Electric provides electricity to the city of Rochester. In order to ensure Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) is prepared for Smart Grid transitions, Burns & McDonnell, an international engineering, architecture, and consulting firm, provided RPU with a complete business case analysis in 2010. 1990 – Conversion of RPU's transmission system from 115,000 volts to 161,000 volts begins. Created by its members as a not-for-profit joint-action agency in 1977, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) utilizes a diverse energy mix of renewable energy, coal, and natural gas-fired generation to provide reliable electricity in an environmentally sustainable manner to its 18 member utilities and the 127,000 customers they serve. Oh, that our trials might now be over, Oh, that our pastures might be clover. By the late 1880s the City Council had seen and heard of the electrical power generated by municipally owned plants. Precipitators (to reduce airborne emissions) and cooling towers (to control water emissions) were costly additions. RPU purchases a majority of their electricity from its wholesale provider Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA), while utilizing the Midcontinent Independent System Operators (MISO) for additional electricity needs. Achol Akol, a Gage Elementary School student, plays an apple tossing game during Rochester Public Utilities' 17th annual Arbor Day Celebration Friday, April 26, 2019, at Three Links Park in Rochester. Tiffany Piotrowicz. Learn about RPU's humble beginnings and how it grew into one of Minnesota's largest utilities. About Rochester Public Utilities As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 120 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 50,000 customers. As the water department entered the 1930s, its pumping and storage problems that had seemed daunting ten years before found remedies to deal with the city’s growth. The North Broadway Plant and new hydro plant could produce enough electricity, in that era, to meet the needs for a city of 60,000 residents. The hydroelectric dam and powerhouse were under construction July 1, 1918. 2000 – The Board and Council approve the sale of electric revenue bonds to pay for the new turbine and other electric system improvements. When the Park Board developed plans for the Silver Lake Park in the 1930s, the Utility Board requested that some of that property be used for a new generating plant. There are 27 schools in the district; 17 Elementary Schools, 4 Middle Schools, 3 High Schools, and 1 Alternative Learning Center. Rochester's first municipally owned power plant generated electricity on March 14, 1894, but did not operate full-time until May when the city's contract with a private lighting company expired. Particulate Matter – a significant reduction, Dedication of the Cascade Creek Gas Turbine, May 2002. In the early 1890s, Rochester's population numbered just several thousand. On the gently snowing evening of March 14, 1894, Western Electric construction foreman A.C. Sprout switched on the current for lamps on the west circuit; moments later he lighted the lamps on Broadway. 4000 East River Road NE Rochester, MN, 55906. Business Hours. The Rochester, Austin, and Owatonna Public Utility companies are teaming up for their annual rebate program. such orders as the Public Utilities Act authorizes.”14 The D.C. Code states that the Commission has the authority to regulate all “public utilities” in many specific instances.15 It is clear that the Commission has the authority to regulate microgrids if we determine they are acting within the definition of a public utility. F. B. Lambert had an idea that the event was important. The electric utility is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power and energy to about 56,400 customers within a 65 square-mile service area. 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