Public Power Communities: Clyde, Ohio

Nestled in northern Ohio to the south of Lake Erie, the city of Clyde has long stood at the crossroads of U.S. history. Clyde was founded in the 1820s when its first settler purportedly bought the territory for a barrel of whiskey. Maj. Gen. James McPherson, born and raised in the city, was the second-highest-ranking Union officer to die in combat during the Civil War. Clyde was also one of the first sites of automotive production in the U.S., with Elmore Manufacturing Co. founded in the city in 1893 and running as a standalone company until it was purchased by General Motors in 1912.

The formation of Clyde’s public power utility happened concurrent to the city’s transformation into an automotive manufacturing hub, with Clyde Light & Power established in 1893. The community-owned utility continued providing power to the city’s growing population and industrial base — the Whirlpool Corp. established its Clyde headquarters in 1950 — until 1965.  

Cory Lachner, Clyde Light & Power’s superintendent, noted that the community-owned utility was then purchased by investor-owned utility Toledo Edison as the city’s needs had, at the time, seemed to outgrow what it could generate on its own.

However, this period of private ownership was short lived, as residents and local businesses faced steep rates under the IOU. Toledo Edison was charging the small town the highest electricity rates in Ohio.  

An effort to remunicipalize Clyde Light & Power was driven by both the city government and local industry, including Whirlpool Corp., looking to reduce its electrical costs.  

“[Whirlpool] approached the city and discussed municipalizing again, and the city put it to a vote to our citizens,” Lachner said.

Remunicipalization received overwhelming voter support, and the utility was returned to the community’s hands in 1988.  

The years since have been positive for Clyde and its residents, with Lachner — who has been with the utility for 30 of those years — outlining that “our customers have been very happy with the municipalization, and it has helped grow our industrial base as well. We’ve been doing well since remunicipalization.”

While many Ohio towns have experienced economic decline since the closing of auto manufacturing facilities in the region, Clyde’s partnership with its municipal utility has sustained business-friendly rates that keep drawing new commerce. In addition to the continuing presence of Whirlpool, which Lachner noted “has the largest washing machine manufacturing plant in the world right here in Clyde,” the town’s affordable electric rates have drawn a new cannabis-growing facility that just came online.

Clyde Light & Power is continuing to modernize its grid with an eye toward wide-ranging service improvements. Lachner sees this as an iterative process where new implementations work toward this greater whole. “We’re currently completing our AMI implementation, which is one of the steps in our goal of distribution system automation.”

Lachner describes the utility’s closeness with its customers, and the positive feedback Clyde Light & Power receives from them, as some of the most fulfilling parts of working for a public power utility.  

“We take pride in trying to make sure we supply the best service that we can,” he said. “The gratitude we get from our customers here in the community always feels good to go home and hang your hat on.”

This mindset has fostered a culture of training and workforce support for younger residents looking to work for the utility. Lachner described a program where a senior from one of the local vocational schools’ electrical program works with the utility through the school year. This kind of hands-on training ensures that the utility sustains a close bond with its community and the legacy of dedicated service is passed down across generations of Clyde residents.  

“We’ve been doing this for the past 10 years now, and nine out of the 10 trainees are now working in the power-line field,” Lachner said.