For more than 56 years, the municipally owned McPherson Board of Public Utilities has proudly served the residents and industries of McPherson and the surrounding area with safe, clean water and affordable, reliable electric service. As a community-owned utility, we are committed not only to delivering essential services but also to strengthening the hometown we are proud to call home.
Our team of more than 70 dedicated employees lives and works right here in the communities we serve. They are linemen, plant operators, water and maintenance teams, customer service and technology specialists—but first and foremost, they are your neighbors. Their commitment, dedication, and pride in their work are the foundation of everything we do.
For our customers’ electrical needs, BPU is a vertically integrated utility, with ownership and operational responsibilities for transmission, distribution, and generation services. While serving a peak electrical load of 171 megawatts, we can also generate more than 235 megawatts of electricity, ensuring local demand is met and offering our remaining capacity to neighboring utilities. BPU delivers unmatched reliability, with a SAIDI rating (System Average Interruption Duration Index) of 49.11 (>99.99%) through a hardened electric system. All of this comes with the lowest electric rates in Kansas and some of the lowest electric rates in the nation.
For water services, BPU owns and operates 15 water wells and more than 150 miles of water main. With reliable local sources and a newly commissioned well field 20 miles south of McPherson, BPU has secured long-term water rights and built infrastructure designed to serve residents and businesses for generations to come.
Today, the McPherson BPU serves over 9,000 customers with both electric and water services. We are proud to support our community and equally proud of the employees who make it all possible. At BPU, serving our customers isn’t just our job—it’s our commitment to the community we love.