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1950 - Present
In 1951, after the worst flooding since 1908, the Park Department gave the Utility Board control of the Silver Lake Dam. The Fourth Street Northeast dam pooled water for the North Broadway plant, and the Silver Lake Dam pooled water for the Silver Lake Plant.
(PHOTO: Silver Lake Unit Three (fore-ground) was installed in 1962; unit 2 (1953) and unit one (1949) are the smaller generating units beyond number three.)
In 1975, a 30-megawatt gas turbine unit was installed to supplement power during peak demand at the Cascade Creek substation, located between Seventh Street Northwest and Highway 14 West.
In 1978, Rochester joined the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) with Council approval. "Organizing and joining SMMPA was probably the most fundamental change that this utility has ever seen," commented John Miner, RPU General Manager from 1983 - 1986. "There has been and will continue to be spirited debate among its members about how well SMMPA does its job," he acknowledged, "but I believe, at this point, that SMMPA has accomplished what the founders intended." SMMPA allows its member cities to pool their electric power and meet their communities’ energy needs. Initially, RPU was a full-requirements member with SMMPA controlling all of Rochester's electric power. Today, RPU is a partial requirements member of SMMPA and retains control over its own generating units.
With the introduction of the Clean Air Act in 1976, issues of power plant emissions, PCBs and water quality were addressed by RPU and other utilities. Precipitators (to reduce airborne emissions) and cooling towers (to control water emissions) were costly additions. RPU's commitment to the environment did not end with costly construction projects. It has employed a full-time environmental regulations specialist since the late 1970s and continues to monitor all plant emissions.
Since the mid-1980s, many changes have occurred at RPU.
1988 – Completion of Service
Center construction.
(PHOTO: The 120,000 square foot structure brought over 100 office and field personnel under the same roof for the first time in more than 60 years. The warehouse and storage sites are much more efficient for material issue and inventory control.)
1990 – Conversion of RPU's
transmission system from 115,000 volts to 161,000
volts begins. The project was completed in 2002.
1993 – RPU joined the Mid-Continent
Area Power Pool (MAPP), further ensuring Rochester's
power requirements will be fulfilled into the
next century.
1994 – RPU completes 100 years
of electrical service.
1995 – RPU signs a Participation
Sales Agreement with the Minnesota Municipal
Power Agency (MMPA) for the output of the Silver
Lake Plant.
1996 – Walt Lorber named as
Acting General Manager during an internal reorganization.
Larry Koshire became the new General Manager
in 1997.
1998 – City of Rochester experiences
first total blackout in 20 years as storms damage
major transmission lines in the area.
1999 – RPU Board elects Contracted
Rate of Delivery (CROD) status with SMMPA.
1999 – Board approves a new
combustion turbine.
2000 – The Board & Council
approve the sale of electric revenue bonds to
pay for the new turbine and other electric system
improvements. This is RPU’s first bond sale.
2001 – The Council/Board approves
the sale of steam to the Mayo Clinic.
2002 – A new combustion turbine,
similar to jet engines that power 747s, goes
online in May.
(PHOTO: General Manager Larry Koshire, Pratt & Whitney Project Manager Mark Etre, Mayor Chuck Canfield and Utility Board President Dick Landwehr (left to right) tour the new combustion turbine.)
Both the water and electric departments made efforts to place public service as their first priority. Yet one enduring feature of municipal ownership's responsibility to the public surfaced in the 1930s and continues today: the utilities return revenue to the City. In 2001, for example, the Electric and Water Departments returned $6,837,000 to the City of Rochester.
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Partial View of Operating Floor |
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The Service Center today |
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Dedication of the Cascade Creek Gas
Turbine, May 2002 |
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