The story
Founding and early operations
In 1885, the City of Alameda contracted with Jenney Electric Company to construct a 90-kilowatt steam-powered generating plant at Park Street and Otis Drive for street lighting, erecting 13 iron arc lamp masts at a cost of $20,000. By 1887, the purchase price for the facility had risen to $40,000; the City diverted $15,000 from sewer funds and financed the remainder through municipal bonds. On July 11, 1887, the Board of Trustees voted to acquire the plant, formally establishing the Bureau of Electricity as a department of city government. Initial operations were limited to street lighting.
In 1901, H.P. Nielsen was appointed the plant's first engineer. In 1902, the Bureau began selling electricity to residences and businesses and opened a retail appliance store on Park Street.
Public Utilities Board
In the 1930s, Alameda voters created an independent Public Utilities Board (PUB) under the city charter to oversee the Bureau. Four commissioners are appointed by the City Council; the City Manager serves as an ex officio fifth member. The PUB sets rates and policy; a general manager handles day-to-day administration.
Telecommunications venture (1997-2009)
The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened the cable and internet market to new entrants. Concurrently, the closure of Naval Air Station Alameda eliminated the Bureau's single largest electricity customer, which had accounted for up to one-third of annual revenues. The Bureau had already installed fiber-optic cable in the city's two major business parks. In August 1997, the PUB approved a Telecommunications Business Plan.
In November 1998, Alameda voters approved a ballot measure authorizing the utility to offer cable television and telecommunications services; proponents assured voters that an economic firewall would protect the electric division's revenues from the cable startup's risk. In fall 1999, the Bureau of Electricity was renamed Alameda Power & Telecom. AP&T served its first retail cable television customer in July 2001 and began offering internet access subscriptions in early 2002.
Despite the promised firewall, AP&T began making interfund advances from the electric division to the cable startup. By early 2007, total interfund advances reached $43.6 million; the cable division also carried $33 million in bonded debt. Construction of the cable system was declared complete in June 2005, with AP&T reporting approximately 15,000 subscribers. City Treasurer Kevin Kennedy and City Auditor Kevin Kearney began raising public alarms in early 2006 about the financial transfers.
On November 21, 2008, AP&T sold its cable and internet system to Comcast for $17 million. Kennedy and Kearney estimated the net loss from the telecommunications venture at more than $60 million. In January 2009, the utility dropped the telecom branding and readopted the name Alameda Municipal Power.
From Wikipedia’s article on Alameda Municipal Power, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3