City Utilities: History

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The History Behind City Utilities

Springfield has always been blessed with a progressive and farsighted utility structure, dating from the opening of the gas works of the Springfield Gas Lighting Company in 1874.

In 1945, Springfield Gas and Electric was purchased by the city, marking the birth of City Utilities.

In the Beginning
The closing months of 1944 marked a time of tense optimism in Springfield, as it was throughout the United States. The news reports from both fronts were generally good, and it appeared that the war in Europe might end within a matter of months. The devastating economic sacrifices of the war effort, and the depression years before it, were about to be supplanted by an era of postwar production and prosperity. It was against this backdrop that the Springfield City Council voted unanimously to purchase the assets of the privately owned Springfield Gas and Electric company, also the operator of the city transit system. The finalization of this transaction in 1945 marked the birth of City Utilities.

To be sure, Springfieldians have witnessed some incredible changes in the size, demography, and even the flavor of their city since 1945. But through it all, City Utilities has strived to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost, and has made a modest contribution toward the quality of life in a truly quality city.

Coming Together
The City of Springfield had made at least four attempts to purchase the Springfield Water Works between 1936 and 1953, but negotiators were never able to reach a purchase agreement. Finally, in 1957, an agreement was negotiated and voters approved the purchase, resulting in the Springfield City Water Company officially becoming the Water Department of City Utilities.

Historical Highlights

1838 - 1890
1838 - City of Springfield incorporated 1847 - First public water cistern 1869 - Springfield Gas Light Company incorporated 1880 - Springfield Railway Company franchised; horse-drawn street cars 1881 - People’s Railway Company franchised 1882 - Springfield Water Company franchise approved by citizens 1883 - First waterworks built at Fulbright Spring 1883 - Springfield Electric Company formed 1886 - Two railway companies merge to form Citizens Street Railway Company; three years later, horse-drawn street cars replaced by motor-powered trolleys 1889 - First waterworks sold to become Springfield Water Works Company 1890 - Springfield Gas Light Company purchased by Mr. Henning of Chicago

1893 - 1940
1893 - Gas and electric companies merge to form Springfield Lighting Company 1895 - Springfield Traction Company purchases former trolley services 1899 - Springfield Water Works Company acquires Valley Water Mill 1902 - Springfield Lighting Company sold, becomes Springfield Gas & Electric 1906 - Springfield Traction Company sold to owner of Springfield Gas & Electric, placing all city streetcar lines under common ownership for first time 1910 - First water filtration plant built at Fulbright Spring 1927 - McDaniel Lake and pump station completed 1930 - Natural gas pipeline comes to Springfield 1938 - Fixed route buses replace trolleys 1940 - Fulbright Water Treatment Plant completed

1945 - 1988
1945 - Springfield Gas and Electric purchased by city, marking the birth of CU 1954 - Fellows Lake dedicated 1957 - Springfield Water Works purchased by CU 1957 - Power generation begins at James River Power Station 1968 - Main Avenue turbine begins operation 1976 - Power generation begins at Southwest Power Station 1980 - Blackman Water Treatment Plant (BWTP) in service 1983 - Eleven mile, 36-inch pipeline from BWTP to Fellows Lake completed 1984 - Construction of Transit’s Downtown Transfer Facility begins 1988 - 345-kV transmission line completed

1993 - 1999
1993 - Fulbright Spring becomes a National Historic Landmark 1992 - Access Express buses for physically challenged added to Transit’s fleet 1993 - Partnership Industrial Center opens 1995 - Saul A. Nuccitelli pipeline from Stockton to Fellows Lake completed 1996 - The TecHOUSE opens, a one-stop-shop for builders and developers doing business with CU 1996 - Second, 20-mile natural gas transmission pipeline completed 1998 - Transit adds ten low-floor buses to fleet allowing wheelchair passengers access to fixed-route service 1999 - SpringNet, an all-fiber internet and service provider, introduced

2002 - 2007
2002 - Partnership Industrial Center West opens 2002 - McCartney Generating Station completed 2002 - Partnership with the City of Springfield and Greene County culminates with the completion of the public safety trunked radio system 2003 - Construction of wind turbine and solar panel completed 2003 - SpringNet Underground, a highly secure data collocation facility, opens for business 2006 - CU EnergyWise efficiency programs & rebates initiated 2006 - Noble Hill Landfill Renewable Energy Center begins operation 2006 - Voters approve bond issue for Southwest Power Station Unit 2 2007 - Lake Springfield Natural Gas Peaking Station placed in service 2007 - Construction begins on new 48-inch water main from Fellows Lake to BWTP 2007 - CU celebrates 50th anniversary of water system and James River Power Station

2008 - Current
2008 - Missouri Carbon Sequestration coalition formed 2008 - High-volume outage phone reporting system in place 2008 - Major pipeline from Fellows Lake to Blackman Water Treatment Plant 2009 - Natural Gas Eastern Loop extended 2009 - Mobile work management system in service 2009 - Odd-Even lawn watering program initiated 2010 - Southwest Power Station Unit 2 start-up 2010 - New Paratransit fleet hits the streets 2011 – New Smart Meters installed 2011 – CU earns APPA’s E. F. Scattergood System Achievement Award 2011 – New electric substation communications system installed 2011 – Google Transit, online trip planner, debuts 2012 – CU breaks ground on Boonville Maintenance Campus project 2012 - "Manage My Account" for customers goes live online 2012 - Outage map shows electric system status at www.cityutilities.net