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Meet Minnesota's municipal electric and natural gas utilities i �A 1 Big and small (but mostly small) By far the largest municipal electric utility is Rochester, which serves 49,269 customers. Moor- head, Austin, Anoka, Owatonna and Shakopee are the only other municipal electric utilities with more than 10,000 customers. Most municipal electric utilities serve smaller cities in Greater Minnesota: • 95 percent have fewer than 10,000 customers; • • 82 percent have fewer than 5,000 customers; • 73 percent have fewer than 2,500 customers; • 38 percent have fewer than 1,000 customers; 'Public power' How much do you know about Minnesota's municipal utilities? Here are some facts you might find interesting. • There are 125 mu- nicipal electric and 31 municipal natural gas utilities in the state, and they serve approxi- mately 360,750 electric and 80,000 natural gas customers. • Municipal utilities are created through a majority vote in a local referendum. • Regulation is largely through the city council or local utilities com- mission. • Open, accessible, gov- ernance is one reason municipals are also known as 'public power' utilities. • Municipals are non- profit. Rates are cost - based. Our business philosophy The trend in the electric utility industry these days is consolida- tion. Utility mergers are wide- — spread. As these companies ,r...� get bigger, they tend to get farther and farther away from their customers. • Most return some funds to the city gener- al fund, usually in the form of in- lieu -of -tax payments. Municipal utilities often help with 'in -kind' services, and may also make addi- tional contributions. Being locally -owned and operated organizations, municipal utility poli- • 19 percent have fewer than 500 cymakers and staff not only have a career interest in their community's customers. success, they have a personal stake in the city in which they have chosen to raise their families and build life -long relationships. Because of this, the • The average municipal electric utility's interest in the well -being of its community and devotion toward utility has 2,941 customers. The maintaining a high quality of life is more than corporate slogan —it's the median has 1,268 customers. foundation of our business philosophy. • The smallest municipal electric is tiny Whalan, population 63. Century of service Over half of our municipal electric The largest Minnesota municipal utilities have successfully gas system is Duluth, with 25,871 operated for 100 years or more. customers. Austin, Owatonna, New Ulm, and _, pS,:GA Wq Tt Hutchinson i also have more AND 4R than 5,000 gas • I customers. ELECTRIC LIGHT � • Two - thirds have fewer than 1,000 :, - WORKS. 8 customers. More than half have x' t ' g fewer than 500 customers.