Since 1888, the Cuyahoga Falls Electric System has been bringing the benefits of Public Power to the residents and businesses of Cuyahoga Falls. As a Public Power Community, the City of Cuyahoga Falls offers electricity at not-for-profit rates that are significantly lower than local investor owned utilities. Besides delivery of affordable public power, the Electric Department also provides many other benefits and programs to its customers. Some of these benefits and programs include: significant power cost savings to local schools, the Light Bulb Giveaway program, the Efficiency Smart program, the EcoSmart Choice program, and the holiday tree lighting. Electricity is not billed for street lighting and city facilities such as the fire stations and City Hall. Free electricity to the Natatorium and Brookledge Golf Course enable these facilities to keep user fees low. Customers can use the online Energy Depot to help see how usage of certain products impacts their electric bill. Customers can also report street light problems online if they choose. (Clicking on the hotspots will take you directly to an associated web page.)
Cuyahoga Falls purchases power through American Municipal Power (AMP), a non-profit corporation formed in 1971 that owns and operates electric facilities with the purpose of providing generation, transmission and distribution of electric power and energy to its members. AMP, acting as an aggregator, purchases wholesale power and energy for resale to its member communities. AMP also provides opportunity for its members to own a percentage of various generation plants, with facility management provided for by AMP or the majority owner of the plant. The organization also develops alternate power resources to best meet members’ short- and long-term needs. Operating an energy control center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, AMP is always on demand to provide stable, economical power to all of its customers.
Generation ownership that Cuyahoga Falls shares includes: the Belleville Hydroelectric Plant on the Ohio River; the Bowling Green, Ohio wind farm; the AMP Fremont Energy Center (natural gas combined-cycle) in Fremont, OH; and various diesel and combustion turbine units throughout the state of Ohio (used only for peaking power). Generation ownership that Cuyahoga Falls has that is still under construction incudes: the Prairie State Energy Campus (state of the art coal-fired plant and coal mine) in southern Illinois; the Willow Island Hydroelectric Plant on the Ohio River; the Smithland Hydroelectric Plant on the Ohio River; and the Cannelton Hydroelectric Plant on the Ohio River.
The Cuyahoga Falls Electric System operates 2 - 138KV substations, one at Valley Vista Park and the other on Theiss Rd., which interconnect with First Energy and provide Cuyahoga Falls with a peak capacity of 240MW, well in excess of the system peak of 116MW recorded in 2011. With 11 distribution substations and over 308 miles of overhead and underground distribution lines, this power is then distributed through over 3,700 transformers to more than 24,000 electric customers. More than 30 Electric System employees work to maintain the distribution system and provide quick response to emergencies and power outages so that our customers will continue to receive nothing but the best service at the lowest possible cost for years to come.
