RECENT COMMENTS
Rate increases in natural gas, water, wastewater starting tomorrow
Effective July 1, 2011, customers of the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) will see rate increases in natural gas, water, wastewater as well as adjustments in water and wastewater connection fees.
These rate changes will address increases in unfunded mandates from the state and federal government for infrastructure improvements especially for the Chesapeake Bay clean up, and increased costs for power and chemicals used in water treatment. “DPU works hard to provide superior utility service and create exceptional value while keeping rates as affordable as possible. Utility fee increases are proposed when necessary as a way to continue to improve the reliability of Richmond’s underground infrastructure, provide service maintenance levels for all five utilities and continue compliance with existing and new state and federal regulations for safe, clean water, as well as gas and street light products and services,” said DPU Director Bob Steidel.
The average monthly residential increases that customers will see beginning July 1, 2011, are approximately $1.30 for natural gas distribution, $0.65 for water, and $1.84 for wastewater. Water and wastewater connection fees for new development and redevelopment will increase by 20 percent. These fees have not changed since 2008 and are being collected to recover DPU’s costs for safe and compliant construction. This comes as a result of DPU experiencing higher costs in pavement repair, materials, and equipment in the four years since these costs were last compiled.
Rate information can be found on the Utility Rates page at www.RichmondGov.com/DPU.DPU offers a number of programs and initiatives to help customers control or assist with their utility bills:
Natural Gas rebates – Make your home more energy efficient, and trim your energy bills in the process. Visit the Natural Gas page at www.richmondgov.com/DPU for more information.
Equal Monthly Payment Program – Stabilize your utility bill by spreading your monthly payments evenly over 12 months. For more information, call 646-7000 or 311.
MetroCare Program – Beginning Dec. 15, residents in DPU’s service territory may apply for funds through the City’s MetroCare Program, which provides funds to families and individuals who are having trouble paying their primary heating bills due to a financial difficulty or other special hardship. For more information, call 646-7000 or 311.
Stormwater Utility residential and commercial credits. For more information visit the Stormwater Utility page at www.Richmondgov.com/DPU.
Wastewater charges during non-winter months (March – November) are billed using the lower of actual water usage or average winter usage.
EPA Water Sense Program. For more information visit www.epa.gov/WaterSense.
Earth Aid helps households track their actual energy and water consumption on the internet and learn how to be more energy efficient. Households earn rewards points each month for saving energy and water and then they can redeem these points for discounts and offers at a variety of local Richmond businesses. Residents can find more information on the Sustainability page at www.Richmondgov.com.
The City’s Social Services Department offers heating and cooling assistance. For more information or to discuss eligibility requirements, call 646-7046.
“DPU works hard to provide superior utility service and create exceptional value while keeping rates as affordable as possible.”
Uhhhhh…Bullshit!
Unbelievably, the city has raised the minimum water/sewer bill to $47.03. This is the base amount you pay even if you use no water. This is probably the highest minimum water/sewer bill in the nation.
So no rewarding of conservation. How about the maximums? Are there still discounts in place for entities with larger volume use? How about what Chesterfield is paying the City for water and how much do their residents pay?
Seems like old times….
Sub-par (at best) service and no value…Richmodn DPU at it’s finest…
Still a city discount for using a high volume of water:
1-100 hundred cubic feet (ccf) – $1.595
101-2000 ccf – $1.47
2000 + ccf – $1.44
Those using the least amount of water are subsidizing those who are using the most water.
@Scott Burger – are you sure of that stat? I have never had to pay for water from the city yet but if that is indeed true… HOLY SHIT THAT IS RIDICULOUS! I couldn’t agree more that paying almost $50 for the priviledge of having a water line hooked up to your house is more than a bit steep.
I am also offended by the fact that everything that government touches these days is an attempt at further socialization. “The City’s Social Services Department offers heating and cooling assistance. For more information or to discuss eligibility requirements…” Basically, we’ll soak those above the income line more but give kick backs to the poor. Wealth redistribution is bad enough when it is obvious and transparent. It’s worse when it’s done on the sneak like this.
We give tax “refunds” to people with no income, we charge more for health care to pay for ER visits for the poor, we give away free rides to college to the poor while jacking up the cost for middle class, we raise taxes to pay for empty buses to drive around taking the poor anywhere they want to go. Everything government run these days seems to be pitching in to the move towards a fully socialized economy.
Not a fan of rate increases to the already overpriced min rate…
Try having 2 meters on your house. That means you get to pay the minimum 2 times, even when you aren’t using gas.
#5 Amen
sorry, I think amen is politically incorrect. So I will say I agree with Alex.
That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read and I can’t even figure out where to start.
How did they get this approved. No public discussion, just done. I’m soooo over the City of Richmond.
Alex and Scott,
No one likes paying lots of money for anything. But really, $50 a month for the convenience of having clean, potable water served straight to your faucet on demand, all the time and for the convenience of having all your sh*t, urine and other waste easily conveyed from your house, cleaned and returned to the river without killing everything in it. That’s really not a lot of money when you consider the immense cost and infrastructure involved in that entire process. Plus when you consider that so many people are willing to pay $50 or more a month to have hundreds of channels of crap piped in to their TVs on a little piece of copper, well by comparison clean water and sewer service seems quite reasonable.
Look I know that compared to other cities and counties, we pay more and that seems unfair. It’s all tied up in the cycle of poverty, aging infrastructure and white flight from the city and it’s not going to change dramatically soon. I’m certainly not saying there isn’t room for improvement at DPU or the city, just trying to bring some perspective to the issue.
As to the decreasing marginal cost for water as consumption increases, I believe that is an unfortunately common practice, but one which should be reconsidered here and elsewhere.
Maybe they’re charging extra for the pharmaceuticals?
http://faculty.virginia.edu/vpharmacalc/calculate.php?zip=23223
The City charges a minimum bill of $47.03 for water and sewer, even if you use no water. This is probably the largest minimum bill in the United States. (In fact, the local Green Party ran a contest a few years ago with a $100 prize for anyone who could find a larger minimum water bill in a city in the United States and that prize went unclaimed.)
By contrast, to encourage the conservation of water, the city of Norfolk charges a minimum bill of only $1, but a charge of $3.87 per ccf.
http://www.norfolk.gov/utilities/water_accounts/rate_info.asp
So, in Richmond those using little or no water are paying a disproportionate rate, in effect subsidizing those using lots of water.
My comments were at #5, but I’m still speechless.
Other then to stay I’m with #11
Fred….$50.00 is just to have the water available. As for the trash, the guys working the trucks dump more of the trash in the alley then it gets in the truck. Every Wednesday, I go and pick up the mess.
If these regressive rates were changed just a bit, it would put at least $20 or so EVERY MONTH in every household in Richmond, while encouraging conservation.
All these nonprofits and churches wring their hands about poverty and inequality, yet they will not speak up on this water rates issue?
We truly live in a former capital of slavery.
Our utility bills in the City of Richmond are ridiculous and always have been. We moved from Raleigh, NC 5 years ago, and we could not believe how much more it cost for the same service we had there (gas & water). In Raleigh, we paid a bill every other month, and it was $47.00 in total (not minimum) to use both. Now, the lowest bills we receive all year (spring-fall) for gas & water in Richmond are $98.00/month. This is entirely too much money, and I’ve often wondered where our money is going given the state of this City. I can’t see how other cities can provide the same service for much less than the City of Richmond, and maintain it better, too.