On Oct. 18, representatives from Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin met with state lawmakers to discuss issues of importance to more than 80 Wisconsin public power communities.
The meetings occurred just before a parade of more than 80 bucket trucks from utility companies across the state made their way to Madison -- Wisconsin’s State Capitol -- in celebration of MEUW’s 95th anniversary.
“Ninety-five years is a long time to successfully serve the 81 community-owned public power companies that mean so much to hundreds of thousands of people and businesses across Wisconsin,” said MEUW President and CEO Tim Heinrich in a statement. “We’re looking out for their interests, as we always have, and talking with legislators to make sure public power has a place at the table,” he said.
MEUW leveraged its social media channels to highlight the meetings with lawmakers and the parade.
“We spent the day building awareness of #PublicPower,” MEUW said in one tweet. “Our members from across Wisconsin enjoyed meeting with lawmakers. Thanks to everyone who visited Madison for MEUW's Day at the Capitol.”
“We’ve been planning Public Power on Parade and lobby day for more than a year,” said Heinrich. Events of the day included a trade show and safety demonstrations "by and for our members.”
MEUW is the state association representing the interests of Wisconsin’s community-owned, locally-controlled municipal electric utilities. MEUW has been providing service, advocacy, and safety support to the 81 municipal electric utilities in Wisconsin since 1928.
Municipal utility communities range in size from Manitowoc and Sun Prairie, each with a population of 33,000-plus, to Merrillan with around 500 residents.
Collectively, the 81 public power utilities distribute more than 11 percent of the state’s electricity, providing service to some 300,000 customers in 43 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.
