Utilities that are abundant, affordable, and business-friendly
Winchester, Virginia is fortunate to be located in an area with rich natural resources that is also well-served by utility providers. That gives companies here access to an abundance of the utility resources they need at delightfully affordable rates, not to mention a customer service attitude and approach that supports their business objectives.
Water and Wastewater
Water and wastewater services are provided by the City of Winchester, drawing fresh water from the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, then treating and supplying it to 11,000 customers. The City also operates a water reclamation facility that has the capacity to treat more than six million gallons of wastewater each day, with an anaerobic processing system capable of handling water from food processing facilities that contains solid food waste. The City’s system has excess capacity to support new growth and development projects, and that capacity can be expanded to accommodate new demands.
Electricity
Electricity is provided by Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC), a member-owned cooperative that serves the city and eight Shenandoah Valley counties and relies upon Old Dominion Electric Cooperative for generation and transmission services. Two recently rebuilt substations within the city deliver reliable power, backed by additional substations and transmission assets in the surrounding area. SVEC provides a variety of programs to support business expansion, including assistance with connection costs, incentive rate programs, and site selection assistance.
Natural Gas
Winchester’s natural gas needs are supplied by Shenandoah Gas, a subsidiary of Washington Gas. The utility offers a variety of rebates for qualified commercial users, and partners with local suppliers to reduce costs and improve service delivery through its supplier diversity program.
Telecom
Winchester’s proximity to the nation’s capital and our city’s important role in handling critical data have spurred development of extensive fiber and other telecom resources. Local companies have the opportunity to work with a long list of national and regional providers, among them Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, HughesNet, Lumos Networks, Verizon, Visuallink, Wave2Net, and Winchester Wireless. Having multiple choices ensures reliability and competitive rates.