Veolia North American has helped the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority improve its “green infrastructure” and save about $5.5 million annually in recurring revenue and efficiencies for almost three years.
Because of this, the PWSA board of directors has approved a one-year contract extension to December 2015 to allows PWSA and Veolia to continue implementing a long-term strategy to improve customer service, reduce spending, increase efficiency, overcome financial challenges and protect water quality and the environment.
Since 2012, Veolia has provided the PWSA with interim executive management services.
Veolia helped PWSA optimize the Authority’s customer service platform, reducing hold times for customers up to 80 percent, enhanced the information provided to customers on monthly bills, and expanded bill-payment options.
The partnership with PWSA is part of Veolia’s Peer Performance Solutions model, enabling municipal water utilities to benchmark against other leading utilities while preserving public governance and a public workforce and benefiting from specialized private-sector expertise.
Veolia is applying the PPS model in New York City, Winnipeg, Washington, DC, and DeKalb County, Georgia, to help utilities improve operations, find efficiencies, and improve customer service.
In New York City, program implementation is expected to yield annual recurring financial benefits of more than $100 million by 2016. To date, more $90 million in savings and revenue enhancements have been reported by NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection.