Ames, Iowa, has managed its own municipal utilities for nearly 130 years. The city’s electric department has long been a centerpiece of civic life, with its community-owned generation standing as a source of affordable, reliable power that supports a culture of innovation.
| Population | 66,427 |
| Electric customers | 27,940 |
| Utility formed | 1896 |
| Utility employees | 81 |
Without established generation in the region from private industry, Ames’ citizens took matters into their own hands and built a municipal power plant in 1896. This was supported through a $12,000 bond issued by the Ames City Council and was given overwhelming public support when the project was put to a vote. This was also the first election in Ames in which women were allowed to vote on local matters, and the initiative passed 298–40.
This history of effective utilities management — electrical, water, and wastewater — has long been a source of local pride. Don Kom, electric director for Ames Electrical Services, described the utility’s philosophy as “The people we serve are more than customers — they are our residents, family, friends, and neighbors.”
Kom sees one of the utility’s greatest successes in how it supports Ames as both a thriving local community and a university city.
One of the power plant’s first major customers was Iowa State University, a long-standing fixture of the community that has transformed the area into a hub of technical accomplishment. The city’s municipal utility has been both a facilitator and beneficiary of this process, with Ames in 1975 opening the country’s first waste-to-energy facility that converts refuse into electricity generation.
“As a city that is home to a large public university, a significant number of customers come to our city from all over the world. They are impressed and grateful for the reliability of electricity in Ames at a reasonable price,” Kom said.
ISU has 30,000 students from around the globe and continues to produce a wealth of research. ISU operates its own district steam heating and cooling facility that generates some of the energy requirements for the university. As a result, portions of the campus are retail load, and others are wholesale load.
Ames Electric Services and ISU also have a collaborative relationship centered on research and workforce development. The utility focuses on hiring recent graduates, providing mentorship and advancement at a formative stage of their careers. Additionally, utility employees engage in community outreach and education around safety, energy efficiency, and carbon footprint reduction.
Kom emphasized that the utility’s exceptional service quality is a result of how closely connected its employees feel to the community and the customers within it. “They are skilled professionals who take seriously the responsibility of providing dependable, reliable electricity to our community,” he said. “They work here, they live here, and they’ve chosen to raise their families here. Our utility employees take tremendous pride in their work, and it shows.”
Members of the city council take an active role in supporting the utility and learning about the technical aspects of electrical generation, ensuring this knowledge is incorporated in structural planning.
“Our elected officials have spent hundreds of hours learning about power production, distribution, and more. They represent our customers, and they are customers, too. They want to make both smart investments in the future and data-driven decisions that support the utility,” Kom said.
The public power utility intends to build on its history of technical accomplishment, with Ames making plans to replace its oldest baseload unit — installed nearly 60 years ago — with new reciprocating internal combustion engine, or RICE, units. Ames Electric Services also has been actively pursuing projects as part of the city’s climate action plan. While initially coal-fired, the Ames Power Plant was converted to natural gas in 2016. Ames electric customers now receive power drawn from a mix of natural gas, waste-derived fuel, wind, and solar. SunSmart Ames, the city’s first community solar farm, produces solar energy for customers who have opted into the system through a cost-share program.
The utility is planning to implement wind and solar projects designed to increase its renewable energy generation to over 50% of its yearly energy requirement — ensuring the city continues its legacy of matching exceptional service with forward-looking innovation.
