BEECHER - NAWC

Water ComparedIndustries ComparedElectric Utilities:Ownership, Sales, and Revenues (1996)Utilities (n) Sales (kWh) Revenues ($)§I Federal (1 0)llllll Cooperatives(932)~Publicly owned(2,01 0)1111 Private/investorowned(243)The contrast between theelectric industry and thewater industry in terms ofthe role of the privatesector is striking. Private,investor-owned electricutilities number about243, which accounts forless than 1 0 percent of thetotal number of electricutilities in the UnitedStates (3,195). Yet theseinvestor-owned utilitiesaccount for a clearmajority of electricitysales and revenues.Almost the opposite picture emerges in the water industry. Private water systems account forabout one-third of all community water systems (or about 40 percent of community watersystems when ancillary systems are excluded). However, private systems only account for 10to 15 percent of population served, assets, revenues, and expenditures of public and privatecommunity water systems. This relatively large number of small, privately owned systemsexplains this finding.The larger private water utilities, represented by the National Association of WaterCompanies (NA WC), total about 132.Community Water Systems:Public v. Private Ownership (1995)Annual expenses($22.1 bil. total)Annual revenues($25.9 bil. total)Utility assets($131.9 bil. total)Annual production(62.3 tril. gallons)Population served(240 mil. total)Water systems(38,329 total)0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%IIIII Private::~.::PublicNote: Ancillarysystems areexcluded from thetotals.NAWC48September 1998