Kissimmee Utility Authority was founded in 1901 and is

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

's sixth largest municipally-owned utility providing

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

services to 80,000 customers in

Osceola County, Florida Osceola County (, ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 388,656. Its county seat is Kissimmee. Osceola County is included in the Orlando–Kissimmee– Sanford, Fl ...

. KUA operates and jointly owns the Cane Island Power Park and has ownership interests in other generating stations, including coal, natural gas and nuclear sources. KUA provides billing for refuse and storm water services for the City of

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne

In 2004, KUA and its employees experienced seven of the most devastating weeks in the utility's 100-year history when three major hurricanes struck its service area. KUA was the hardest hit electric utility in Central Florida, having lost electric service to 100 percent of its customers in

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Hurricane Frances, Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne, Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to ...

, 36 percent in

Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...

and 59 percent in

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Saffir–Simpson scale, Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Mitch, Mitch in 1998 Atlantic hur ...

. KUA workers logged 16-hour days trimming trees, digging holes, setting poles, pulling wires and restoring electricity to tens of thousands of Osceola County residents. Criticized by customers and some local government officials about communication on power restoration efforts after Hurricane Charley, KUA's board of directors called for an independent evaluation by consulting firm

James Lee Witt James Lee Witt (born January 6, 1944) is a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), during the tenure of U.S. President Bill Clinton and is often credited with raising the agency's level of professionalism and ability to ...

Associates of Washington, D.C., in December. The report by the company headed by the director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration for eight years stated that KUA should improve its emergency preparedness plan and communication.

Board of directors

As of September 2022 * Ethel Urbina, chairman * Manny Ortega, vice chairman * Rae Hemphill, secretary * Jeanne Van Meter, assistant secretary * Raymond Sanchez, director * Olga Gonzalez (Mayor of

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

, ''ex officio'' member)

Executive management

* Brian Horton, President and General Manager * Kevin E. Crawford, Vice President of Finance and Administration * Tiffany Henderson, Director of Corporate Communications * Jeffery S. Gray, Vice President of Information Technology * Cindy Herrera, Vice President of Human Resources * Arthur J. "Grant" Lacerte, Jr., General Counsel * Larry Mattern, Vice President of Operations * Susan C. Postans, Vice President of Customer Service

External links

Kissimmee Utility Authority Official Website

FY 2021 Annual Report

2022 Hurricane Guide
Municipal electric utilities of the United States Water companies of the United States Kissimmee, Florida Companies based in Florida Energy companies established in 1901 1901 establishments in Florida {{US-energy-company-stub