Telecommunications

Get Up To Speed!! The Fort Valley Utility Commission offers broadband access from 256 Kbps (Kilobits per second) to 1.5 Mbps (Megabits per second). Our wireless broadband offers multiple grades of service: College, Basic Residential, Premium Residential, Business Basic and Business Premium. Data rates for wireless are from 256 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps.

The fifteen mile redundant fiber optic ring offers various additional services, from a high speed internet connection, dark fiber, up to a custom built point to point service via our Gig-E (Gigabit Ethernet) network to meet our customers need for speed. The fiber network is connected to the World Wide Web (WWW) over a fiber optic loop for redundancy. We cover the entire Fort Valley area including the South Peach County Industrial Park. The Utility Commission is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) licensed by the Georgia Public Service Commission and is an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Our fiber ring is connected to the 3,000 mile state-wide Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG) fiber backbone that is operated and maintained by Georgia Public Web, Inc. (GPW). GPW provides telecommunication services to rural Georgia as a CLEC provider. GPW is a non-profit provider of internet, private line and web solutions. Utilizing its statewide fiber optic network, GPW is able to offer cost effective, state of the art products and services to its customers through its own SONET network that is multi-homed to several Tier 1 ISPs with high capacity, scalable connections supported by its own 24/7 Network Operations Center. GPW is owned by 32 Georgia municipalities, one of which is Fort Valley.

Electricity

One of the most important utilities provided to any community is its electrical energy. The electric department ensures a reliable and economical source of energy for all its customers - residences, schools, institutions, businesses and industry throughout its service area. The citizens' lifestyle depends on it; businesses stake their productivity and profits on it. Energy is purchased through the Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia (MEAG), an organization of 49 member cities. Our electric rates are in the lowest range of other Georgia providers as referenced in the Georgia Service Commission's Quarterly Electric Rate Report.

The electric department provides an average of 40 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy monthly to its customers through a network of 150 miles of wire and 4000 poles, along with significant number of fuses, transformers, and other essential electrical infrastructure elements. We also operate a 3 megawatt diesel/natural gas peaking unit to keep costs low during the summer high demand season.

Our six linemen maintain substation key certifications and always respond immediately to outages and storm damage, even in the worse weather.

Gas

Natural gas is available to citizens of Fort Valley and Roberta as well as areas in Peach and Crawford Counties. Currently, there are 4000 customer services in the system. The gas is piped from a Southern Natural Gas cross country high pressure gas line located outside Culloden and distributed to customers over 84 miles of mains from 2" to 6" in diameter. Although the gas is used primarily to heat homes, the system also supports several large industrial and commercial users that use the gas for their production needs. The gas department's customers consume 500 thousand cubic feet of natural gas monthly. Fixed and interruptible gas rates are offered as well as future hedging for industrial customers.

All five gas operators have Class I certifications and our foreman is a State Gas Operations and Safety instructor.

Water

Water is provided from six deep wells approximately 500 feet deep. These wells pump water to three water treatment plants where the water is disinfected to ensure no organisms are present, fluoride added to strengthen the teeth of young people, and pH adjusted to make the water non-corrosive to customers' pipes and tanks.

From the treatment plants, over 5000 gallons of water per minute are pumped to the distribution system. Additionally, five elevated water tanks located throughout the system provide 1.1 million gallons of storage capacity and also ensure adequate water pressure to all customers. Additional ground storage tanks bring the system storage capacity to 1,775,000 gallons.

The distribution system is comprised of 150 miles of water mains ranging in size from

3/4" to 22" diameter which provide water to citizens of Fort Valley, as well as many residents of Peach County and some residents of Macon County.

We have one of only 35 certified water testing laboratories recognized by EPD in the State with four certified laboratory operators Three of our five water plant operators have Class I licenses, the highest rating from the State Professional Board.

Wastewater Treatment Plant and Sewer System

Fort Valley maintains a return activated sludge extended aeration wastewater treatment plant. This means that as the sanitary waste passes through the treatment process, a portion of it is continually returned to the beginning of the treatment plant process for further aeration and treatment. The treatment plant is permitted by the State of Georgia, which allows discharge of the treated water to a receiving creek. Before discharge, the water is tested to make sure it meets stringent discharge requirements as prescribed by the plant's permit. Professional operation of the plant by its operators, daily testing, and vigilant inspection by state regulators all work in concert to ensure the discharged water is safe and healthy for aquatic life downstream, which has been reinforced by watershed assessments.

The sewer collection system is comprised of 52 miles of wastewater lines that vary in size from 4" to 12" in diameter. These lines are maintained by a sewer collection crew, who constantly clean and inspect the lines.

We have waste water plant operators with Class I, II, and III licenses. Two operators have Backflow Prevention licenses and all of them are licensed waste water lab analysts.