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Public Power – Joint Action

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MEAG Power is a non-profit joint action agency solely focused on serving our Participants, 49 public power communities across Georgia that serve more than 317,000 customer accounts.

As the energy industry evolves, joint action and public power work hand-in-glove. MEAG Power delivers to our Participants – and our Participants in turn deliver to their communities – advantages that combine to ensure long-term success.

The American Public Power Association reports that, compared to privately owned utilities, public power utilities have lower average monthly bills, fewer outages, are governed locally, and invest more revenues directly back into the community.

Click to view – Public Power: Powering Strong Communities

Benefits MEAG Power Brings Our Participants

Through joint action, our members are able to access the resources (infrastructure, operations and expertise) and pricing of a much larger, more diverse generation fleet and transmission grid than any one community could fund and maintain, among numerous other benefits.

Benefits Our Participants Deliver To Their Communities

Local control allows Participants to deliver an array of public power advantages to the benefit of their communities with the full understanding and appreciation of local needs.

Because the community owns the electric utility, all revenue from that asset is kept and reinvested in the community. This substantial, recurring revenue stream can help lower property taxes and fuel local economic growth and services.

Roads, parks, cultural events, youth and senior programs, and more – projects everyone knows make their hometown a better place.

Decisions concerning the residential and business electricity rates in a public power community are made in the hometown, with local input, local knowledge and an appreciation for community needs. This allows a community to adjust rates for various reasons: to attract new business, support an expanding one, purchase equipment or invest in new technology.

The American Public Power Association reports that, excluding major events, customers of a public power utility are likely to be without power for almost half the time of private utility customers – 75 minutes a year, compared to 142 minutes. At least part of the reason is that crews, equipment and administration are located nearby.