To bring greater value to public power utilities in Wisconsin and across the United States, Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) has become the sixth joint action agency to invest in Hometown Connections, Inc.—a national, non-profit utility services organization providing industry-leading solutions to community-owned utilities.
Becoming 6th Joint Action Agency to Deliver Innovation to Public Power
To support the cost-effective delivery of cybersecurity, load growth consulting, and other state-of-the-art services to public power, GLU is joining with the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority, American Municipal Power, Inc., Missouri Public Utility Alliance, Northern California Power Agency, and Vermont Public Power Supply Authority. Each agency is an equal share member of Hometown Connections, Inc. and collectively represents 316 utilities in 15 states.
“Great Lakes Utilities is pleased and excited to be combining resources with a dedicated group of forward-thinking joint action agencies,” said Jem Brown, GLU Chair and General Manager of Wisconsin Rapids Water & Light. “We believe the portfolio of technology and utility management solutions that Hometown Connections offers today and has under development will help our member utilities continue to serve their communities with distinction far into the future.”
Nilaksh Kothari, Managing Director of Great Lakes Utilities and GLU board member, said, “To keep pace with industry changes and to meet our customers’ expectations for excellence in reliability and customer service, our members face the same primary challenges as community-owned utilities nationwide: how to choose the right solutions for modernizing their systems and management practices. We view Hometown Connections as a trusted resource for top quality products and services delivered by vendors and staff with a proven record of working successfully and cost-effectively with public power.”
“With each joint action agency that invests in Hometown Connections, we demonstrate the benefits of combining our resources to better serve our individual members and our industry as a whole,” said Randy S. Howard, Board Chair of Hometown Connections, Inc., and General Manager of the Northern California Power Agency. “By working in collaboration with each other and the staff, Hometown Connections delivers the economies of scale required to give community-owned utilities the solutions they need through an organization dedicated to providing value towards their long-term success.”
Tim Blodgett, President & Chief Executive Officer of Hometown Connections, Inc., said, “We are honored to welcome Great Lakes Utilities to the Hometown Connections family. We look forward to working with the GLU leadership and members to ensure the products and services we offer are of the highest quality and economic value.”
About Great Lakes Utilities
Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) is a municipal electric company created to obtain low cost and reliable electric power supply and other services for its twelve member communities in the state of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. GLU also performs Midwest ISO energy market services on behalf of its members. Visit www.greatlakesutilities.org
About Hometown Connections, Inc.
Hometown Connections, Inc. is a national, non-profit utility services organization specializing in the unique challenges facing community-owned utilities. For more than 20 years, our team has helped over 900 utilities to modernize their processes and systems. Hometown Connections works with utilities of all sizes, facilitating access to technology and services from industry-leading companies. Hometown Connections offers solutions to develop each area of the utility business: operations, cybersecurity, business strategy, customer care, finance, and workforce. Visit www.hometownconnections.com.
For More Information
Tim Blodgett
President & CEO
Hometown Connections, Inc.
tblodgett@hometownconnections.com
303-526-4515
Nilaksh Kothari
Managing Director
Great Lakes Utilities
NKothari@mpu.org
920-686-4351