SANTA ANA, Calif., Dec. 17, 2002 -- Utility billing and resident care services provider National Water & Power announced it will work a Texas apartment management organizations to implement water usage billing for nearly 11,000 of the company's units in time to meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's end of year deadline.
With 76 properties in Texas, BH Management has nearly 34,000 residents who depend on the efficiency of its operations. Identifying and eliminating inefficiencies that may exist across BH Management's more than 16,000 units in Texas can save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"BH Management has always hired the most experienced staff and worked with only the best partners in any field," said, Howard Berends, CPM, Asset Manager of BH Management. "National Water & Power was chosen because of their industry expertise and superior technology platform. Their technology will allow the process to be fully automated, taking a significant burden off our staff so they can concentrate on sustaining the quality of life for our residents."
To help BH Management meet the TCEQ's deadline for implementing billing systems for water usage, National Water & Power will incorporate RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing Systems) to measure and allocate water consumption to individual units. National Water & Power will handle billing for the properties.
"The TCEQ regulations provide property owners such as BH Management with a brief window to implement allocation for water consumption without facing additional costs," said Bob Wolpert, National Water & Power's president. "With our vast regulatory expertise and experience in Texas and across the country, National Water & Power is uniquely positioned to help property owners navigate regulatory compliance in each state and provide accurate billing services for each property."
BH Management made the decision to outsource the water measurement and billing process to National Water & Power in a drive to increase efficiencies on its properties, as well as encourage conservation of water. According to the National Apartment Association and the National Multi Housing Council, residents who pay for their water use consume 6 to 39 percent less water than those whose water costs are included in their rent. If the 25 million apartment units in the U.S. implemented submetering of water consumption, 225 million to 1.4 billion gallons of water could be saved each day, saving owners and residents $500 million to $3 billion annually.
About National Water & Power
National Water & Power is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif. National Water & Power provides a broad range of billing and customer care solutions to both the real estate and utility industries. National Water & Power's billing and sub-metering operations service more than a half million apartment units in 39 states for some of the country's largest public and private property owners. Open-c Solutions, is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Water & Power, and is located in Minneapolis. Open-c Solutions develops and implements customer information systems (CIS) software for major utilities, services providers and billing service bureaus.
About BH Management Services Inc.
BH Management Services, Inc. is based in Dallas, Texas and manages more than 25,000 units in nine states. The BH Management Services philosophy is simple: provide the highest quality living environment and resident services in order to retain satisfied customers. This philosophy is accomplished through professionalism, organization, and quality resident services. We hire only the most qualified professionals. We strive to develop solid partnerships, make communication a priority and pay close attention to the details. This is all done with one goal in mind - to achieve the optimum return on our client's investment.
