Easley Combined Utilities reports steady growth, flags aging sewer lines and a 2029 supplemental power need
Loading...
Summary
Easley Combined Utilities told the City of Easley work session it serves growing electric and water customer bases, expects modest electric rate increases through 2035, is negotiating replacement supplemental power contracts that begin 2029, and plans sewer-line projects that may require city borrowing.
Andy Sevick, speaking for Easley Combined Utilities, told the City of Easley work session the utility is municipally owned and growing, with about 17,000 electric customers and roughly 15,000 water customers. "We're a brother or sister of the city," Sevick said, emphasizing the utility's municipal ownership and local governance.
Sevick said ECU's base electrical supply comes from the PMPA joint agency through the Catawba nuclear plant and that the supplemental supply contract (currently Santee Cooper) expires Dec. 31, 2028. "So we need something starting 01/01/2029," he said, and staff are negotiating replacement supplemental contracts now. He cautioned the council that modest rate increases are likely between now and 2035, but estimated annual increases would probably be under 3 percent.
On water, Sevick said the Saluda Lake plant has an 18 million gallon-per-day maximum and that recent jurisdictional choices by neighboring Powdersville left ECU with adequate capacity without immediate expansion. He also described conservative planning measures for sewer capacity — an allocated-flow planning unit (300 gallons per day per home) and the use of "flow-advance agreements" that allow temporary operation beyond permitted allocation when plants run without violations.
Sevick highlighted an aging-infrastructure problem for sewer lines and pump stations in the southern part of the city, noting specific aging mains such as Bridal Branch, Brushy Creek and 18 Mile Creek that are 40–50 years old. He said engineering and site preparation are underway and that ECU would seek the city's help with borrowed funds for major replacements when required. "When we do that, we come to you to ask for help," Sevick said.
Sevick also reported ECU has eight FEMA storm-repair projects, has spent roughly $2 million on repairs and is awaiting reimbursements for several of those projects. He said the utility completed an inventory of lead and copper service lines and is working in the Oakvale area with a longer, regulatory 10-year replacement window.
The presentation concluded with a staff offer to hold public meetings with neighborhoods affected by the proposed sewer-line work and with notifications to potentially impacted residents as engineering advances. The utility asked the council to note the likely need for future capital requests tied to aging sewer infrastructure and supplemental power planning.
