Longmont Power & Communications customers enjoy some of the most reliable electric service in the country, with far fewer and shorter outages than the vast majority of utilities, according to the American Public Power Association. The achievement places LPC in the top quartile of electric utilities nationwide. 

LPC was one of 128 public power utilities nationwide to receive a certificate of excellence from the APPA. Out of the more than 2,000 not-for-profit community-owned utilities that make up the APPA, only about 6% received this recognition. The APPA benchmarked LPC’s 2017 performance against national statistics from the Energy Information Administration. “This recognition helps demonstrate public power’s commitment to reliable electrical service,” said Michael Hyland, APPA senior vice president of engineering services. 

On average, LPC crews restored power after an outage in less than 38 minutes. The average public power utility surveyed by the APPA took about 62 minutes, while the national average, which includes investor-owned utilities and rural co-ops, was about 129 minutes – more than two hours. 

The average LPC customer sees one outage every 19 months, and some have never seen one at all. For the utilities surveyed by the APPA, the average was one outage every 14 months; the national average was about one outage every seven months. 
“Reliable power is vital to a successful community,” LPC general manager Tom Roiniotis said. “For over 100 years, we’ve focused on reliability and affordability so that our customers – who are also our owners – can count on us at work, at home, and at play.” 

The power behind that reliable and affordable service has increasingly come from non-carbon sources. At present, about one-third of Longmont’s electricity comes from wind, water, and sun, and that’s expected to reach 48% by 2020 when another 150 megawatts of wind is planned to come online. In addition, Platte River Power Authority (LPC’s wholesale provider) is considering a further 75 megawatts of wind and taking bids to add 20 megawatts of solar energy as well. This also supports Longmont’s sustainability plan, which encourages the increased use of renewable energy, and the City’s goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030. 

The electric system’s reliability has been echoed in NextLight, LPC’s community-owned fiber-optic internet service, which saw 99.999% uptime in 2017. 

About Longmont Power & Communications
Longmont Power & Communications is a community-owned, not-for-profit electric and internet services utility that operates under the direction of Longmont City Council. Established in 1912, our goal is to deliver electric and communications services that provide outstanding value to our customer–owners. In 2014, we began to build and operate the NextLight fiber-optic broadband system, which has made Longmont the first “gigabit city” in Colorado. To learn more, visit  www.longmontcolorado.gov/lpc.