Santa Clara's municipal electric utility, Silicon Valley Power, was established in 1896. The utility is one of the larger public power systems in California, serving more than 50,000 customers with a peak demand around 500 megawatts. 

On a not-for-profit basis, Silicon Valley Power owns power generation facilities, has investments in joint ventures that produce electric power, and trades power on the open market. These efforts are directed toward ensuring its retail customers—the citizens, organizations and businesses of the City of Santa Clara—a highly reliable source of electric power at low, stable rates.