WSSC At At A A Glance ce 2 Water Filtration Plants 6 Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) 3 Water Storage Dam/Reservoirs 60 Water Storage Tanks 53 WWTP Pumping Stations 42,000+ Fire Hydrants 17,000 Solar Panels 0 Water Quality Violations 2
Large capital Significant fixed Providing water Aging intensive costs and wastewater Infrastructure programs services to 1.8 $2.5 billion Sanitary Sewer million people Almost $2.7B outstanding Overflow invested in debt 475,000 customer Consent Order systems over accounts FY17 debt Potomac last 5 years payments of Operate complex Consent Order $3.32B planned $261.4 million regional water capital projects and wastewater over next 6 systems years 3 3
Why Change? Examples and Impacts Benefits of New Rate Structure Considerations for Customer Impact Schedule for Adoption 4
Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) ordered WSSC to develop new reasonable rate structure Current rate structure charges customers the highest rate for entire bill - back to first drop Align rates with costs 5
PSC recently ordered WSSC to develop a new rate structure ( Richard D. Boltuck v. WSSC ) WSSC’s current rate structure was deemed unreasonable by the PSC because it is unduly preferential to low-usage customers PSC also found WSSC’s current rate structure is unreasonable because there is no cost of service study or other evidence to support it 6
Unde Under E Existing R Rate te Struc uctur ure: e: 95% of WSSC customers only pay for 74% of the water that they use 7
Why hy C Cha hang nge? Industry S Stan andard Exis xisting Bill v volum ume w within e n each A h ADC All volume b billed at at top ADC ADC ck to 1 st dro range ge range e – back to rop Tier 4 Up to to Tier 4 Tier 16 Ti 16 Tier 3 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 1 8
While there are many options to choose from, the following two examples are responsive to the PSC order while keeping affordability to customers a priority Your input and feedback will help the Bi-County Rate Structure Working Group make a recommendation to the WSSC General Manager/CEO and to WSSC Commissioners Additional examples are available at: wsscwater.com/ratestudy 9
Example 1 4-Tiers Phased in to a Single Rate Based on Volume Combi bined W d Water & r & Sewer R r Rate per r 1, 1,000 000 g gal allons Year 1 r 1 Year 2 r 2 Year 3 r 3 Tier 1: 0-99 gallons/day $10.62 $12.22 $14.23 Tier 2: 100-249 gallons/day $13.27 $13.44 $14.23 Tier 3: 250-8,999 gallons/day $17.00 $15.89 $14.23 Tier 4: 9,000+ gallons/day $19.12 $17.11 $14.23 10
Example 1 4-Tiers Phased in to a Single Rate Based on Volume Combi bined W d Water & r & Sewer R r Rate per r 1, 1,000 000 g gal allons Year 1 r 1 Year 2 r 2 Year 3 r 3 Tier 1: 0-99 gallons/day $10.62 $12.22 $14.23 Tier 2: 100-249 gallons/day $13.27 $13.44 $14.23 Tier 3: 250-8,999 gallons/day $17.00 $15.89 $14.23 Tier 4: 9,000+ gallons/day $19.12 $17.11 $14.23 11
Example 2 4-Tiers Increasing Rate Based on Volume Combined Water & Sewer Rate per 1,000 gallons Tier 1: 0-99 gallons/day $10.62 Tier 2: 100-249 $13.27 gallons/day Tier 3: 250-8,999 $17.00 gallons/day Tier 4: 9,000+ gallons/day $19.12 12
Example 2 4-Tiers Increasing Rate Based on Volume Combined Water & Sewer Rate per 1,000 gallons Tier 1: 0-99 gallons/day $10.62 Tier 2: 100-249 $13.27 gallons/day Tier 3: 250-8,999 $17.00 gallons/day Tier 4: 9,000+ gallons/day $19.12 13
Benefits fits o of New R Rate Structu cture re More fairly allocate the WSSC’s Existing 16-Tier Structure charges customers the highest rate for entire cost of providing service bill - back to first drop among customers Align rate structure to industry standard: customers charged for usage that falls within each tier, instead of to the highest rate for all water used 14
Keep it affordable (minimize “rate shock”) Minimize impact on low-income and fixed- income households Provide conservation incentive Provide stable funding for continued infrastructure investment 15
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Please se fill o l out/dro rop off c f comme mment car ard Customers may also submit written comments BudgetGroup@wsscwater.com or 14501 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, Md. 20707 Deadline is June 30, 2017 More info at wsscwater.com/ratestudy 17
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