Fayetteville Public Works Commission OKs decreased budget

By Jenna Shackelford, posted Jun 9, 2021 on BizFayetteville.com

PWC has allocated $3.9 million toward renewable energy projects.

Fayetteville Public Works Commission approved its $405.3 million budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 on Wednesday morning.

This year’s budget reflects a 2.5 percent decrease from last year’s due to lower power supply costs.

The decrease in power supply cost from PWC’s wholesale supplier, Duke Energy, is 5 percent. That works out to be a drop from $141 million to $136 million.

“Key items included in the budget for FY2022 include continued investment in our electric, water and wastewater systems to support growth, reliability, water quality and compliance,” said PWC CEO/General Manager Elaina Ball. The budget will also include finances to continue some ongoing PWC projects.

“The adopted budget continues to address PWC’s multi-year plan of rehabilitation and replacement of aging infrastructure to ensure reliable and safe services for our 118,000 customers,” Ball said.

PWC plans to spend $4.5 million in projects that will replace underground electric cable in residential neighborhoods, as well as rebuild one of the 30-plus substations in the PWC system, the Cumberland Road electric substation, according to press material from the agency.

Managing water and wastewater plants continues to be a priority for PWC, which maintains more than 2,700 miles of water and wastewater mains, the statement said.

“Main projects in our water resources fund include investment in water system rehabilitation, continued support of Phase V annexation, water and wastewater plant improvements, plant expansion planning, and replacement of backup generators for storm readiness,” Ball said.

According to the press statement, PWC treats more than eight billion gallons of water each year at their facilities.

The newly approved budget will allocate $12 million for rehabilitation and replacement of water and wastewater lines and $6 million for utility line relocation work related to NCDOT roadway improvement projects, according to PWS officials.

Fayetteville knows all too well the danger and concerns that come with being in the path of a hurricane or even in the outskirts of a passing storm.

In the past, PWC’s ability to provide operations to their customers through backup generation has been critical. With preparedness in mind, PWC has budgeted $6.7 million for the replacement of standby generation at PWC’s wastewater plants.

PWC’s expansion of water/wastewater lines into Phase V annexation areas in the western side of Fayetteville accounts for part of this year’s budget as well. The organization plans to spend $28.2 million to continue installation in addition to paying $4.6 million of its $64.6 million debt related to the projects.

According to prepared press material, PWC supports the arrival of MetroNet and has allocated $4.7 million for the broadband project. Additionally, $3.9 million will go toward renewable energy projects.

“PWC also continues to support community investments in the form of an approximate $11.8 [million] in transfer to the City of Fayetteville as well as a number of other in-kind contributions to help our region,” Ball said.

A total of $14 million of in-kind contributions, which include sewer installation for Phase V annexation, inside city street lighting, street and pedestrian lighting improvements, utility conversions, and gateway improvements and economic development support, are also factored into the budget.

Visit https://www.faypwc.com/financials/ to learn more about the budget.

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