Alameda Municipal Power

Alameda Municipal Power

Headquarters on Grand Street; November 22, 2012
Agency overview
FormedJuly 11, 1887 (1887-07-11)
Preceding agency
  • Jenney Electric Company (private contractor)
TypeMunicipal electric utility
Headquarters2000 Grand Street
Alameda, California
Annual budgetUS$70.8 million revenue (2023)[1]
Agency executive
  • Tim Haines, General Manager
Parent agency
City of Alameda
Websitewww.alamedamp.com

Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) is a community-owned electric utility serving the City of Alameda, California. The utility was established on July 11, 1887, when Alameda's Board of Trustees voted to purchase a privately built generating plant from Jenney Electric Company for $40,000, creating the Bureau of Electricity as a city department.[2] AMP claims status as the oldest public electric utility west of the Mississippi River.[2] The utility serves more than 36,000 residential and commercial customers across Alameda's 12.8-square-mile (33 km2) island territory in San Francisco Bay.[1]

AMP does not operate generation facilities and purchases wholesale power primarily through the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), which it joined in 1968.[3] Since January 1, 2020, AMP has delivered electricity with no coal, natural gas, or nuclear generation in its supply mix.[4][5] The 2022 California Energy Commission Power Content Label shows geothermal at 48.2% and biomass/biowaste at 22.7% as the dominant supply sources.[4] AMP states that its system average rates are approximately 37% below comparable PG&E rates.[5][6]

From 1999 to 2008, AMP operated as Alameda Power & Telecom and offered cable television and internet service to city residents. The telecommunications system was sold to Comcast for $17 million in November 2008.[7] City Treasurer Kevin Kennedy and City Auditor Kevin Kearney estimated the net loss from the venture at more than $60 million.[7][8]

History

Founding and early operations

In 1885, the City of Alameda contracted with Jenney Electric Company to construct a 90-kilowatt steam-powered generating plant at Park Street and Otis Drive for street lighting, erecting 13 iron arc lamp masts at a cost of $20,000.[2] By 1887, the purchase price for the facility had risen to $40,000; the City diverted $15,000 from sewer funds and financed the remainder through municipal bonds.[2] On July 11, 1887, the Board of Trustees voted to acquire the plant, formally establishing the Bureau of Electricity as a department of city government.[2] Initial operations were limited to street lighting.

In 1901, H.P. Nielsen was appointed the plant's first engineer.[9] In 1902, the Bureau began selling electricity to residences and businesses and opened a retail appliance store on Park Street.[2]

Public Utilities Board

In the 1930s, Alameda voters created an independent Public Utilities Board (PUB) under the city charter to oversee the Bureau.[10] Four commissioners are appointed by the City Council; the City Manager serves as an ex officio fifth member.[10] The PUB sets rates and policy; a general manager handles day-to-day administration.[10]

Telecommunications venture (1997-2009)

The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened the cable and internet market to new entrants. Concurrently, the closure of Naval Air Station Alameda eliminated the Bureau's single largest electricity customer, which had accounted for up to one-third of annual revenues.[8] The Bureau had already installed fiber-optic cable in the city's two major business parks. In August 1997, the PUB approved a Telecommunications Business Plan.[2]

In November 1998, Alameda voters approved a ballot measure authorizing the utility to offer cable television and telecommunications services; proponents assured voters that an economic firewall would protect the electric division's revenues from the cable startup's risk.[8] In fall 1999, the Bureau of Electricity was renamed Alameda Power & Telecom.[2] AP&T served its first retail cable television customer in July 2001 and began offering internet access subscriptions in early 2002.[2]

Despite the promised firewall, AP&T began making interfund advances from the electric division to the cable startup. By early 2007, total interfund advances reached $43.6 million; the cable division also carried $33 million in bonded debt.[8] Construction of the cable system was declared complete in June 2005, with AP&T reporting approximately 15,000 subscribers.[8] City Treasurer Kevin Kennedy and City Auditor Kevin Kearney began raising public alarms in early 2006 about the financial transfers.[8]

On November 21, 2008, AP&T sold its cable and internet system to Comcast for $17 million.[7] Kennedy and Kearney estimated the net loss from the telecommunications venture at more than $60 million.[7][8] In January 2009, the utility dropped the telecom branding and readopted the name Alameda Municipal Power.[2]

Operations

Service area and infrastructure

AMP serves the entirety of the City of Alameda, an island city in San Francisco Bay connected to the mainland by four bridges and the Posey and Webster tubes.[1] The distribution system receives power via dual-source 115 kV transmission lines from PG&E.[11] The system includes approximately 93 miles (150 km) of overhead lines and 173 miles (278 km) of underground cable.[11]

EIA Form 861 data reports 32,044 residential customers and 4,135 commercial customers, totaling more than 36,000. Peak demand is approximately 71 MW.[1][11]

Power supply and energy mix

AMP has been a member of the Northern California Power Agency since 1968. NCPA schedules and dispatches wholesale power for AMP.[3] Since January 1, 2020, AMP's power supply has contained no fossil fuel or nuclear generation.[4]

The 2022 CEC Power Content Label reports the following supply mix: 77.7% eligible renewable (48.2% geothermal, 22.7% biomass/biowaste, 5.5% wind, 1.2% small hydro, 0.1% solar) and 22.3% large hydroelectric.[4] The supply includes no coal, natural gas, or nuclear generation.[4] AMP's greenhouse gas intensity was 117 lbs CO2e/MWh in 2022, against a California average of 422 lbs CO2e/MWh.[4]

In 2025, AMP secured a 12-year, 5 MW geothermal power purchase agreement with Geysers Power Company, a Calpine subsidiary, through NCPA.[12] The Geysers complex in Sonoma County has supplied geothermal power to AMP customers since the utility joined NCPA.[5]

Rates

The residential Tier 1 rate effective July 1, 2025, is $0.13176/kWh.[13] System average rates were approximately 37% below PG&E's comparable rates for fiscal year 2024, according to AMP.[5][6] AMP pays the City of Alameda a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) and a return on investment, totaling approximately $5-7 million annually.[13]

Fitch Ratings assigned AMP's electric system revenue bonds an A+ rating with a stable outlook.[14]

Recognition

The American Public Power Association awarded AMP a Diamond-level Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation in 2023, valid through 2026.[15] In June 2021, APPA presented its Robert E. Roundtree Rising Star Award to Vidhi Chawla, AMP's Assistant General Manager of Energy Resources.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "AMP: The Timeline". Alameda Municipal Power. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Members". Northern California Power Agency. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "2022 Power Content Label". California Energy Commission. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Alameda Fact Sheet 2023". Alameda Municipal Power. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Alameda electric rates increase 4% starting July 1". Alameda Post. June 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d "City Treasurer, Auditor on Alameda Power & Telecom Telecom Sale". Action Alameda News. November 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Gammon, Robert (April 23, 2008). "Alameda's Cable Conundrum". East Bay Express. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  9. ^ "Funeral Rites Set For Tomorrow For Veteran Fireman Of Alameda". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, CA. September 13, 1945. p. 8. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "Public Utilities Board". Alameda Municipal Power. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Department Summary FY2012-13". City of Alameda. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "Alameda Municipal Power Secures 12-Year Agreement for Geothermal Power". American Public Power Association. 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  13. ^ a b "FY2026 Rate Schedule". Alameda Municipal Power. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  14. ^ "Fitch Affirms Alameda Municipal Power, CA's Rating at 'A+'; Outlook Stable" (Press release). BusinessWire. July 2, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  15. ^ "Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) Designees". American Public Power Association. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  16. ^ "2021 APPA Awards Recipients". American Public Power Association. June 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2024.

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