Marietta Power & Water Department

Marietta Power & Water Department provides electric power and water supply services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the Marietta, Georgia area. As a municipal utility, it is responsible for generation, distribution, and maintenance of electricity infrastructure, as well as treatment and delivery of potable water. The department operates under local government oversight and adheres to state and federal regulatory standards for utility services. Its service area includes the city limits and surrounding communities that rely on its utility networks. The organization also manages customer billing and account services through an online payment portal.

Distinguishing attributes include its role as an essential service provider that ensures continuous supply of power and water, which are critical to public health and safety. The department relies on third-party billing software to process online payments, a fact highlighted by a 2019 data breach that exposed manually entered credit card details from approximately 8,800 transactions over a two-month period. The breach originated from a vulnerability in the billing software, was subsequently shared on the dark web, and prompted federal investigation and involvement. In response, the software vendor remedied the flaw and offered affected customers complimentary credit monitoring, while the breach did not impact automated payments or other billing channels. These events underscore the department's dependence on external technology partners and the importance of securing payment processing systems.