Saint John’s municipal electric utility is celebrating a big anniversary on Monday.

On this day 100 years ago, Common Council established what is now known as Saint John Energy.

It was thanks to a local group of citizens that were interested in having low-cost electric power for the city.

Back then, the utility was known as the Power Commission of the City of Saint John, or Civic Hydro.

Nearly eight months after the utility was formed, Saint John’s electric first electric streetlights were turned on.

And within a year, the city’s new electrical distribution system had more than 3,000 customers.

That number grew significantly in 1948 when the commission officially absorbed the New Brunswick Power Company, its largest privately-owned competitor at the time.

The utility changed its name to Saint John Energy in 1997 to better reflect the diversity of its operations.

Now, 100 years after it was formed, the utility has more than 100 employees and serves more than 36,000 customers.