Welcome to The Dispatch by Riviera Utilities - a new way to connect
By Brian Skelton, President and CEO
Welcome to the first issue of The Dispatch by Riviera Utilities. This quarterly newsletter was designed with your time in mind. No static — just essential updates and insight from Riviera's best and brightest industry leaders. As we continue to grow with our community, we want to bring you along with stories from inside the Utility — the plans, the progression, and the progress. As a ratepayer, you are investing in the resiliency and innovation of the system that serves you, and we value every chance we have to communicate those forward strides.
So, what can you expect and why should you stick around? Each issue will feature a message from one of Riviera's subject experts — digging into a variety of timely, topical, and safety-driven conversations. Our employees have a wealth of knowledge, understanding, and passion for their trade and community. Each section will be thoughtfully crafted by our team to share helpful information about Utility processes that affect you and your family.
I invite you to explore each issue, ask questions, and help us shape this resource into one you look forward to receiving. We're all familiar with overwhelmed inboxes, so we are listening, hearing, and acting upon your requests to create a source you trust and rely on. Your time is valuable to us — thank you for sharing it.
Current Status
By Tony Schachle, Chief Operating Officer
The 2025 hurricane season has arrived. This is the time of year when everyone along the Gulf Coast turns their attention to hurricane season predictions, tropical weather forecasts, and spaghetti models. That is because those of us who are fortunate to call the Gulf Coast home understand the impact that one storm can have on our community. In addition to damage to our homes, businesses, and roadways, there is a potential for those storms to cause damage and result in outages to our critical utility infrastructure. Add to that the tremendous population growth we are experiencing in Baldwin County. The population has increased by over 66% in the last 20 years. Municipalities within our service territory, such as Foley, Daphne, Fairhope, and Spanish Fort, have increased by 40% to 70% during that same time. The growth in Baldwin County remains steady and is projected to continue into the foreseeable future. So, with the threat of severe weather events and the increasing demand from growth in our service area, it is more vital than ever for us to focus on the reliability and capacity of our utility systems.
At Riviera Utilities, we are planning for the present and the future with all of our utility services. We understand how vital electric, gas, water, and wastewater services are for our customers and are planning and implementing projects to ensure their reliability and capacity. As an example, we currently have two electric projects underway to address needs in the Eastern Shore area. These projects will not only provide additional capacity to serve current and future customers, but will also provide resiliency and operational flexibility by allowing us to transfer loads during peak demands or outages.
First, we are nearing completion of the construction of a new electric substation on Gayfer Road Extension in Fairhope. As part of this project, we will also begin construction in July 2025 of over two miles of transmission line and distribution improvements to support this new substation. Second, we are also planning an expansion of our existing Schlich substation off Pollard Road in Daphne. This project will double the capacity of this site.
These are just a highlight of the many projects that Riviera Utilities has underway to prepare for hurricane season and other severe weather events, while also positioning us to continue providing reliable utility service to our existing customers and support continued growth in our area. And we have a team of dedicated employees at Riviera Utilities who are working diligently every day to make those projects a reality.
Local Check-In
July 16th & 19th — Butterfly Tales with the Foley Public Library
August 6, 2025 — Weather Preparedness + Radio Programming Event with WKRG at Eastern Shore ACE Hardware from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
August 11, 2025 — 811 Day Special Customer Education displays + giveaways
More to come: Please visit our Facebook page
Introducing: Severe Storm Preparedness Sessions
Got questions about severe storm prep? We've got answers — and we’re bringing them straight to your neighborhood.
Riviera Utilities is now booking Severe Storm Preparedness Sessions for HOAs, neighborhood groups, community clubs, and civic organizations across our service area.
These in-person sessions are designed to empower you and your neighbors with the knowledge you need before, during, and after a major storm.
Copy That? Quick Hits & Updates
Summer is here; the flowers are blooming! Did you know Riviera has a Native Pollinator Garden outside of our main office in Foley? What began as a small beautification project outside our office has grown into a meaningful partnership, a commitment to environmental stewardship, and an opportunity to support regional research. Watch our mini documentary on the project — out now!
We’re in the heat of the Baldwin County Utility Internship Program. Just a few weeks in and they have tackled big jobs like learning how to program water meters, what happens at a gas regulator station, and what capacitor our home appliances use. Follow along with their journey on our Facebook!
Here are two ways to get answers and updates faster: Need to speak with Customer Service but don’t feel like calling? Chat with them directly on our website now. No bots here! Need to report an outage? You can text “OUT” to 251-943-4999 or “STATUS” for updates. Make sure your contact information on your RU account is accurate to participate!
