Greenwood Utilities milestone
Celebrates 100 years of service

Special to the DBJ

On December 7, 1904, when horses greatly outnumbered cars on the streets of Greenwood, Greenwood Utilities was officially established. On December 7, 2004, Greenwood Utilities commissioners, management, employees, city officials, retired employees and well wishers celebrated the Utilities’ 100th anniversary.

Also attending the event was the son, C.E. Wright, Jr., and grandson, Charles L. Wright, of one of Greenwood Utilities’ founders. In 1894, C.E. Wright and T. Staige Marye established the company that would became the modern-day Greenwood Utilities.

One hundred years of operation have confirmed the wisdom of its founders and city fathers, according to General Manager Dudley McBee.
“On December 7, 1904,” said McBee,” the Greenwood City Council voted to establish the Board of Water and Light Commissioners. Greenwood’s step to purchase and operate its own municipal public power company has allowed our community to offer citizen’s some of the lowest rates in the state and the nation.”

From 1904 until 1977, Greenwood Utilities generated all the electric power needed by residential and commercial/industrial customers. Since that time, based on growing demand and the need to be prepared should a natural disaster or catastrophic failure of generating capacity occur, important changes have taken place.

“Since 1977, three interconnection projects with Entergy have increased megawatt capacity to ensure our customers have the most reliable power possible,” said McBee. “And in 1978, Greenwood Utilities became a member of the Municipal Energy Agency of Mississippi (MEAM) to help stabilize costs of electricity and assure adequate power for the future.”

Today, the utilities’ interconnection capacity is 121 megawatts which is more than 50% above our all-time peak of 79.4 megawatts. In addition, Greenwood Utilities has 74 megawatts of generation capacity.

Besides the City of Greenwood, Greenwood Utilities also serves other areas with electricity and water as outlined by the Mississippi Public Service Commission. To meet the needs in its water service area, Greenwood Utilities has a combined water storage capacity of 3,600,000 gallons in five elevated tanks and one ground storage reservoir.

From its original 1904 service area, which provided electricity and water to approximately 1,200 people, to its current service area which includes over 10,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers, Greenwood Utilities has remained solid yet flexible.

It has done so, according to long-time employee Harper Johnson, through a legacy of sound management and the desire to meet challenges for the betterment of the community.

“Greenwood should be proud of its public power company,” said Johnson, “we have the largest municipal generating system in the state of Mississippi and some of the lowest rates available anywhere.”

When Johnson came to work for Greenwood Utilities in the mid-1960s as a professional engineer, he was given a series of projects that needed solutions. In each case, management was open to finding the most efficient answer, even if the solution was novel. “Who would have thought that the solution to cooling turbines in Greenwood, Mississippi, would be a desert cooling system? That’s what Burns and McDonnell, an engineering firm in Kansas City, recommended to us and that’s what management supported. It was the right answer.”

Another employee, Mrs. Alva Alldread, who worked for Greenwood Utilities for over 30 years beginning in 1949, remembers the entire organization running with great stability and efficiency. “From the general manager all the way down, we all knew our jobs and knew our responsibilities. We didn’t go home at night until every customer was taken care of.”

In its 100th-anniversary year, Greenwood Utilities has 99 employees and carries on a strong tradition of service. “Greenwood Utilities has been blessed with the foresight of leaders from 100 years ago, as well as the talent and dedication of management and skilled employees throughout its existence,” said McBee. “Today public power remains strong, but there are many challenges ahead. Our focus is the same as it has been over our 100-year history: reliability and competitive rates through long-term planning and system maintenance. With these goals in mind, Greenwood Utilities looks forward to the next century of service with great enthusiasm.” DBJ