If you didn’t know, there are public power utilities and investor-owned power utilities. Some well-known investor-owned utilities include DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. Here at Yellow Lime, we’re pretty partial to the public power utilities, including Zeeland Board of Public Works (BPW).
Jess recently interviewed Andrew Boatright, the General Manager at the BPW and it only solidified further our thankfulness for our partnership with him and the rest of the team.
#CommunityPowered
Zeeland BPW is a public power utility, meaning they do not have investors to answer to, rather they are held responsible, and owned, by the citizens, city council, and the board of commissioners. Zeeland BPW isn’t just powering up Zeeland though, they also provide clean and reliable drinking water and some sewage support. Outside of providing top-notch services (with minimal downtime we might add), Andrew and the team at Zeeland BPW consistently go above and beyond simply providing services to the community.
Each year the BPW provides Holiday Power Dollars, an initiative that allows electric customers to claim up to a certain amount of “Power Dollars” for free that can be spent at eligible local shops and restaurants. They also have a robust community grant program that annually funnels $25,000 worth of funding for nonprofit programs that make Zeeland and the community better. They are also highly involved in sponsoring local events, parks, and parades, and showing up to schools during special occasions like Reading Month or to educate students more about energy.
Reliability & Responsibility
By being owned and governed by the local citizens and being a not-for-profit allows Zeeland BPW to focus on providing lower rates (being one of the lowest in the State Andrew would want us to point out) and having a higher “power on” percentage. When asked about this aspect of the BPW, Andrew said, “I love that we reinvest into our system in a prudent way…we have over 75% of our electric distribution system underground to keep it out of severe weather and harm's way. This is thanks to decisions made decades ago to slowly improve.” He also added, “It’s also aesthetically pleasing. I love walking around this town and not seeing those ugly power lines hanging in the air.”
From BBQ to 75-mile-an-hour Winds
Mentioning public-owned utilities having higher reliability, Andrew recounted a story from his time in the Columbus, OH area. Picture this: It was a Friday afternoon and Andrew and his wife had plans to get together with friends for a happy hour. Andrew was getting the grill set up when a call from his son popped up. “Storms coming in, Dad, it’s going to be a douzy.”
After the call and reviewing the radar, Andrew headed back to the office. And there he remained for the next 3 days. The entire weekend was spent overseeing the team that was working hard to restore power. By the time Tuesday rolled around and it was time for the City Council meeting, all power had been restored and as Andrew recalls, “for the first time ever in my career we got a standing ovation from a room full of people. [The team] restored power within 72 hours while other investor-owned utilities were out for several weeks.” Now if that doesn’t make you go “whoop whoop” for public power, we don’t know what will!
More about Andrew
Growing up, Andrew wanted to be an electrical engineer after watching his brother (14 years his senior) build controls for his audio communication equipment. “It was fascinating to me…I never achieved the greatness that he had in terms of electrical knowledge but that’s what set my path into motion.” After majoring in Electrical Engineer Technology at Purdue University, Andrew found himself a job at Public Service Indiana (now Duke Energy), an investor-owned electrical utility and the rest is history. Not long thereafter though, he took his first job at a municipally-owned electric utility in northwest Indiana and his life in municipal/community-owned utilities was set.
Thankfully, his beautiful wife Eileen (pictured below) has followed him on his journey at various public power utilities. “Although, by virtue of my employment, given that I have been required to live in the community in which I work, philosophically, throughout my career my wife and I have always preferred it this way. What better way to fully experience ALL city services, not just the services provided by Zeeland BPW.” Even though they aren’t native to Zeeland, this is where they have found “home” and they both love the walkability of Zeeland and the small-town neighborhood feel they experience living downtown. In the summer, you can often spot him and Eileen at various community events, including Music on Main, Zeelmania, Pumpkinfest, and the parades.
In his current role at Zeeland BPW, Andrew serves as their General Manager. In his words, that means many many meetings. He oversees the day-to-day operations and serves as Board Chair for the Michigan Public Power AgencyMPPA) and the Michigan Professional Insurance Authority. In addition, he, works with consultants (like Yellow Lime!), joins internal meetings, and works closely with the Board of Commissioners to maintain the strategic direction of the BPW. When asked what his “superpower is,” Jess and Andrew agreed that he is a super supporter and makes sure the train keeps moving.
