Rochester Public Utilities | Blog

Archive for June, 2011

RPU service center access the afternoon of Friday, July 8

Friday, June 24th, 2011


Access from 37th Street to the RPU service center has been closed this afternoon. Please use the map below to navigate an alternate route.

The alternate route to the RPU Service Center is to  travel north on highway 63, turn left (west) on 55th St NE, then turn left (south) on East River Road  to RPU on your left (see map below). 


To avoid the road construction completely, you can conduct much of your RPU business via the RPU website. Thank you for your patience during the road construction and we appreciate your business.

RPU Partners with the Rochester Public Library to Make Kill-A-Watt Meters Available

Friday, June 24th, 2011

ROCHESTER, MN – You know that your appliances may not be as energy efficient as you’d like them to be. But do you really know how much energy your appliances or your computers really use? To help Rochester residents see how efficient their appliances, electronics, and computers are, Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) has donated five Kill-A-Watt meters to the Rochester Public Library.

 

The easy-to-use meters help calculate the energy costs for each appliance or electronic device tested, and library patrons can borrow the meters much like they borrow a book. “We are excited about this partnership with the library”, said Larry Koshire, RPU General Manager. “Residents can use their library card to ‘check out’ one of these special meters to use at home. And like a book borrowed from the library, residents must return them by the due date so that others will have an opportunity to use them.”

 

The Kill-A-Watt meter is plugged into a 120-volt appliance, electronic device, or computer to record consumption by the kilowatt-hour. Users can calculate electrical expenses by the day, week, month or year. This enables the user to identify areas in their home where they can save electricity – and money.

 

The five Kill-A-Watt meters are now in circulation at the library. For more information about this program that is offered in cooperation with the Rochester Public Library, please call the library at 507.328.2309. Meters may also be reserved for pick up, with a valid library card, through the online catalog – just type in ‘Kill-A-Watt’ in the catalog search box at www.rochesterpubliclibrary.org.

 

 

 

About Rochester Public Utilities

 

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 110 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable electricity to over 47,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 36,000.  RPU continually investigates innovative technologies to help customers realize the best value from the services they receive.  Current initiatives include fuel cell research, wind power, and photovoltaic offerings.

 

###

How do I get to the RPU service center?

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011


Due to all of the road construction along 37th Street, access into the RPU service center can be diffcult to navigate. If you are able to access East River Road from 37th Street, the wait time may be quite a bit longer than you have experienced in the past. The alternate route to the RPU Service Center is to  travel north on highway 63, turn left (west) on 55th St NE, then turn left (south) on East River Road  to RPU on your left (see map below). 

Through communication with Olmsted County, access from 37th Street may be intermittently closed during the week of June 27th.

To avoid the road construction completely, you can conduct much of your RPU business via the RPU website. Thank you for your patience during the road construction and we appreciate your business.

 

 

RPU Celebrates Drinking Water Week, June 6-11

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

june 3, 2011

CONTACT: Tony Benson

Communications Coordinator

507-280-1534

tbenson@rpu.org

RPU Celebrates Drinking Water Week, June 6-11

ROCHESTER, MN— Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) will be celebrating the essential resource- water during Drinking Water Week June 6-11.

“Drinking Water Week provides a great opportunity to promote the benefits of our drinking water and our water system. Our water system has provided safe, reliable drinking water to Rochester residents for over 100 years,” said Larry Koshire, RPU General Manager.

RPU will host an open house at the Cascade Meadow Wetlands and Environmental Science Center from Monday, June 4 to Thursday, June 9 from 4-7 p.m. The open house will feature the new RPU water exhibits at Cascade Meadow covering topics such as water quality, water conservation, and the water cycle. Visitors will be invited to go through the exhibits and will then be eligible to win a rain barrel or other prizes. RPU water experts will be on hand to answer questions and to help visitors with their water concerns.


There will be a water comparison display set up at the RPU Service Center showing the price difference between bottled water and RPU drinking water, along with other resources on water quality and additional information on the new Conserve & Save water rebate program.

About Drinking Water Week

A safe, reliable water supply is critical to the success of any community. It creates jobs, attracts industry and investment, and provides for the health and welfare of citizens in ways ranging from disease prevention to fire suppression. We often take water supply for granted until it is threatened, either by drought, water main breaks, or some other event. For more than 30 years, the American Water Works Association and its members have celebrated Drinking Water Week – a unique opportunity for water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.

About Rochester Public Utilities – Water Utility

As the municipal utility of Rochester, Minn., for more than 95 years, RPU provides high-quality and reliable water to over 37,000 customers. Today, water is supplied to the distribution system by 31 deep wells located throughout the City. These wells extend 400-700 feet in depth in the Prairie-du-Chien/Jordan aquifer. At these well sites, three chemicals are added to the water. Liquid chlorine (bacteria control), Fluoride (for prevention of dental caries), viagra inde, and a liquid blended polyphosphate (for corrosion protection of pipes and the stabilization of iron in the water). Average daily water consumption for the City of Rochester is just under thirteen million gallons.

###