水的价值是什么
如何计算水价?
水从天上自由地落下. 站在雨中不费什么钱. 那么当水被送到消费者手中时，平台登录在什么时候给它定价呢? The answer lies in the many thousands of miles of pipe needed to deliver that water to the customer and the huge infrastructure investment that makes that service possible.
基础设施建设背景
清洁, 足够的, 安全, 可靠的饮用水保护公众健康, 发展平台登录的经济, 并提供高质量的生活. 经过几十年提供高质量和可靠的供水服务, 平台登录国家的供水系统急需升级和维修. 根据美国土木工程师协会的说法, $84 billion in investment is needed between now and 2020 to ensure the nation’s water systems can continue to provide 安全 and reliable service. California leads the way with $39 billion in water infrastructure improvement needs over the next 20 years.
San Jose Water (SJW) faces the same challenges that most other water utilities are struggling to address. Previous generations invested in the water system so we could enjoy reliable water service. It is now our turn to make similar investments so that future generations benefit. 许多水系统部件，如管道, 井, 和坦克, 已达到使用寿命并需要更换. 等待他们失败根本不是一种选择.
Replacing critical water system components like 坦克 and pipes is just one of the many challenges facing water systems today. 其他包括供水供应, 日益严格的水质合规要求, 使用量下降. 所有这些因素都在增加服务成本.
然而, 这些费用正通过仔细规划加以管理, 创新科技部署, 以及完善的工程和建设. 继续投资修复, 取代, and rehabilitate the water system also create thousands of local jobs and help stimulate the local economy.
保育及费率
有些客户可能会问:为什么我的用水量减少了20%，我的水费却上涨了? 为什么我的账单没有按比例减少? It’s a good question and the explanation requires an understanding of the difference between fixed and variable costs on your water bill.
固定成本
这些包括水管或水管, 井, 泵, 阀门, 坦克, 还有消防栓等等. These costs do not change based on water use and account for 60% of SJW’s total cost. 在你的家里, the rent or mortgage you pay is a fixed cost because it does not change based on the number of people living in the home.
可变成本
其中包括电力, 化学物质, 设备, 劳动成本会根据实际用水量而变化. 这些成本占了剩下的40%. 类似的, your household costs for groceries and utilities can vary depending on the number of people living in the home.
固定成本和可变成本在现实中意味着什么?
Suppose a water utility projects it will sell 10 units of water in the coming year. The total cost to produce the 10 units is $10 so the utility must ultimately bill $10 to cover the total cost of service.
From the utility’s standpoint, their fixed and variable costs are broken down as follows. 当平台登录付服务费的时候, the fixed and variable costs components are reversed due to regulatory requirements as shown below.
| 公用事业(服务成本) | 客户(水费单) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 固定成本 | $6.00 | 服务(表)费 | $4.00 | |
| 可变成本 | $4.00 | 体积收费($0.60 /单位) | $6.00 | |
| SJW的总成本 | $10.00 | 总费用 | $10.00 |
如果客户使用了如上所示的10单位的水, then the utility’s cost of service is equal to the amount billed even though the proportion of fixed and variable costs differ.
Now let us consider the same example when the customer conserves 20% and now only uses 8 units. 自来水公司的固定成本仍然是6美元.00 to pay for the costs of delivering water to the tap regardless of how much or how little is consumed. 可变成本从4美元降低了20%.00 to $3.20. 然而，顾客只收到了8美元的账单.60，如下所示.
| 公用事业(服务成本) | 客户(水费单) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 固定成本 | $6.00 | 服务(表)费 | $4.00 | |
| 可变成本 | $3.20 | 体积收费($0.60 /单位) | $4.80 | |
| SJW的总成本 | $9.20 | 总费用 | $8.80 |
因为总账单现在小于服务成本, the unit rate or variable charge for water must be increased to recover the difference. Depending on your actual water usage, this may not necessarily result in a higher total water bill.
你的水有多便宜?
有很多方法来看待水的可负担性. 过去，有一个被广泛使用的衡量标准:家庭收入中位数. 然而，这只考虑一个数据点.
现实生活比这复杂得多. 对于那些可能在支付水费方面面临最大挑战的客户, 这有助于更全面地了解负担能力.
最近, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) published its 2019 Annual Affordability Report. This comprehensive report looks at three different ways of measuring affordability:
- Hours at Minimum Wage (HM) – Describes essential service bills in terms of worked hours at minimum wage required to pay for them. It provides a clear illustration of the impact of utility costs on the daily lives of low-wage ratepayers compared to the dollar amount alone.
- Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index (SEVI) – Describes the relative socioeconomic characteristics of communities—in terms of poverty, 失业, 受教育程度, 语言隔离, and percent of income spent on housing—to quantify how the same utility cost may affect one community’s ability to pay vs. 另一个.
- Affordability Ratio (AR) – Describes the impact an essential service bill has on a representative household’s budget; that is, the percent of income spent on each type of essential utility service after housing and remaining essential utility services are considered. This metric can be calculated for households at any point on the income distribution for a given area.
The 2019 Annual Affordability Report explores water utilities starting on page 52. SJW’s service area is considered within the “affordable” section using the three metrics listed above. 然而，平台登录意识到客户的财务状况各不相同. 任何影响很大的公用事业账单都可能是一种负担. SJW提供 客户支援计划(CAP), formerly known as Water Rate Assistance Program (WRAP), for customers needing financial help.
While this report is a good dive into an important topic, there’s still more work to be done. CPUC将在制定规则和设定费率时利用这些信息.
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov / 2019 / -年度负担能力报告
你的钱都去哪儿了
安全可靠的供水服务对维护公众健康至关重要, 消防能力, 经济繁荣. In order to protect public health and 安全ty and to continue to provide reliable service, SJW必须增加对所有水系统组成部分的投资, 比如管道, 井, 泵, 当坦克达到使用寿命时.
Our goal is to deliver high quality water and exceptional customer service at the lowest possible cost. We work hard to provide the best water service in the industry and have an excellent track record of efficient operations. 但平台登录无法控制一些成本. Nearly half of each dollar you spend with us on water goes to cover water supply costs and to pay federal, 状态, 还有地方税. 看看你的每一块钱是怎么花的:
40美分:供水成本 include costs from the Santa Clara Valley Water District for both the purchase of treated water and the required charge to extract groundwater from the underground aquifer.
22美分:运营成本 包括操作，维护，从PG购买的电力&E、行政费用.
22分:系统改进 include capital improvement costs associated with our water distribution system and depreciation.
7美分:税费 包括联邦税、州税和地方税.
9美分:资金成本 includes the return paid on the equity required to finance water system improvements.