Why Water or Wastewater Utilities in Many States May Be Apprehensive to Fund Affordability Programs with Rate Revenue One of the reports recently completed at the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel provides an analysis … Read more
Most national analyses of affordability utilize a small sample of utilities or make generalized assumptions about expenditures. With more than 3,000 utilities in our pricing database, the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is … Read more
Attention all North Carolinian water and wastewater systems: the State Water Infrastructure Authority announced that $168.5 million in water and wastewater funding will be available this upcoming fall. In response to this announcement, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality: … Read more
On Monday, Aug. 21, a total eclipse will slice across the United States for the first time since 1918. It will take just 93 minutes for the eclipse to move across the entire country, and it will appear only briefly. … Read more
It’s a scene played out across the country: a rural electricity service area where many residents are low-income, homes are far apart, a number of customers rent, and many live in homes over 40 years old. Ouachita Electric Cooperative’s members, … Read more
“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 … Read more
Financial management is at the core of challenges small drinking water systems face. A comprehensive understanding of the financial health of a water system can help ensure that rates are set optimally, giving small systems the ability to finance projects … Read more
The Appalachian Energy Summit, held in mid-July in Boone, North Carolina, had the 2017 theme, “Perspectives: Policy & Practice.” This theme highlighted the interdisciplinary approach necessary for the successful deployment of efficient and sustainable energy. Three topics from the summit—education, … Read more
Many North Carolinians, myself included, only think about electricity when we flip the switch and the lights don’t come on. Reducing electricity usage and conserving can be a distant thought at best. But really, anyone who gets a kick out … Read more
Access to clean and safe water does not come easily. While we may have mental images of people in distant parts of the world spending their whole day traveling to and from water sources and preparing it so that it … Read more
