Company Profile
Jamestown Board of Public Utilities
Company Overview
ANNOUNCEMENT: Board Members of New York public power utility Jamestown Board of Public Utilities announce the planned retirement of General Manager David Leathers and are planning to begin a search process for his replacement in the coming months.
Visit us at: www.jamestownbpu.com
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has five operating divisions - Electric, Water, District Heating, Solid Waste and Wastewater. The Electric Division also owns and operates the Samuel A. Carlson Electric Generating Station or power plant, located on Steele Street. The City’s first power plant began generating electricity in 1891. In 1923, the Electric Division of the Board of Public Utilities was officially granted a twenty-three square mile franchise territory by the Public Service Commission (PSC), now renamed the Department of Public Service (DPS) of the State of New York including the City of Jamestown, the Villages of Celoron and Falconer, and parts of the Town of Ellicott. The DPS continues to regulate the electric utility and all electric rates are approved by the DPS after a formal application and hearing process.
On September 11, 1940, the Jamestown BPU joined 40 other municipally-owned electric companies from all over the United States and its territories to form the American Public Power Association (APPA). The original purpose was to study the adequacy of electricity supply for national defense and to give attention to steps needed to meet the nation’s power requirements. Today, the Jamestown BPU is one of 2,200 not-for-profit, public power electric utilities in the United States.
Company History
HISTORY - ELECTRIC
Samuel A Carlson Electric Generating Station:
The Board of Public Utilities’ (BPU) Samuel A. Carlson Electric Generating Station is one of the oldest and most successful municipal power plants in the country, and the City of Jamestown’s BPU is the largest of 47 municipally-owned and operated utilities in New York State.
Generating Electricity in Jamestown:
The City’s first power plant began generating electricity in 1891 to provide power for 140 carbon arc lights to illuminate downtown streets. While street lighting was not new to the citizens, their excitement was in the ownership of the municipal facility. When city fathers realized the expense of paying for machinery used only to produce electricity at night, they decided to begin competing with established power producers for other uses of the generation.
The BPU was created by the City Charter of 1923 to guide the development of the community’s electric and water services with the District Heat Division added in 1985 and Solid Waste and Wastewater added in 1994.