Project Slide
The Kirkwood fire department benefits from revenue generated by the city's power strategy.

Missouri Public Utility Alliance

The Missouri Public Utility Alliance is a not-for-profit service organization that represents municipally-owned electric, natural gas, water, wastewater and broadband utilities working together for the benefit of their customers – customers who, in effect, "own" the utilities in their community. The joint action agency portion of MPUA is the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC), which currently has 67 municipal members serving 347,000 customers, with a combined peak load of over 2,639 MW.

Kirkwood, Missouri

Long-term cost savings tailored to the local community.


Called the "Queen of the St. Louis Suburbs," the city of Kirkwood, Missouri, serves 10,000 households in a six-mile radius. Known for its historic homes and abundance of trees, the city also boasts a historic downtown, an Amtrak passenger train station, an active farmer's market, and the Magic House,a renowned children's museum.

Kirkwood joined the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) in 1981, banding together with other municipalities to purchase power from Prairie State Energy Campus. Mark Petty, director of Kirkwood Electric, said having ownership of the policies and practices of an essential commodity has given the community greater security and reliability.

"We help people out by saving them money," Mark said, "and they can depend on us on a regular basis. It's rewarding to do this for our own community."

"Our power strategy gives us enough margin that we can apply 5% of our revenues to the general fund – for police, fire and street work," Mark said. "Low cost power benefits the city without raising taxes on our residents."