Tell City Electric Dept

What Tell City Electric Dept does

Tell City Electric Department (TCED) is a community-owned, not-for-profit municipal electric utility headquartered in Tell City, Indiana, that has continuously distributed electricity since 1941, when the City purchased the Ohio River Power Company for $475,000. TCED provides electric distribution service to residential and commercial customers across four communities — Tell City, Cannelton, and Troy in Indiana, and Hawesville in Kentucky — under an exclusive franchise granted by the City, with governance exercised through a Board appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The utility operates with approximately 18 full-time employees under General Manager Andy Hicks and is a member-owner of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), through which it sources wholesale generation and accesses joint energy-efficiency programs.

Service operations span new electrical service installation, repair and maintenance, street-light upkeep, storm-siren testing in Cannelton, and senior-citizen programs including free appliance checkups and storm-outage viewers. TCED has invested in a digital customer-service layer that includes the MyMeter energy-usage tracking application, PayGOV payment processing, and a public outage map, and it reports an average outage duration of 20 minutes versus a 169-minute national average — performance that has earned the Diamond Level RP3 designation from the American Public Power Association (placing it among 106 utilities nationally and 2 in Indiana), the Diamond Level Safety award, the Highest Reliability Award, and the Platinum Level RP3. In July 2022, TCED implemented a 1.4% rate reduction.

The business model is a regulated municipal ratepayer-funded distribution operation: revenue is generated primarily through electricity distribution tariffs and ancillary service fees passed to residential and commercial customers within the franchise territory, with wholesale generation costs flowed through from IMPA. Because TCED is not-for-profit and community-owned, revenue is reinvested into infrastructure reliability, rate stabilization, and customer programs rather than distributed as profit. The most recent major capital project — the JB Land Substation, ribbon-cut on September 17, 2024 — reflects ongoing capacity expansion within the existing franchise footprint.

Name

Tell City Electric Dept

Legal name

Tell City Electric Department

Website

https://tellcityelectric.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tell City Electric Department is a community-owned, not-for-profit municipal electric utility serving Tell City, Cannelton, Troy, and Hawesville with electricity distribution, smart-meter energy tracking, and reliability programs through IMPA membership since 1941.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Distribution (221122)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Electric Utilities (Munis) (EUADABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI)

Keywords

• Municipal electric utility
• Electricity distribution services
• Residential and commercial power
• Energy efficiency programs
• Outage management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tell City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution Service: Core revenue from providing electric distribution service to residential and commercial customers. TCED purchases power from Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) and distributes it to end customers. Rates are regulated and approved by the City Council.
2. Payment Processing Fees: Third-party payment processing fees collected through PayGOV.US for credit/debit card transactions. Fees are 3% for in-office, internet, and mobile app payments, and 4.95% for phone payments. These fees are collected by the third-party vendor at no cost to the utility.
3. Service Connection and Upgrade Fees: Fees charged for service changes and upgrades including a $1.00/amp tap-in fee for customers adding load to their current service. Also includes new service applications and meter deposits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tell City Electric Department is a community-owned municipal electric utility that purchases wholesale power from the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) and distributes electricity to residential and commercial customers in Tell City, Indiana and surrounding communities including Cannelton, Troy, and Hawesville, Kentucky. It complements distribution with customer-facing tools (MyMeter energy tracking, online account portal, GIS-based outage map), online/phone/mobile bill payment via PayGOV, energy efficiency rebates through the IMPA program, and 24/7 outage response.

Product overview

Tell City Electric Department is a municipal electric utility serving Tell City, Indiana and surrounding communities since 1941. The utility operates as a community-owned public power provider offering a unified portfolio of electricity distribution services. Core offerings include electric service provision with 24/7 emergency response, smart metering through MyMeter for customer energy tracking, online bill payment via PayGov integration, and energy efficiency programs through the IMPA partnership. Infrastructure includes substations, distribution transformers, and overhead/underground lines. The utility also provides an interactive outage map for customer awareness. All services are coordinated through a board of directors, general manager, and approximately 18 full-time employees managing operations, metering, substation maintenance, and line crew services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electric Utility Distribution Service Municipal electricity distribution service delivering power purchased wholesale from the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) to residential and commercial customers in Tell City, Cannelton, Troy (Indiana), and Hawesville (Kentucky), including service connections, changes, upgrades, outage management, and 24/7 emergency response.
• MyMeter Energy Tracking Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 minutes average annual outage time vs 169 minutes national average
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 1941TCED is a member/owner of IMPA, which serves as the power supplier for Tell City Electric. IMPA provides wholesale power generation and transmission services to member municipal utilities. TCED also participates in IMPA's Energy Efficiency Program, offering rebates and incentives to customers for energy-saving equipment and improvements.
• PayGOV.UScoreTechnology or IntegrationPayGOV.US is the contracted payment processing vendor for Tell City Electric, enabling customers to pay electric bills online, via mobile app, or by phone using credit/debit cards. The vendor handles all payment processing and collects convenience fees directly.
• Lincoln Hills Development CorporationsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLincoln Hills Development Corporation operates the Energy Assistance Program (EAP) for Perry County, providing one-time annual benefits to help residents with winter heating costs and disconnection prevention. TCED refers customers to this program.
• Tennessee Valley Public Power AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTVPPA organizes the Tennessee Valley Lineman Rodeo, where TCED line crews compete in safety and skills events. TCED employees participate in individual journeyman lineman events including hurt man rescue, transformer tap change, and insulator change out.
• Perry County Chamber of CommercesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partnership supporting economic development in Perry County. TCED participates in Chamber events and community initiatives.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Richmond Power & Light: Indiana municipal electric utility also co-mentioned with TCED in TVPPA rodeo coverage. Comparable scale, IMPA affiliation, and municipal-utility operating model serving a small Indiana city.
• Greenfield Power & Light: Indiana municipal electric utility also named alongside TCED in TVPPA rodeo coverage. Operates under the same IMPA framework with directly comparable size, customer mix, and regulatory environment.
• Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power: Indiana municipal electric utility explicitly co-listed with TCED in APPA lineman rodeo coverage. Same IMPA membership ecosystem, similar municipal governance model, and comparable small-city service profile — making it the closest operating peer to TCED.

Broad incumbents

• Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA): Wholesale power supplier and member-owned joint action agency for 60+ Indiana municipal utilities including TCED. Directly comparable as a peer organization with the same municipal-utility DNA, but operating at wholesale generation scale rather than local distribution.
• American Municipal Power (AMP): Joint action agency serving community-owned municipal electric utilities across multiple states. Comparable in its non-profit, member-owned municipal utility structure but at much larger scale, providing wholesale generation and services analogous to those TCED receives from IMPA.
• Duke Energy Indiana: Investor-owned utility serving the broader Indiana territory surrounding TCED. Operates at far greater scale and under different regulation, but is the principal alternative electric service provider adjacent to TCED's municipal service area.
• Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative: Indiana generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution cooperatives across central and southern Indiana. Adjacent rather than directly overlapping with TCED's municipal footprint, but comparable in serving rural and small-town Indiana electric customers.

Others

• American Public Power Association (APPA): National trade association representing more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities including TCED. Directly comparable as the institutional ecosystem in which TCED competes for designations and recognition; not a competitor but a key peer organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tell-city-electric-dept

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Tell City Electric Dept