WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will begin phasing in new scaling factors used to calculate fixed water and sewer meter charges for some customers starting July 1, 2027.
The new scaling factors will be fully implemented by July 1, 2028. CFPUA said the phased approach is intended to give affected customers time to plan for changes to their bills.
CFPUA customers’ water and sewer bills include two types of charges: fixed meter charges and volumetric charges.
Fixed meter charges remain the same each month and are not based on the amount of water used. Volumetric charges vary based on water consumption.
CFPUA has historically used meter scaling factors based on American Water Works Association standards. Those factors consider the maximum possible water usage associated with different meter sizes.
Under the new system, the scaling factors will instead reflect typical water use for each meter size.
CFPUA said it analyzed three years of water-use data, determined the median daily water use for each meter size and compared those figures with the median daily use for a standard 5/8-inch residential meter.
The impact will vary depending on the size of a customer’s water meter.
A typical residential customer has a 5/8-inch meter, while multifamily and commercial properties with greater water needs often use larger meters.
Under the new scaling factors:
CFPUA said the changes will not increase the total revenue it collects through fixed meter charges. Instead, the changes will alter how those charges are allocated among customers.
Affected customers are being provided with information showing their current and projected fixed charges based on meter size.
CFPUA said customers with larger meters typically use more water and place greater demands on the utility’s water and sewer systems.
Meeting those demands requires additional infrastructure investment, which can increase the amount of debt the utility incurs.
According to CFPUA, the scaling factors are intended to allocate infrastructure costs recovered through fixed meter charges based on customers’ levels of system use.
