August 05, 2025

WPPI Energy member utility thrives with advocacy opportunities

Member Utilities

Lodi Mayor Ann Groves Lloyd’s history of advocating for the place she calls home began long before she was elected to the position in April 2020.

“My family has lived in the Lodi valley since the 1860s and the calling to public service has always been strong for me,” Groves Lloyd said. “The best thing about local government leadership is being able to see the direct positive effect the work has on your community.”

Groves Lloyd spent a decade on the city’s utility commission. Five years into that service, she was elected to city council. As an alderperson, she spent another five years serving on various city committees.

Gaining all that experience has naturally led her to advocate for her city in a number of ways, including in the nation’s capital. Groves Lloyd has been traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the annual American Public Power Association Legislative Rally each February for years. She can see how having a connection to lawmakers at all levels is vital.

“By meeting with our legislators, we can help ensure national policymakers keep public power customers’ bottom line in mind when they’re making proposals,” said Joseph Owen, director of government affairs for WPPI Energy.

Each year, new energy issues arise within Congress. To ensure their communities have a say, WPPI member officials meet with both senators and representatives from Wisconsin, Iowa and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Those topics can vary from the critical role of tax-exempt bonds in funding utility infrastructure to ensuring city owned utilities have access to the same cost saving mechanisms that for-profit utilities use.

With a contingent of utility and community leaders who travel to Washington, D.C. each February, Ann and her fellow WPPI member representatives provide their local expertise and insights to federal legislators who vote on matters that directly affect Lodi Utilities and the entire public power industry.

“Meeting with representatives and senators means that we keep our local utilities on their minds when they’re making proposals and gives us the chance to emphasize that their choices have consequences in our communities,” she said. “We make ourselves heard by being present. It’s difficult to ignore local officials sitting down and saying, ‘This is what my community needs.’”