Public Power (also called Municipal Power) was founded more than a century ago to inject competition into the electric utility industry and protect citizens from the high rates being charged by profit-making companies. Municipalities began operating their own electric systems to provide citizens with a necessary service for a fair price. Their low rates became the benchmark used to stabilize the climbing charges of private utilities seeking to give shareholders ever higher returns on their investment. Municipal electric systems are not-for-profit companies, owned and operated by the communities they serve.