Springfield, Missouri The Official Economic Development Site for the Springfield Metro Region

Business Utilities

About City Utilities of Springfield

City Utilities of Springfield (CU) is a progressive, community-owned utility serving southwest Missouri with electricity, natural gas, water, broadband and transit services.  CU’s 110,000 customers enjoy electricity prices among the lowest in the United States, the convenience of one bill for all utilities, and dependable hometown services delivered with a personal touch. 

CU is responsible for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power; the acquisition, transportation, and distribution of natural gas; and the acquisition, treatment, and distribution of water; plus the operation of the bus transportation system.  The CU service territory covers approximately 320 square miles, which includes all of the city of Springfield, portions of Greene County, and a part of northern Christian County. 

The utility is owned by the community and governed by an eleven-member Board of Public Utilities, nine who are customers inside the city limits and two who reside outside the city limits.  Board members are appointed by City Council for three-year terms.  The Board normally meets on the last Thursday of each month. The Board makes policy decisions for CU and appoints the General Manager, who is the Chief Executive Officer.

Utilities are a vital part of business operation. With a publicly owned utility company, Springfield City Utilities, and the City of Springfield working together, utility costs in Springfield are 25% below the national average.

Utility Service Map of Springfield

Sample Business Utility Bills

Industrial Customer

(Fiscal Year 2010; 12 months average)

	Annual Quantity Used	Average Annual Bill	Average Price
Electric	1,489,807 Kwh	$82,126	$.055/kWh
Natural Gas	91,780 therms	$53,863	$.587/therm
Water	2,696,000 gallons	$4,446	$1.649/1,000 gallons

 

Commercial Customer

(Fiscal year 2010; 12 months average)

	Annual Quantity Used	Average Annual Bill	Average Price
Electric	108,133 kWh	$461.88	$0.06/kWh
Natural Gas	4,820 therms	$3,578	$0.74/therm
Water	483,000 gallons	$1,328	$275/1,000gallons

Source: City Utilities of Springfield, Quick Facts Fiscal Year 2010

Electric, Gas, Water and Sewer Information

Electric

City Utilities is the local provider of electric, natural gas, water, SpringNet, and transportation services.  CU is part of the national power grid through contracts with Southwestern Power Administration, and has an alliance with The Energy Authority (TEA) to buy and sell power on the wholesale market. City Utilities also has in place an energy supply contract with Western Resources (KCP&L)

Current generating capacity is 1120 Megawatts, served by 41  substations having a redundancy in operation. Electric generation facilities consist of six coal-fired, and five natural gas, plus one landfill fired gas unit.

• 100%  low sulfur coal for fewer emissions
• Off-peak discount is offered for industrial customers
• AA Bond Rating
• Fuel cost adjustments are made on a semi-annual basis.

Natural Gas

City Utilities provides customers with natural gas in greater Springfield, including Greene County and parts of Christian County. Natural gas is delivered to Springfield through underground pipelines that transport it to CU's distribution system. CU uses a diverse portfolio of natural gas purchasing strategies to ensure an optimum balance of reliability and price.  CU customers have enjoyed significant savings, when compared with average gas prices in other areas of  Missouri and the Nation.

• Pipeline capacity is 125,000 mmbtu, plus peak shaving facility of 25,000 mmbtu, compared with a peak of 131,487 mmbtu in January 2011.
• 31 large industrial customers currently on interruptible supply rate.
• Purchased gas storage and transmission contracts with Southern Star Central Pipeline. 

Water

• CU provides more than 30 million gallons of water everyday, serving more than 80,000 customers.
• Water is treated at two major facilities.
• Approximately 80% of Springfield’s drinking water comes from surface waters (lakes, rivers) and the rest from ground water (wells, springs).
• Current water supplies are adequate to meet demand well into the future.

Sewer

Sanitary sewers are available to approximately 94% of the existing developments in the City of Springfield. While the remaining 6% of the City is currently without public sewers, City Council adopted the following priority in 1994: "Complete sanitary sewer system to cover 100% of City."

Visit the Department of Public Works sewer website.