Municipal water, wastewater, and power utilities’ overstressed infrastructure are in the spotlight, as policy makers look for ways to close yawning gaps between their capital-investment needs and the revenues already identified to fund them.
Hurricane Sandy cast a harsh spotlight on the fragility of the nation’s utility grids, even in the nation’s most populous areas. But the shortcomings were no surprise to insiders: if current trends persist over the next five years, capital investment in water and wastewater systems will fall short of the needs by $109 billion, and power-grid spending will fall $25 billion short, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Meanwhile, state and local policy makers are increasingly looking to their utilities — and their independent revenue streams — to help advance energy-efficiency and renewable energy goals despite the continued stress on local government budgets from the struggling national economy.
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
The Bond Buyer’s inaugural Municipal Utilities Conference will address these pressing issues, and bring together the state and local leaders who are at the forefront of designing solutions. Join us in Houston, May 16-17, at the Hilton Americas-Houston, to learn:
- Which utilities have emerged as national leaders in designing and funding capital investment programs to meet their communities’ needs, what are they funding, and how did they build the revenue base they need?
- How innovative financing structures, from full public-private partnerships to design-build contracts can help bridge the gap between needs and local utilities’ ability to pay for upgrades.
- Whether general government fiscal stress can spill over to the municipal utility sectors, and what happens in bankruptcy court if it does?
- If global climate change will really force a wave of capital spending to harden utilities against damage from future storms and flooding. How soon will the changes emerge, and what will that mean for bond sales and investor protections?
GROUP RATES AVAILABLE
Issuers & Public Power Employees ONLY $95, Institutional Investors $395, and All Other Professionals $895. Register today or contact Dan Tina at (800) 803-5797.
Register at:
http://www.bondbuyer.com/conferences/utilities/