Notice of Special Meeting – May 20, 2024
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission will
hold a special meeting on Monday, May 20, 2024, at 12:00pm in the WMU Auditorium,
700 West Litchfield Ave, Willmar, MN. The meeting will be held to discuss a
correspondence to the City of Willmar regarding the sale of property at the Swansson
Wellfield.
Dated: May 17, 2024
Notice of Special Meeting – May 1, 2024
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission
will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, from 8:00am to 12:00pm
in the WMU Auditorium, 700 SW Litchfield Ave, Willmar, MN. The purpose of
the meeting is to update the current WMU Strategic Plan.
Energy Alert August 24, 2023
WMU declares an ENERGY ALERT to conserve energy until 9:00pm Thursday, August 24, 2023.
This request comes from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which operates the energy market and controls electrical reliability for our region. MISO has issued a Level 2 Energy Emergency.
Reduce your energy use as much as possible to help us avoid outages. You can help by turning up your thermostat a few degrees, close your drapes or blinds to keep the sun out, shut off all unnecessary lights and equipment, and delay using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dishwashers until later in the evening.
If these and other measures are not successful, the regional grid operator will issue an ENERGY EMERGENCY.
This will require that utilities initiate a series of controlled temporary outages, or rolling blackouts, to maintain the stability of the electric grid. In that situation, Willmar Municipal Utilities will methodically shut off electrical circuits in the community, one after the other, with outages expected not to last more than 2 hours.
If you rely on life support equipment in your home, please let us know as soon as possible at 320-235-4422.
Although we can’t control energy emergencies, Willmar Municipal Utilities and our power supplier, Missouri River Energy Services, are prepared to do everything possible to keep the lights on and keep homes and businesses running.
Please listen for radio announcements on local radio stations, KWLM 1340 AM, KQIC 102.5 FM, KOLV 100.1 FM, and KLFN 106.5 FM, and follow us on Facebook for updates and information.
WMU would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU in advance for doing your part.
Energy Alert Information
Potential risk of electric service interruptions this summer across our region
As summer approaches, regional operators of the electric grid are projecting an elevated risk of electricity shortages in our area. These projections are due to:
- Warmer than normal forecasted temperatures.
- Greater amounts of intermittent renewable generation, such as wind and solar, in the current power supply mix that may not be available when needed.
- Retirements of fossil-fueled power plants that can fill the gap when the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine.
- Public policy driving the pace of change to clean energy faster than new technologies can be developed to fill the gap.
Electricity is a unique product in the fact that the generation of electricity must be kept in balance with the usage of electricity at all times. Under normal conditions, regional grid operators ramp generators up or down to match the demand for electricity. If the demand for electricity outpaces available generation, then grid operators issue Energy Alerts or even Energy Emergency alerts to balance the electric system to avoid catastrophic failure of the grid.
If Energy Alert or Energy Emergency conditions occur this summer, regional utilities will run all types of available generation to prevent electrical outages. Should such an event occur, Willmar Municipal Utilities is prepared to run our local generators, and we may call upon local businesses that have generators to do the same. Other steps include operating our load management system, which cycles air conditioners and water heaters off and on for brief periods.
During an ENERGY ALERT, WMU will ask you, our customers, to reduce your energy use as much as possible to help us avoid outages. Some of the ways you can help are turning up your thermostat a few degrees, close your drapes or blinds to keep the sun out, shut off all unnecessary lights and equipment, and delay using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dishwashers until later in the evening.
If these and other measures are not successful, the regional grid operator will issue an ENERGY EMERGENCY.
This will require that utilities initiate a series of controlled temporary outages, or rolling blackouts, to maintain the stability of the electric grid. In that situation, Willmar Municipal Utilities will methodically shut off electrical circuits in the community, one after the other, with outages expected not to last more than 2 hours.
If you rely on life support equipment in your home, please let us know as soon as possible at 320-235-4422.
Although we can’t control energy emergencies, Willmar Municipal Utilities and our power supplier, Missouri River Energy Services, are prepared to do everything possible to keep the lights on and keep homes and businesses running.
Please listen for radio announcements on local radio stations, KWLM 1340 AM, KQIC 102.5 FM, KOLV 100.1 FM, and KLFN 106.5 FM, and follow us on Facebook for updates and information.
WMU would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU in advance for doing your part.
WILLMAR MUNICIPAL UTILITES RECOGNIZED AS A RELIABLE PUBLIC POWER PROVIDER
[Willmar, MN, May 3, 2023]— Willmar Municipal Utilities has once again earned a Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3)® designation from the American Public Power Association for providing reliable and safe electric service.
The RP3 designation, which lasts for three years, recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvement. Criteria include sound business practices and a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity. Willmar Municipal Utilities joins 271 public power utilities nationwide that hold the RP3 designation.
“Receiving an RP3 designation is a great honor signifying a utility has demonstrated commitment to industry best practices,” says Troy Adams, Chair of APPA’s RP3 Review Panel and General Manager at Manitowoc Public Utilities, Wisconsin. “And ultimately, the culture developed from this pursuit of excellence and continued improvement through the RP3 program results in measurable value delivered to the local community.”
“We couldn’t be prouder to be honored with this designation, this is the 3rd award, covering 9 years of recognition.” said John Harren, General Manager of Willmar Municipal Utilities. “This is the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people who really care about powering our community, but this designation is not a final destination. We are committed to continuing to look for ways to improve our operations and services to our customers.”
The American Public Power Association has offered the RP3 designation for 18 years now. APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 49 million people in 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. APPA advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations.
