This tool is used to calculate the cost of a subsidized loan versus a traditional market based loan. The value at the bottom of the dashboard represents the “grant equivalent” of the subsidized loan given the parameters selected from … Read more

Affordability of residential rates is a comparative concept, the place where income and expenditures cross. A common metric used to assess affordability is the proportion of the Median Household Income of the community that would be spent on a year’s … Read more

For many years, the federally–funded Low Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has assisted customers with energy and heating bills, but no equivalent existed for water/wastewater bills until 2020. In the wake of COVID-19 and many moratoria on water and wastewater disconnections, Congress funded a Low Income … Read more

  Recent EFC tools have a new look and feel. Historically, the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina (EFC) built spreadsheet tools. EFC tools are designed to help utilities organize and analyze financial data to make sustainable … Read more

The Old EFC Affordability Tool Seven years ago, the Environmental Finance Center at the UNC School of Government (EFC) debuted its Excel-based water and wastewater rates assessment tool. The tool guided utilities to assess the relative affordability of water and … Read more

This dashboard is designed to assist utility managers and local officials to compare and benchmark residential water and wastewater rates against multiple characteristics, including utility finances, system characteristics, customer demographics, and geography. This resource for utilities in Vermont is funded … Read more

  The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program was created over 20 years ago through amendments to the Clean Water Act. The CWSRF provides low interest loans to local government units for water quality-related projects. Each year, a portion … Read more

In September 2021, the UNC Environmental Finance Center produced eight case studies discussing unique financing mechanisms in different North Carolina cities and towns as well as a series of one-page overview resources. This project was completed with Funding from the … Read more

In September 2021, the UNC Environmental Finance Center produced 7 case studies discussing unique financing mechanisms in different North Carolina cities and towns. This project was completed with Funding from the Division of Water Infrastructure of the North Carolina Department … Read more