Macon Municipal Utilities (MMU) is owned by the citizens of the City of Macon, Missouri.  MMU provides natural gas, water, wastewater, and electricity services to its customers.  Management of these utility services is provided by a General Manager who is under the direction of the four-member Board of Public Works (Board).  The Board sets all policies, rules, regulations, and rates for each utility service in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations, laws, statutes, and ordinances.  The members of the Board are appointed by the City Council upon recommendation by the Mayor.

Electricity is generated by MMU's 10 megawatt natural gas powered turbine generator located approximately four miles east of the City at the site of the Northeast Missouri Grain (NEMO) ethanol plant. Additionally, MMU purchases electricity from the Missouri Public Energy Pool (MoPEP) in Columbia, Missouri. MMU owns nine diesel generators for backup or peaking power. These resources are assigned to the MoPEP, and MMU receives capacity and generation credits for them. MMU obtains its water from the U.S. Army Corps or Engineers' Long Branch Lake located approximately one mile west of the City. MMU owns 4,400 acre-foot of storage in the lake, which provides approximately 36 percent more water than the City's normal usage.

How it all began:   Before the advent of public power systems, square glass kerosene lamps mounted atop five-foot wooden posts lit Macon's streets. At dusk and dawn you could catch the lamplighter at work. Later, more efficient gasoline lamps replaced the kerosene ones. In 1889 Macon was paying only $700 for the year to light the City and a salary of $525 to the lamplighter.  At the city election in January, 1890, Macon decided to put in 21 arc electric lights to burn all night, at a cost not to exceed $2,500 per annum. Better light provided more illumination primarily for safety. 

In January 1890 the City approved an ordinance that allowed for the construction, maintenance, and operation of an Electric Works.  In July 1890, with overwhelming majority - 636 of 645 votes, the amended ordinance included the bonds for both elecric and waterworks systems. 

In 1898 Colonel Blees proposed to donate $5,000 of the $20-25,000 needed towards the building of a city sewer system. A special election in December 1898 authorized the ordinance to begin the project.  A six foot circular sewer, that would discharge 47,724 gallons of water per minute was built with 1,067,000 bricks needed to span the 7,498 feet. A two-thirds majority was needed, the vote was 711 yes and 8 no.

In 1956 Macon Gas Company offered to sell the City their gas plant and gas distribution system. The Board and City Council decided to purchase the natural gas company and make it a municipal utility operation under the Board. Macon was the first municipality in the state to sell revenue bonds to finance a natural gas system. However, the interest rate was high at 6.25% and people were hesitant to bid on these bonds. Macon extended a transmission main to the Panhandle Eastern gas pipeline twenty three miles south in Moberly. Macon repiped two thirds of the City at a cost of $600,000. Macon was the smallest city in Missouri to provide natural gas.

In the past one hundred and fifteen years, Macon Municipal Utilities has made many improvements and much progress on all of the utility systems in the City of Macon.     

The current General Manager and members of the Board of Public Works are as follows:

Name:	Title:	First Appointed:	Current Term Ends:
Stephanie Wilson	Interim General Manager
Tim Watts	President	January 1, 2000	December 31, 2009
John Neer	Vice President	January 1, 2006	December 31, 2009
Gary Holman	Board Member	January 1, 2001	December 31, 2008
Jerry Edwards	Board Member	January 1, 2007	December 31, 2010