History & Service

The Story of Paragould Light Water and Cable, the municipally owned utility of Paragould, Arkansas is more than a story of wires, transformers, pipes, and pumps. It is a story of people, people with civic pride, people with civic ambition, and people with persistence. It is a story of progress. It is a story that continues to be written as Paragould continues to grow.

Paragould's public utilities have a history dating back to 1891. Electric generators installed in 1938 by City Light and Power are still fired up when needed to help keep Paragould electric rates among the lowest in the United States.

In 1966 Paragould began purchasing power from Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA). SWPA markets in a six-state area the hydroelectric power generated at federal dams in its region. Hydroelectric power is one of the most environmentally friendly means of production of electricity.

In 1984, City Light and Power merged with Paragould Water Works forming City Light and Water. Meter reading had been combined in 1977 and computerized billing was implemented in 1980. The construction of a 13 Mega-watt natural gas turbine plant was completed in August 1990 at a cost of over eight million dollars. The generators provide an alternative power supply when loads are reaching extreme levels.

The current Paragould Light Water and Cable Service Center was completed in 1991, at 1901 Jones Road, which allowed all the utility services to be placed in one central location. The Cable division of Paragould Light Water and Cable came into existence in 1991, hooking up the first customer in March of the same year. PLWC created competition for the current, local provider of that time and helped keep prices at a very reasonable rate. Paragould Light Water and Cable acquired the customers and operation of Paragould Cablevision in 1998. PLWC is now the sole cable provider in Paragould, and continues to serve its customers promptly and at competitive rates.

Thanks in part to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, PLWC's Information Technologies department launched Grnco.net, Greene County's only locally based Internet Service Provider, the following year. Grnco.net continued to operate as a dial-up only Internet Service Provider until circumstances surrounding the city owned cable system changed with the buy out of a competing cable provider in 1999. PLWC started a rebuild of the cable system in 2001 that included 33 miles of fiber optic cable in preparation for offering enhanced data and video services to the citizens of Paragould. In 2005, the ISP changed its name to Paragould.net. Today, Paragould.net serves over 5,000 customers and specializes in the areas of high-speed cable Internet service, dial-up service, web design and hosting.

During the late ninety's and early years of the twenty-first century, PLWC continued it's onward path of growth and innovation for the citizens, businesses and industries of Paragould. 1999 brought about the construction and launch of the utility's 5 million gallon water filtration plant. In 2001, Paragould Light Water and Cable completed the purchase of a 18.1 Mega-watt natural gas powered generation plant. The following year, a 9 million gallon waste water treatment plant was completed after several months of construction.

The utility officially became known as Paragould Light Water and Cable in 2004. The change was made so the utility would be more easily identifiable and more representative of Paragould. Paragould Light Water and Cable is constantly focused on working together to serve Paragould’s growing needs.