From a coal-fired generating plant on Marblehead Harbor in the 1890s to today’s network of smart meters, substations and renewable-energy sources, the Marblehead Municipal Light Department has spent more than 130 years keeping the town’s lights on.
Last week, residents got a rare look behind the scenes.
As part of Public Power Week, the MMLD opened its headquarters on Commercial Street for public tours, giving residents an opportunity to learn how the town-owned utility operates, where its electricity comes from, what goes into restoring power after a storm and how the department is preparing for the future.
General Manager Jon Blair and Energy Programs Manager Michael Hall led visitors through the historic building, showing them everything from century-old electric meters to sophisticated computer systems that monitor electricity usage across town.
The goal was to introduce residents to the department, explain its work and highlight its impact on the community.
“We serve you,” Blair emphasized. “The department is yours.”
From coal barges to clean energy
The tour began with a history lesson.
Marblehead established its municipal electric utility by town vote on March 15, 1894. The original generating plant opened the following year at a cost of $63,000, serving just 36 buildings with approximately one-quarter of a megawatt of generating capacity.
Today, the department has approximately 10,300 electric meters and a peak capacity of about 45 megawatts.
The waterfront location was no accident. Coal arrived by barge at what is now Hammond Park, where it was unloaded and used to produce steam for the generators.
“So it had a very utilitarian purpose; there’s an industrial reason,” Blair explained.
The plant eventually transitioned to diesel generation, but by the 1930s, Marblehead’s growing demand for electricity required the town to begin importing power from outside sources.
Today, most of Marblehead’s electricity enters town through transmission lines from a substation in Salem. The department also operates a five-megawatt diesel generating plant near the Transfer Station to supplement its power supply during periods of high demand.
The Commercial Street headquarters, renovated in the 2010s, now houses administrative offices, customer service, technical operations, garages and electrical distribution equipment.
The utility employs approximately 20 people, roughly half of them field workers responsible for maintaining wires, poles, transformers, substations and meters.
How Marblehead’s electric rates compare
MMLD is one of 40 municipally owned electric utilities in the state.
Marblehead’s rates are substantially lower than those charged by investor-owned utilities in neighboring communities.
According to Blair, Marblehead customers pay a fixed monthly charge of $18.50 plus 18.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, resulting in an effective rate of approximately 21 to 22 cents per kilowatt-hour, depending on usage.
By comparison, he said, customers served by National Grid in Salem pay approximately 38 to 40 cents per kilowatt-hour.
“So, almost half of what they’re paying across the harbor or down the road in Swampscott,” he said of Marblehead ratepayers.
Blair said the department must balance several priorities, including affordability, reliability, customer service, safety and reducing carbon emissions.
“We don’t want to say, well, we’re going to be really carbon conscious, but at the expense of reliability, or at the expense of your affordability,” he said.
Approximately 78% of the department’s electricity portfolio now comes from carbon-free sources, including nuclear, hydroelectric, solar and wind power.
The department purchases shares in generating projects through the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, including a large solar installation in Ludlow.
Preparing for the next storm
The tour also highlighted ongoing efforts to make Marblehead’s electric system more resilient.
Hall described a multiyear project involving transmission infrastructure near the Rail Trail and the Village Street substation.
The work includes replacing and strengthening six utility poles in Salem and eventually burying approximately 1,800 feet of transmission lines underground.
The project is expected to reduce exposure to falling trees and storm damage, with its phases anticipated to be completed by the end of 2027.
One resident raised concerns about double utility poles around town.
Blair said a contractor is scheduled to begin work in early November along Village Street and West Shore Drive, transferring wires to new poles and removing old ones.
The department hopes to eliminate the double poles along that stretch by year’s end.
Blair explained that delays often occur because multiple utilities, including Verizon and Comcast, must coordinate the transfer of their equipment.
Some poles have remained in place for six to 10 years while awaiting completion of that work, he said.
During the tour, visitors also saw a large, color-coded circuit board that maps the department’s four substations and 22 electric circuits.
Blair explained how crews can reroute electricity during an outage, isolating damaged sections while keeping other customers connected.
During the recent nor’easter, for example, a fallen tree required crews to shut down part of a circuit. By changing the configuration of switches, the department was able to limit the outage to fewer than 150 customers rather than approximately 1,000.
Smart meters and the future of electricity
Visitors also got a demonstration of the department’s smart-meter technology, which allows employees to monitor electricity consumption and voltage levels throughout Marblehead.
The system, installed beginning in 2012, replaced much of the labor-intensive work of manually reading meters.
Hall showed residents a collection of historic electric meters, including bulky models dating to the 1890s, alongside today’s smaller wireless devices.
He said the department once employed as many as six meter readers. Today, one meter technician oversees the system, with most readings transmitted automatically.
Blair demonstrated how employees can analyze electricity use in individual neighborhoods and identify problems such as low voltage or overloaded transformers.
He also discussed the possibility of using artificial intelligence to analyze electricity demand and predict where equipment upgrades may be needed.
The department has applied for a federal Department of Energy grant to explore using anonymized meter data to identify emerging problems before customers experience outages or brownouts.
Questions about solar power
Residents also asked why rooftop solar panels appear less common in Marblehead than in neighboring communities.
Hall cited installation costs, the town’s historic housing stock and regulatory requirements.
He expressed enthusiasm for emerging “balcony solar” technology, which uses smaller, plug-in solar systems that could be accessible to apartment dwellers and residents unable to afford conventional rooftop panels.
The state is still developing guidelines for the technology, he said.
Blair acknowledged that the department historically facilitated rooftop solar installations without actively encouraging them, although its thinking has evolved.
He noted that changes in federal incentives and Marblehead’s limited roof space can make local installations less practical.
Instead, the department has invested in larger renewable energy projects outside town through its wholesale power partnerships.
More public events ahead?
The tour concluded in the department’s garages, where visitors saw bucket trucks, equipment used to install utility poles and the workspace where line crews receive their daily assignments.
Hall explained that the department’s relatively small workforce often takes on multiple responsibilities, particularly during emergencies.
During a major July power outage, for example, administrative employees helped answer customer calls and communicate restoration updates while crews worked to rebuild damaged lines.
The Public Power Week activities also included visits by two line workers to Brown and Glover elementary schools, where students learned about the work of electric utility crews.
Blair said the school visits were particularly successful and could lead to a larger educational program next spring.
The department is also considering additional public tours or an expanded open house next October.
