Orlando Utilities Commission
Established in 1923 by a special act of the Florida Legislature, OUC—The Reliable One is the second largest municipal utility in Florida and 14th largest municipal in the country. OUC provides electric, water, chilled water and/or lighting services to more than 234,000 customers in Orlando, St. Cloud and parts of unincorporated Orange and Osceola counties.
According to data provided by the Florida Public Service Commission, OUC has been more reliable than the state’s investor-owned utilities for 17 years running. OUC is focused not just on reliability and affordability, but weaves sustainability into everything it does. This includes opening the area’s first community solar farm, installing nearly 140 electric vehicle charging stations, implementing a comprehensive corporate recycling program and encouraging its customers to use energy and water as wisely as possible.
OUC owns and operates the Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center in east Orange County. The most diverse generating site in the state – natural gas, landfill methane gas, coal and solar are on the 3,280 acre property which can generate more than 1,800 megawatts of electricity. OUC also owns the Indian River Plant in Brevard County, a 40 percent ownership of Lakeland Electric’s McIntosh Unit 3 and a 6 percent stake of the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant near Ft. Pierce. The company is governed by a five-member commission (including the Mayor of Orlando), which is responsible for all operating policies.
OUC also owns and operates seven water plants and a distribution network of more than 1,700 miles of pipe. OUC’s water, which is pumped from the Floridan Aquifer and treated with ozone to reduce the need for other chemicals, was voted best-tasting by the America Water Works, Florida Section Region III in 2014.