At their November meeting, the Powdersville Water (PW) Board of Directors approved the operating budget for 2024. The new budget includes a three percent rate increase effective with the January 2024 billing. The recommendation for the increase was the result of PW’s annual financial plan and cost of service rate model, which includes the completion of two major capital improvement projects, partially funded by a Federal grant through the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program managed by the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority. Other smaller capital expenditures are included as needed for PW to meet increasing demands on the distribution system.
Each year PW completes an annual update of its comprehensive 10-Year financial plan and rate model to ensure that rates are adequate to cover projected expenditures for the coming year and for future years. This process considers not only the ongoing expenses of operating the system, but also increasing material costs, debt service costs, and any planned capital improvements.
With the three percent increase, PW rates remain comparable to other similar sized utilities across the state. A typical PW residential customer who uses 5,000 gallons per month can expect to see an increase of $1.25 per month beginning in the January billing.
