For over 50 years, the Utilities Commission, City of New Smyrna Beach, Florida (UCNSB) has proudly provided the greater New Smyrna Beach area with quality utility services. Today, UCNSB offers electric, water, wastewater, and reuse water services to approximately 30,000 residential and commercial customers.
Most municipalities in Florida provide their own water and wastewater service, but our community is special because NSBU is just one of the 34 municipal electric utilities in the state - exclusively committed to serving our customers, not investors. NSBU is funded solely through utility revenues and is not a taxing authority.
New Smyrna Beach Utilities is a non-taxing, political subdivision of the State of Florida, created by Special Legislative Act, Public Law 67-1754, and as amended by Public Law 85-503.
Municipal utilities are consumer-owned and not-for-profit, so providing affordable, safe, and reliable power is our first priority. Fuel and purchased power costs are the largest single variable expense for electric utilities, and they can vary greatly on the basis of supply and demand and other factors. Under utility regulations, these costs are passed along to customers at cost, through a charge on their bill commonly referred to as a “fuel adjustment fee.” Utilities do not profit from increased fuel and purchased power costs.
What We Do
New Smyrna Beach Utilities' electric service area encompasses 71.9 square miles, of which 34 square miles are inside the New Smyrna Beach city limits. The service area is established by the Florida Public Service Commission.
The raw water supply for UCNSB is derived from the Floridan aquifer. Our 23 production wells in four distinct well fields draw from this very high quality water source in accordance with our Consumptive Use Permit (CUP), issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District. This permit allows us to withdraw up to 8.33 million gallons per day (MGD) to be used in for potable water supply needs. All wastewater is processed and reclaimed at our Water Reclamation Facility, where it is stored and sent back out as Reuse Water for irrigation to golf courses, medians, the City Sportsplex, and residential customers.
Together, NSBU and the other community-owned utilities serve 3 million Floridians and are collectively the third largest source of power in the state. Because we are community-owned and locally managed, we focus on serving local needs, through low rates, jobs and contributions to the city budget. Revenue is not distributed to stockholders; instead, it is reinvested back into the community to fulfill our Vision: "To improve the quality of life for our customers by being the best utility service provider."
Our History
The original building on the corner of Magnolia and Canal Streets was constructed in 1925 and became the Bank of New Smyrna in 1941. The facility was remodeled in 1956 and expanded in 1971. The Utilities Commission acquired the property in the early 1990s when it moved central operations here from Sams Avenue.
The original water plant for New Smyrna Beach was located at 413 Smith Street before a new 10.4 MGD Class A facility was constructed on Glencoe Road in 1975. The Smith Street building currently serves as operation headquarters for the Field Operations Staff of Water Distribution and Sewer Collection.
The W.E. Swoope Steam Plant began operation in 1964 with nameplate capacity of 7500kW. It was constructed on city property near the Intracoastal Waterway. The original steam plant has been deconstructed but there are still some generators on site to help serve during times of peak demand.
The 165 foot water tower was constructed by the Chicago Steel Company in 1950 in Old Fort Park. It held 100,000 gallons of water. In 1995, it was demolished because of extensive corrosion.
