The City of Blackwell was presented a $20,000 check by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) during Monday’s city council meeting, recognizing the city for its efforts in the Competitive Utility Program (CUP).
CUP is a voluntary program, started in 1995, that provides OMPA’s 40 member cities with a way to evaluate and improve the operation of their electric utility, and make them better able to compete in the electric utility industry. The program provides two types of reward – recognition, in the form of certification; and financial rewards, which include the check for $20,000.
Blackwell will also receive a credit on its wholesale power bill during winter months for meeting criteria relating to rates, advanced marketing and load factor.
CUP-certified cities can be recertified in the program every two years. Blackwell was originally certified in the program in May of 2001.
Clerk Cindy Neumayer is the utility’s CUP coordinator.
The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) is a wholesale power company owned by 40 municipal electric utilities. OMPA provides economies of scale in power generation and related services to support community-owned electric utilities. The members of OMPA serve approximately 250,000 Oklahomans.
