Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power

What Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power does

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power (CEL&P) is a municipally owned electric distribution utility founded in 1890, making it the oldest municipally owned electric company in Indiana. The utility is wholly owned by the City of Crawfordsville and governed by a five-member Utility Service Board appointed by the Mayor and City Council. CEL&P distributes electricity to 6,500+ residential, commercial, and industrial customers within an exclusive franchise service territory in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and operates a 138 kV transmission loop, 13,800-volt distribution system fed by substations, a SCADA system for 24-hour grid monitoring, and Tantalus smart meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure. The utility divested its 16.5-acre power plant to Sterling Energy in 2013 and now sources wholesale power through the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), a joint action agency it co-founded in 1980.

CEL&P generates revenue through regulated rate charges billed monthly to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, with rates set by the Utility Service Board and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumers Counselor. The product portfolio includes core electricity distribution, outdoor security and area lighting, primary power off-peak service, and an Economic Development Rider offering limited-term billing demand reductions to attract new industrial customers. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the physical grid, supported by an in-person office, drive-thru, 24-hour phone service, and an online bill payment portal (ebiz.celp.com). The utility's branded market position emphasizes rates 10%–20% lower than surrounding towns, a 25–30 minute average outage response time, and an active role in community economic development — including supporting the landing of Tempur Sealy and investing in dedicated feeder lines for industrial customers. CEL&P has historically made annual contributions exceeding $275,000 to the City of Crawfordsville's general fund and continues to expand renewable energy through IMPA solar park development targeting approximately 30 MW of community solar capacity.

Name

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power

Legal name

Crawfordsville Electric, Light & Power

Website

https://celp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power is a municipally owned electric distribution utility founded in 1890, serving 6,500+ residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Crawfordsville, Indiana with rates 10%–20% below surrounding towns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Services

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Renewable Distributed Generation (Rooftop/Onsite Solar, Small Wind, Small Hydro) (EUACALAJ)

Keywords

• Municipal electric utility
• Electric power distribution
• Residential electricity service
• Industrial power services
• Outdoor lighting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Crawfordsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution Service: Core revenue stream from supplying electrical power to residential, commercial, and industrial customers within Crawfordsville's service territory. Billed monthly based on rate schedules approved by the Utility Service Board and Indiana regulatory authorities. Includes residential, commercial, and industrial power rate classes.
2. Outdoor Lighting Service: Revenue from outdoor security lights for residential/commercial use and wide-beam lighting fixtures for industrial applications in parking lots or recreational areas.
3. Primary Power Off-Peak Service: Off-peak electricity rates offered to help customers reduce energy costs during designated low-demand hours.
4. Economic Development Rider: Limited-term reductions in billing demands offered to qualifying businesses to attract new industry to the community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power is a municipally owned electric utility that distributes electrical power to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Core offerings include electric power distribution, outdoor security and area lighting, industrial power services, off-peak primary power programs, and economic development rate incentives for new businesses.

Product overview

Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power operates as a single unified municipal electric utility offering core electrical power distribution services. The company's product portfolio centers on electricity delivery to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, complemented by outdoor lighting services, industrial power options, and off-peak pricing programs. Additional services include an online bill payment portal and mobile metering technology for automated meter reading. The utility previously operated Accelplus, a fiber-to-home division providing internet and video services, but sold this business to Metronet in 2014. All services are coordinated through the Indiana Municipal Power Agency for wholesale power supply.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Accelplus: Fiber-to-the-home division providing high-speed internet and digital video services (sold to Metronet in 2014)

Products and services

• Electric Power Distribution Service Core electrical power distribution service providing electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Crawfordsville, Indiana, via substations, power lines, and metering systems.
• Outdoor Lighting Service Outdoor security lights for residential or commercial security and wide-beam lighting fixtures for industrial applications in parking lots or recreational areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rates 10%-20% lower than surrounding towns
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MetronetminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2014Metronet purchased Accelplus, CEL&P's cable TV and internet division, from CEL&P for $5.2 million on April 5, 2014. Accelplus had been a $16.6 million fiber-to-the-home project launched in 2007.
• Sterling EnergyminorOthers · 31 December 2013Sterling Energy purchased the Crawfordsville Power Plant (16.5 acres) from CEL&P for $155,000 on December 31, 2013. Eleven CEL&P employees transitioned to become full-time Sterling Energy employees.
• Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1980CEL&P is a member of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), a joint action agency formed in February 1980 with 11 participating Indiana communities. IMPA owns a stake in the PSI Gibson 5 power station and has expanded into renewable energy. CEL&P receives wholesale power from IMPA and collaborates on solar park development, with parks producing approximately 30 megawatts once fully completed.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• Richmond Power & Light: Municipal electric utility serving Richmond, Indiana. Direct structural peer: municipal ownership, IMPA member, comparable customer scale, and similar rate-regulation framework — making operational and economic comparability very high.
• Anderson Municipal Light & Power: Municipal electric utility in Anderson, Indiana. Direct peer — community-owned electric distribution utility of similar size serving a single Indiana city, also part of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency consortium.
• Tell City Electric Department: Municipal electric utility serving Tell City, Indiana. Highly comparable small-municipal peer operating under similar regulatory and structural conditions to CEL&P, including IMPA-style wholesale arrangements.
• Peru Utilities: Municipal utility in Peru, Indiana. Comparable small-municipality electric distribution operation with similar customer-base size and regulatory framework.
• Lebanon Utilities: Municipal utility serving Lebanon, Indiana. Direct peer in size, structure, and Indiana municipal-electric operating context; comparable IMPA membership economics.

Broad incumbents

• Indiana Michigan Power (AEP): Investor-owned electric utility serving Indiana and Michigan, part of American Electric Power. Comparable electric distribution franchise in Indiana but operates at much larger scale under state utility commission (not municipal) regulation — providing a reference benchmark for IOUs competing in adjacent Indiana territories.
• AES Indiana (formerly Indianapolis Power & Light): Investor-owned electric utility serving Indianapolis and surrounding central Indiana. Same broad industry (Indiana electric distribution) but operates at substantially larger scale as an IOU, not a municipal — a useful benchmark for retail rate and operational comparisons.
• Duke Energy Indiana: Large investor-owned electric utility serving most of Indiana outside the Indianapolis metro. Provides a competitive benchmark on rates, reliability, and renewable offerings that CEL&P must position against in economic-development deals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CvillePower
• Facebookfacebook.com/celpcrawfordsville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crawfordsville-electric-light-and-power
• Instagraminstagram.com/celp_crawfordsville

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power