Rate hike approved for Aqua Pa. water, wastewater customers
HARRISBURG >> Rates for water and wastewater services provided by Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. and Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater Inc. will be going up May 24, although not by as much as the utility had originally requested.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted
5-0 on May 9 to approve a joint settlement in the utility’s rate case, which was originally filed Aug. 17, 2018.
In its ruling Thursday, the commission voted to approve an annual water revenue increase of $42.3 million — or
9.8% for Aqua Water; and an annual wastewater revenue increase of $4.7 million — or
34.6% for Aqua Wastewater, for a combined annual revenue increase of $47 million — or 10.6%.
Under the joint settlement, approximately $7.1 million of the company’s wastewater revenue requirement will be recovered from water operations.
In its original filing, the utility had requested rate base changes that would have increased annual water revenues by $66.3 million — or
15.4% and annual wastewater revenues by $5.4 million— or
40.1%, for a total increase of approximately $71.8 million over current rates.
Under the joint settlement, the average monthly bill for a residential Main Division water customer using 4,080 gallons per month would increase $5.67, from $59.85 to
$65.52 a month, or by 9.47%. The average monthly bill for a residential wastewater customer using 4,200 gallons per month would increase $8.91, from $57.64 to $66.55, or by 13.39%.
In addition, the terms of the joint settlement provides for the merging of Superior Water Company Inc. into Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Aqua Pennsylvania, Superior Water currently provides water service in portions of Montgomery and Berks counties.
According to a statement provided Monday by Kimberly Joyce, vice president regulatory, government and external affairs for Aqua America, the company appreciates the Public Utility Commission’s approval of the joint settlement agreement.
“This was our first rate request in seven years, and while the settlement is less than we requested, we understand the commission’s responsibility to balance the company’s request with the priorities of others who are party to the case,” the statement read.
According to Aqua’s statement, the agreement was “filed and supported by a number of parties” in the case.
The settlement was supported by Aqua Pennsylvania; the PUC’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement; the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate; the Pennsylvania Office of Small Business Advocate; the Aqua Large Users Group; the Coalition for Affordable Utility Services and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania; the Masthope Mountain Community Property Owners Council; Superior Water; and the Links at Gettysburg Master Association, according to a press release.
Thursday’s decision followed nine months of investigation in the rate case, a process that included a series of public hearings conducted by Public Utility Commission Administrative Law Judges to gather evidence in support of the rate increase, and testimony from customers and interested parties.
As part of its original filing, Aqua Pennsylvania said the primary reason for the request was to recover $2.2 billion the company has invested in infrastructure, including upgrades to its distribution and treatment systems to improve drinking water quality and service reliability throughout its water and wastewater operations.
Headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Aqua Pennsylvania has approximately 450,000 water and wastewater customers throughout Pennsylvania, serving approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties.