“Public Power Week celebrates Fremont’s reliable, affordable electricity for our community,” said Derril Marshall, Fremont Department of Utilities General Manager. “Public power puts the people of Fremont first. Public Power Week gives us the chance to emphasize the advantages of locally grown, locally owned power to our citizens. Our service is reliable and safe because of the pride public power takes in Fremont and serving our friends and neighbors.”
The first public power utilities sprang up in the late 1800’s to serve predominately rural communities. Public power was conceived by Nebraska’s late Senator George Norris, who believed electricity is the right of the people. Nebraska is the only state in the nation in which every electric utility is owned by the customers it serves.
The City has served electric customers for 119 years. In 1895 the first electricity was supplied only for street lighting from sundown to 11 p.m. (From 1887 to 1895, the City purchased electricity from the Fremont Gas Works when gas street lights were replaced by electric lights.)
By the end of 1895, the first City power plant had 26 customers. Today Fremont serves 12,436 residential customers and 2,207 commercial and industrial customers in the Fremont area.
The Fremont Department of Utilities is a proud member of the Nebraska Power Association (NPA) and the American Public Power Association (APPA). To learn more about public power, visit the NPA's website at www.nepower.org or APPA’s website at http://www.publicpower.org.