Cedar Falls Utilities

The Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) is a municipally-owned public utility company serving Cedar Falls, Iowa. CFU provides municipal water service, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas service, and combined cable television and Internet access to its customers.^[1]

CFU participates in municipal efforts to promote economic development,^[2] which in turn results in a larger customer base for its utility services. The utility donated land to form the Cedar Falls Industrial and Technology Park^[3] in the late 1960s^[4] and in more recent years has aggressively expanded access to its communications services, including cable television and broadband Internet access, which the city promotes as a key factor in its economic-development strategy.^[5] The communications utility began service in 1996^[6] after a 1994 community referendum.

CFU was an early entrant into the market for renewable energy in the United States, investing in a wind-energy project in 1998 along with six other Iowa municipal utilities.^[7] CFU is projected to obtain 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.^[8]

References

1. ↑ Cedar Falls Utilities company profile
2. ↑ "A Study of the Economic and Community Benefits of Cedar Falls, Iowa's Municipal Telecommunications Network"
3. ↑ City of Cedar Falls
4. ↑ City of Cedar Falls
5. ↑ City of Cedar Falls
6. ↑ "Criteria for Measuring the Financial and Economic Performance of Municipally Owned Broadband Enterprises"
7. ↑ American Wind Energy Association
8. ↑ Cedar Falls Utilities Renewables