Agency Histories

Before 1940, Provo got its power from the Utah Power and Light Company (UP&L). In 1936, the city began making moves to establish a municipal power plant. It quickly became a contentious issue, and a special election was held in October of 1936 in order for the citizens to vote on it. Municipal power won the vote by a slim margin, but within the same week, UP&L filed a suit against the city in the Utah Supreme Court.
UP&L ultimately took legal action multiple times, first with a writ of mandamus, and then a series of lawsuits designed to keep Provo from taking action on the municipal power plant. The Utah Supreme Court ruled in Provo's favor twice, after which UP&L appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. This protracted legal battle lasted until October of 1938, when the Supreme Court issued a final order denying UP&L's appeal.
At the conclusion of the lawsuits, the citizen groups which had opposed the municipal power plant in 1936 began again agitating for another public vote on the issue. The Provo Commission agreed to hold a second vote, but in order to avoid another costly special election, they held the matter over until the November 1939 regular city elections. Finally, the four-year battle culminated in an almost two-to-one vote in favor of a municipal power plant. Construction on the power plant began in 1940, and Provo City's municipal power service was created.
Since its inception, this power service has taken different forms and has been referred to by several different titles. These titles include the "Electric Utility Board," "Provo Electric Power," "Provo City Power," and the "Electric Department". Today it is the "Energy Department," and it was established as such in the Provo Code in 1986 (12.01.020).