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City Water, Light and Power is celebrating Public Power Week (#PublicPowerWeek), October 5-11 with the American Public Power Association and the other community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 49 million Americans. This year, CWLP is focusing on the pride it has in serving Springfield.
During Public Power Week, CWLP celebrates the benefits it strives to provide including:
• Low rates
• High reliability
• Dedicated, local service
• Community focus
• Economic development
• Local decision-making
“City Water, Light and Power, like the other 2,000 municipally-owned utilities across the U.S., operates as a nonprofit to power and benefit the community it serves,” said Mayor Misty Buscher “During Public Power Week it’s important to recognize why public power is the right choice as being community-owned and governed by local decision-making, which ensures reliable and customer-focused service to Springfield.”
Local control and a local public power workforce have equated to great affordability and reliability for CWLP electric customers.
AFFORDABLE RATES: CWLP residential electric costs for the past few years have trended below the average compared to other Illinois residential electric customers. As an example, from July 2022 to July 2025, CWLP customers paid an average of 25% less per month or $35 lower per month as compared to what customers of other Illinois utilities paid. Commercial electric rates in a recent survey indicated CWLP’s cost per kWh match or are lower than most peer utilities as well.
“We take a tremendous amount of pride in being the source and provider of electricity for the City of Springfield,” said Doug Brown, Chief Utility Engineer at CWLP. “With local control, it’s easy to keep priority on what matters most to our customers: value for our service and that we continue to provide the most reliable service possible in an affordable and responsible manner.”
SUSTAINABILITY & HEALTHY COMMUNITY: CWLP’s low-cost utilities contribute to Springfield’s low cost of living and also support a healthy community and local economy. As affordability and reliability are just part of the foundation of CWLP’s mission, CWLP is additionally committed to sustainability and investing in a cleaner energy future for its own operations. CWLP has entered into two power purchase agreements for two different solar installations for a total of 45 MWs of energy in new developments coming to Sangamon County. These agreements reduce CWLP customer exposure to higher prices that can occur in capacity auctions and energy markets while diversifying energy resources. These two purchases for renewable energy will represent around 12% of CWLP's current customer load.
