Company Profile
Moorhead Public Service
Company Overview
Moorhead has a long tradition of providing services to its citizens. Moorhead Public Service (MPS) has provided residents with electric and water services since 1896. The electric and water utility in Moorhead was established because the citizens wanted local control. Now, more than 110 years later, this form of utility governance provides more direct and local control than any other utility structure, with open meetings, open records, and a local Moorhead Public Service Commission comprised of the customers we serve. In 2008, MPS water revenues were $6 million and electric revenues were $28 million. MPS employs approximately 67 employees, of which some are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
MPS ELECTRICITY
MPS proudly serves over 16,000 electric customers; comprised of approximately 85 percent residential, 14 percent small commercial/industrial, and 1 percent large commercial/industrial. MPS purchases 52 percent of its power from Western Area Power Administration, 47 percent from Missouri River Energy Services, and generates approximately one percent of its power from two municipally-owned wind turbines located right in Moorhead. MPS receives its power over 24 miles of 115kV transmission lines operating in a double-breaker closed-loop design. MPS has five distribution substations and 509 miles of distribution lines, of which 75 percent is underground.
MPS’ Electric Division also maintains and operates a 10-mile, underground single-mode fiber ring, with 14 fiber spurs tapped off the ring. The fiber is utilized by the Electric Division in a star to the remote terminal units located at each substation and for distribution switches. The fiber is also utilized as a ring for the SEL electronic relays.
MPS WATER
MPS proudly serves over 10,000 water customers—comprised of approximately 93 percent residential and 7 percent commercial/industrial. MPS provides fire protection to the City of Moorhead through over 1,800 hydrants scattered throughout the 19.74 square miles of Moorhead. In 1995, MPS completed a state-of-the-art Water Treatment Plant that utilizes a lime water-softening process, a highly-efficient filtration system, and ozone for primary disinfection and odor/taste removal. This Water Treatment Plant has significantly reduced the amount of chlorinated by-products generated by treating water in Moorhead. On average, the Water Treatment Plant pumps 4.7 million gallons of water each day.
MPS provides drinking water to its residents from groundwater and surface water sources. Approximately 86 percent of Moorhead’s water is supplied by surface water drawn from the Red River of the North. The remaining 14 percent is pumped from a total of seven wells ranging in depth from 114 feet to 273 feet. These wells draw water from the Quaternary Buried Artesian, Indeterminate, and the Quaternary Buried Unconfined aquifers.
Company History
Moorhead Public Service is proud to show its age. Though the utility was officially created by City Council resolution in 1896, Moorhead’s municipal power plant actually generated energy which lit up the night sky on November 1, 1895. The magic of electricity is as captivating today as it was over 100 years ago. Whether energizing carbon arc streetlights or powering up your computer, it’s the energy to make things work. From the minute your alarm clock wakes you up in the morning to watching the news on television at night, we live in an electrified world.
In 1895, Moorhead citizens petitioned the City Council to build a municipal power plant, freeing itself from reliance upon its neighbor across the Red River of the North, and the privately-held electric company that had provided power to both cities.
The electric and water utility in Moorhead was established because the citizens wanted local control. Now, more than one hundred years later, this form of utility governance provides more direct and local control than any other utility structure, with open meetings, open records and a local Public Service Commission comprised of the customers we serve.
Moorhead Public Service’s past illustrates stiff challenges, difficult choices, and innovative solutions. We are proud of the past, as well as being equally proud of the steps we’re taking to ensure our future in a deregulated utility industry environment.
Positions Available
- Viewing 1 - 1 of 1 Jobs