Established in 1903, New Ulm Public Utilities (NUPU) is a community owned, not-for-profit municipal utility. Services provided by NUPU include natural gas, electric production/distribution, district energy, water, and wastewater collection. Divisions:
Electric Production Division The Division operates a power plant which is comprised of one 6 MW and one 15 MW steam generator; all of the generator
s are “co-generation” units which means that steam is extracted from the turbine for use by the District Energy Division for high and low pressure steam customers. The plant also operates two back pressure generators, one low pressure and one high pressure steam turbine which improves plant efficiency and is able to produce approximately 2,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually. Electric Distribution Division The Division provides service through a network of 7 miles of 69 KV overhead distribution lines, 35 miles of overhead distribution lines and 86 miles of underground distribution lines; the system is 13.2 KV. Water Division The Division obtains water from thirteen wells located near the Minnesota River. Present well capacity is 4.8 MGD (million gallons per day). The water is treated for iron and manganese removal at a treatment facility completed in 1994 that has a name plate rated capacity of 7.4 MGD. District Energy Division The Division obtains low pressure (9 psi) and high pressure (140 psi) steam from the Electric Production Division and distributes the steam through steam mains to approximately 103 low pressure customers and 2 high pressure customers. Natural Gas Division The Division serves the City with natural gas piped via a high-pressure pipeline from Hutchinson, Minnesota, which is served by the Northern Border Pipeline. The PUC owns and maintains a pressure reducing station connected to the Hutchinson Pipeline that serves our distribution system. The Division has a City gate at the Hutchinson Pipeline Interconnect where the pressure is reduced from 1,200 psi to 275 psi. The gas is then reduced from 275 psi to 80 psi and distributed to 12 pressure reducing stations. The pressure is reduced to 5 psi at 11 stations and 17 psi at 1 station for distribution to customers. The City also maintains a backup supply from Northern Natural Gas through a separate City gate. Wastewater Treatment Division The Division’s treatment plant is a state of the art facility that began operations in 1975. The plant has received numerous awards from the Minnesota State Pollution Control Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency for its design and operation. It was designed to handle a maximum flow of 7 million gallons per day, while peak demand to date has been 5.5 million gallons per day during a period of peak rain runoff. As such, it should continue to serve the City for years without major expansion. The Division also has an agreement with the town of Courtland, Minnesota providing for long-term treatment of Courtland’s wastewater by the New Ulm Treatment Facility. The project commits approximately 5 percent of the New Ulm Plant capacity for a twenty-year period. NUPU prides itself in providing safe and reliable services to our friends, family, and neighbors of New Ulm, MN.
