by Stacey Berahzer | Aug 8, 2017 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates
“Won’t you pay my bill?” is a question that the water utility asks of the customers who do not pay their water, wastewater, and even stormwater bills. But low-income customers are, essentially, asking the same question: will you—higher-income customers—help pay the...
by Daniel Irvin | Jun 19, 2017 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates
The affordability of water and wastewater rates is an issue attracting more attention than ever. In particular, “A Burgeoning Crisis? A Nationwide Assessment of the Geography of Water Affordability in United States”—a recent paper from Michigan State University— has...
by Evan Kirk | May 24, 2017 | Financial Management, Rates
Written by: Evan Kirk Evan Kirk is a student data analyst at the Environmental Finance Center. During my first year at the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) I have worked on water and wastewater rate surveys in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Arizona, Hawaii, and...
by Shadi Eskaf | Mar 3, 2017 | Financial Management, Rates
What happens if a water utility collects less in revenues than it pays in expenditures in one year? It will raise some alarms, but some utilities might be able to weather that shortfall by dipping into their reserves and bounce back the following year. But what...
by UNCEFC | Feb 16, 2017 | Affordability, Financial Management, Rates
Accurately identifying vulnerable groups and their commitment to pay, or incapacity to pay, is a timeless challenge in household water services. When consumers pay for household water service delivery, they are paying for the water, its delivery to their home, the...
by UNCEFC | Nov 30, 2016 | Financial Management, Rates
For water and sewer utilities regulated by a state’s public utilities commission (PUC), mounting a rate case can be an expensive proposition. In fact, for some particularly small utilities, mounting a rate case can be more expensive than operating the utility for many...
