Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co.

What Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. does

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. (MCPU) is a privately held, investor-owned utility regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission, providing electricity and natural gas distribution services across Wabash County and portions of southern Lawrence County, Illinois. The company holds an exclusive franchise to distribute energy within its service territory, which includes the City of Mt. Carmel and six surrounding villages (Allendale, Patton, St. Francisville, Bellmont, Keensburg, and Cowling). MCPU serves approximately 5,500 electric service locations and 3,350 natural gas service locations across residential, commercial, industrial (accounts exceeding 25,000 therms annually), large light and power (10kW+ demand), municipal pumping, and outdoor area lighting customer segments.

MCPU's product portfolio spans standard residential and commercial electric and gas distribution services, alongside renewable net metering programs for both residential and non-residential customers under Illinois Administrative Code Part 465. The company is currently deploying Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) with two-way communication capabilities, announced June 20, 2025, that automate meter reads and enable outage notification and remote troubleshooting. Customer operations run through the SmartHub digital platform (licensed from National Information Solutions Cooperative) for account management, bill payment, paperless billing, and outage reporting, supported by a partnership with Cooperative Response Centers, Inc. (CRC) for 24/7 off-hours dispatching with a planned next-phase mapping and outage system integration.

MCPU generates revenue on a usage-based model, with rates filed as tariffs with the Illinois Commerce Commission and billed monthly. Residential customers receive a 21-day payment window with optional Budget Payment Plans, while non-residential customers receive 14-day terms with deposits equal to two months' average bills. Fuel Adjustment Charges (FAC) and Purchased Gas Adjustments (PGA) pass through purchased energy and transportation costs. The board is led by Terry L. Bruce (CEO and Chairman) and David James (President and Chief Operating Officer), alongside directors Margaret Felts, Thomas Gibbons, and Eric Bramlet (Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and General Counsel). The company traces its origins to 1893 as Mt. Carmel Light and Water Company and assumed its current name in 1946; it decommissioned its generating power plant in 1980, focusing the business exclusively on regulated distribution.

Name

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co.

Legal name

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co.

Website

https://mtcpu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. is a regulated investor-owned utility providing electricity and natural gas distribution to approximately 8,850 residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customer locations across Wabash County and portions of southern Lawrence County, Illinois.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric and Gas Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Utilities (221)

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Natural Gas Distribution (4924)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Electric Providers / Competitive Distribution Utilities (where applicable) (EUADABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Service Renewals, Relocations & Upgrades (Capacity/Pressure Changes) (EUAJACAB), Meter Installation, Exchange & Field Services (EUADAFAF)

Keywords

• Electric utility distribution
• Natural gas distribution
• Utility billing services
• Net metering programs
• Municipal utility services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mount Carmel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution: Distribution of electricity to approximately 5,500 locations in Wabash County. Residential and commercial delivery service rates plus Fuel Adjustment Charge (FAC) based on cost of purchased energy and transmission.
2. Natural Gas Distribution: Distribution of natural gas to approximately 3,350 locations in Wabash County and portions of southern Lawrence County. Rates include Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) calculated monthly based on cost of natural gas and transportation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. is an investor-owned utility that distributes electricity to approximately 5,500 locations and natural gas to approximately 3,350 locations across Wabash County and portions of southern Lawrence County, Illinois. The company provides residential and non-residential electric delivery service, natural gas distribution, net metering for renewable energy customers, billing services, and 24/7 emergency response for outages and gas leaks, supported by Advanced Metering Infrastructure and the SmartHub digital account management platform.

Product overview

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. is an investor-owned utility company serving Wabash County, Illinois since 1893. The company operates as a traditional utility with a customer-facing digital platform called SmartHub (provided by NISC) for account management and bill payment. Core services include electricity and natural gas distribution to approximately 5,500 electric locations and 3,350 gas locations across residential and non-residential customer segments. Service portfolio spans electric delivery services (residential, commercial, industrial, municipal), natural gas distribution (residential and commercial/industrial), net metering programs for renewable energy customers, and utility billing with multiple payment options. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is being deployed for automatic meter reading and two-way communication. The company also provides 24/7 emergency services for outage and gas leak reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Electric Delivery Service Standard residential electricity distribution service, including space heating options using heat pumps or resistance heating, available to households in MCPU's franchise service territory.
• Residential Gas Utility Services Natural gas distribution service for residential customers, including standard service, new construction hookups, and purchased gas adjustment charges.
• Non-Residential Electric Utility Services Commercial electric delivery services including commercial service, municipal pumping, large light and power (minimum 10kW demand), industrial service (minimum 2,000kW demand), and outdoor area lighting, for business and municipal customers.
• Non-Residential Gas Utility Services Natural gas distribution for commercial and industrial customers. Commercial service available for standard commercial purposes; industrial service available for customers with annual consumption exceeding 25,000 therms.
• Residential Net Metering Residential renewable energy net metering program enabling customers with eligible renewable electrical generating facilities to participate in parallel generation with MCPU's electric system and sell excess power back to the grid.
• Non-Residential Net Metering Renewable energy net metering service for non-residential customers with eligible generating facilities, compliant with Illinois Admin Code Part 465 and 220 ILCS 5/16-107.5. Allows customers with solar or other renewable installations to sell excess power back to the grid.
• Residential Utility Billing Monthly billing for residential customers based on previous month usage. Includes Budget Payment Plan for consistent monthly payments, multiple payment options including night depository and auto-pay.
• Non-Residential Utility Billing Monthly billing for non-residential customers with payment due within 14 days. Includes options for in-person payment, mail, night deposit, and auto-pay through SmartHub. Deposits required equal to two times average monthly bill.
• SmartHub Account Management Platform Customer-facing web and mobile platform for utility account management. Allows customers to view accounts, pay bills, access billing history, view usage history, receive email notifications for new bills, and report outages.

Quantifiable outcome

• Two-way AMI communication eliminates manual meter reads
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

One partnership is on record.

• Cooperative Response Centers, Inc. (CRC)coreTechnology or IntegrationOff-hours dispatching partnership enabling 24/7 outage response capability. CRC dispatches for over 300 regional utilities, increasing call processing volume during weather events. Two-way data sharing with company mapping and outage systems planned for enhanced location information for field crews.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Commonwealth Edison (ComEd): ComEd is an ICC-regulated IOU providing electric distribution across northern Illinois. Same regulatory framework and franchise-area distribution model as MCPU, though far larger and exclusively electric.
• Ameren Illinois: Ameren Illinois is the largest investor-owned electric and natural gas utility serving Illinois under ICC regulation, overlapping directly with MCPU's electric distribution and gas distribution franchise model. MCPU sits within a much smaller footprint of Ameren's broader service area.
• MidAmerican Energy Company: MidAmerican Energy is a large IOU providing regulated electric and natural gas service in Iowa, Illinois, and surrounding states. Comparable as an investor-owned combination electric-and-gas utility with state PUC oversight, though at much greater scale than MCPU.
• Nicor Gas: Nicor Gas is the largest natural gas distribution utility in Illinois under ICC regulation, providing the direct gas-distribution analog to MCPU's Wabash County gas franchise via the same Purchased Gas Adjustment mechanism.
• People's Gas & Coke (Peoples Gas): Peoples Gas is an ICC-regulated natural gas distribution utility serving the Chicago area, comparable as a gas LDC operating under the same Illinois Commerce Commission framework as MCPU's gas franchise.

Direct peers

• Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association: Egyptian Electric is a rural electric distribution cooperative serving parts of southern Illinois (adjacent counties to MCPU's Wabash/Lawrence territory). Comparable as a small Illinois electric distribution utility serving a similar rural customer base, though cooperatively structured rather than IOU.
• Liberty Utilities: Liberty Utilities operates multiple small regulated water, gas, and electric utilities across several U.S. states, closely matching MCPU's profile of a small investor-owned utility with combined electric and gas service under state PUC oversight.
• Southeastern Illinois Electric Cooperative: Southeastern Illinois Electric Cooperative is a rural electric distribution cooperative serving southern Illinois, operating a similar small-scale distribution franchise in the same region as MCPU and subject to comparable regulatory and operational dynamics.
• Illinois Gas Company: Illinois Gas Company is a small ICC-regulated natural gas LDC serving parts of central Illinois. Closely comparable to MCPU's gas distribution operation in scale, regulatory treatment, and tariff structure.

Emerging players

• Consumers Energy Cooperative (Iowa): Consumers Energy Cooperative is a small distribution utility in the rural Midwest offering electric distribution and gas services to a compact customer base. Comparable in scale and rural distribution franchise profile to MCPU.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mt.-carmel-public-utility-co.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co.