Insights

Vice President Joe Crea is talking affordability, explaining some of the factors contributing to rising utility costs and why prioritizing affordable access is essential for successful rate planning. Hear how Raftelis partners with utilities, like Louisville Water and Raleigh Water, to develop innovative solutions and comprehensive affordability roadmaps.

As rate consultants, it’s a question we are often asked—"Why does it cost more for water or wastewater service here than it does at other (seemingly) similar utilities in the area?” The question usually arises when we provide a utility bill comparison for a typical residential customer during a presentation to utility managers, elected officials, or a governing board.

For public utilities, setting fair and equitable rates is a complex and ever-evolving challenge. Traditionally, cost-of-service studies have relied on historical assumptions, monthly meter reads, and estimations based on small subsamples of customer usage data. However, with the innovation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), utilities now have access to an unprecedented level of granular data—hourly usage for every customer.

Ensuring access to affordable water and wastewater services is a critical challenge for many municipalities. Louisville Water and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (Louisville MSD) in Kentucky and Raleigh Water in North Carolina, have taken significant steps to address this issue.

High turnover is a growing concern, which is why it is key to strengthen your finance department to ensure its long-term success. There are strategies for retaining and developing your team, creating a supportive environment, and providing the necessary resources to help your team thrive.

Water and sewer utilities are capital intensive enterprises. To serve customers across sprawling service areas and rugged terrain, they must construct, install, and maintain a vast amount of, often buried, infrastructure. As they re-invest in their systems, or as service areas continue to expand, the utility faces the burden of funding the resulting infrastructure needs.

The introduction of electric vehicles introduces substantial increases in electrical loads and introduces variability in load profiles. The diversity of EV chargers further compounds these load increases and fluctuations. Consequently, managing the impact of EV charging on the grid becomes paramount. Electric utilities must strategically evaluate infrastructure enhancements, load management tactics, and rate structures to effectively accommodate these evolving demands.

The highest priority that all water utilities share is the critical responsibility of providing safe and reliable drinking water to the residents and businesses they serve. Forecasting the expected quantity of water that will be needed over the long term is an important aspect of managing water resources responsibly, particularly for areas experiencing significant changes in customer growth and behavior. Raftelis recently partnered with Seattle Public Utilities to develop a new tool that can be used to inform the long-term projection of water use.

This webinar highlights what large communities and small towns are doing to create sustainable stormwater revenue sources.