Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission

What Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission does

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission (WW&LC) is a municipally owned and operated electric and water utility serving approximately 15,000 customers in the Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin area. The utility traces its water-system origins to 1890 (fire protection service for the former City of Centralia) and assumed municipal electric control on January 2, 1915, when the city purchased the Grand Rapids Electric Company. Its franchise is rate-regulated by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the service territory is geographically protected as a municipal utility.

The utility's product surface consists of two regulated core services — electric distribution and water treatment and delivery — supplemented by value-add programs. Electric infrastructure includes five substations (Baker, High School, Gaynor, West, Peach Street/Coyne), a 13,200-volt encircling distribution circuit, and a fully deployed Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) network covering 22,000 combined meters. Water infrastructure comprises five collector wells with combined pumping capacity of approximately 5 million gallons daily, a treatment plant at 16th Street expanded to 10 million gallons daily capacity, 2.8 million gallons of elevated storage, and a Wisconsin-certified water quality testing laboratory. Add-on offerings include a Green Energy renewable program, distributed generation interconnection (up to 15 MW), cross-connection inspection, water testing services, separate sprinkling/outdoor meters, and engineering services for new service and main extensions.

Revenue is generated primarily through subscription-based recurring utility charges — monthly electric and water bills set in PSC of Wisconsin rate-case proceedings — to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Customer segments are described as residential (primary), commercial (e.g., local IGAs), and industrial (e.g., Matalco aluminum smelter in East Commerce Park). Distribution is direct-to-customer within the municipal service territory through multiple channels: a SmartHub online portal, phone payments, auto-pay (ACH), in-person office transactions, drop boxes, and retail payment partners including City Hall and IGA locations. A secondary, non-material revenue stream is a bottled-water resale program (since 2006) that supports local booster clubs.

Name

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission

Legal name

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission

Website

https://wrwwlc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission is a municipally owned and operated electric and water utility serving approximately 15,000 customers in the Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin area, with rates set by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and infrastructure including five substations, five collector wells, and a 10 MGD treatment plant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Electric and Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Water Supply (4941), Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

Keywords

• Municipal electric utility
• Municipal water utility
• Utility distribution services
• Water treatment services
• Smart meter infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Wisconsin Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electric Service: Revenue from providing electrical service to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Rates are set and maintained by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin through a rate case process.
2. Water Service: Revenue from providing water treatment and distribution services. Nearly a billion gallons of water delivered annually. Rates set by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
3. Water Bottling Program: Municipal water bottled in 20-ounce bottles and made available to booster clubs and charities at no cost for resale as a revenue-generating program (started 2006).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission is a municipally owned electric and water utility that distributes electricity and treated drinking water to approximately 15,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers within a defined service territory in the Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin area. Its electric operations span five substations and a 13,200-volt distribution circuit, while its water operations include a 10 million gallon-per-day treatment plant, five collector wells, elevated storage, and an Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) smart meter network covering 22,000 combined meters.

Product overview

Water Works & Lighting Commission is a municipally owned and operated electric and water utility serving approximately 15,000 customers in the Wisconsin Rapids area. The utility operates as a single unified service provider offering core electric and water distribution services, supplemented by value-added programs including the Green Energy renewable energy program, distributed generation interconnection services, and water testing. Customer-facing digital services include SmartHub online account management and Pay Now one-time payment capabilities. The utility's infrastructure includes five collector wells, a 16th Street Filter Plant with 10 million gallon daily treatment capacity, multiple elevated storage tanks totaling 2.8 million gallons, five substations, and an Advanced Meter Infrastructure system replacing all electric and water meters with smart meters by 2012.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly a billion gallons of safe, high quality water delivered annually
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dairyland Power CooperativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDairyland Power Cooperative sponsors a $1,000 scholarship through the municipal utility. Deadline April 1, 2026. Applications available through the utility's news page.
• Focus on EnergycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUtility partner program connecting customers to energy efficiency resources and programs. Listed as a key resource on the utility website.
• Great Lakes UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium of municipally owned electric utilities (Clintonville, Kiel, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Medford, Rice Lake, Shawano, and Wisconsin Rapids) formed in 2001 to gain better access to wholesale power markets and address power supply issues collectively.
• American Transmission CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationTransmission company partnership for high-voltage power transmission services. Listed as a resource link on the utility website.
• Public Service Commission of WisconsincoreOthersState regulatory body that sets and maintains utility rates through tariff approvals. The utility's rates are governed by PSC through rate case proceedings.
• Diggers HotlineminorOthers811-safe digging coordination service required before any excavation. The utility promotes calling Diggers Hotline at least three working days before digging.
• Wood County and Portage County CourtsminorOthersFor landlord utility liens on unpaid balances transferred to property tax levy, property owners can file a Lien with local courts.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kiel Utilities: Kiel is a small Wisconsin municipal electric and water utility and a Great Lakes Utilities consortium member. Comparable in scale, ownership structure, and regulatory environment to WW&LC.
• Medford Utilities: Medford Utilities is a municipally owned electric utility in Medford, Wisconsin, and a GLU consortium member. Direct peer serving a similar small Wisconsin city under the same PSC regulatory framework.
• Marshfield Utilities: Marshfield Utilities is a municipally owned electric and water utility in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and a fellow founding member of the Great Lakes Utilities consortium alongside Wisconsin Rapids WW&LC. They are direct peers in scale, dual-utility service model, PSC oversight, and customer base composition.
• Manitowoc Public Utilities: Manitowoc Public Utilities is a Wisconsin municipal electric and water utility and a Great Lakes Utilities consortium member. Comparable in dual-utility offering, municipal ownership structure, and Wisconsin regulatory environment.
• Shawano Municipal Utilities: Shawano Municipal Utilities is a Wisconsin municipal electric and water utility, also part of the GLU consortium. Highly comparable municipal utility serving a similar-sized small Wisconsin city with combined electric and water service.
• Rice Lake Utilities: Rice Lake Utilities is a municipally owned electric and water utility in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and a Great Lakes Utilities consortium member. Direct peer with similar dual-utility profile, customer scale, and PSC regulation.
• Clintonville Utilities: Clintonville Utilities is a small Wisconsin municipal electric utility and GLU consortium member. Comparable as a small-city municipal utility under PSC Wisconsin oversight, though primarily electric.

Broad incumbents

• Alliant Energy: Alliant Energy is a large Wisconsin investor-owned utility providing electric and natural gas service across the state. Comparable as a regulated Wisconsin electric utility, though it operates at much larger scale and outside WW&LC's municipal service territory.
• WE Energies: WE Energies is a major Wisconsin and Michigan investor-owned utility providing electric, natural gas, and steam service. Comparable as a regulated Wisconsin electric utility but operates at substantially larger scale and broader geographic footprint than WW&LC.

Others

• Dairyland Power Cooperative: Dairyland Power Cooperative is a Touchstone Energy cooperative that supplies wholesale electricity to WW&LC and sponsors a scholarship with the utility. It is an upstream power supplier and ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor, but is highly relevant for understanding WW&LC's wholesale power supply economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wrwwlc
• Facebookfacebook.com/100057360764859
• Instagraminstagram.com/wis.rapids_wwlc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/water-works-and-lighting-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission