BOULDER CITY – Boulder City’s Utilities Department provides power to more than 8,000 residential and business customers. We are one of 2,000 public power utilities that provide electricity to 49 million people across the country. We recognize Public Power Week, which runs Sunday, October 1 through Saturday, October 7.
Boulder City is still one of the lowest-cost providers in the country. Boulder City receives more than half of its power from renewable hydroelectric sources (forty percent is generated by the engineering wonder that built our community - Hoover Dam; Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell provides 12-percent). About a quarter of our power comes from solar energy from Townsite Solar, the other quarter from natural gas.
Public power thrives because it is a community-owned utility, governed by local decision-makers: City Council of Boulder City. “My staff is dedicated to the community and keeping our system safe and operable,” said Boulder City Utilities Director Joe Stubitz, himself a Boulder City native and resident. “The crews often work after hours, on holidays and weekends, even during the hottest days of the year. We also have a very engaged and supportive Utility Advisory Committee, made of members who bring great ideas and suggestions to the table.”
This year, Stubitz is working to educate a future generation of potential public power employees. He is working with Martha P. King Elementary School to teach youth about the work of his staff and hopefully inspire future leaders for Boulder City’s Utilities Department. Wednesday, October 4, from 1:30 until 3:00, students will be selected to go up in a bucket truck to see from the vantage point of our employees.
Power use in Boulder City ranges from approximately 10 megawatts (MW) of power in more temperate months to about 50 MW on a peak summer day. The City is a member of the Silver State Energy Association, helping the utility (and several other entities in Southern Nevada) with power purchases and delivery. When Silver State buys power for multiple communities, cost savings are passed on to customers.
Boulder City’s utility cannot generate a profit and is an enterprise fund, which means it is a self-supporting government fund, selling goods and services to the public for a fee. So if you see one of Boulder City’s Electrical workers this week, please take a moment to thank them for all that they do to keep our lights on.
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