Is a Customer Assistance Program Right for Your Utility?

By Bart Kreps & Joe Crea

Utilities across the country are faced with a myriad of challenges to manage and overcome on a regular basis: rehabilitation and replacement of water utility infrastructure, sanitary and combined sewer overflows, water resource planning, and nutrient removal are just a few of the items that dominate the top spots on our capital to-do lists.

As we wrestle to fund our growing capital needs, we are also pressed to control overall costs and keep customer rates low, which has become increasingly more difficult in the face of declining per capita water sales. The inevitable result is a looming water infrastructure emergency assets at or near the end of their useful lives, under-funded asset management programs, and an oblivious public that takes safe, reliable drinking water for granted.