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Cleveland Utilities history
Cleveland Utilities company history timeline
In the 1899 mayoral election, McKisson, in the midst of a tough battle for political survival, called for public ownership of all utilities, contending that he was defending wage earners against the privileged classes.
Before Tom L. Johnson became mayor in 1901, he declared: "The public utility corporations are a bunch of thieves.
The 1903 merger of the streetcar company controlled by MARCUS HANNA with the Andrews-Stanley interests intensified Johnson's determination; this struggle polarized the city for the next 7 years.
More than 15 years later – in 1906 – Mayor Tom L. Johnson addressed Cleveland City Council and championed the activists’ recommendation.
In 1906, the City of Cleveland annexed the Village of South Brooklyn – along with their power station – and the lighting plant began producing its own electric power for the City.
During this long fight, Johnson made skillful use of Bemis's technical knowledge and the brilliant legal skills of his law director, Baker; his political leadership led to a partial victory in 1908.
The first commissioner appointed by mayor HERMAN BAEHR was a failure, but in 1911 Mayor Baker selected PETER WITT for the position.
In 1927 some council members, concerned about the future of Muny, asked city utility director Howell Wright to study the plant's ability to increase its share of the streetlight system, to lower its rates, and to evaluate its need for new capital.
Conscientious employees approached activist Republican lawyer PAUL WALTER and, in 1937, formed the Cleveland Municipal Light Plant Assn. to lower community light and power.
The next mayor, Frank J. Lausche, consummated the $14 million purchase in early 1942.
In 1942 a coalition of reform-minded Republicans and Democrats failed to pass a proposal to place public utilities—waterworks, sewer system, Muny, and CTS—under an independent commission.
THOMAS BURKE, mayor 1945-53, had little commitment to Muny, but his successor, Anthony Celebrezze, managed to put through a $12 million plant expansion.
Under increasing financial pressure, both Stokes and his successor, Ralph Perk, failed to pay for the power the city had secured from CEI. When Perk became mayor in 1971, he and council president George Forbes secured passage of a $13 million bond issue, but the securities could not be sold.
On 22 July 1975, after a major countywide publicity campaign, voters approved a 1% additional sales tax to finance RTA.
In 1975 the administration filed a $330 million antitrust suit against CEI. By this time, Muny's ability to produce electricity was seriously impaired, and it was increasingly relying on the purchase of power.
1978 Cleveland went into DEFAULT. The decision not to roll over the short-term city notes, while rooted in the city's financial crisis, also resulted from the business establishment's historical hostility to public power.
Mayor Kucinich led the defeat of the takeover, and in 1980 Mayor George Voinovich continued the battle.
1987 the council voted 21-0 to expand CPP.
Today, CPP boasts the status of being Ohio’s largest municipal electric power provider and ranks 35 out of 2000 publicly-owned electric utilities in the country.
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Cleveland Utilities, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Cleveland Utilities. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Cleveland Utilities. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Cleveland Utilities. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Cleveland Utilities and its employees or that of Zippia.
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