Northwestern W and SD - Toledo Svce Area

Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs), also called annual water quality reports or water quality summaries, provide essential information about your water sources (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or aquifers), detected contaminants, compliance data, and educational resources. Please note that these reports are published yearly and contain information from the previous calendar year.

Public Participation: The District welcomes community involvement in our water-related decisions. The Board of Trustees holds regular meetings at our Operations Facility located at 12560 Middleton Pike, Bowling Green. Residents are encouraged to attend these meetings where they can ask questions or express concerns about their water service.

Why is the City exploring public electricity options now?

1. Rising energy costs have become unsustainable without tax increases
2. High energy rates deter businesses from locating in our area – our rates exceed all neighboring states
3. Numerous resident inquiries about frequent rate increases and overall energy costs
4. The 20-year franchise agreement with our current provider expired about four years ago

What is a franchise agreement?
Every municipality maintains a franchise agreement with energy providers that defines their working relationship. These agreements permit providers to access city right-of-ways and establish service terms for customers. Franchise agreements typically cover extended periods.

Can the City afford to purchase a public power utility?
Yes. The acquisition would be financed through low-interest bonds with no tax dollars utilized for the purchase. No tax increases would be needed to cover acquisition costs. The City maintains excellent financial management practices, strong bond ratings, sound finances, and healthy reserves. Initial projections indicate the utility would self-fund its purchase price over a 20-year period while still providing affordable energy, managing operations, and servicing debt without impacting City revenue. In fact, a public power utility is projected to generate $3 million in revenue the first year, even after accounting for debt service and startup expenses.

How would this affect my electricity bill?
Your energy costs would not increase – they would likely decrease. A primary motivation for exploring public power options is to minimize increases and stabilize energy rates community-wide. Residential customers of public power utilities typically pay 14% less than customers of investor-owned utilities. The main change would be receiving your bill from the City rather than from the current provider, similar to your water bill.