Within the next few weeks, participants of the 2012 North Central Utility Rate Survey will receive their complimentary copies of the report in their mailboxes. AE2S Nexus staff are busy wrapping up the 10th annual survey of water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste utility rates throughout the region.
Two unique reports are prepared based on community population. One is for communities with populations of 1,000 to 4,999 and Regional/Rural Water Systems. The second is for communities with populations of 5,000 and higher. AE2S Nexus conducts the survey each year as a planning resource for communities throughout the region. The results provide support for ongoing revenue adequacy, cost of service, and rate planning analyses. Rate survey participants have indicated that the survey report is an invaluable tool for utility and finance managers to use when discussing utility rates with policy makers and constituents.
In addition to collecting utility rate information, the survey also asks questions related to financial and operational practices associated with the utilities. Examples of this include financial operating ratios, wastewater strength surcharges and domestic strength limits, as well as the use of non-price water conservation strategies. The data generated from the surveys is summarized and reported throughout the year in The Source newsletter to provide a regional benchmark against which systems can compare themselves.
To date, 105 communities serving 5,000 or greater have responded to this year’s survey. That is a 28 percent increase over the responses from large systems in 2011. For the small survey, 106 communities responded, which is about equal to the number of respondents last year.
AE2S looks forward to sharing the results of the 2012 North Central Region Utility Rate Survey very soon!