Rochester Public Utilities | Blog

Archive for February, 2018

RPU may have a check for you!

Friday, February 16th, 2018

The unclaimed check may be from a credit on your account or a rebate check that has not been cashed. These funds must be claimed soon or, by state law, the funds will be paid to the State of Minnesota. To see if you have unclaimed funds with RPU, click here to see the most updated list.

Make sure to have a recent RPU bill available to reference your Business Partner Number.

If you see your Business Partner Number listed, contact RPU at 507.280.1500.

All RPU customers urged to monitor the temperature of their water

Monday, February 12th, 2018

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) is starting to hear from customers that are experiencing frozen water service lines this winter. Current frost depth is 48” as of February 12, 2018.

RPU water customers are urged to take the temperature of their water and then continue monitoring it until the frost is out of the ground. This is especially important for customers that have experienced froze water services in the past. Run an inside cold tap and hold a thermometer in the stream for 10-20 seconds for an accurate reading. If your water temperature gets below 36 degrees Fahrenheit, you should immediately start running a continuous pencil-width stream of water from a faucet.

Currently, MN DOT is recording the frost depth at 48 inches in Rochester and Olmsted County. Service lines are typically buried six feet or more below the ground from the street to the house. A frozen water service repair can cost between $800- $1,500. The cost to run a constant pencil-width stream of water is approximately $60- $100 per month including sewer fees. If you are going to be letting your water run, please contact RPU at 507.280.1500.

All businesses and residence types could be affected. The age of your home does not matter.

View Rochester’s real-time frost level graph at www.rpu.org. For more information, please contact Tony Benson at 507-280-1534 or email at tbenson@rpu.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 53,000 customers.  Water customers number more than 39,000.  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.

###

RPU substation project receives engineering excellence award

Monday, February 5th, 2018

Rochester Public Utilities (RPU), along with Ulteig Engineers, received a 2018 Engineering Excellence Award for its work on the Douglas Trail Substation. The award was presented at an award ceremony hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota (ACEC).

The Douglas Trail Substation project exemplified the importance of strong working partnerships and community involvement. RPU was approached by Epic Systems Corporation for increased electric system strength and reliability at their future data center in northwest Rochester. The best answer to their needs was to build a large substation with an aggressive construction schedule. In order to meet the needs of Epic, RPU partnered with Ulteig Engineers for the project.  This is the second RPU/Ulteig project receiving an Engineering Excellence Award from ACEC, with the first award received in 2016 for another substation project.

”RPU has a long and successful history with Ulteig Engineers spanning more than 35 years.  We feel Ulteig continually meets and exceeds our expectations and this project was no different. They created plans that were sensitive to the neighboring Minnesota DNR Douglas State Trail to avoid disturbances, fitting a substation on a small triangle of land, all while managing our customer’s design objectives and following a tight timeline.  We are very pleased with the outcome of this project and look forward to our continued relationship with Ulteig,” said Neil Stiller, RPU Senior Electrical Engineer.

The Douglas Trail Substation Project was completed on schedule.

For more information on Rochester Public Utilities visit www.rpu.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 50,000 customers. Water customers number more than 37,000. 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.

###