WMGLD Celebrates Public Power Week October 4 –10th;

General Manager to Meet with Local Seniors on October 7th

For information contact:

(781) 245-7070

(Wakefield, MA) – Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department (WMGLD) will join other public power utilities in the United States celebrating the benefits of hometown, community-owned and operated electric utilities during the 23^rd annual Public Power Week which runs from October 4^th through October 10^th. 

The WMGLD is one of 2,010 community-owned electric utilities in the United States, serving over 44 million people and more than 2.8 million business customers. Public Power Week, sponsored by the American Public Power Association (APPA), provides an opportunity for utilities like the WMGLD to remind customers that local residents make important decisions about their public power services.         

            To commemorate the week and the benefits of public power, the Wakefield Board of Selectmen recently declared the week of October 4^th through 10^th Public Power Week in Wakefield.

            In addition to the hometown recognition of Public Power Week, WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion will also celebrate the benefits and advantages of a community-owned electric utility when he meets with local residents throughout the month of October to discuss a variety of topics, including energy conservation and how to read and understand the newly designed WMGLD bill and rate structure.

            The General Manager will be at the John J. McCarthy Senior Center on Wednesday, October 7^th to meet with local seniors at 10 a.m. He invites seniors to attend the informational session, enjoy a continental breakfast, and bring any questions they have about the new bill and saving energy in their homes.

            He will meet with members of the Rotary Club of Wakefield on October 13^th where he will discuss the new design of the rate structure and ways businesses can encourage energy conservation at the workplace.

General Manager Dion will be visiting fifth graders at the Galvin Middle School and St. Joseph School on October 14^th and 15^th respectively, to launch the second annual WMGLD Essay Contest. Students will learn about public power, how electricity gets to their homes, and how they can help save energy in their own homes. At the conclusion of the talk, the students will be asked to write an essay about what saving energy means to them, drawing upon some of the information they learned during the General Manager’s visit. The essays will be submitted to the WMGLD and five winning essays will be selected.

“The meetings are just a small part of the WMGLD’s involvement in the community it serves, not only during Pubic Power Week, but each and every day,”  General Manager Dion said. “Public power utilities are consumer owned and operated and provide reliable, responsive, not-for-profit electric service. The WMGLD has been providing safe, reliable power and exceptional service to all our customers since 1894; we are committed to keeping rates low while contributing to the economic development of the community, something we have been doing for the past 115 years.”

In addition to Public Power Week, customers of public power utilities have access to programs and services not usually available to customers of private electric utilities, including conservation services, appliance rebates and other energy-saving incentives.

To learn more about WMGLD and the services it provides, Public Power Week, or about any of the upcoming community meetings, please call 781-246-6363 or visit the website at www.wmgld.com.