• Electricity
• Natural Gas
• Utility Tax
• Water
• Sewer
• Telecommunications

Electricity

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the largest public utility in the United States, covering the state of Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. It is a wholesale supplier of electric power, supplying power directly to Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division for distribution.

TVA has a dependable generating capacity of 29,469 megawatts. It operates three nuclear plants, 11 fossil plants, 29 hydroelectric plants, five combustion turbine plants, and one pumped-storage plant. Power production costs in 1997 were third lowest among the nation’s 25 largest electric utilities, according to Electric Light & Power magazine. There are 158 locally owned distributors that sell TVA electricity to consumers and 62 large industrial and federal customers that receive TVA power directly.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division (MLGW) is the largest three-service municipal utility in the nation. It is the distributor of electricity, natural gas and water to more than 409,000 customers within the City of Memphis and the majority of Shelby County, Tennessee. In 1998, MLGW issued a pledge of no rate increases for at least five years and initiated natural gas rate reductions ranging from 8.7 percent to 28 percent for large commercial and industrial customers. On May 5, 2000, MLGW initiated the first electric rate decrease (1.1% = $8 million) in its 60 year history.

Natural Gas

MLGW currently purchases natural gas and transports it to Memphis across two open access pipeline companies, Texas Gas Transmission Corporation and Trunkline Gas Company. MLGW furnishes over 40 billion cubic feet of gas per year to its 308,000 natural gas customers and has adequate system capacity to supply the present needs of its customers, plus substantially higher demands. Large industrial customers have the option of firm service, interruptible service or transportation service for privately purchased gas. By offering these purchase options, MLGW is able to offer extremely competitive natural gas rates to industrial customers.

Gas revenue in 2000 amounted to $252 million. The Gas Division paid $11.8 million in dividends and payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Memphis General Fund.

Number of Customers

Liquefied Natural Gas Plant (LNG)

MLGW has two LNG storage facilities, which allow for the storage of gas during the summer periods of low usage and then as a reserve during winter peak periods. Each facility stores 300,000 bbls. (Equivalent to 1.5 billion cubic feet) in above-ground storage tanks. MLGW has under contract 7.8 billion cubic feet of underground storage on the Texas Gas system in Kentucky. Like LNG, this storage allows MLGW to store gas in the summer during low flow periods and deliver it to Memphis when needed during peak conditions.

Utility Tax

Gas and Electric Tax Rate

Water Tax Rate

*Non-Manufacturers may be exempt (churches, non-profit organizations, etc.)
**Manufacturers can be granted either a full exemption or a reduced rate at 1.5% if the energy fuel or water comes in direct contact with the product. An Industrial Machinery Authorization Exemption Certificate must be on file with the state to support the exemption or reduced rate.

Average Monthly Utility Bills for Peer Cities (Effective January 1, 2001)

Water

Collierville's water supply is taken from eleven deep wells pumping from 350 foot and 600 foot sands. Well capacity totals 19.3 million gallons per day.

Collierville's water mains vary in size from 6 inches to 16 inches with pressure on those mains ranging from 65 to 95 pounds per square inch. Collierville has a storage capacity of 3,450,000 gallons in one overhead, three ground level and two underground reservoirs. The peak daily pumping demand is 12,736,000 gallons, with a current average daily usage of 5,100,00 gallons per day via five water treatment plants.

2002 MONTHLY VOLUME CHARGE
(Residential, Commercial and Industrial)

Source: 2002, Town of Collierville, Water Department

Water treatment capacity is planned for expansion with the construction of an additional water well in Fiscal Year 2001-2002. Upon completion, the well will add 3.3 MGD to the town’s treatment capacity.

2002 EXAMPLE MONTHLY WATER COSTS

Source: 2002, Town of Collierville, Water Department

Sewer & Solid Waste

The Town of Collierville operates two sewage treatment facilities, which currently have a treatment capacity of 6.5 million gallons per day. The current average daily usage is 3.8 million gallons per day.

At one location, Collierville uses an oxidation ditch process for sewage treatment, which was last upgraded in 1985. The plant has a treatment capacity of 3.5 million gallon per day.

A Northwest Lagoon System, with a 3 million gallon per day treatment capacity, built to serve the southern reserve area and the west side of town was put on line in June of 1998.

2002 MONTHLY VOLUME CHARGE
(Residential, Commercial and Industrial)

Volume Charge
(Per 1,000 Gallons)
0 - 5,000 $12.00 (minimum)
5,000 & Up 0.77
(Residential sewers “cap” at $23.55 for over 20,000 gallons.)

2002 EXAMPLE MONTHLY SEWER COSTS

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL

The Town of Collierville Sanitation Division is responsible for all residential solid waste disposal. Waste disposal, other than small amounts of office-related wastes, is provided by private companies, such as BFI and Waste Management, Inc.

Telecommunications

BellSouth is the leading provider of telecommunications services in Collierville. Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full array of broadband data and e-commerce solutions to business customers, including Web hosting and other Internet services. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and other services. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services, including BellSouth® Real Pagessm.com.

BellSouth serves Collierville homes and businesses with a 5ESS digital switching center and fiber optic cables are used almost exclusively in new residential and business developments. BellSouth’s SONET network ring design assures reliable, continuous communication for businesses, enabling calls to be rerouted in a split second in the event of a service interruption at some spot in the network. The network is monitored and tested 24 hours a day. More than 1,000 BellSouth people serve customers in Collierville and Shelby County.

BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless company, which provides innovative wireless data and voice services.