Executive summary 8 I. Introduction 26 II. State government capability 28
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY
Download 1 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- NORTH CAROLINA UTILITIES COMMISSION
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCYSince its creation in 1973 by the General Assembly, the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (HFA) has financed more than 158,000 affordable homes and apartments for North Carolina citizens. Its mission is to create affordable housing opportunities for North Carolinians whose needs are not met by the market. HFA is a self-supporting public agency. The Agency operates federal and state housing programs including the Mortgage Revenue Bond Program, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund. HFA also administers the federal HOME program for North Carolina, a block grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote partnerships between governments and local non-profits, to increase the capacity of non-profit organizations and to develop affordable housing. Using these and other sources of funds, including earnings, the Agency provides a variety of services ranging from low-income mortgages for first time homebuyers, to helping local governments, non-profit organizations and private owners develop affordable homes and apartments. Following Hurricane Floyd, HFA funded many multi-family rental developments for disaster rebuilding in Eastern North Carolina. The source of the funds included specially appropriated loan funds from the federal and state governments. The HFA worked closely with NCDEM and the Division of Community Assistance to ensure that those residents made homeless by the massive flooding had affordable and safe replacement housing. NORTH CAROLINA UTILITIES COMMISSIONThe North Carolina Utilities Commission is an agency of the State of North Carolina created by the General Assembly to regulate the rates and services of all public utilities in North Carolina. The Commission is responsible to both the public and utilities, and under the Public Utilities Act (NCGS Chapter 62) must regulate in a manner designed to implement the policies of the State of North Carolina. It is the oldest regulatory body in state government. The present Commission evolved from the Railroad Commission which was created in 1891 and given authority to regulate railroad, steamboat, and telegraph companies. Today, the Commission regulates electric, telephone (including payphone service and shared tenant service), natural gas, water, wastewater, water resale, household goods and transportation, busses, brokers, and ferryboats. To a limited degree, the Commission regulates electric membership corporations, small power producers, and electric merchant plants. The Commission does not regulate telephone membership corporations, cable TV, satellite, commercial mobile radio service, cellular, pagers, or data and Internet service providers. The Commission is also responsible for administering programs in North Carolina to ensure the safety of natural gas pipelines. Appointments to the Utilities Commission are made by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly by joint resolution. The Governor also designates a Chairman who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the Commission. The Public Staff of the Commission represents the interests of the using and consuming public in matters pending before the Commission. The Public Staff is an independent agency which is not subject to the supervision, direction, or control of the Commission. The Executive Director of the Public Staff is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly by joint resolution. A member of the Public Staff serves on the State Hazard Mitigation Advisory Group (SHMAG), providing advice and guidance in developing the State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Among other issues, major concerns facing the Utilities Commission today include storm impacts and emergency preparedness on the utilities infrastructure throughout the state. North Carolina is subject to many natural hazards that can impact the utility services provided to its citizens. Hurricanes, flooding, and severe winter storms are frequent in our state, all of which can create massive power outages and disruption of service to large numbers of households, businesses, and critical facilities. Each of the utility providers is required to have on file with the Commission an emergency preparedness and contingency plan that details procedures to be followed in the event of a major natural hazard that could result in power outages and disruptions in service. The Utilities Commission is a member of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT). In addition, all the major utility companies have engaged in regional compacts, or mutual aid agreements, with utility providers in other regions of the Nation. North Carolina companies can quickly receive assistance in the event of a natural hazard that overwhelms local capabilities. When alerted to the threat of an imminent hazard, repair crews and equipment from other areas of the country are put on standby and can be shipped to North Carolina in a matter of hours when assistance is needed. North Carolina companies are likewise bound to assist other areas when called upon to do so. In early December 2002, a major ice storm blanketed much of North Carolina with up to one inch of ice, causing an unprecedented power outage to approximately two million electric utility customers. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, the public expressed considerable interest in burying all overhead power lines in the state. The Public Staff responded by investigating the desirability and feasibility of converting the existing overhead lines of the state’s three investor-owned electric utilities—Duke Power, Progress Energy Carolinas, and Dominion North Carolina Power (collectively, “the Utilities”)—to underground. Since the majority of the damage sustained in severe weather events usually involves distribution rather than transmission lines, the Public Staff’s investigation focused on undergrounding this portion of the electrical power delivery system. The report was forwarded to the Utilities Commission, the Secretary of Public Safety, as well as made available to the general public. The investigation by the Public Staff determined that replacing the existing overhead distribution lines of the Utilities with underground lines would be prohibitively expensive. Such an undertaking would cost approximately $41 billion, nearly six times the net book value of the Utilities’ current distribution assets, and would require approximately 25 years to complete. The ultimate impact of the capital costs alone on an average residential customer’s monthly electric bill would be an increase of more than 125 percent. Rates would also be impacted by the higher operation and maintenance costs associated with direct-buried underground systems, particularly in urban areas, where underground conductors are four times more costly to maintain than overhead facilities. Various proposals for creation of power redundancy or enhanced protection of infrastructure continue to be discussed and debated by stakeholders. The Public Staff’s investigation found that the reliability of underground systems during normal weather conditions better than overhead systems. Underground systems experience about half as many system interruptions and tap line interruptions as overhead systems. This gain in reliability, however, is offset by a 58 percent increase in repair time, as underground faults require specialized repair crews to locate the faults, dig up the area around the fault, and repair the cable. During severe weather events, such as hurricanes and ice storms, customers with underground facilities are less likely to be interrupted but will be among the last to have power restored when there is an underground fault. The investigation also found that the costs of burying distribution lines in newly developed commercial and residential areas is often feasible and cost-effective. All of the Utilities have plans on file with the Commission detailing the terms, conditions, and charges under which they agree to extend distribution service to customer locations. Each utility will place new facilities underground when the additional revenues cover the costs or the cost differential is recovered through a contribution in aid of construction. In addition, conversion of overhead lines to underground may be done on a case-by-case basis when the requesting party pays the conversion cost. Overhead facilities may also be replaced with underground facilities in urban areas where factors such as load density and physical congestion make service impractical from overhead feeders. Directory: div div -> 9th May 1950 the schuman declaration div -> Supplemental demographic information div -> Introduction A. Purpose & Authority div -> This section includes changes made during the 2013 update div -> General occupational safety and health rules subdivision z toxic and hazardous substances div -> Computer Basics What is a computer div -> Mobile county, alabama regular board meeting div -> Privacy: Campus Living & Technology Download 1 Mb. Share with your friends:
|