Cedar Falls Utilities
Encyclopedia
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.
CFU participates in municipal efforts to promote economic development, 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 in the late 1960s 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. The communications utility began service in 1996 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. CFU is projected to obtain 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
company serving Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
. CFU provides municipal water service, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas service, and combined cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and Internet access to its customers.
CFU participates in municipal efforts to promote economic development, 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 in the late 1960s 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. The communications utility began service in 1996 after a 1994 community referendum.
CFU was an early entrant into the market for renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
in the United States, investing in a wind-energy project in 1998 along with six other Iowa municipal utilities. CFU is projected to obtain 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.