Electric Utility

About the Electric Utility

The St. Charles Municipal Electric Utility began in 1892, when the City Council unanimously approved a payment to Phillip Harvey of $520 for preliminary work on a lighting plant that would establish a City electric utility with capacity to power 1,500 incandescent lights. Soon after, the entire male population of St. Charles (272) voted by a 2/3 majority to approve the plan and invest $20,000 in the building and steam generator.

This Electric Utility has grown to serve over 15,500 customers with an all time peak of 130 megawatts. The City has a long term power purchase agreement with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) that is in force until 2035. ComEd delivers power at 34,500 volts to the City's 9 substations the City then transforms it to our primary distribution voltage of 12,470 volts for distribution to step-down transformers supplying customer meters.

The Electric Utility is staffed by full- and part-time employees in several operation groups that provide specialized services, including:

An electric administration staff that handles the administrative functions such as personnel, budgeting, power purchases, rate design, interdepartmental cooperation, city wide goal setting and participation on city committees.
The electric engineering group, responsible for system design, maintenance programs, system mapping, and adherence to codes and standards.
An electric line area that constructs and maintains the electric infrastructure.
The electric metering area that installs and maintains the metering equipment.
A telecommunications group is responsible for the installation, operation and maintenance of the City owned telecommunications infrastructure.

Contact for Electric Outages
24 Hour Number - (866) 444-0016

How can I save on energy costs?

The City Electric Utility performed some work in my yard. When will restoration of the ground and grass be completed?

Report an electrical problem or violation.

Damaged exterior cable box/pedestal.

Damaged or cut cable line

view all

If your utility bill is past due, please click here for more information.

Have the 16-digit account number at the top of your bill ready (where's my account number?)

Pay your utility bill online safely and securely.

New customer? Learn about setting up online access to your bill.

When paying online, you leave the City of St. Charles website and are redirected to the Paymentus website and are subject to Paymentus terms, policies, and availability.

If the Paymentus service is unavailable or you cannot complete your online payment through the Paymentus service, you are still responsible for timely payment of your City utility bill.