When a business looks to expand or open in a new city or region, it considers everything from the tax rates to the quality of life. One key part of the decision lies with the availability of municipal utilities.
Municipal governments as utility providers play a significant role in promoting economic development activity. Without widely available, reliable and affordable water, electric, gas and wastewater services, most projects could not get off the ground.
Before the first shovel hits the dirt, municipal utilities incur significant advanced planning and preparation costs to ensure sufficient capacity and infrastructure are in place to serve current customers as well as future economic development projects.
Making wise utility planning decisions has positioned the City of Greer to be a major player in economic development. Access to water sources has allowed Greer to serve existing business interests without interruption and to compete for new businesses when other communities have struggled with drought conditions, according to Reno Deaton, executive director of the Greer Development Corporation.
The Greer Commission of Public Works and the City of Greer maintain Lake Robinson and Lake Cunningham as raw water reservoirs. The two lakes provide an ample supply of drinking and process water as well as excess capacity for future economic development projects, Deaton said.
There is enough excess capacity with the lakes and in the delivery system to serve new industry with water demands of approximately 1 million gallons per day. It is this access to water that is becoming so significant in South Carolina and is important for many companies as they make site location decisions, Deaton added.
Officials broke ground March 1 in Greer on the new South Carolina Inland Port, which will connect the Port of Charleston by rail to the Upstate. Greer CPW will provide electricity, water, sewer and gas to the inland port. It will be adding a $3.5 million electric substation to service the needs of the facility and expected future development, according to Deaton.
"The CPW has a long and rich history of taking the first steps in preparing for development by making sure the area is appropriately served with infrastructure of great capacity," Deaton said. "Certainly, their steps will set the table for opportunities for development."
Commercial and industrial growth is a priority for Greer CPW, according to its general manager, Nick Stegall. Greer CPW provides strong support to the Greer Development Corporation, with the CPW general manager sitting on its board. The utility, in partnership with the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, also helps with economic development by offering a special electric rate, available for new commercial and industrial customers. Greer CPW is one of 21 municipal electric systems in the state.
"No city or community can attract industry unless it has adequate, reliable, competitively priced utilities," Stegall said. "The Commission is very competitive with all of its utility rates."
In the City of Anderson, the utilities division also plays a major part in the region's economic development efforts.
"Two of the water system's main goals are to prepare for future growth and support economic development. Achieving these goals begins with major investments in infrastructure," said Utilities Director Jeff Caldwell. "As our utility master plans are updated, these goals are always front and center in the decision-making process."
For site-specific economic development opportunities, the utility participates directly in the process, Caldwell said. The utility identifies current water and sewer infrastructure and their capacities, and evaluates alternative water supplies such as gray water from its wastewater treatment plant effluent and raw water from the surface water supply. The City of Anderson maintains rates that are in the lowest one-third of the state, Caldwell said.
In addition, the City of Anderson is the largest member of the Anderson Regional Joint Water System, which supplies potable water to Anderson County and parts of Pickens County. The Water System was a major factor in bringing the manufacturing operations of First Quality Tissue SE LLC to Anderson County, said Anderson County Economic Development Director Burriss Nelson.
The tissue and towel company is investing $1 billion and anticipates creating 1,000 new jobs within five years to support its new production facility. The Water System recently completed the installation of a raw water line to the plant, which uses about 3.5 million gallons of water a day for its operations, Nelson said. The assistance of the city, county, water system, the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Natural Resources made the project a reality, he said.
Competitive water rates also were attractive to the new company, Nelson said. "That effects the project's continuing costs over its lifetime," Nelson said. "The more you can lower costs, that impacts their bottom line."