Key takeaways
- The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (1,511,847 customers) and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (1,510,995) are the two largest public power utilities, with Salt River Project and the Long Island Power Authority each above 1.1 million.
- The ranking is by electric customers served in 2024, from the American Public Power Association's 2026 Public Power Statistical Report, which draws on federal EIA data.
- California has 10 utilities on the list and Tennessee 7.
- Public power utilities are owned by the communities they serve and governed by local boards or councils, so they buy much like local governments: through public bids, board approvals and published budgets.
The 50 largest public power utilities
Ranked by electric customers served in 2024. Names are as APPA prints them. Filter by state or search.
Showing all 50 utilities
| # | Utility | State | Electric customers (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority | PR | 1,511,847 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | CA | 1,510,995 |
| 3 | Salt River Project | AZ | 1,166,094 |
| 4 | Long Island Power Authority | NY | 1,161,788 |
| 5 | CPS Energy | TX | 962,272 |
| 6 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | CA | 666,235 |
| 7 | Austin Energy | TX | 562,004 |
| 8 | JEA | FL | 531,883 |
| 9 | Seattle City Light | WA | 512,498 |
| 10 | Nashville Electric Service | TN | 463,455 |
| 11 | Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division | TN | 423,338 |
| 12 | Omaha Public Power District | NE | 413,414 |
| 13 | Snohomish County, Public Utility District No. 1 of WA | WA | 382,062 |
| 14 | Orlando Utilities Commission | FL | 282,182 |
| 15 | Colorado Springs Utilities | CO | 260,682 |
| 16 | Clark Public Utilities | WA | 239,896 |
| 17 | Huntsville Utilities | AL | 220,576 |
| 18 | Knoxville Utilities Board | TN | 219,297 |
| 19 | Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority) | SC | 216,494 |
| 20 | Tacoma Public Utilities | WA | 203,185 |
| 21 | EPB - Chattanooga Electric Power Board | TN | 200,605 |
| 22 | IID Energy | CA | 164,802 |
| 23 | Lincoln Electric System | NE | 153,069 |
| 24 | Lakeland Electric | FL | 136,543 |
| 25 | Modesto Irrigation District | CA | 133,517 |
| 26 | Anaheim Public Utilities | CA | 123,665 |
| 27 | Springfield, City Utilities of | MO | 121,603 |
| 28 | Tallahassee Electric Utility, City of | FL | 120,220 |
| 29 | Riverside Public Utilities, City of | CA | 113,373 |
| 30 | Gainesville Regional Utilities | FL | 104,509 |
| 31 | Eugene Water & Electric Board | OR | 99,939 |
| 32 | Lansing Board of Water & Light | MI | 99,649 |
| 33 | Turlock Irrigation District | CA | 95,746 |
| 34 | Nebraska Public Power District | NE | 94,662 |
| 35 | Kissimmee Utility Authority | FL | 91,561 |
| 36 | Glendale Water & Power | CA | 90,990 |
| 37 | Fayetteville Public Works Commission | NC | 85,435 |
| 38 | CDE Lightband | TN | 85,314 |
| 39 | BrightRidge | TN | 84,109 |
| 40 | Fort Collins Utilities | CO | 79,990 |
| 41 | Lenoir City Utilities Board | TN | 77,358 |
| 42 | Garland, City of | TX | 76,337 |
| 43 | Greenville Utilities Commission | NC | 74,118 |
| 44 | Cleveland Public Power | OH | 73,666 |
| 45 | Lafayette Utilities System | LA | 72,343 |
| 46 | Springfield City Water, Light & Power | IL | 71,179 |
| 47 | Roseville Electric | CA | 70,475 |
| 48 | Bryan Texas Utilities | TX | 68,685 |
| 49 | Kansas City Board of Public Utilities | KS | 68,637 |
| 50 | Pasadena Water and Power Department | CA | 67,059 |
What is a public power utility?
A public power utility is an electric utility owned by a city, county, state, public utility district or other public body and run on a not-for-profit basis for the community it serves. Most are governed by a city council or an elected or appointed utility board. They sit alongside the two other main types of US electric utility: investor-owned utilities, owned by shareholders, and electric cooperatives, owned by their members. See our list of the largest electric cooperatives.
About this data
The ranking is the top 50 of the American Public Power Association's table of the 100 largest public power utilities by electric customers served in 2024, published in its 2026 Public Power Statistical Report and based on federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 861 data. The list includes the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, a public utility in a US territory. Customer counts change slowly, but check a utility's own reports for current figures.
Selling to public power utilities
Because public power utilities are public bodies, their plans and purchases are unusually visible. Board and council agendas show contract approvals, budgets show what's funded, and capital plans list projects years ahead.
- Learn how they buy. Our guide to how public power, co-ops and water utilities buy covers bids, board approvals and cooperative contracts.
- Follow the funding. Federal grants and loans shape many grid and water projects. See our utility funding tracker.
- Reach the right departments. Large public power utilities have separate teams for generation, transmission and distribution, metering, customer service, IT and operational technology, safety and fleet.
- Watch the joint action agencies. Many smaller public power utilities buy power and services through joint action agencies, which can be a channel to dozens of utilities at once.
How KSG helps utility vendors
Utilities are one of Kensington Sales Group's core markets. Our SDRs research utilities, call the managers who own the problem you solve and book meetings for your sales team. For Siemens, our team contacted more than 2,500 utilities and booked 70 meetings. See our utility work.
Sources
- American Public Power Association, 2026 Public Power Statistical Report: publicpower.org