UNC School of Government Environmental Finance Center’s Study of North Carolina’s Water and Sewer Rates

CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job CFPUA’s mission is to provide high-quality water and wastewater services in an environmentally responsible manner that protects public health while maintaining the lowest practicable cost. Every year, the University of North Carolina’s School of Government’s Environmental Finance Center surveys the rates charged by hundreds of the water and sewer utilities across the state. The Center then compares each utility’s rates to one other and determines how well they achieve key financial benchmarks.

CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job Since CFPUA opened its doors in 2008, the Center’s study has shown our rates to be in the cheapest half, or even one-third, of the state’s water and sewer utilities. In 2014, the Center began using an interactive “dashboard” to visually illustrate how each utility is doing when compared to one another. In every year of the “dashboard”, CFPUA has hit the Center’s green, “optimal” levels for nearly ALL key financial benchmarks and key rate measurements.

CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job Perhaps the greatest thing about the Environmental Finance Center survey’s “dashboard” is that you don’t have to take CFPUA’s word for it when it comes to rates. You can see the results for yourself. Click on the link below to take a look... wastewater-rates-dashboardwww.efc.sog.unc.edu/reslib/item/north-carolina-water-and- wastewater-rates-dashboard To save you some time, here are some of CFPUA’s results…

Water rates compared with ALL utilities Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Combined water & sewer rates compared with ALL utilities Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Bill Comparison How CFPUA bills compare with other utilities across the state in actual dollars and cents cost to customers Green means optimal level CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Affordability Based on the median household income of its service area, what percentage of customers’ incomes goes to pay CFPUA rates? Green means optimal level CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Cost Recovery Shows how well CFPUA rates cover costs for its operations and debt service. Essential for strong financial performance, higher bond ratings Green means optimal level CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Conservation Does CFPUA have rates that encourage conservation? After customer feedback, CFPUA’s conservation-based rate structure was changed. CFPUA does not charge more for higher usage. Green means optimal level CFPUA Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Combined water & sewer rates compared with ALL utilities with 100 miles Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Combined water & sewer rates compared with ALL utilities with similar # of customers Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Combined water & sewer rates compared with ALL utilities with uniform rates Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

As you can see, CFPUA’s rates are in the UNC School of Government’s green, optimal zones for bill cost, affordability, and cost recovery when compared with hundreds of water and sewer utilities across North Carolina. When comparing rates against a series of key financial benchmarks, CFPUA is in the green, optimal zones for: Operations Revenue v. Expenditures Debt Service Coverage Ratio Measures of liquidity, including cash on hand Condition of physical assets CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

KEY FINANCIAL BENCHMARKS Green means “optimal” levels CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

As you can see, CFPUA rates are low in cost and high in affordability, while meeting every key financial benchmark. At the same time, CFPUA has cut sewer spills by ~50% and the wastewater spilled by ~75%. And our drinking water has received awards for its high quality for seven straight years. Our ratepayers deserve a lot of the credit; rates have to increase at times so we can improve our aging systems. We at CFPUA hope the survey shows how well we manage the money our customers entrust to us to do our jobs. CFPUA’s Rates: Low in Cost, Doing the Job

Questions? Contact Mike McGill, Chief Communications Officer, or