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1. What do I do if the power goes out?

First, look outside and see if the outage has included your neighbors. If it hasn't, the problem may be within your own home. Check your fuse box or circuit breaker panel to see if you can locate the problem. If the neighboring houses are dark too, look for trees or branches on the lines, downed wires, flashes of light, or any other signs of trouble. Do not touch or attempt to move any electric lines or trees or any other obstacles in contact with electric lines.

Contact Us

When an outage occurs please call the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) at 716-661-1640. During or after a major storm, calling will take a great deal of patience because many other people are also trying to call. It is natural to be tempted to ask how long the power will be out, but it is an almost impossible question to answer. Be assured we will get to you as soon as we can. There is no need to keep calling. However, if your power was restored and then failed again, or if you are in one of those small pockets of dark houses when the rest of the neighborhood has had its power restored, please call again. 

Also, tune your battery operated radio to local stations, as we give updates to the public as to the status of repairs.

You Can Help

When an outage occurs or lasts for an extended period of time, a heavy burden is placed on the system at the moment the power is restored. This high demand can cause an overload on the system and you could lose power once again.

Read the following prompts to know what to do with your appliances while waiting for the power to turn back on:

• Always keep a flashlight and battery-powered radio on hand for emergencies.  
• Make sure that your electric range has been turned off and that other heat-producing appliances are off as well because, if left on, they can pose a serious fire hazard after the power has been restored.
• Turn everything off in your home except one light.

When the one light you have left on glows, you will know that the power has been restored and you may gradually switch your appliances back on and return thermostats to their normal settings.

2. What is public power?

Public Power is the term used to describe not-for-profit publicly owned electric utilities that are operated by a municipality, county, state or other public body such as a public utility district. Public Power systems are directly accountable to the people they serve. 

Private Power

Private Power sells electricity to make a profit. Profits go to stockholders all over the country. Public power systems are not run to make a profit. All the benefits from public power stay at home in the form of lower rates, improved services, and other community contributions. Public ownership of a utility is like owning your own home. Private ownership is like renting it.                   

3. What are the benefits of public power?

The following are benefits of Public Power:

• Commitment to Conservation, safety, and the environment
• Competition
• Economic Development
• Efficient Service
• Local Control
• Lower Rates
• Reliability

4. How do rates compare?

Public power rates, on a national average, are much lower than rates of private power companies. Residential customers of a private utility pay 30% more than public customers and the average private commercial / industrial customer pays about 10% more than a public customer. This difference has been steady for about the past 50 years.

5. Why are public power rates lower?

• Leads the industry in providing efficient, low-cost electric service                         
• They are not-for-profit and do not pay dividends to outside stockholders
• They are more efficiently managed than private companies averaging about 10% less in administrative and general expenses                
• Do not pay federal income taxes
• Can issue tax-free bonds for capital expansion, which provide financing at a lower cost than taxable private corporate bonds          
• Have relatively more access than do private power companies to low-cost hydroelectricity marketed by federal and state agencies at cost-based prices. The power from these publicly owned projects is sold first to not-for-profit, consumed-owned utilities            

6. What are the other economic benefits of public power?

On a national average, public power systems pay proportionately more of their annual gross electric revenues to the communities in which they operate than do private companies. Payments may be in the form of taxes, tax equivalent or in-lieu-of-tax payments, direct transfers to general funds or contribution of services. Public power systems also play a major role in promoting overall community development. For example, low-cost electric service is an inducement to new business and industry, which broadens the tax base and crates more jobs and local income.

7. What are the national economic benefits of public power?

Public power competition gives state and federal regulation more muscle and provides a constant "yardstick" by which to compare private company rates and service. Time and again, private companies have lowered rates or granted concessions to customers when confronted with citizen or local government interest in the public power option.

8. How is public power responsive to its consumer-owners?

Consumers set the pace for public power policy making. Policy board meetings are open to the public and consumers have a direct voice in expressing their goals and priorities for the community and its electric utility.

9. How are public power systems regulated?

Public power systems are regulated by their consumer-owners through locally elected or appointed officials. In a few states (such as New York), public power is regulated by state utility departments. Some city councils govern their utilities, others are governed by an independent elected or appointed utility board such as the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. In any case, they are accountable to the citizens they serve.