Capacity/Connection Fees

At its core, a capacity charge analysis determines the amount newcomers to a utility system should pay to gain equal footing with existing ratepayers. This means that newcomers – in the form of a fee paid as a condition of obtaining service – pay for the costs of infrastructure that has been built with capacity available to serve them and/or infrastructure that will be built to accommodate the new demands they bring to the utility system. NBS' analyses conform to the requirements of California’s Mitigation Fee Act (commonly referred to as AB 1600). The methodology used by NBS to determine and justify capacity charges are rooted in the requirements of this Government Code, ensuring that resultant fees demonstrate a relationship – a nexus – to both the costs to serve and the demands of newcomers to the utility systems.