What does it mean to have a community-owned utility?
Colorado Springs Utilities is the largest community-owned, not-for-profit, four-service utility in the nation. For almost 100 years, they have provided Colorado Springs with safe, reliable and competitively priced electric, natural gas, water and wastewater services. They care about your well-being. They have an interest in all things that help make Colorado Springs a great place to live, work and play.
Your community-owned utility
As a citizen of Colorado Springs, you own your utility. And that means you have a voice in utilities decisions. Here are a few of the benefits of having a community-owned utility.
- Citizen-owners elect the governing board: City Council.
- Utility decisions are made here in Colorado Springs, not by the Public Utilities Commission in Denver or at an out-of-state corporate headquarters.
- Competitive utility bills: Rates are set only high enough to cover the cost to provide service. There are no profits that go to stakeholders in another city.
- Reliable service: Springs Utilities is a national leader with power on an average 99.991% of the time.
- Protecting the environment: Employees of the utility live here too and want to keep the city clean and beautiful.
- Giving back: Employees, their families and friends volunteer more than 10,000 hours each year on community projects.
- Economic vitality: Colorado Springs attracts employers because the utility and other government agencies work together to make it easy to do business here.
- Tax-free, low interest rates: Municipally owned utilities can borrow money at a lower cost, which helps keep customer rates low.
- Four services, one efficient organization: Consolidated functions, such as billing, information technology and human resources, help keep costs down.
Manage your account and utilities use
- My Account is your personal, online account management tool. It gives you 24-hour access to easily view and pay your bill online, track your energy and water use and enroll in account alerts.
- Better manage your monthly costs with programs like Budget Billing.
- Rebates and incentives are available to help save energy and water. Dial up the savings with a $50 rebate on a smart thermostat and more.
- If you are having difficulty paying your bill, the utility offers customer assistance programs.
Enhancing service
Each year, Colorado Springs Utilities develops its budget to provide value to customers’ lives and help businesses succeed. Several upcoming projects will advance the quality of service today and in the future. These include:
- New electric generation: As the utility transitions away from coal to reduce its carbon emissions 80% by 2030, natural gas-fueled generators bridge the gap from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
- Smart meters: Replacing current utility meters with upgraded smart ones will allow advanced two-way communication between your home and the utility.
- Fiber network: This will enhance utility operations and enable the fastest available internet connectivity to all residents and businesses through an internet service provider.
- Online tools: Investments in online customer tools will make it easier to manage your utility account and use.
- Water infrastructure projects: Upgrades will improve system reliability.
Connect with Colorado Springs Utilities online and follow them on social media to learn more about ways to save and its plans for a sustainable energy and water future.
