Public, Private, and the large Gray Area In Between

After spending time with Public Power experts last week talking about Municipal-Owned Utilities (MOUs) and telecommunications, I couldn't miss the connection of spending time in a lodge sponsored by a Public Power electric utility. That part was coincidence, so hang with me while I connect the dots.

Saturday afternoon, I read on an historical marker at Rattlesnake Point that Lake Buchanan dam was created to bring electricity to the Texas Hill Country via hydroelectric power, but the company went bankrupt before finishing. The government created LCRA in part to finish that dam, but also to carry forward a vision of rural electrification. LCRA went on to build a series of dams that not only brought affordable public power, but also flood control and water resources for a region, and some of the nicest lakes, all within an hour's drive of Austin. LCRA now markets its electricity to a number of MOUs, and on the side, promotes tourism with lodges and campsites like Canyon of the Eagles (managed by a private hotel services provider). LCRA also has a signficant amount of fiber that it uses to manage its system.

So let's hear it for positive unintended consequences. In their wisdom 70 years ago, the Texas government set up a unique quasi-public entity that has grown and filled gaps to provide ever more benefits for the public. No doubt, they didn't envision a lodge like Canyon of the Eagles, but hey, it works. When an entity, be they public or private, keeps their customers and their core mission squarely in front of them, the results are almost always a pleasure to behold.

I also encountered such customer focus when I spent time last week with Hometown Connections, a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit American Public Power Association (APPA). Started in 1998, Hometown provides marketing services to vendors who seek to sell to MOUs (members of APPA), and serves a valuable role of advisor and counselor to MOUs on ways that they can better serve their communities, including bringing in new broadband opportunities.

It was an eye-opening visit, and I came away very impressed, not only with the job that Hometown is doing, but also with the enthusiasm, professionalism, innovation, and spirit of cooperation that these public power professionals showed through their work with Hometown and their member utilities, and the obvious pleasure they take in serving MOUs as customers. And they are excited about the potential of MOUs helping to bring broadband to their communities by way of metropolitan wireless mesh networks.

Left on their own, public power utilities will manage OK, but working together, they begin to thrive. Hold on for some acronyms here, a hazard of the industry. MOUs get deals on public power and other professional services through Joint Action Agencies like American Municipal Power of Ohio (AMP Ohio) and MEAG Power (Georgia). State Associations also provide noteworthy member services, for instance, the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), which is working to help utilites better manage future hurricanes, and the Indiana Municipal Electric Association (IMEA), which provides valuable information to its member utilities.

These organizations work together to improve the lot of their members and the communities they serve. Keep an eye on this space and look for some significant action over the coming months as they discover municpal wireless networks and bring broadband to their communities, not unlike the way that LCRA brought power to the Texas Hill Country 70 years ago. And what unthought of benefits will we be talking about 50 years from now? I hope I'm around to see.