Granite Falls to celebrate public power week

Sep. 30—The Town of Granite Falls will celebrate Public Power Week starting Sunday along with thousands of other community owned nonprofit electric utility providers that supply electricity to nearly 50 million Americans.

"Public Power Week celebrates the reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly electricity the town of Granite Falls provides to our community," said Jerry Church, town manager.

"Public power puts the people of Granite Falls first, and Public Power Week gives us the chance to emphasize the advantages of locally grown, locally owned power to our citizens. Our service is reliable and safe and we take pride in serving our friends and neighbors.

In 2022, the town's Average Service Availability Index, through the American Public Power Association, indicated that electric service was provided on average of 99.9% of the time to all electric customers.

In addition to being a reliable public-power provider, the town is one of the most environmentally friendly power providers in the state, officials said.

The town of Granite Falls and 18 other North Carolina public-power communities receive electricity from the N.C. Municipal Power Agency, which is managed by ElectriCities.

NCMPA owns 75% of a generating unit at the Catawba Nuclear Station, which provides over 97% of the town's energy needs, Church said.

The town also receives aabout 1% of its energy needs from hydroelectric providers. As a result, about 98% of the town of Granite Falls' electricity comes from emissions-free generation sources.

Town officials will celebrate customer appreciation day in the town office on Tuesday. There will be light refreshments and free promotional items while they last.

Today, the town of Granite Falls provides electric service to 2,205 residential customers and 407 commercial and industrial customers.