History
The miracle of electricity was first made available in Greenwood in 1894. T. Staige Marye and Charles E. Wright were awarded a contract on March 6, 1894, for furnishing and operating a street lighting system. Greenwood at that time had a population of about 1,200 inhabitants.
On August 7, 1901, an ordinance was passed by the City Council authorizing a referendum on a franchise to C. E. Wright for the construction of a waterworks, electric lights and sanitary sewerage system. This franchise was to extend for a period of twenty-five years, ut the City reserved the right to purchase the utilities at any time during this period.
As constructed in 1901 and 1902, the entire system consisted of a steam-operated electric generating plant with a 90-kilowatt alternator. The waterworks plant consisted of a 4" flowing well approximately 700' deep, two steam-driven duplex compound pumping engines, one masonry reservoir with a capacity of 130,000 gallons and one 100,000-gallon elevated tank.
In 1904, the city exercised its option and acquired the system for its appraised value of $123,000. The first manager was A. L. Dabney, who was succeeded by Monty Smith, P. H. Messinger and W. B. Williford. In 1912, Roy Stott was named general manager.
In 1920, a new generating unit of 2,000 KW was added, followed in 1926 by another rated at 2,500 KW.
By the 1930s, Greenwood was feeling fully the effects of the Great Depression. On Friday, December 19, 1930, five of the city's six financial institutions were forced to close as panicky depositors demanded their money. Only one bank, under the guidance of Greenwood Light and Water Commissioner Dr. T. R. Henderson survived.
While the nation struggled, the demand for electricity continued to grow and the Greenwood Light & Water Plant added a 3,500-KW unit in 1936.
By the time the 1940s arrived, war was looming on the horizon. On December 7, 1941, the world changed forever as the nation found itself moving from depression to the boom of a wartime economy. The Greenwood area saw a large influx of military personnel, and the demand for water and power continued to grow.
In 1946, Greenwood Light & Water took a major step forward with the installation of a new 7,500- KW steam-turbine generating unit. A new high pressure steam generating unit was also installed. Designed to burn coal, natural gas and oil, independently or at the same time, the new additions brought the combined capacity of the system to 15,500 KW. At that time, this was the largest municipally owned plant in the state.
The postwar era brought unprecedented growth, and with it, an increasing demand for water and electricity. By the 1950s, Greenwood was not only a major agricultural hub, but was well on its way to becoming a center for manufacturing as well.
Thanks in part to the Balance Agriculture With Industry (BAWI) program, Greenwood located new facilities for Conmar Zippers and Medart Manufacturing. This growth continued through the '60s with other companies such as Art Products and Baldwin Piano & Organ. Baldwin would eventually hire 1,200 people, making it the state's second largest employer.
As the city was changing, so too was the Light and Water Department. On Friday, December 18, 1953, an order officially changing the name to Greenwood Utilities (GU) was approved by the commission.
In December of 1957, Roy Stott stepped down as general manager after more than 51 years of service.
By the time the 1960s rolled around, the city's demand for power had more than doubled from the previous ten years. If GU was to remain viable, something had to be done. The commission, backed by community leaders, began a push to build a brand new $3.3 million generating facility on the west side of the city of Greenwood.
The 1970s and '80s were trying decades for the citizens of Greenwood and Greenwood Utilities. The worst tornado outbreak in the history of the Delta brought widespread damage to the area and wrecked GU lines along the 49/82 bypass.
By 1973, the winds had been replaced by water as the worst flooding since 1927 threatened the city. Then came the trials by fire. Major blazes destroyed a number of historic downtown buildings, and GU crews operated bucket trucks to allow the Greenwood ire Department aerial access to fight the flames. These trucks were not designed for the job, but did yeoman's work and were credited with helping save adjoining buildings. Their use demonstrated the need, which finally led to the acquisition of a snorkel truck for the Fire Department.
The '70s and '80s were also decades of unprecedented industrial growth. New industries such as Irvin Industries, Hydra-Tool, National Garment and Balkamp created more than 1,200 new jobs. This growth increased demands on the power and water systems. To meet these needs, four new water towers with a total capacity of 2.5-million gallons were erected. A 20,000 KW interconnection with MP&L was constructed in 1977, and a second 60,000 KW interconnection was completed in 1985. Prior to 1977, all of Greenwood's electricity was locally generated.
Despite the closure of eight local manufacturers, the approach of a new century saw GU embarking on a number of essential projects to upgrade the electrical distribution system.
To provide multiple routes for power distribution in the event of a major disaster, a new ring bus (a distribution network of high capacity) was engineered in three phases. Phase I links the Entergy interconnection to downtown's Wright Station with a new 115-KV line. Phase II ties Wright and Henderson Stations together with a new 115-KV line. Phase III involves placement of new 115-KV conductors between the South Substation and Henderson.
As we enter a new century of service, our employees and commissioners are acutely aware that our success is largely dependent on the success of our customers and our community. Our pledge for the future is to continue our efforts to deliver safe and dependable supplies of water and power at very competitive rates and to be ever mindful of our commitment to be good stewards of your resources and the environment we all share.
Greenwood Utilities focus is the same as it has been over our 100-year history: reliability and competitive rates through long-term planning and system maintenance. With these goals in mind, the commissioners and employees of Greenwood Utilities look forward to the next century of service with great enthusiasm.
