Utilities

Electricity

Grid power

Electricity in the Highlands is provided by Duke Power (formerly Progress). Every lot has a transformer nearby and power lines are underground for esthetics and resiliency.

New connections are typically managed by your builder.

Rates are currently (as of late 2022) about 12 cents per kilowatt hour, which is comparable to most rates in the nation. Duke has proposed new tariffs that have been approved by the CPUC, and rates will increase in mid-2023.

Solar

As of late 2022, Duke still had a 1-to-1 net-metering tariff for those with roof-mount solar panels.

With concurrence of the CPUC, they have gutted the current net-metering tariff as of early 2023, and the new, less-favorable solar tariffs will come into effect in July 2023, so scheduling a solar install should take that into account as the previous net metering rules will allow a short grandfathering period. Your solar installer will usually have a good understanding of current connection issues.

Duke also has a fund that is available that provides as much as $4000 for a residential solar installation. This has always been over-subscribed and currently there is a lottery system twice a year to obtain eligibility. Check with your solar installer for details on this program, or find more detail on the Duke website.

A good resource for solar tariffs and benefits for our state is the DSIRE website.

Waste/Trash

Since the Highlands are in Buncombe county, Wastepro has a de jure monopoly on residential waste services. The local office is in Arden. Service in our neighborhood (and elsewhere in the county) has been spotty. Trash day is nominally on Thursday. Their removal hours are 7 AM to 7 PM, but they usually arrive later in the day (if they arrive at all on the scheduled day). Their website is https://www.wasteprousa.com/buncombe-county/

Bears are a problem on the mountain for unprotected trash cans, so some sort of bear-resistant cans are suggested. At times, Wastepro has offered their version of bear-resistant cans, but some homeowners have made their own attempts at bear-proofing their cans. In any case, leaving full cans outside more than necessary increases the chances of damage and scattered trash. Unless the cans are out for pickup, they should be kept in a secure place, typically a garage.

Water

Western North Carolina, and the Asheville metro area in particular has traditionally had good-quality water. Because of the prior history of the land in the Highlands, there are no known contaminants from industrial or agricultural uses.

However, as is common in areas with large deposits of certain kinds of stone, the water does contain measurable amounts of radon. While there is no EPA standard for safe levels of radon in water, the risk can be largely or completely mitigated by using aeration techniques or granular activated charcoal filters in your house. Many residents use these as a part of their filtering approach. Water filters tend to last a relatively long time on the mountain, as there is comparatively little sediment or other contaminants in our water. See the EPA document on radon in water and mitigation approaches here.

There is no city water available on Butler Mountain. Lots in the Highlands can obtain water in two ways: either by drilling a well, or by selecting a lot or home that is already on one of two existing Water Association community well systems.

Private Wells

Wells on the mountain tend to be relatively deep (which drives up the cost of drilling), and productivity cannot be determined in advance. Some homeowners with private wells have experienced relatively low flows.

A list of recommended drillers is (or will be later) on the Vendor List.

Water Associations

To mitigate the risks of drilling individual wells, the developer has created two Water Associations. Members of these associations can draw water from one or more community wells, and share in the expenses. Membership is based on the lot number, so buying a lot in either of the associations automatically makes you a member. Generally, if your lot isn’t in either of the associations, you will have to drill your own well. <insert a map of the water association lot locations here?>

For more information, contact the board at board@bmhpoa.org.

Telephone

AT&T used to offer traditional wired telephone service (as well as their DSL product, Uverse) but the Uverse product has been discontinued and there are unrepaired breaks in the lines in the neighborhood. It’s unknown if AT&T can or is willing to actually provide new traditional phone service to the Highlands.

Most all residents depend on traditional wireless carriers for their telephone (and sometimes, data) needs, but depending on your lot orientation and construction details of your home, you may have either good or terrible service, especially indoors.

The consensus in the neighborhood is that Verizon and AT&T offer the best wireless coverage, but it is very lot-specific, and it’s a good idea to talk to potential neighbors about their coverage and satisfaction.

For those with Verizon and very poor LTE performance and no 5G access, there is a femtocell or wireless extender product available that creates a small house-sized “cell tower” for a residence that uses your existing high-speed internet service to carry the local cell signal, making it possible in most cases to get a good cell signal to phones in the house when there is little to no actual cell service in or around the house.

Cable TV/Internet and Fiber

Unfortunately, there is no cable or fiber in our neighborhood, nor is there likely to be in the future. In 2021, Charter Communications bid on and won the right to bring high-speed fiber to the community via the Rural Development Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program as administered by the FCC, but the implementation was blocked by the Butler Mountain Estates POA in 2022, which precluded it from coming to the Highlands. Charter has said that there will be no further attempt to bring fiber to our mountain. This would have been the best possible case as it promised gigabit level internet (1000MBs).

Because of the low density of our neighborhood, without the subsidy that RDOF was offering, there is little chance that any ISP will bring unsubsidized cable or fiber to the mountain in the future.

Traditional TV

While there is no cable or fiber in the neighborhood, there are several satellite TV companies that offer service to the area. The two most popular are DirectTV and DishTV.

Both of these offer a form of geosynchronous satellite internet as well, but both suffer from the usual disadvantages of that approach (high cost, low bandwidth, high latency).

Their satellite TV offerings are acceptable, however, and several residents use these services for television and are relatively satisfied. As expected, you’ll need to have a small dish-type antenna installed on your house with an unobstructed view of the relevant satellite.

In addition to their TV-over-satellite offerings, both offer a streaming version of their content for those with a suitable Internet connection (at least 10MBs).

Internet

There are several options for internet service in the Highlands.

LTE and 5G Wireless Internet

If you have a lot that can get LTE or 5G wireless, there are several providers that can offer attractive plans for internet access. Some of them are:

Verizon, who offer LTE and 5G wireless internet, and

T-mobile, who offer a similar plan.

These plans currently offer nominal 25 or 50 MBs service plans.

It can’t be stressed enough that these are very location dependent and the fact that your neighbor has one or another plan doesn’t mean you will necessarily be able to access the same service or reach the stated speeds. In addition, the apps that are used to determine service are not as accurate as they might be expected to be, and some residents report good service despite their provider’s app stating that no service is available at that address. Some have suggested that their typical free 30-day trial be used to determine definitively whether these services would work on your lot.

Skyrunner

Many lots on the mountain have an orientation that makes Skyrunner, a Wireless Internet Services Provide (WISP) service available. Skyrunner is typically implemented as point-to-point wireless access with several plans available with varying data speeds and data limits. In our area, typical speeds are from 10-25 MBs depending on your location and orientation, as well as a clear line of sight to their towers.

There is normally a small dish attached to your home, and Skyrunner is able to set up and install wired and wireless networks for an additional fee.

Skyrunner is a local company, with very good service and a good reputation in the community. If you can’t get Starlink, or prefer not to, Skyrunner is usually the best alternative, assuming your home can see their towers.

Starlink

Starlink is a product of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) that offers internet service from a constellation of thousands of low-earth orbit satellites at around 300-400 miles above earth.

Speeds can vary from as low as 10 MBs to as high as 300, though typical speeds are commonly around 50-150MBs. Latency is not as good as a fiber connection, but is much better than the geosynchronous satellite services.

You must have a clear view of the North sky without interference from trees or buildings. A small rectangular antenna is typically mounted to the roof of your house to communicate with the satellite network. Downloading the Starlink app ahead of time can help identify any potential obstructions.

Several residents now have Starlink and are generally happy with it. It is probably the most performant option for those who need or desire the highest possible speeds available to us here.

Starlink has proven very popular and only recently has it been open to any new users in our area. Service and installation is by the Starlink app alone (there is no phone number to call), and some users find that frustrating. If you are new to this topic, Will Campbell is familiar with the system and can offer advice about acquiring and installing Starlink. His contact information is in the directory.

ViaSat & HughesNet

These are both satellite systems but their implementation and architecture (a small number of geosynchronous satellites at about 25,000 miles above the earth) result in very low performance- specifically low bandwidth and relatively high latency. They are also relatively expensive for users who consume a lot of data. Most users of this service report low satisfaction with the performance as well as their support. It is usually regarded as the choice of last resort.