Utilities at a Glance

Your electricity is carbon neutral. Since 2013, Palo Alto has provided 100% carbon neutral electricity. Carbon neutral means that we match electricity demand with carbon free resources on an annual basis while accounting for the emissions associated with purchases and sales of grid electricity every hour of the year.

Our electric portfolio includes solar, wind, and hydroelectric generation—all carbon free! We also generate electricity from landfill gas, which keeps harmful methane out of the environment while powering local homes and businesses. Power content labels are available at cityofpaloalto.org/powercontentlabel.

On top of these sustainability benefits, CPAU’s electric power rates are still competitive with other public utility providers and generally lower than private utilities in the Bay Area. 

We are continually investigating new carbon free resource options as well as innovative programs to keep the electricity portion of your bill as low as possible. CPAU offers a variety of energy efficiency services and programs to support you in using electricity as wisely as possible whether that be at your home or business. Through energy efficiency and sustainability programs, we are helping customers reduce energy consumption to improve the comfort of their home or building and keep utility bills low. CPAU holds workshops and webinars to share helpful information on ways you can improve the efficiency and comfort of your home and building energy use.

The water that comes out of your faucet starts as snow in the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National Park approximately 200 miles east of Palo Alto. As the snow melts each spring, water drains into the Tuolumne River, beginning its three-day journey to our community. The system for delivering that water is almost entirely gravity fed, requiring almost no use of fossil fuels to move water from the mountains to your tap. Palo Alto’s drinking water is among the purest in the world.

Water usage typically rises during the summer due to outdoor watering of lawns and plants and declines in the winter. To ensure that the water we deliver to homes and businesses meets or exceeds federal and state drinking water standards, your water is tested and treated every day. Thousands of tests are performed to ensure that the water we deliver is safe and pure. Learn more about current water conditions.

CPAU has many water conservation programs in place, such as outdoor water surveys, rebates for landscape and irrigation system upgrades, laundry graywater reuse, and indoor water-saving measures. Conservation is becoming a way of life for all of us to prevent undue strain on our water resources. You can find useful information and ideas for reducing your water use at cityofpaloalto.org/waystosave or by logging in to your WaterSmart portal at cityofpaloalto.org/watersmart.

Ever wonder what happens to water after you flush the toilet or wash the dishes? In most parts of Palo Alto, your wastewater travels through sewer lines to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, which treats over 17 million gallons of wastewater each day! Following a day-long treatment process that removes pollutants, most of the treated wastewater is discharged at the Palo Alto Baylands and the Renzel Marsh Freshwater Pond along East Bayshore Road. Ultimately, water from the Renzel Marsh Pond ends up in San Francisco Bay, where it helps to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Some of the wastewater is treated to high-quality recycled water standards that meet rigorous state requirements for non-potable uses. This recycled water is transported through a network of purple pipes that are separate from the drinking water network.  

In our community, natural gas (methane) is one option customers can use to heat homes and businesses, cook food, dry clothes, and heat water for showers and industrial processes. CPAU has operated a gas distribution system in Palo Alto since 1917. Safety is our top priority, and we work hard to ensure that our gas systems are operated and maintained to deliver a safe and reliable supply for our customers. 

Since 2017, CPAU has provided carbon offset natural gas to its customers. This means that carbon offsets are purchased to balance natural gas use in Palo Alto. Offsets are actions taken to reduce or “offset” the amount of GHGs emitted. For example, buying new forest growth to store GHGs in one geographic area can act to offset GHG emissions in another area.

In October 2022, Palo Alto City Council passed an ambitious carbon neutral by 2030 goal, building on the City’s existing goal of reducing carbon emissions 80% by 2030, relative to 1990 levels (our “80 x 30” goal). Once we achieve 80 x 30, we will need to purchase offsets or invest in carbon removal to achieve carbon neutrality. In the short term, the carbon offsets purchased to balance natural gas use in Palo Alto will help us achieve carbon neutrality. In the long term, we will continue to reduce emissions and look for opportunities to invest in carbon removal. 

Though we recognize the industry’s movement toward building electrification, CPAU is committed to maintaining the existing gas distribution system safely as long as it operates. Learn more about how to safely operate gas appliances at your home and what our responsibilities are for maintaining the natural gas distribution system at cityofpaloalto.org/safeutility.

CPAU has developed a “dark” fiber optic ring of nearly 48 miles for ultra-fast internet access to support innovation, education and commerce. Dark fiber consists of fiber optic cables that are unused and available to be “lit” via light wavelengths to transmit data. The City leases sections of its dark fiber to businesses that work with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to light leased cables for superior capacity, speed, and secure reliable internet service. 

The City is now exploring providing fiber optic broadband services directly to homes and businesses through the Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) project. The goal is to provide high-speed and reliable internet to all community members to support work, education and learning, health care and delivery of government services. Learn more at cityofpaloalto.org/paloaltofiber

The goals for the Refuse Fund are to minimize waste generation and maximize recycling and reuse to achieve zero waste by 2030; to protect the environment by safely collecting and disposing of hazardous waste; and to effectively maintain and monitor the City’s closed landfill to meet all regulatory requirements. Learn more about the City’s Zero Waste programs at cityofpaloalto.org/zerowaste or call (650) 496-5910.