Muscoda has a municipal utility, owned by its customers. It is public power at its best; an important, contemporary American institution. From the smallest of towns to big cities such as Los Angeles, community ownership is local people working together to meet local needs.

LOW RATES. Residential electric costs in Muscoda are 15 to 30 % lower than Wisconsin's five investor-owned utilities presently charge.(4/99) If you are currently a customer of Wisconsin Electric, you would save $98.64 each year on your electric bills by moving to the Muscoda area.. (Based on 750 kilowatt hours per month.)

PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES. Muscoda's property taxes are kept low due in part to Muscoda Utility Commission's payments to the Village's general fund. Every year the utility is one of the Village's biggest contributor. Without the utility's payments, your property taxes could increase more than $2.00 per $ 1000 of assessed value.

NON-PROFIT. Service is the main concern, not profit. Rates are based on the cost of service, not the need to make a profits for outside investors.

LOCAL REPRESENTATION AND CONTROL. A utility commission is elected by the village board to represent you, the ratepayers. These local citizens help make decisions that support local needs and values.

QUICK, ON-SITE RESPONSE. If there is a power outage or another problem with your service, help is just a local phone call away.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Public power's low electric rates are a magnet for community economic development. So is its ability as a local government arm to provide streamlined, "one-stop shop" services that encourage existing business customers to maintain and expand their operations, and attract new businesses. Strong, stable employers mean strong, stable jobs for local citizens.

The Muscoda Utility Commission delivers power to the people of Muscoda and surrounding areas. The customers of the Muscoda Utility Commission are not merely customers; they own this utility. This is because Muscoda is a public power community, one of 82 in Wisconsin. Being locally owned and controlled, its top priority isn't shareholders, but Customers.

2,000 COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE BENEFIT FROM LOCAL OWNERSHIP
One in seven - or 14 percent of - electric customers receives electricity from one of more than 2,000 community-owned and -operated public power systems. Most public power systems serve communities with populations of 10,000 or less. However, many major cities have public power, such as Seattle, San Antonio, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Austin, Memphis, Orlando, Omaha, Jacksonville and Sacramento.

HOMETOWN POWER ADVANCES EACH COMMUNITY'S VALUES
Because public power systems belong and are accountable to the people they serve, every citizen is a utility owner with full access to information and a say in policies. Citizens of public power communities have a direct voice in the community's goals and priorities through the ballot box and at public meetings. Many public power systems are either governed by an elected group such as a village board or by a utility commission whose members are either elected or appointed by the board or the village president. In either case, policy board meetings are open to the public.

The results of the public power local decision making have been impressive -- innovative and efficient energy systems that hold down consumer rates, provide excellent customer service, protect the environment, and integrate with other community institutions to meet broad public service goals.

PUBLIC POWER ENHANCES COST-CUTTING COMPETITION
Public power benefits all consumers because it provides a "yardstick" by which investor-owned utilities can be compared. This form of competition helps hold down electric rates. Currently, the electric utility industry is undergoing dramatic changes. Competition is beginning to play a larger role in the generation of electricity and public power systems have long supported this competition. They are helping to make effective competition - rather than federal and state regulation. -- the driving force in the electricity marketplace. Already, many public power systems have taken advantage of the new competitive market, lowering rates for their own communities.