NEWBERRY – The City of Newberry utilities department is celebrating Public Power Week, Oct. 1-7, along with 2,000 other community-powered, not-for-profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 49 million Americans.

“This year, we are focusing on how the City of Newberry is building for the future to ensure reliable, affordable, sustainable, and customer-focused service to our community for many years to come,” said Tim Baker, utilities director. “That means we’re working hand-in-hand with customers and community leaders to make sure our utility reflects the long-term goals and needs of members of our community.”

Operating in the City of Newberry, serving our friends and neighbors, Baker said the city cares a great deal about things like customer service, helping the community save energy and money, providing reliable service and keeping the community safe.

“We are proud of the work we do in these areas,” he said.

The city’s utilities department celebrates all aspects of their department during this week to include water, sewer and electricity. As part of the national celebration, the department asks the community to join them for a Public Utilities Celebration on Thursday, October 5 from 3-6 p.m. at Marion Davis Park, 2905 Fair Avenue in Newberry. The celebration will include food, Bingo games with prizes, rock painting, demonstrations on both electric and water and a giveaway for city utility account holders.

Follow the City of Newberry utilities department on social media as we celebrate the week and tell us what local ownership means to you.

Today the City of Newberry Utilities Department has 41 employees. The electric system currently maintains two delivery points, has a peak system load of 41 megawatts and maintains 281 line miles. It serves approximately 4,113 residential customers and 838 commercial and industrial customers. The water system has a capacity of 8.1 MGD (million gallons per day) and serves approximately 3,819 residential customers, 789 commercial and industrial customers and two wholesale customers through roughly 142 main line miles. The sewer system has a capacity of 5 MGD and serves approximately 3,441 residential customers and 551 commercial and industrial customers through roughly 127 main line miles.